Taking money for missed appointment without my permission??

irish_eyes_3

Help!

I just checked my credit card statement and I found out that £190 has been taken off my credit card for a missed appointment I had on Saturday last.

Is that allowed????

Here is the background...

I had an appointment in this place back in January and rebooked another one for last Saturday a few weeks ago via email.
I asked in the email their cancellation policy and also did they also need my credit card details again to secure the booking (as they did the first time to secure the first appointment)

They ignored the credit card details question and told me their cancellation policy was 24 hours or the full amount.

As it turned out I was unbelievably sick on Friday night so I cancelled as soon as I could on Saturday morning saying there was no way I could make it due to being sick- she said no problem and didn't mention anything about being charged still.

Now I find they have taken the money even though I didn't secure the booking with a credit card THIS time- and also-are they allowed to keep my credit card details in their system all this time?

PLEASE HELP as I can't afford to pay this!!

What are my rights and what do I do???:mad:

PS Not sure which forum I should put this in

johnmoney05

As you said, their cancellation policy was 24 hours or the full amount. Not sure what you can argue about? Sorry. Maybe try to call them and explain nicely to see if they can refund you. But I doubt that they will, as you did waste their booking. Although I don't know what the booking is about.

By the way, when you made the phone call to cancel, did you clarify the charge with them?

irish_eyes_3

Fair enough I know that is their policy- I just wasn't expecting them to take payment off my card without actually telling me!

No they didn't say a word about taking the payment regardless of the cancellation when I rang on Saturday.

I was too ill to discuss it on Saturday with them but I was going to offer to cover their expenses for the booking instead of paying the full amount as they were put out.

I've since rung the Information Commissioner and they said that it isn't legal what they have done and is actually fraudulent.
They shouldn't have retained my credit card details after the transation was complete back in January.


I just wanted to know if what they did was right or not- it appears not...

robnye

have you tried contactin your credit card company, refuting the payment....

Smi1er

Yes you would have to pay a missed appointed charge as you didn't give 24 hours notice.

However is £190 a reasonable charge? I don't know as you have said what the appointment was for

sarahlouise210

do you mean you cant afford the £190 or you cant afford the £190 seeing as you did not go ??? If you had not been sick on Saturday and had kept the appointment you would still have had to pay the £190 ???

tinkerbell84

It's not illegal to keep someone's credit card details at all. There are strict rules on how they are allowed to keep them - a post it note on a PC is not allowed, but a secure database is.

I can't see that you have anything to complain about. You knew the policy the first time - what made you think it would change when you moved the appointment?

lisyloo

I sympathise with the OP.
I suffer sometimes with migraines and until you've had one it's difficult to appreciate quite how debilitating it can be.
Sometimes I cannot get to the phone without vomitting which makes it difficult to phone in to work.
Obviously it's impossible to travel by any means if you are going to be vommitting and a lot of the time it can be damn near impossible to get the energy to get dressed or get a drink of water.

My belief is that these charges are intended to stop people being casual about cancellation and the OP was not being casual in any way.

What has happened may be legal but it's not very good in my view.
In my view they should be sympathetic to people who have genuine reasons, like death or sudden sickness or being run over by a bus.
If they feel they cannot carry the costs then they should pass on costs only but not make punitive charges as they do for time wasters.

If you can get to the location easily then I would arrange a face-to-face meeting with the manager.
Say that you understand their terms and conditions but it was an unavoidable situation and request they they don't charge you the full fee under the circumstances.
Perhaps they can let you have a second appointment at a cheaper price as it's now extra business.
Make a few suggestions rather than just giving them a problem.
Most businesses are not totally heartless and unsympathetic.

However if they are then I don't think there is much you can do.
Occassionally we have to take risks in life and there isn't always someone else to blame or to pay, so sometimes you have to take it on the chin.
If you weren't happy with their terms then perhaps you should have chosen somewhere else.
I'm not saying it's isn't harsh, but why should the business suffer because of your illness?
I know it's unavoidable and being a sufferer of a totally debilitating condition I understand, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to suffer or lose buiness or money because of my condition. It's my responsibility and my risk, not anyone else's even though it isn't my fault.