£4000 taken from credit card for damages to holiday apartment

eco_warrior

PamelaNapier wrote: »

I am looking for advice. Last week my 2 sisters and I (all of mature age) stayed in an apartment in Leeds. We found this apartment on booking.com. The stay went without problem there was just one detail we felt required addressing regarding the patio doors so I emailed them and thanked them for a lovely stay just before we left. We were not the first to pick up on this problem as noted in another review. When my sister who booked the apartment looked at her email on Monday morning. The company owners of the apartment had emailed to say we had left either accidental or malicious damage to the property. It was not concerning the patio doors but they sent photographs of a shower head detached from the hose part lying in the bath. The hose lodged underneath the shower panel. It was flooding the floor. They claim the flood was reported by downstairs flat 2 stories down 50 minutes after we left. They also claim that the door was unlocked and the neighbour had been able to gain access to situation. This person went on to take photos and videos which have been sent to my sister. We are very obsessive when leaving an apartment and ensured the apartment was not left like this and the door was definitely locked. Witnessed by all 3 of us. They have taken £4000 from my sisters credit card. They claim we have damaged to 3 apartments. When booking this apartment my sister signed a contract online which talked about taking £250 if any sign of smoking in bold letters and further down states any damages will be debited from bookers card. We have asked the credit card company to dispute this and are about to complete a form. We have reported the matter to the police but they think it may be a civil court matter. Booking.com can not help. We are devastated as we know the flat was left the way we found it and have been wrongly accused. Any advice?

You sister has a valid dispute with her card provider. The online contract you mention isn't sufficient to give the hotel authority to bill your sisters credit card without her agreeing to it at the time, not when it comes to a chargeback.

zagfles

cooltt wrote: »

Please stop talking total rubbish, you could say the exact same thing about moving out of rented accommodation but guess what, renters do take pictures on move out and lots of them so they don't get stiffed by the landlord.

If you want to take pictures of every inch of every hotel room after staying a night or 2, go for it. I won't.

ah23

jonnygee2 wrote: »

The credit card company dispute system is the way to go. Hopefully it will be successful.

Sounds extreme, but I always have a spare credit card I use for deposits and nothing else. When I leave a flat or car rental, I cancel the card and order a new one. This kind of thing is quite common and once someone has your active card details, there's very little you can do to stop them from using them. I've seen car companies issue presentments for damages months after a car has been returned.

So you cancel the credit card and order a new one as if it was lost/stolen?

redpete

ah23 wrote: »

So you cancel the credit card and order a new one as if it was lost/stolen?

As someone has pointed out above this is unlikely to prevent debit of a pre-authorised transaction.

chattychappy

ah23 wrote: »

So you cancel the credit card and order a new one as if it was lost/stolen?

Oh yeah, great idea fibbing like that. Not only might the transaction go through anyway, but if it does and you dispute it, you will look rather dishonest.

cooltt

zagfles wrote: »

If you want to take pictures of every inch of every hotel room after staying a night or 2, go for it. I won't.

Lets stick to the facts shall we, it's an apartment not a hotel room.

zagfles

cooltt wrote: »

Lets stick to the facts shall we, it's an apartment not a hotel room.

Yeah. Like, it's a holiday apartment, not a rented home