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Provided what you specify to the card provider is the truth, there is no fraud. If you falsely represented the facts with the intent of recovering the money, then it could be seen as fraud. The hotel could decide to pursue a small claims proceeding against you to recover the money again, however it is unlikely to succeed on the basis of the information you provided, and I suspect it is highly unlikely they would even try.
Hi, I work in the disputes department with credit cards. If you have not occupied the hotel due to the conditions you will have charge back rights if you have used a Visa Card. If you have used the services the most you can hope for is goodwill from the card provider which we do give for cases of lower threshold such as £100.
Also to add, losing a charge back has no effect on your credit. It will have no negative impact on you personally as your chargeback will be filed through your company and they are the ones who are responsible for having all the evidence and building a strong case for you before submitting it. (That's why we ask for so much evidence lol)
However if you do frequent chargeback cases the card issuer will become more stringent. Also the merchant has every right to contest your claim once a chargeback is raised, and that is why we take so much evidence from you, any of their claims can be contested based on evidence provided.
You're going to be fine.
If they contact you again about taking this to court or reporting it as fraud, remind them that you have photos of the room that show it was flooded and that you'll be happy to see them in court.
No, booking.com is not a search engine, you paid them, your contract is with them. I've never contacted any hotel directly to resolve issues whenever I've used them.
They're definitely more likely to resolve the issue than the hotel.
They can refer you to the hotel all they want, but that's just because they are being cheap and don't want to pay for customer support. It's still on them to refund you.
It isn't. Amazing how confidently incorrect everyone on this thread is.
When you book on Booking.com you are booking directly with the hotel and if you pre-pay you are paying the hotel directly.
To answer your questions:
- It will be up to your bank to decide but there’s a reasonable chance they uphold your chargeback request if you provide the photos you have of the flooded room.
- As long as you are acting in good faith it’s not fraudulent to make a chargeback. Some people like to throw around the term fraud when they don’t actually understand what it means. A fraudulent chargeback would be when you know there is no basis for making it (e.g. receiving an item but claiming it never arrived).
- Unless you have a pattern of regularly making and loosing chargebacks, I don’t think your bank will care. The hotel could take you to court but it’s unlikely they will, as it would be more expensive for them than anything they stand to recover (since legal costs are ordinarily not recoverable in small claims cases).
There is a lot of good advice here, but I'll jump in with an opinion as I work for a travel company...on chargebacks 🙂
The fraud comment is nonsense designed to scare you. Someone commented earlier that a fraud charge back is a different thing, and it is. What the hotel is saying is that you are fraudulently raising a charge back for services not as described or defective (wording varies between visa/mastercard/amex/etc). From what you have said, and assuming you have the photos, your claim will almost certainly win.
Interestingly, it is not up to the hotel, it is up to the chargeback rules who wins and loses. Let's assume you win, and this pisses the hotel off and they want to pursue (which they won't). It becomes a small claims court issue, which will take time and money, and you will again almost certainly win as you have a valid reason to not stay in the room.
None of this affects your credit rating, nor will it land you a criminal record, and your bank won't care either. It will be processing 10's of thousands of chargebacks probably every month, yours isn't that special (and I mean that in a nice way).
Depending on how you booked, it is probably booking.com you will be claiming money back from, and they will take the money back from the hotel. The hotel will need to go after booking.com in that event, not you!
I'd contact booking first and send them everything include your happy to charge abck if no response within x days.
It's up to them to sort stuff out because you booked with them not the hotel.
They will try to drag thier heels and hope you get bored (why yes, they tried it with me!)
An email of I will be going to card company in two days usually as a reminder helps.
Good luck
Personally I'd give [booking.com](http://booking.com) one chance to confirm a refund before contacting card issuer, but it sounds like you've already done that.
Was it over £100 and paid on a credit card? If so I'd look to make a claim under s75 of the CCA against the credit card provider rather than a chargeback.
Be truthful in your report and there cannot be any fraud. File the claim, it takes minutes. You’ll get your money back. Perks of paying on the credit card
NAL I have worked in hotels for years all over the UK and Canada. No Nobhead manager is SoL on a charge back, and it's the only way you will see your money back.
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--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Provided what you specify to the card provider is the truth, there is no fraud. If you falsely represented the facts with the intent of recovering the money, then it could be seen as fraud. The hotel could decide to pursue a small claims proceeding against you to recover the money again, however it is unlikely to succeed on the basis of the information you provided, and I suspect it is highly unlikely they would even try.
Thanks for the reply! Figured that was the case. Based on that, do you think its worth the hassle of claiming or nah? Its in the approx £100 region
A chargeback? In the circumstances, I'd ask, yes!
