Booking.com refusing refund

janet_oggy

On 15th January 2020 I made a reservation through Booking.com for 9 nights accommodation in an apartment in Toronto, Canada, from 1st September 2020 to 10th September 2020. This was booked on my credit card.

I opted for the non-refundable booking as it was the cheapest option. 

The main reason for our trip was to attend a rugby match but obviously the pandemic hit, the match was cancelled and we were unable to travel.

I contacted the landlord of the property direct and he has offered us a credit voucher for future use but would not give us a refund.

I have been in touch with Booking.com and have copied their "covid refund policy" below which clearly states that we are entitled to a refund ....

For bookings made before 6 April: You may be able to change or cancel your (non refundable) booking for free if you cannot travel to or stay at the property as a result of implications of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, such as government travel restrictions (e.g. closed borders). This depends on several factors, including your country of origin, your destination, the date on which you made your booking, your departure date, your arrival date and your reason for travelling. If your booking falls within the above category, the property should allow your date change request or cancellation. If you wish to cancel your booking and have already made a prepayment, the property should offer you credit or a voucher for a future stay. If you prefer to receive a refund, you are entitled to that.

(Link here if anyone else needs it)...

https://secure.booking.com/help.en-gb.html?aid=304142&label=gen173bo-1DCAsoJ0IOaWNlLWNvbmRvLTU2dGhICVgDaFCIAQGYAQm4ARfIARTYAQPoAQH4AQOIAgGYAgKoAgO4Asfn-PAFwAIB&sid=4949d3dc26043a8d30a42d0996b2164d#/faq/TE-Internal-coronavirus-logged-in/31/aGNfY29yb25hdmlydXNfbG9nZ2VkaW5fZmFxXzM

However, I have just asked them for a refund and this was their reply..

"We are very sorry for the whole situation. Rest assured we tired our best to convince the property to issue a refund but unfortunately, they disagree.

Please note that the quoted FAQ clearly state that you MAY be able to cancel for free. It appears that you have messaged us far later than your check-in date meaning that your reservation was marked as a no show. In this case, the forced circumstance procedures do not apply."

This clearly states that we are entitled to a refund, so how can they refuse ?? and because I liaised with the landlord direct and didn't cancel through them before we were due to travel they are now claiming this "NO SHOW" ...what does that mean and what difference does it make ????

[Deleted User]

NO SHOW means you didn't turn up at the property, without having previously cancelled it.  You wouldn't expect a refund under those circumstances.

janet_oggy

Thanks zx81.....our initial intention was to accept the credit voucher from the landlord so liaised with him direct rather than through Booking.com and he advised us not to cancel the booking through Booking.com as we were intending to travel next year for the corresponding rugby match, however 3 weeks ago, the Toronto team were expelled from the league, so this will now not be happening and also Air Transat have now offered us a full refund on the flights as well, so we now want to cancel and obtain a refund. 
Are we likely to get anywhere with this or would I be better claiming from our travel insurance policy or credit card company ??

mattyprice4004

It's pretty clear - it does say 'You may be able to change or cancel your (non refundable) booking for free' before it mentions the refund - this means that if you satisfy the conditions, you can request a refund. It doesn't mean you're entitled to one regardless.

You'll need to claim this from your insurance company, your credit card won't be interested in refunding for a no-show as the accomodation have done nothing wrong - so it's not fair to claw back payment from them.

janet_oggy

Cheers matty....given the above circumstances, what have we not done to satisfy the conditions ???

mattyprice4004

janet_oggy said:

Cheers matty....given the above circumstances, what have we not done to satisfy the conditions ???

It's quite hard to say, but given how 'wooly' they are I'd expect they'll hide behind this. I don't think I've ever seen a refund / cancellation policy as vague and as non-committal as the bit you have quoted from them, presumably so they can escape any claims where the accomodation provider doesn't want to refund.

Personally, I'd be going down the refund route as that'll likely give you much better results.

janet_oggy

Not sure what you mean by "the refund route" as that's what I am trying to get ??
Also, I have just received an email back from the travel insurance company stating the folllowing :

"May we kindly refer you to Section 17 – Travel Disruption Extension which states you are not covered for the following:

'5. Any costs incurred by you which are recoverable from the providers of the accommodation (or their administrators) or for which you receive or are expected to receive compensation or reimbursement.'

 As the costs are recoverable through the accommodation provider in the form of credit vouchers, your claim would not be considered on this occasion."

So they will not refund us either 

nilanteh

janet_oggy said:

This clearly states that we are entitled to a refund, so how can they refuse ?? and because I liaised with the landlord direct and didn't cancel through them before we were due to travel they are now claiming this "NO SHOW" ...what does that mean and what difference does it make ????

I think the problem is that as far as they are concerned you didn’t cancel. You say you dealt directly with the landlord but they may never have told them that you cancelled. Therefore they have it down as you not showing up for your booking. They do also state that you MAY be entitled to a refund. It doesn’t actually promise it. Unfortunately the lesson here is paying more for the refundable rate might be worth it in future. Sorry it’s not better news

janet_oggy

Yeah I'm guessing he didn't inform them to ensure that he got paid, so everyone else is a winner with our money !!
Obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing and no-one could have predicted the pandemic, so yes, I should have booked the refundable option but I am most disgusted with Booking.com as I believe I did comply with all of their conditions and feel that they should re-imburse us, as per their policy quoted above.

Thrugelmir

janet_oggy said:

Obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing and no-one could have predicted the pandemic, so yes, I should have booked the refundable option but I am most disgusted with Booking.com as I believe I did comply with all of their conditions and feel that they should re-imburse us, as per their policy quoted above.

A business cannot refund refund money it has never had.  

janet_oggy

They did have our money....the landlord stated that he only gets paid after the scheduled stay, so they had our money from 15th January until 10th September !!