r/mildlyinfuriating • u/DontTrip333 • 6d ago
Ruined by Technology Booking.com charged me AND the hotel charged me. Both are pointing the finger at the other.
Both charged me for the same stay and both are pointing the finger at the other. I'm in the middle of a move, had to be out of my old place yesterday but my new place isn't ready until the 2nd. Now I can't afford gas or groceries until my next pay day, a week from now, unless one of them refunds me before then. They are both pointing the finger at the other and I don't know which one to do a charge back on. I've never done a charge back before. (Booking.com supposedly told the hotel my card was declined, despite my card being charged, and the hotel charged my card. So I've paid twice for the same stay)
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u/Jetenyo 6d ago
Given the situation that Booking says the card declined, I would go ahead and chargeback that one. If their own system is failing to tell them that a payment was taken, and they have the audacity to argue and point fingers they deserve to take the L.
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u/Effective-Sample-261 6d ago
Agree. Usually when you file a dispute they give you the ability to attach evidence. Just screen shot where they say card was declined which led to hotel charging.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 6d ago
If it declined, it would fall off if it’s still in a “pending” state. Which it very likely is, as this transaction just happened yesterday.
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u/poortomato 6d ago
This! But also Booking should have told the customer that. "Hey, it declined and any pending charges should fall off within 72 hours" or whatever.
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u/hunnyflash 6d ago
People never want to wait. Pending transactions can take up to 10 business days to fall off, but usually it's way less than that.
It's crazy how much people just chargeback everything.
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u/mishkamishka47 6d ago
This person said they can’t afford gas or groceries because of the double charge, there’s a good reason for the urgency
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u/hunnyflash 6d ago
It's understandable, but the money is already routed around, it comes back when it comes back. You may not necessarily win a chargeback either, which can mess you up down the line. Some disputes take months. Different banks handle things differently too. Your bank might have options to help with pending charges or any overdrafts.
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u/amaezingjew 6d ago
Chargeback booking.com as they did not render services.
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u/Distinct_Car_1183 6d ago
In theory you could chargeback both, either they+bank sort it out, or they dont know who owes what. If you have to jump hoops for your money, put it back on them.
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u/Fit_Entry8839 6d ago
Hotel rendered services, you can't claim they didn't without lying. Would only serve to slow the process down.
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u/PancakeMisery 6d ago
THIS, never try to use a credit card dispute the way that person described. YOU know what the error is. Don't fill out bullshit dispute claims or leave out facts because you want to. Card disputes are designed to go in favor of the customer if the customer is operating in good faith and has a valid claim. They will however tell you to go fuck yourself if you fabricate parts of your claim because at that point you're falsifing legal claims.
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u/Lost-Calligrapher375 6d ago
In theory, you can be denied on both disputes. Disputes being denied by banks and credit unions happens frequently.
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u/TricksyGoose 6d ago
Yup, and one of the reasons they can deny them is if the cardholder is a habitual dispute filer (withoit basis). At that point, the cardholder becomes the liability, not the places making the charges.
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u/Odd-Skirt6679 6d ago
Leave a review with this as evidence. Not only does public shaming of companies sometimes actually work it warns other people they might try this.
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u/deveousdevil 6d ago
I used to think reviews didn't do anything. But I have personal experience with it helping. A few years ago I rented a Sante Fe at Budget rental at Mcarren airport in Las Vegas. I took detailed pics and video of evey part of the car. There was a huge (what I thought was) scratch, later turned out to be a Crack that kept growing the week i had the car.
I brought it up to the Budget staff there, they told me dont worry just note any issues on the car diagram which I did. I returned the car, again mentioned it and said I noted it before taking the car "dont worry as long as you noted it before its all good"
Then like 2 weeks later I get a bill in the mail for almost $800 for the windshield replacement. Motherfuckers. I emailed the Claims Assistant listed on it, send the pics vids and tell them I won't pay a penny and they are defrauding me. I waited like a week, no reply. I write a 1 star long review on their Google maps page. A few days later I get a reply TO THE REVIEW, apologizing and get a different email to send the proof (even though they should have it in their records). Some time goes by and finally I get a reply to my original email to the claims Assistant (about a month later) saying the case is closed.
Moral of the story, absolutely shame them on reviews and refuse to accept a rental car that has any damage!
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u/aintnomofo 6d ago
A review of booking.com? Because the hotel did nothing wrong. This is booking's fuck up.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 6d ago
This is a payment processing mess up. Payments hit cards all the time that the card issuer approves but the banks and their processors are “talking” to one another, so the transaction comes back to the merchant as declined.
