Hilton partial refund "only in a USD cheque"

tightauldgit

Okell said:

FlitwickBeds said:

I'd say it's 50/50. No legal basis for the refund in that the hotel existed, was open, gave us the room we'd paid for, etc. 

However the pool was unavailable for the duration of the stay which was one of the reasons we chose that hotel and paid more for it over a Premier Inn etc which actually would have been a much more convenient location. The cot bed we'd booked and paid for which we were told in advance would come with sheets, was just wooden slats inside a thin leather sleeve, no mattress at all, meaning we couldn't use it for the baby to sleep in.

You could argue that we didn't receive goods as advertised (and which we chose to pay extra for) which could be a legal reason for a refund? 

I'd suggest that you didn't receive the services that you'd booked and paid for, that Hilton have recognised this and that they have agreed that you should pay a reduced price to reflect what you didn't get.  s56(4) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) says any price reduction should be made using the same method of payment as you paid with.  (And I'd argue that this should include the same currency)

You could try a chargeback with Nationwide.  Have you got evidence in writing that Hilton have agreed to pay you a partial refund?  Point out to Nationwide that Hilton are refusing to refund you in the same currency and method you used to pay originally and that this is denying you your statutory right to a price reduction under s56(4).  (Might not work but I'm not sure what else you can do if Hilton won't cough up in sterling)

Might work, but 99/100 whenever a CS person issues a payment they say its a gesture of goodwill rather than admitting any statutory liability. 

Okell

Yeah, but if Hilton simply refuse to cought up in sterling I don't see the OP has any choice but to try a chargeback on the basis I stated.  As I said, the bank might accept it or they might not.  I don't think chargeback is necessarily a solution to everything (or indeed anything!  ) but sometimes it's all a consumer can resort to.

Doubletree's site says UK bookings must be paid for in the "British Pound", so if the OP has written evidence that he and Hilton have agreed "...  that a 50% refund would be issued, so about £100... " then the OP needs to present that to their bank and argue that Hilton are reneging on that agreement by saying they'll only pay in US$.  Sometimes you just have to make the best of a weak and imperfect argument if that's all you've got.  I don't see he has anything to lose by doing so.


(Personally I'd be very reluctant to contract with a company that has  a "Site usage agreement" rather than "Terms and Conditions" and which says:

"XV. GENERAL PROVISIONS

... This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to the terms of this Agreement shall be filed only in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or, if there is no federal jurisdiction over the action, in the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia located in Fairfax County, Virginia. You hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action..."

Hilton Site Usage Agreement

I know it goes on to say that that provision might not override local laws, but I think it's a red light that if anything does wrong, a consumer would be likely to have an uphill struggle with their customer services in the US... )

RefluentBeans

Okell said:

Yeah, but if Hilton simply refuse to cought up in sterling I don't see the OP has any choice but to try a chargeback on the basis I stated.  As I said, the bank might accept it or they might not.  I don't think chargeback is necessarily a solution to everything (or indeed anything!  ) but sometimes it's all a consumer can resort to.

Doubletree's site says UK bookings must be paid for in the "British Pound", so if the OP has written evidence that he and Hilton have agreed "...  that a 50% refund would be issued, so about £100... " then the OP needs to present that to their bank and argue that Hilton are reneging on that agreement by saying they'll only pay in US$.  Sometimes you just have to make the best of a weak and imperfect argument if that's all you've got.  I don't see he has anything to lose by doing so.


(Personally I'd be very reluctant to contract with a company that has  a "Site usage agreement" rather than "Terms and Conditions" and which says:

"XV. GENERAL PROVISIONS

... This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to the terms of this Agreement shall be filed only in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or, if there is no federal jurisdiction over the action, in the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia located in Fairfax County, Virginia. You hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action..."

Hilton Site Usage Agreement

I know it goes on to say that that provision might not override local laws, but I think it's a red light that if anything does wrong, a consumer would be likely to have an uphill struggle with their customer services in the US... )

Good spot - I mean they must deal with sterling at some point in their business. Like I can’t imagine they pay their employees from their American accounts - so there must be a UK account that is capable of paying out (if they wish to issue a payment rather than a refund to a card, like most companies do). I’d have thought it would be cheaper to do a card refund (using the same payment the OP paid with) than initialising a new payment, but that may just be me not understanding the system. 

km1500

I don't understand this. The OP paid by card (visa, mcard, amex?) and Hilton, like any company in the world who uses these payment systems, have a 'refund to payment card' option.

eskbanker

km1500 said:

I don't understand this. The OP paid by card (visa, mcard, amex?) and Hilton, like any company in the world who uses these payment systems, have a 'refund to payment card' option.

The issue isn't that they can't, it's that they won't....

Okell

km1500 said:

I don't understand this. The OP paid by card (visa, mcard, amex?) and Hilton, like any company in the world who uses these payment systems, have a 'refund to payment card' option.

eskbanker said:

km1500 said:

I don't understand this. The OP paid by card (visa, mcard, amex?) and Hilton, like any company in the world who uses these payment systems, have a 'refund to payment card' option.

The issue isn't that they can't, it's that they won't....

This is exactly why I think the OP should be approaching Nationwide for a chargeback.  Assuming the OP has evidence that Hilton have agreed to pay a refund then he should tell Nationwide that Hilton should be refunding by the same method and in the same currency as he originally paid them, and that they are simply reneging on their agreement to refund.

Either Hilton are deliberately acting in bad faith or the customer service staff in the US are too thick* to understand what the OP is asking for.  If it really is Hilton's policy only to refund in US$ rather than the currency used to pay for the original booking, I can't believe this is the first time that this issue has been raised and that nobody has ever heard of it before.

*I'd also be willing to believe that staff in the US simply don't know that there is any other currency than the mighty US$...

FlitwickBeds

Thanks all. 

I will speak to Nationwide tomorrow about a chargeback or any other advice they have.

FlitwickBeds

Looking back on the email thread, they consistently use the words "partial refund" rather than "gesture of goodwill" or similar, guess that goes in my favour! 

I could find another case of this from 2020 due to Covid closures - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/help-ive-been-offered-a-refund-for-a-london-hotel-in-dollars-qgf5mxt8q

[Deleted User]

Regardless of what they've said - you've muddied the waters by effectively accepting the reduced service provision by staying at the hotel.

You can attempt chargeback but as you actually used the service it might successfully challenged by the hotel. 

As for UK consumer legislation, unless you're planning to send the gunboats across you'll not get very far.

I would take the free points offer and next time, if there is an issue, checkout and get them to cancel the reservation or make an arrangement directly in person. 

Wonka_2

I've been caught in a similar situation with Hilton before - they do (or at least did) have a UK Customer Service team but it wasn't the easiest to access (IIRC main website automatically defaults to international customer service).

Do you have an HHonors membership/status or was it a one off stay ? (membership/status often gives access to a more 'personalised' customer service team.

Looking back through emails (pre my HHonors status) I've been suggested the UK phone number of 0207 856 8000 but they've also been responsive on Twitter.

For alternative options there's an active Hilton forum on www.flyertalk.com (but you need to wade through all the American stuff)