Bank chargeback help

soolin

This is a Covid 19 issue but it is more about bank procedure than about the virus and I thought it best to post here. It's very long but I'll try and keep it as brief as I can.
I raised a formal chargeback with Metro bank in May relating to a hotel that was in lockdown in Spain and could not supply my holiday that had been due in April. After a couple of requests for further information Metro acknowledged my paperwork on 1st June. Since then it has been a catalogue of disasters and each time I call I get a different person who tells me entirely different and conflicting information.

I was firstly told the paperwork had been wrongly assigned to a different account and then abandoned , I was then assured my paperwork was added to my account and would be dealt with. Then later told again it was lost but then they agreed they did have it and were working on it. Then it was mysteriously pushing the time limit as I hadn't made a complaint until July for an April booking, but they then agreed that claim was started in May.

Last week I was told that as hotel will not respond to them they could do nothing but wait until they did. Today I was told that I needed to confirm  "as to whether my booking was cancellation insured (?) and refundable" - even the CS rep didn't know what that meant. She went and asked and was told I could not chargeback if I had cancelled so my claim would be stopped, but finally agreed that I didn't cancel - the hotel were unable to fulfil my booking and issued a short voucher instead - which I refused. I was told if I confirmed in writing that my booking was non cancellation insured (?) (Those exact words) they would add it to the paperwork. I have written to the email she gave me confirming that a) my booking was not a refundable booking but also that b) the hotel was closed and in fact is still closed and C) the hotel doesn't actually have any rooms that can be cancelled within 4 weeks of arrival anyway. 

My insurance won't deal with this until the bank confirm that they won't chargeback , but the bank won't actually confirm that.

I'm going round and round in circles and don't know what to do now/

jonesMUFCforever

It does not matter if the hotel will not respond. A chargeback gives them (I think) 45 days to respond or you get to keep the funds. 
I think you have waited long enough so I would raise  a formal complaint. I assume the Metro website will tell you how to do this.

soolin

jonesMUFCforever said:

It does not matter if the hotel will not respond. A chargeback gives them (I think) 45 days to respond or you get to keep the funds. 
I think you have waited long enough so I would raise  a formal complaint. I assume the Metro website will tell you how to do this.

Previously to this I would have sung the praises of Metro- now I might rethink about offering a positive review. According to the Metro bank website,  to complain I can either phone the same department that I have just spoken to - but since I had already made a complaint which they said they would place on my file in Mid July and which was not there today- I suspect that doesn't work or I can send them a letter snail mail- and I will do that.  I tried emailing a complaint via secure messages and was told to contact CS, so I have now gone to Resolver as well.

My OP was the very short condensed version, in reality I have spent many hours on the phone and usually by remaining ultra polite and calm you can usually persuade CS to put you through to someone senior- but when I tried this I have been told in no uncertain terms that it is not possible. The fraud and card dispute team don't appear to actually know what a chargeback is, which I find quite a worry.

I cannot even get a firm reply as to whether or not the bank have actually even contacted the hotel yet, I was assured in June and mid July that they had tried without a response but today the indication was that the hotel has not been contacted as I haven't responded to the letters - of which they were unable to give me any dates and which I have not received. 

jonesMUFCforever

In that case write a snail mail letter of formal complaint to Metro to the address on their website. Don't try to continue what you have started - its not worth the stress.
They will have 8 weeks to respond then you can go to the Ombudsman.

Shakin_Steve

Make sure the letter is 'signed for' and check royal mails website and take a screenshot of the signature.

soolin

Thank you for your suggestions , I think I was getting overly frustrated by the fact that the CS rep disappeared every few minutes to check something in her ‘script’ with her line manager as she didn’t understand what she was asking me to do. It was like talking to a brick wall, and a brick wall who really didn’t understand what a bank was and frankly didn’t care. 

I will send a snail mail letter to the address on their website. 

Thank you 

born_again

soolin said:

I cannot even get a firm reply as to whether or not the bank have actually even contacted the hotel yet, I was assured in June and mid July that they had tried without a response but today the indication was that the hotel has not been contacted as I haven't responded to the letters - of which they were unable to give me any dates and which I have not received. 

Just to give you a bit on insight into a chargeback.
This should be a straight forward non receipt (subject to certain conditions, see questions at bottom)
Metro do not contact the Hotel.
What happens is Metro start the process via Visa system (take it this is a Visa card) This is then passed to Hotels merchant bank, who pass it on to Hotel. Hotel then have chance to contest (reverse of above) They have 45 days from when the chargeback is started to do that. 