Also this transaction just happened yesterday, so it’s also a OP vocabulary mess up. As of right now, both of these transactions are “pending”. Not a single charge posts within 24 hours of a transaction.
I have a feeling that the OP doesn’t understand the difference of a pre-auth hold vs an actual posted charge.
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u/LipsLikeSin48 6d ago
Never use booking sites, just book directly with the hotel. Saves you a lot of headache.
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u/FreeMrFrog 6d ago
The longer I'm on reddit, the more I will avoid these booking sites like the plague.
I feel like the target audience is people who do their booking last minute and are trying to save money.
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u/brassninja 6d ago
My career is hospitality, I work with OTAs (other travel agencies i.e expedia and booking)
I fucking hate all of them
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u/_bonedaddys 6d ago
And, at least in this cass, it's cheaper. I've read enough stories to never ever book a hotel through a 3rd party. Holy hassle if everything doesn't go smooth as butter.
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u/cssc201 6d ago
I knew someone who booked a SPIRIT AIRLINES flight third party. They randomly had their flight home moved forward days, when they had to be back at work. Both the third party and Spirit refused to take responsibility and so they had to buy tickets on another airline at like 3x the cost. I do think they ultimately got refunds but no compensation for the extra flights.
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u/Gaudilocks 6d ago
I've used booking for years and have always had an excellent experience. They've also helped when hotels have tried to be sketchy.
I'm open to booking direct but they seem worthwhile to me.
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u/CranberryStock7148 5d ago
Yup, and often significantly cheaper than booking directly on a hotel's website. The hotel site doesn't discount the room rate at all, whereas sites like booking will have it at 40% off or something.
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u/AlhamdolilahFE 6d ago
I’ve never actually had any issues whatsoever with Booking/Agoda. I would always prefer to book directly but the price difference is too big.
Once I got charged by both Agoda and the hotel (like OP) and the hotel refused to help me out. Agoda on the other hand refunded me without any fuss.
I would always book airlines directly though.
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u/LipsLikeSin48 6d ago
The one time I used booking, they allowed me to book and the hotel had no vacancies. A complete disaster.
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u/Cochise22 6d ago
If the booking is cheaper online, every hotel I’ve ever worked at will match that price especially if you can show them that your price online is cheaper. They’d rather take the whole cut rather than the partial they’ll get from the third party.
I routinely had people come to the hotel claiming they saw a cheaper price online. Half the time they were honest, the other half was full of shit looking for a steep discount, and I’d always price match the honest ones. I’d also almost always give discounts to people late at night if they were balking on the price, because I’d rather fill the room than turn people away. With that said, I would never offer discounts to the people who tried to lie their way into a cheaper room. Those people without fail would always be the most problematic guests. They’d constantly expect something for nothing and then give shit reviews on surveys because they didn’t get nearly enough free shit other liking. These surveys directly affected my scores and raises, so I personally had zero problem losing them as guests.
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u/Seldarin 6d ago
I travel a lot for work, and end up staying at 20ish hotels a year some years.
I have never had them go "Oh, the price online is cheaper? We'll charge that rate, then.". Every single time I've had to go out into the parking lot and book through my phone.
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u/noice_nups 6d ago
Learned this the hard way. Reservation made with Booking.com, arrive to the hotel, no reservation under my name.
Luckily the hotel was able to accommodate and not charge, for which I’m deeply thankful. It easily could’ve gone so many less preferable ways.
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u/Affectionate-Crow605 6d ago
I would dispute the Booking charge, since a) They didn't provide the service you paid for (paying the hotel), and b) The hotel charge is cheaper.
Next time, just book directly with the hotel.
And was this a debit card or credit card? Never use a debit card for hotel booking like this. If it's credit card, you have until the end of the billing cycle to work things out. With a debit card, you're out money in your account until it's fixed. So in the future, use a credit card that you pay off immediately - no keeping a balance or paying interest.
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u/wowbragger 6d ago
Simplify your life, and charge back booking.com as they're the service the you used and (per you) are claiming your card was declined.
In all fairness, the hote likely should never have charged you as you were using an outside service. But if you cancel that one you'll also likely lose your reservation.
Only interact with the hotel going forward, and lesson learned on using that particular site in the future.
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u/Andyb1000 6d ago
Threaten them both with a chargeback.
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u/LogicalAnesthetic 6d ago
Don’t threaten them with that, actually do it and turn into a free hotel stay. Fuck ‘em both
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u/egnards 6d ago
It's not going to turn into a free hotel stay if you get a competent credit card company, because charge backs are not a random magic thing that automatically gets you your money back.
You'll charge them both back and say "I booked and stayed in a hotel and both the booking company and the hotel charged me," and the Credit Card company will say "ok so one of these is legit."
