Can a hotel charge me for their mistake?

kerrypops1

I recently stayed on a hen weekend at a hotel in Chester. I organised paying for the hotel for everyone and used my debit card as I had the money in my account.

I paid for the rooms by chip and pin on arrival and was last to check out and wasn't told of any problems or other charges on the card.

I've since come home to find that they have charged us another £140 and have contacted the hotel. They say it is because they under charged me and rectified the issue by taking it from my account. I have 2 issues with this. Firstly, should they be able to just dip into my account and take £140 for their mistake without telling me. Seconly, how do they have my card details when I paid via chip and pin - I thought this was meant to be secure. The card used to secure the original booking was a credit card.

The hotel said they spoke to one of the party to confirm they were making the charge but none of the party confirm this and surely, as card holder they should speak to me!!

Thanks in advance!

zagfles

You should get a refund from your bank if you didn't authorise the second transaction. The first transaction may be "chip & PIN" but they probably put the second through as cardholder not present.

If they can't prove you authorised this second transaction the bank must refund you, though they tend to try the "fob off" technique first, and some bank staff are totally clueless and don't know the rules.

tomtontom

Were you undercharged, does the amount you paid reflect the amount you were quoted on booking? You can query it as an unauthorised transaction, but if you do owe the money that could result in the hotel taking you to small claims for the money.

zagfles

tomtontom wrote: »

Were you undercharged, does the amount you paid reflect the amount you were quoted on booking? You can query it as an unauthorised transaction, but if you do owe the money that could result in the hotel taking you to small claims for the money.

Or they could simply send the OP a bill if they think she owes them money! That's how the world usually works. They're hardly going to go straight to court.

agrinnall

They have your card details because the retailer copy of a C&P transaction includes the full card number. Because they have that they can put through another transaction as cardholder not present.

PeteDoff

If the amount quoted was lower than the total amount charged without your agreement call the police - it's fraud.

zagfles

agrinnall wrote: »

They have your card details because the retailer copy of a C&P transaction includes the full card number. Because they have that they can put through another transaction as cardholder not present.

They "can" physically in the same way that the OP could take the towels from the hotel room. Whether they are entitled to is another matter.

zagfles

PeteDoff wrote: »

If the amount quoted was lower than the total amount charged without your agreement call the police - it's fraud.

No the police won't be interested. If anyone has been defrauded it's the bank as technically it's their card. The OP just needs to report an unauthorised transaction to the bank.

PeacefulWaters

If you used the services that you're being charged for and those charges are in line with the T&Cs agreed when booking then the money is owed.

It's also possible that those T&Cs allow them to debit the card for the additional sum.

If they don't, you can report the transaction to your bank as unauthorised and your account should be re-credited. But you'd still owe the money.

PeteDoff

zagfles wrote: »

No the police won't be interested. If anyone has been defrauded it's the bank as technically it's their card. The OP just needs to report an unauthorised transaction to the bank.

Make a written complain, put it on record then ask why they did not act - in writing.

Westin

Did you sign a registration card at check-in? This will often carry some verbiage just above your signature concerning settlement and payment of any charges. That could be the 'authority' they have to charge the unsettled amount.

Is the total amount you and your friends paid (deposit and payment whilst at the hotel) less than the amount of the rooms they confirmed to you when the booking was taken? If so then they may well have the right to charge you the balance. If not and you have paid exactly what your reservation confirmed, and you didn't upgrade or buy any extra services whilst there, then I would have thought the hotel would see the error and refund the £140.