Double transaction (Bowling) and no refund as policy - any hope for me?

NT2019

I booked some bowling tickets online and the website was up and down so this took quite a while! After putting in my payment details the site hung and an Oops! message appeared. I checked in my email in tray and pressed F5 a few times - no confirmation so I presumed I'd have to try again.

A few minutes later I got to the payment screen again and it went through, but when I went to check there were two confirmations - the earlier one obviously arrived in the meantime. They were for the exact same time on the exact same day, so clearly a duplicate.

I phoned Hollywood Bowl and they said the Ooops message had a phone number and had I phoned it to check the transaction status? I hadn't as I hadn't noticed it and presumed the lack of email confirmation was sufficient. I can't recreate the message now to check. Bottom line no refund although they said they could put it in a buffer for a future visit.

Now I'm fully aware that the terms and conditions may mean I'm stuck with this, but it turned a 45 quid trip on a rainy Saturday into a 90 quid outlay just like that with zero chance of a refund. It's money I just don't have and I'm really depressed at the fact that despite asking to speak to a manager they were absolutely intractable. Full marks to the staff for adhering to the T&C but honestly, another 45 quid.... ouch.

Anyway, I'm prepared to suck it up and never use them again, can't even bring myself to use the "buffer" .

Is there any chance of getting a refund if I pursue this? Its honestly made me feel sick to have been caught out like this so I'm not looking to create any more aggro for myself.

Any thoughts or tips welcome - thanks!

Aylesbury_Duck

I wouldn't cut your nose off to spite your face - you may as well use the credit now you've paid for it.

Perhaps a (polite and constructive) fuss on their social media channel might elicit some goodwill?

Alter_ego

Letter of complaint?

spadoosh

Contact your card provider. They should be able to recover it, they should instantly accept it as a double transaction.

Then email the bowling company after youve got your refund to tell them theyre customer service is shocking and its just cost them your future custom.

BoGoF

Yep, chargeback is the way to go via your card provider.

robatwork

Pretty poor of the bowling alley to not accept this is an honest mistake (at worst) or a fault on their website, as there's no good reason for you to book twice at the same time.

Certainly:
Never go there again
Review them on FB / Insta / Trustpilot etc
Contact them on Twitter
On the day, see if you can sell your unused lanes to people in the queue (or friends)

agrinnall

I think you'll get your money back, and the bowling alley's response hasn't been great, but really you should always check when it's unclear whether a transaction has been successful or not.