credit card chargeback question

carphead10

HI guys i could do with some advice. last night i stayed at a five star hotel . at approx 1 am the neighbors decided to have a party. we complained . it was dealt with but 10 mins later it began again . we complained again and security dealt with it. minutes later it began again. after 30 minutes of laying there trying to sleep and my 5 month old constantly jumping at the loud banging next door, i lost my patience and packed up. we left at 3 am after speaking to the manager who attempted to win us round with an upgrade . we said we'd give them chance to resolve the issue twice and had enough and wanted a full refund.
we were told they understand and that was fine. my hubby rang at 9.30 today and wanted to speak the manager . it s now 6.45 pm no phone call from the manager has been received and no refund has gone through . we were suppose to stay for two nights but didn't even last one
please can anyone tell me can we chargeback on our credit card

grumbler

You can try, but without proofs and after rejecting the offered upgrade I wouldn't hold my breath

[Deleted User]

If they said that they would refund you then hopefully they will do just that - I wouldn't try to jump straight to a chargeback just yet.

You said 5-star but that doesn't mean much on it's own - are we talking about one of the big hotel chains? If it was with a reputable company then I think you should probably be alright. Email the hotel so that you have some kind of paper trail - if that doesn't work then bypass the individual hotel and escalate it to their corporate customer service.

More often than not, if you can get your call/email to the right person (i.e. someone who actually has authority to make decisions) then you will get what you want - might even get a free night certificate thrown in.

Chargebacks should be considered a last resort.

Hominu

To be honest they did attempt to resolve the issue each time you complained - maybe after the third time complaining they would have terminated the other parties stay, who knows. They tried to move you to another room, you refused, so really they did try and make you comfortable during your stay and it wasn't really their fault.

So a chargeback request may just get them to counteract with a "Service provided, customer authorised" and then you need proof of what happened.

A friendly email on the other hand is likely to get you at least a discount, if not the full refund.

lisyloo

It's down to the hotels discretion and then down to your credit card company's discretion.
Some credit card companies are really good other's will find excuses.

I understand your position especially with a baby, but it's down to whether the hotel/card company think you tried hard enough to resolve it.

You need to formally chase the hotel first. Send a letter reocrded delivery.

The good news is that your card company doesn't fund a chargeback, the hotels bank would (and then they would charge the hotel in turn), so in theory your card company has nothing to lose.
Some are a lot better than others and whilst I sympathise I'm afraid your case is not clear cut.
Some people might think you did enough giving them 2 chances, other may think you should have given them more of a chance to resolve it.

But you need to try the hotel first. You card company will expect you to do this and will want evidence of what you've done to resolve the refund with the hotel first. A letter by recorded delivery is formal and provides proof.

dalesrider

lisyloo wrote: »

It's down to the hotels discretion and then down to your credit card company's discretion.
Some credit card companies are really good other's will find excuses.
.

Quality issue. As such not covered.

Only other option would be is all the advertising said QUIET family hotel.
Possible then to look at not as described.

TBH. Even after 2 goes simply packing and going is not giving the hotel a chance. Given they offered a upgrade and move when you were leaving they would be well within their rights to reject any chargeback.

lisyloo

Quality issue.

IANAL but I don't agree with.
I think a judge would decide a a party next door is not reasonable, but I guess at the end of the day this is why we have judges.

The point with the chargeback though is that if a sympathetic card company process one, then it's down to the hotel to prove their wasn't a problem and not the other way round.
Some companies jsut won't bother to appeal within the 45 day appeals process time limit so it DOES depend on how sympathetic your card company are.
In this case they have nothing to lose as they charge the hotels bank.
In some cases e.g. liquidation then it comes out of their own funds so they act differently.

dalesrider

lisyloo wrote: »

The point with the chargeback though is that if a sympathetic card company process one,

The problem then is if rejected the OP gets redebited.... Then causes a complaint as people start to say miss advised.

lisyloo wrote: »

In this case they have nothing to lose as they charge the hotels bank.

Till they get redebited.

lisyloo wrote: »

In some cases e.g. liquidation then it comes out of their own funds so they act differently.

No, the funds come from the retailer merchant bank.


Only time anything comes out of your card providers funds is if they write it off for some reason (limits etc) or its a S75 claim.

lisyloo

No, the funds come from the retailer merchant bank.

Sorry I meant section 75 not chargeback.

Some card companies ARE sympathetic.
I've had them dig into their pockets when they didn't have to.

I had a private transfer cancelled (due to strikes in Greece). This was a comfy Mercedes for my disbaled husband.

We were offered a coach which was not for our flight where my husband would have been in agony plus it would have been an extra few hours in an airport without seating available.

The card company told me I was not eligible for section 75 - they never justified this as they drew a line under spending time on my complaint, but they did pay up on a good will basis with NO money back.

So sometimes card companies do pay up out of their own pocket if they are sympathetic enough.

I'm not qualified as a legal expert but I'm certainly sympathetic to a parent with a baby.

dalesrider

lisyloo wrote: »

I'm not qualified as a legal expert but I'm certainly sympathetic to a parent with a baby.

But who put the baby at the most distress?
Options to move within the same hotel and maybe a hour disruption or pack everything up and head home?

From my parenting. Babies tend to sleep though most things.

lisyloo

But who put the baby at the most distress?

I don't think you can be judge and jury despite your parenting qualifications.

The fact is, it's not clear cut but my point was sometimes companies do make goodwill gestures or decide they can't be bothered to fight cases. They do make pragmatic decisions sometimes i.e. they would have to pay staff to launch an appeal.
Sometimes their core business is more important than working on appeals for a few quid.

Given that (rightly or wrongly) it's now a fait accompli, so it's a question of whether to fight or give up.
Personally I'd write the requisite letters and shell out on the requisite stamps if only to cost the company concerned some money, but also to try to make the manager's aware in future.

You clearly have a view on whether the case is winnable, but I'm saying that's irrelevant if the card company are sympathetic and the merchant and merchants bank are too busy with their core business to make an appeal in the requisite timescale.