Booking.com misleading offer via Quidco

tms-uk

Hi, can someone advise what to do please?

What did you buy?
One weeks’ accommodation only in Corfu

When did you buy it?
9th April 2015

Where from?
Booking.com via Quidco

How did you pay?
Debit card details provided for pre-authorisation

What went wrong?
Debit card has been fully debited 861.40 euro at the hotels exchanged and my bank have charged me a fee for a non-sterling transaction.

The offer on Quidco:

Book now and pay when you stay + no extra booking fees (Terms and conditions)
Start date: 26 Jan 2015 Expired: 12 Apr 2015
Details
- This offer/voucher code was correct at the time of publishing.
- It is important that you check your order summary before purchasing.
- In the event that the offer/voucher code does not work please refer to our help pages.
- Discount cannot be applied to your order after you have made your purchase.
- The retailer reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.

Transaction tracked:
09 Apr 15 Booking.com 622.89 18.69 Tracked 10 Apr 15 (861.40 euro)

Issue:

The offer seems very misleading and there were no further terms and conditions than the above. I was intending to pay the hotel during the stay using a pre-paid card in the hotel's own currency to get the best deal.

I have not only been charged a non-preferential exchange rate, but also been charged a non-sterling transaction fee by my bank. All this was entirely unexpected.

What are the vendors telling you?
Non-refundable booking – payment can be taken at any time by the hotel.

What solution or remedy are you looking for? (Companies may Repair / Refund / Replace)

I would like a full refund, including the bank charge and the opportunity to switch to the pre-paid card for payment / pre-authorisation instead.

Not impressed at all

agrinnall

What do Quidco and booking.com say about it?

visidigi

tms-uk wrote: »

Hi, can someone advise what to do please?

What did you buy?
One weeks’ accommodation only in Corfu

When did you buy it?
9th April 2015

Where from?
Booking.com via Quidco

How did you pay?
Debit card details provided for pre-authorisation

What went wrong?
Debit card has been fully debited 861.40 euro at the hotels exchanged and my bank have charged me a fee for a non-sterling transaction.

The offer on Quidco:

Book now and pay when you stay + no extra booking fees (Terms and conditions)
Start date: 26 Jan 2015 Expired: 12 Apr 2015
Details
- This offer/voucher code was correct at the time of publishing.
- It is important that you check your order summary before purchasing.
- In the event that the offer/voucher code does not work please refer to our help pages.
- Discount cannot be applied to your order after you have made your purchase.
- The retailer reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.

Transaction tracked:
09 Apr 15 Booking.com 622.89 18.69 Tracked 10 Apr 15 (861.40 euro)

Issue:

The offer seems very misleading and there were no further terms and conditions than the above. I was intending to pay the hotel during the stay using a pre-paid card in the hotel's own currency to get the best deal.

I have not only been charged a non-preferential exchange rate, but also been charged a non-sterling transaction fee by my bank. All this was entirely unexpected.

What are the vendors telling you?
Non-refundable booking – payment can be taken at any time by the hotel.

What solution or remedy are you looking for? (Companies may Repair / Refund / Replace)

I would like a full refund, including the bank charge and the opportunity to switch to the pre-paid card for payment / pre-authorisation instead.

Not impressed at all

Booking.com are not responsible for your bank fees. They are fees leveraged by your bank.

You need to check what the site said were the terms of payment. Did the booking.com site tell you it was payment in full? Usually this is very clear. What were the terms of the offer you bought.

And how/why do you think Quidco are at fault here? Specifically the statement that you quote that see terms and conditions.

tms-uk

Hi, I haven't contacted Quidco as I don't think they are at fault.

On the Quidco website, when I selected the "T&Cs" of the "Book now and pay when you stay" offer - all that was stated is:
This offer/voucher code was correct at the time of publishing.
- It is important that you check your order summary before purchasing.
- In the event that the offer/voucher code does not work please refer to our help pages.
- Discount cannot be applied to your order after you have made your purchase.
- The retailer reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.

There was no information that this "pay when you stay" did not apply to "non-refundable" bookings. I know they are not responsible for the bank charge - but I gave my debit card details for pre-authorisation. I was intending to pay when I stayed using a pre-paid card.

I think the offer was very misleading and I would not have been charged the bank fee it truly was "pay when you stay"

tomtontom

Which hotel is it, and what did it state on the booking.com page? That is where you form the contract.

InsideInsurance

tms-uk wrote: »

There was no information that this "pay when you stay" did not apply to "non-refundable" bookings.

I am confused, are you complaining that the hotel has charged you already or that the cashback hasnt tracked?

First off, if the hotel processes a refund - and it is done as a refund not the transfer back of funds as a new transaction - then all bank fees normally are refunded by your bank automatically just as the hotels card fees will also be refunded back to them.

When you click through an offer from Quidco like "amazing sales deals" or "end of line discounts" it doesnt actually in any way filter what you will see on the merchants site so if you wander off the sales pages and look at normal items there is no foul by either merchant nor Quidco.

Looking at book.com's page on Quidco as it is today, and checking with their Live Chat team, there is no difference in the cashback for prepaid or pay on stay for Booking.com

So what this really comes down to is if Booking.com had correctly advertised the hotel/ if the Hotel did what it was supposed to in terms of if the booking was pre-paid or not. As above, which hotel was it so we can see its current offerings.

I assume you have checked with your bank that the amounts have been actually debited and not just pre-authed?

tms-uk

Hi, the cash back has tracked - its the fact that money has been debited prior to the stay that is the issue I have. My belief is that the merchant is at fault for a misleading deal. However, I have not actually checked with the bank to see if the amount has been "pre-authorised" or actually debited. So I will do that next. Thank you

tomtontom

tms-uk wrote: »

Hi, the cash back has tracked - its the fact that money has been debited prior to the stay that is the issue I have. My belief is that the merchant is at fault for a misleading deal. However, I have not actually checked with the bank to see if the amount has been "pre-authorised" or actually debited. So I will do that next. Thank you

So, again, what did it say on the booking page?

hcb42

Raise a customer service complaint with Booking.com

booking.com do not take payment for any hotel, so it sounds like it is the hotel who took the charge incorrectly. Therefore they should refund you plus the bank charges. They are also the ones who agree to booking.com marketing the offer.

The bank have not done anything wrong, so that is just confusing your issue.

You could of course speak to the hotel direct, and get them to refund, most do not bite

visidigi

hcb42 wrote: »

booking.com do not take payment for any hotel, so it sounds like it is the hotel who took the charge incorrectly. Therefore they should refund you plus the bank charges. They are also the ones who agree to booking.com marketing the offer.

Odd.

I'm seeing loads of non refundable rates on booking.com for corfu where payment is taken at anytime after booking.

So I think you're wrong im afraid.

tms-uk

I may indeed be wrong - just the offer is misleading - I think the T&Cs shown on the Quidco offer should have stated does not apply to non-refundable bookings