Hi, I work in the disputes department with credit cards. If you have not occupied the hotel due to the conditions you will have charge back rights if you have used a Visa Card. If you have used the services the most you can hope for is goodwill from the card provider which we do give for cases of lower threshold such as £100. Also to add, losing a charge back has no effect on your credit. It will have no negative impact on you personally as your chargeback will be filed through your company and they are the ones who are responsible for having all the evidence and building a strong case for you before submitting it. (That's why we ask for so much evidence lol) However if you do frequent chargeback cases the card issuer will become more stringent. Also the merchant has every right to contest your claim once a chargeback is raised, and that is why we take so much evidence from you, any of their claims can be contested based on evidence provided.
Chargeback with the photos that you took as evidence. You took photos right?
Indeed I did!
You're going to be fine. If they contact you again about taking this to court or reporting it as fraud, remind them that you have photos of the room that show it was flooded and that you'll be happy to see them in court.
NAL but I'd do a chargeback and leave a review on top with the photos attached
Also make sure to mention the legal threats in the review.
This is a scare tactic, and a truly awful one at that. Just ignore them and proceed.
If you used booking.com, your contract is with them, and not the hotel…
I follow what you’re saying but I would need to read through the T&Cs to confirm. Unsure if they act as just a search engine or as a middle man
No, booking.com is not a search engine, you paid them, your contract is with them. I've never contacted any hotel directly to resolve issues whenever I've used them. They're definitely more likely to resolve the issue than the hotel.
Booking.com refers you to the hotel. They won‘t give a refund unless the hotel agrees to it. I‘ve been in the situation.
They can refer you to the hotel all they want, but that's just because they are being cheap and don't want to pay for customer support. It's still on them to refund you.
It isn't. Amazing how confidently incorrect everyone on this thread is. When you book on Booking.com you are booking directly with the hotel and if you pre-pay you are paying the hotel directly.
No it isn't.
Chargeback! Do it! Though I’d contact booking.com again first.
To answer your questions: - It will be up to your bank to decide but there’s a reasonable chance they uphold your chargeback request if you provide the photos you have of the flooded room. - As long as you are acting in good faith it’s not fraudulent to make a chargeback. Some people like to throw around the term fraud when they don’t actually understand what it means. A fraudulent chargeback would be when you know there is no basis for making it (e.g. receiving an item but claiming it never arrived). - Unless you have a pattern of regularly making and loosing chargebacks, I don’t think your bank will care. The hotel could take you to court but it’s unlikely they will, as it would be more expensive for them than anything they stand to recover (since legal costs are ordinarily not recoverable in small claims cases).
Thank you!
There is a lot of good advice here, but I'll jump in with an opinion as I work for a travel company...on chargebacks 🙂 The fraud comment is nonsense designed to scare you. Someone commented earlier that a fraud charge back is a different thing, and it is. What the hotel is saying is that you are fraudulently raising a charge back for services not as described or defective (wording varies between visa/mastercard/amex/etc). From what you have said, and assuming you have the photos, your claim will almost certainly win. Interestingly, it is not up to the hotel, it is up to the chargeback rules who wins and loses. Let's assume you win, and this pisses the hotel off and they want to pursue (which they won't). It becomes a small claims court issue, which will take time and money, and you will again almost certainly win as you have a valid reason to not stay in the room. None of this affects your credit rating, nor will it land you a criminal record, and your bank won't care either. It will be processing 10's of thousands of chargebacks probably every month, yours isn't that special (and I mean that in a nice way). Depending on how you booked, it is probably booking.com you will be claiming money back from, and they will take the money back from the hotel. The hotel will need to go after booking.com in that event, not you!
Very reassuring read, thanks :)
I'd contact booking first and send them everything include your happy to charge abck if no response within x days. It's up to them to sort stuff out because you booked with them not the hotel. They will try to drag thier heels and hope you get bored (why yes, they tried it with me!) An email of I will be going to card company in two days usually as a reminder helps. Good luck
Personally I'd give [booking.com](http://booking.com) one chance to confirm a refund before contacting card issuer, but it sounds like you've already done that. Was it over £100 and paid on a credit card? If so I'd look to make a claim under s75 of the CCA against the credit card provider rather than a chargeback.
Be truthful in your report and there cannot be any fraud. File the claim, it takes minutes. You’ll get your money back. Perks of paying on the credit card
NAL I have worked in hotels for years all over the UK and Canada. No Nobhead manager is SoL on a charge back, and it's the only way you will see your money back.
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Contact corporate. Did you pay booking.com or did you pay the hotel at check in?
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Didn’t even know they were in town - was a stop off during NC500