Hotel holding fee not refunded... AFTER 5 MONTHS

Hi All, hope this is the correct thread to be posting this is.

So last September my wife went for a weekend away in Dublin with a group of her friends, they stayed at the Intercontinental hotel

The hotel then asked to put a holding fee on someones card, but none of them could afford the amount they wanted to charge: £535.35 (or 603.50 euros).
Since my wife happened to have my Halifax mastercard on her at the time she rang me and asked if she could use that. The balance on the card was £650 at the time, with the limit at £1,200. So I said sure, since it was a card I didn't really use.

A month later I happen to be checking my online banking and noticed that the money hadn't been refunded to the card, so I asked my wife to get in contact with the hotel about it.
After a few phone calls we got the excuse of an administrative error -- apparently somebody had forgot to process then payment.
A few weeks later I checked my online banking again and it still hadn't been refunded so my wife again spoke to somebody at the hotel and again she was told that it had now been processed and should be back on the card in 7-10 working days.

Then Christmas came around and I forgot about it for a few weeks. But I checked my statement in January and saw that it had still not gone back on my card! So my wife wrote the hotel a letter. So far we haven't heard anything back from them so I thought I'd post here to see if there is anything else I can do.
I mean the card is only a spare one, kind of "for emergencies". But last week I got a notification that my credit report had changed as a direct result of my % of lending! This is not good since we are looking to move house this year!

Thank you for reading, have a good day!
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Comments

  • Is it an actual debit, or a pending transactions?

    Either way contact your card company and dispute it.]

    I wouldn't worry about the the CRA alerts. A £500 transaction isn't going to swing a decision either way.
  • vlmal
    vlmal Posts: 7 Forumite
    Is it an actual debit, or a pending transactions?

    Either way contact your card company and dispute it.]

    I wouldn't worry about the the CRA alerts. A £500 transaction isn't going to swing a decision either way.

    It was taken from my card on September 23rd 2017 and deducted the money from the card. In the past I would usually get a pending when we check-out. But nothing appeared in the pending tab -- I guess that's what the hotel meant by "somebody had forgot to process it"?
  • Your card company should do a chargeback without too much trouble.
  • chattychappy
    chattychappy Posts: 7,302 Forumite
    edited 25 February 2018 at 4:42PM
    Isn't chargeback limited to 6 months? If so, the OP shouldn't delay...
  • msallen
    msallen Posts: 1,494
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
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    If it was an actual charge as opposed to just a pre-auth then presumably you've either paid it of or you are accumulating interest are you.

    If so then you need to claim this out of pocket expense back from the hotel. If not then it is seemingly just a pre-auth that hasn't dropped off.
  • Biggles
    Biggles Posts: 8,209
    Combo Breaker First Post
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    vlmal wrote: »
    A month later
    I asked my wife to get in contact with the hotel
    After a few phone calls
    A few weeks later
    my wife again spoke to somebody at the hotel
    Then Christmas came around and I forgot about it for a few weeks. But I checked my statement in January
    So my wife wrote the hotel a letter. So far we haven't heard anything
    Good grief, you don't seem to be in much of a hurry, do you? The hotel probably don't think you're too bothered about it, and I'd agree with them. I would have been on to them every week! What's the problem, it's been nearly six months and, as far as I can see, you haven't even rung them once yourself so far?
  • vlmal
    vlmal Posts: 7 Forumite
    I have 4 credit cards and 3 bank accounts, this one was done using a credit which I don't use (I only keep it for emergencies), so it was never at the front of my mind.
    If it was my only card then I would have been more proactive in getting the money back, but since it is not really that urgent I haven't been too concerned.
    Plus my wife is the person who was there and dealt with it, knows all the info etc, so it made more sense for her to pursue it.
  • StokieBecks
    StokieBecks Posts: 4,997
    First Anniversary Photogenic First Post Xmas Saver!
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    Did you wife and friends actually pay when departing? Have they got receipts ? Sounds to me Iike it was all paid on the credit card and not just used as a holding charge
    £2 Savers Club for 2022 #12
  • vlmal
    vlmal Posts: 7 Forumite
    edited 17 March 2018 at 7:53PM
    Did you wife and friends actually pay when departing? Have they got receipts ? Sounds to me Iike it was all paid on the credit card and not just used as a holding charge

    The cost of the hotel was free as my wife used accumulated points from numerous hotel visits (she travels a lot for work), and it was booked via the IHG app for the hotel. Therefore, the only charge should have been the holding fee - which should have been refunded on departure.

    I contacted the hotel last week again and have still not received a response from them. Does anybody know what I can do from a legal perspective, should they not refund me?
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
    Does anybody know what I can do from a legal perspective, should they not refund me?
    Send them a letter before action.

    If they miss a reasonable deadline, Money Claim Online.
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