Expensive Customer Service phone call

Wonka_2

@BASSETT I can't see it's been covered yet but how, and it what context, did they provide the contact details/ask you to contact them ?

Had you registered with the US site rather than the UK site ? Or was it a booking for a US property ?

eskbanker

400ixl said:

As an example, if they gave you a number 01182302315 would you have used it? That's a UK number but a premium rate and would have cost you similar.

Perhaps digressing from OP's point, but why would a geographic (Reading) UK number be a premium rate?  My understanding is that this wouldn't be allowed by Ofcom....

DullGreyGuy

Basset said:

the number that hotels.com provided me was  18002302315 and lasted 28 minutes

That number would have failed, certainly does on my mobile. To make an international call you'd either have needed to put a plus infront of it +18002302315 or put 00 as the code in the UK for an international call. Either of those actions should have pointed out it wasn't a UK number. A US 800 number is the same as our 0800 numbers and so similarly it almost certainly would have had a message saying its toll free only for US callers and international callers will be charged at their network rate. 

Firstly, assuming you are on a contract speak to your network about setting a cap on spending so you cannot run up big bills without knowing. You may want to consider asking them to block international calls (did on Mrs phone as she kept accidentally using her mobile rather than VOIP to call home). You can plead ignorance and see if they'll do anything to help (O2 did cut the price of one the Mrs' long calls back home before putting the block on but was still a big bill)

sheramber

If you booked through the Uk website

Customer support telephone number: 0203 027 6612 (local rate) +44 203 027 6612 (from abroad)

https://uk.hotels.com/lp/b/terms-of-service?pos=HCOM_UK&locale=en_GB&siteid=300000005

eskbanker

Basset said:

I book a hotel in the uk and they do have a uk customer service number, so I don't understand why they gave me a US number. I've attached the email they sent regarding calling the customer service number.

You should redact that embedded image as it contains your email address (and booking reference number)....

Edit: easy to say with hindsight, but if the purpose of the call was to validate new credit card data (presumably you changed cards between booking and refund?) then it would have been better to advise their central back office team to call you (they seem to offer this) or to provide a UK number.  You perhaps didn't recognise it as a US number but, as pointed out above, it's not actually possible to dial that number from the UK without adding two zeroes or a plus sign.

Edit2: if it was a UK hotel booking being refunded, do you know why the amount is a round $120?

Jenni_D

Beat me to it ... it's a Very Bad Idea™️ to post personal details on a public forum; in fact the rules here say to not do it.

born_again

Nice red flag it was not UK given $120 refund.

m-holland

did you initially contact them through an online chat? Im guessing that you were talking to US part of hotels.com and not the UK part

Basset

I book a hotel in the uk and they do have a uk customer service number, so I don't understand why they gave me a US number. I've attached the email they sent regarding calling the customer service number.

Basset

m-holland said:

did you initially contact them through an online chat? Im guessing that you were talking to US part of hotels.com and not the UK part

Yes I first contacted them via an online chat