Was the hotel still open and taking customers when you were due to go? 
Did you cancel the booking due to not being able to travel to Spain?

soolin

born_again said:

soolin said:

I cannot even get a firm reply as to whether or not the bank have actually even contacted the hotel yet, I was assured in June and mid July that they had tried without a response but today the indication was that the hotel has not been contacted as I haven't responded to the letters - of which they were unable to give me any dates and which I have not received. 

Just to give you a bit on insight into a chargeback.
This should be a straight forward non receipt (subject to certain conditions, see questions at bottom)
Metro do not contact the Hotel.
What happens is Metro start the process via Visa system (take it this is a Visa card) This is then passed to Hotels merchant bank, who pass it on to Hotel. Hotel then have chance to contest (reverse of above) They have 45 days from when the chargeback is started to do that. 

Was the hotel still open and taking customers when you were due to go? 
Did you cancel the booking due to not being able to travel to Spain?

The hotel had closed due to Covid and in fact are still closed. I asked them several times what was happening to my booking and Several times they responded saying hard luck I had a non refundable booking , however they eventually came back and said that due to Spanish Government rules they could not open and would send me a time limited voucher, I asked for a refund instead of the voucher. Since then I received a voucher and then they stopped responding at all. 

The hotel are still closed , they are tiny, 12 rooms I think and the website shows they are hoping to open on August 28. 

This is a chargeback not a section 75 ,perhaps that is what the muddle is

born_again

soolin said:

 they eventually came back and said that due to Spanish Government rules they could not open and would send me a time limited voucher, I asked for a refund instead of the voucher. Since then I received a voucher and then they stopped responding at all. 

The hotel are still closed , they are tiny, 12 rooms I think and the website shows they are hoping to open on August 28. 

Thanks for the reply.

The fact they have sent a voucher could complicate the matter as it gives them a out on a chargeback. Saying they have refunded.

Are Metro aware of this? If they are it could stop them actually working it as they will not start a chargeback knowing it has already been resolved in a fashion.
Perhaps if they are not, if they do not ask the question, then do not provide the fact.

soolin

born_again said:

soolin said:

 they eventually came back and said that due to Spanish Government rules they could not open and would send me a time limited voucher, I asked for a refund instead of the voucher. Since then I received a voucher and then they stopped responding at all. 

The hotel are still closed , they are tiny, 12 rooms I think and the website shows they are hoping to open on August 28. 

Thanks for the reply.

The fact they have sent a voucher could complicate the matter as it gives them a out on a chargeback. Saying they have refunded.

Are Metro aware of this? If they are it could stop them actually working it as they will not start a chargeback knowing it has already been resolved in a fashion.
Perhaps if they are not, if they do not ask the question, then do not provide the fact.

If they have read the paperwork then they will be aware of the voucher as that was the only response I got from the hotel so I had to supply it. I have travel insurance but they won’t take over this until I have exhausted the bank process and have a deadlock letter. The voucher expires in April or May 2021 (I can check) but the voucher is odd at it doesn’t show a value and doesn’t confirm what has been refunded as I paid in one go for the upgraded room, breakfast and private transfers to and from the hotel and the voucher just says ‘use this code against a future booking’. 

soolin

Just a further update (more of a rant really) one of the supposedly missing letters arrived yesterday and is asking again whether I had a cancellable  insured room with the hotel. I phoned them and once again explained that there was no such option with hotel and that hotel cancelled me. The  CS rep couldn’t understand and just kept repeating the line So I  was put through to a supervisor. 

She told me categorically that Metro would be refusing to do a chargeback as my hotel room was not cancellable. I was getting irritated by this time , although I always stay polite, and tried to explain that the hotel was closed , I did not cancel, but she said it didn’t matter. I asked for a deadlock letter but she didn’t know what one was,  I suggested she either asked a real bank or googled it. She promised me they would find out what they needed in a deadlock letter and send me one.

i have now made a formal complaint to their CEO (letter posted Friday) a complaint to the FOS using their online form, and have started an insurance claim. I am concerned though with the insurance claim though as it’s now been nearly 4 months since my lost holiday and their T and Cs could be read as saying a chargeback must have been attempted, and I wonder if asking the bank to undertake one without success will count.

The Hotel is still closed as it has been since before my holiday was due.