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Post by Baz Faz on Jul 22, 2021 11:30:16 GMT 2
Earlier this year I told of the problems I had with our bank card being hacked. It was a new card and the only use it had had was reserving hotels through Booking.com. My suspicion was that an employee at one of the hotels had used our card details to make fraudulent purchases.
Now today we received an email about a stay in 4 days time at a hotel in Istanbul. I cancelled this on 29 May (and have the cancellation email to prove it). So why did I receive an email about a forthcoming stay? Would we have been charged for a stay we didn't have and have to go through the hassle of getting our money back?
I really am losing faith in Booking.com.
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Post by sophie on Jul 22, 2021 15:27:54 GMT 2
I don’t use it.. but I would be really suspicious if I were you with that activity.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jul 22, 2021 18:07:53 GMT 2
As I think Baz knows, I use it a lot, but not so much in the last year or so due to the travel restrictions. Mrs M also does a lot of our bookings using her account. Neither of us have had problems, but we're just two people so I can't say it's the norm for everyone. I've only had one problem with a booking and that was not the fault of Booking but that of the owner who refused to give back a security deposit for an apartment stay. Booking did intervene though and got me that money back.
I'll keep a better eye out though in future.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jul 22, 2021 18:34:45 GMT 2
I am trying to find out what is going on with Booking. They make it very difficult. I just wanted them to explain why something cancelled nearly 2 months ago was still active. In the end a message said it was best to "talk" to one of their agents. I doubt they mean talk in a literal sense but a 2-way typed experience. So my question was up there and I waited and waited. In the end I waited so long I got a message that it was best if they contacted me within the next 24 hours. So I'll now be waiting until tomorrow.
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Post by Netsuke on Jul 22, 2021 19:07:05 GMT 2
Baz, I have used booking.com for many years and haven’t had a problem with them. There was a problem with one booking, not the fault of booking.com, but the hotel owner. My three requirements for all and any bookings were, must have air conditioning, a lift, and tea/coffee facilities. The hotel I booked in Vietnam had no lift, I realised this within ten minutes of booking. I immediately contacted the hotel asking to cancel for medical reasons, I had proof of this in the form of a doctors letter. Hotel refused (it was a non cancellation). Contacted Booking,com, who contacted hotel in question then got back to me saying hotel refused but considering circumstances, they (Booking.com) cancelled my booking and paid the hotel. I thought this was pretty decent of them. So I think they are a reputable company.
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Post by kuskiwi on Jul 23, 2021 6:18:02 GMT 2
So far so good but feel your caution and concern over that lot.
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Post by shrjeff on Jul 23, 2021 10:09:05 GMT 2
haven't had problems with booking dot com... and it's my go-to site for hotels for a few reasons:
1. the feedback is limited to those who reserve through them so unlike other sites like trip advisor, the reviews are more objective.
2. air b&b shares the feedback with the owner who then can blackball the customer - thus the reviews are bland and not at all true!
3. we reserve only cancellable rooms on booking dot com and have never had a problem with a full cancellation or refund unlike air b&b which tries to keep booking fees as credits for future bookings.
4. in our booking dot com account we can see future, past and cancelled bookings for follow up.
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Post by Baz Faz on Jul 23, 2021 23:25:27 GMT 2
I still do not understand why we got an email saying it was only 4 days until we were going to a hotel we had cancelled. I have still not been able to to have a meaningful online chat with Booking after 3 attempts. My one contact with them ended when I was put onto a link which had nothing to do with what I was querying. They have never explained how my new bank card was hacked when the ONLY transactions I had made were for Booking.com hotels. They have refused to confirm that card details are sent to hotels. They are so beware.
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Post by OnlyMark on Jul 24, 2021 8:02:56 GMT 2
In your details on the Booking website, in your list of bookings, is that hotel coming up as cancelled?
Does the hotel itself say the booking is cancelled?
I would have expected there are circumstances when Booking shares your cc details with a hotel, such as a no show.
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Post by shrjeff on Jul 24, 2021 8:51:09 GMT 2
In your details on the Booking website, in your list of bookings, is that hotel coming up as cancelled? Does the hotel itself say the booking is cancelled? I would have expected there are circumstances when Booking shares your cc details with a hotel, such as a no show. another occasion for booking dot com sharing the cc info is when the stay is debited at reservation and reimbursed if cancelled within the cancellation period: always read the small print! |
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Post by Baz Faz on Jul 24, 2021 10:37:08 GMT 2
In your details on the Booking website, in your list of bookings, is that hotel coming up as cancelled? Does the hotel itself say the booking is cancelled? I would have expected there are circumstances when Booking shares your cc details with a hotel, such as a no show. Looking at my list of bookings the Alpek hotel is listed as cancelled. That doesn't explain why something I cancelled on 29 May should seemingly have been active this week. As I understand it Booking doesn't use my card details to pay hotels direct but passes the card details to the hotels. When I asked Booking.com if they did this they refused to answer. At least I take it that not replying to 6 emails directly asking if my card details were given to hotels is refusal to acknowledge that they do. And internet research showed multiple cases of people finding their card details lying on the reception desk. One person said a maid had his card details. |
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Post by OnlyMark on Jul 24, 2021 11:47:41 GMT 2
"As I understand it Booking doesn't use my card details to pay hotels direct but passes the card details to the hotels. When I asked Booking.com if they did this they refused to answer." No idea then other than maybe they think it is an obvious process which is mentioned in their T and C's and FAQ's, such as -
"Generally, the property is responsible for charging your card. If payment is instead handled by Booking.com, this will be stated clearly in your booking confirmation.
You can commonly expect to pay upon check-in or check-out at the property. However there are some exceptions, such as those properties that require a prepayment for all or some of the total amount. Again, this will be stated clearly in your confirmation and payment policies."
"That doesn't explain why something I cancelled on 29 May should seemingly have been active this week." - can't give a reason for that either.
Maybe reactivate your Twitter account and ask them there, or Facebook.
I did ask, "Does the hotel itself say the booking is cancelled?" - may I construe that no answer is a refusal to answer, or something more simple?
With no answer from Booking to the cc question I'd go for the simple option rather than a deliberate snub.
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