Booking.com charged for hotel despite being told to pay on arrival

woolf

Hi,

Recently, 2 friends and myself booked a hotel for our trip to Iceland in September/October through Booking.com. We saw it was a great deal and my friend knew someone who had stayed there before so we went ahead and made the reservation.

Booking.com required card information as confirmation and in case of no-show etc, fine, I put in mine. This was okay as it was also stated that we would pay at the hotel on arrival so we knew we would have time to save up more money. However, a few days later it appeared on my bank account that the full sum of the cost of the hotel and charges had been taken from my account, over £800, I was shocked and panicked as to why such a huge amount was missing from my account and don't understand why I have been charged for this.

The confirmation email states that the hotel reserves the right to hold an amount prior to arrival - but surely not the complete cost of the stay? I am very worried and cannot seem to contact Booking.com so I will try and contact the hotel directly via the phone as they do not appear to have an email, also worrying, and expensive.

Has anyone else had issues like this with Booking.com and why is it so misleading?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

tomtontom

The website states:

Will the hold always equal the exact amount of my reservation?
In most cases, the hotel will pre-authorise your card for the full amount of your reservation. On occasion, you may see an amount slightly higher than the rate shown on Booking.com. If this does happen, the hotel can explain why this has occurred.

Their phone number is 020 35646725 - not sure why you can't contact them?

leylandsunaddict

Booking.com haven't charged you. They're only an advertising site, and they don't take any payments. They just pass on your details to the hotel. It's the hotel that have put the hold on your card. It's them you need to contact about it.

eDicky

The hotel has pre-authorised the amount on your card, not actually taken it. It should remain as pending, then be taken off if you settle the bill by another means, or cancel (minus any charge), or go through if you use the card to pay.

woolf

Thanks for the help. The full amount has actually been debited from my account, the funds are gone not simply pending though. Looks like I need to be more careful reading t&c's as it states the hotel reserves the right to take the full amount as a prepayment upon booking.

PompeyPete

T&Cs vary wildly on Booking.com, so you really do need to read them closely before pressing the 'Book' button.