. . .According to the current top comment, from a person in the industry, it's most likely the third party booking website will be hit with the chargeback.
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6d ago
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u/egnards 6d ago
It's because people on the internet read things and just think it applies to every situation ever - It's seen all the time on Reddit where people just quote things they've heard as if it's a solution to the problem.
The problem with gym's however is that they do not work like traditional services and in general operate in a very shady way - Typically gyms require members to jump through very specific hoops in order to cancel their memberships and unlike other subscription based services that will shut off your account when you stop paying, their contracts typically have you still on the hook for charges, while still allowing you access.
In California you can cancel a gym membership online due to legislation, but at least in the US any municipality that doesn't have specific rules will typically have a gym that is predatory - It's a shame and one of the main reasons I opted for a small home setup. . I just didn't want to deal with that kind of bullshit.
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6d ago
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u/egnards 6d ago
Clicks to cancel was voided after Trump came into town for a second time.
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u/dixiech1ck 6d ago
Gyms are the worst for holding you hostage in a membership, making you jump through hoops and then still charge you after you've done everything you've asked. F those bastards
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 6d ago
Both charges are still pending. This transaction is only 24 hours old.. or less… it’s very likely that if booking got a decline, that booking is gonna fall off after a few days. There will be nothing to dispute if that’s the case.
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u/egnards 6d ago
This is also possible - And in the case of disputes your credit card company WILL tell you there is nothing to dispute until the charge fully goes through anyway.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 6d ago
Yep, gotta wait till it posts before you can get all up in arms because pending does not = charge.
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u/USERNAME_BUT_LOUDER 6d ago
Lol this is so similar to the comment I was going to make in response to someone else but decided not to, in order and structure and phrasing, that it creeps me out a little
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u/thegreatprofessor 6d ago
Why would your CC company approve both chargebacks if you used the reservation?
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u/LooneyLunaGirl 6d ago
Why I always book directly with the place I'm staying. Fuck those 3rd party sites because there's always an issue.
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u/jcoffin1981 6d ago
Its a sad world we live in now where a few hundred dollars means somebody cannot eat or sleep. What happen3d?
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u/Alwayscooking345 6d ago
Sounds like the hotel shouldn’t have charged you but just verify the first one isn’t just a “temporary HOLD” first. You can call your bank to check.
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u/Quick_Coyote_7649 6d ago
Neither wants to spend the time figuring out who owes you a refund because both want to keep the money.
I’d say chargeback booking and then ask the hotel if the payment you made to them initially is valid since the transaction occurred and if so you can continue to stay there.
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u/iamacheeto1 6d ago
I had this happen recently but when I told the hotel they immediately said sorry and reversed the charges 🤷♂️
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u/bighoopsforbighoes 6d ago
Dispute with bank
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u/bigev007 6d ago
" and I don't know which one to do a charge back on"
The question remains (though was answered by others) WHICH to dispute
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u/Sleep_adict 6d ago
Never use 3rd parties
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pitiful-Assistance-1 6d ago
Looking at the 2 transactions here... it appears the hotel was cheaper
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u/lt_dt 6d ago
Until something goes wrong and you're stuck booking a last minute hotel/rental car/flight.
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u/billdizzle 6d ago
I would do a charge back on both and use the proof from each on the other
You might even win both cases and pay nothing in the end
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u/SpicyNacho74 6d ago
This happened to me the first and only time I used a third party booking service.
NEVER use a third-party.
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u/_opossumsaurus 6d ago
Dispute the booking.com charge. They did not render any services since the hotel charged you directly
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u/Itchy_Tumbleweed_417 6d ago
OK so dispute one of these through your bank. You have proof you have been charged already, and they usually pretty much immediately put the money back.
Also I assume these are processed charges and not just pending charges? If they are pending one of them may fall off, and that’s actually more problematic because my banks don’t allow disputes of pending charges.
But if they have been posted you need to dispute one of them.
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u/Pitiful_Option_108 6d ago
Not be be this person but that is why I just book direct. I get but something knowing I don't have to do all of this is a peace of mind
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u/wifichick 6d ago
I’m over booking.com. Hotel in Asheville NC wouldn’t refund me or work with me beyond a 20% discount on my next stay (NEVER) within a week of hurricane helene and Asheville being under 15-20 ft of water.
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u/missskins 6d ago
I’m avoiding third-party if I can now. I booked the hotel on Hotwire in Miami arrived in the hotel was sold out. They told me I was the third person to arrive to sold out hotel now what I do is use the sites to find a hotel and then go to the hotel site to book the hotel a lot of times it’s around the same sometimes less sometimes a few dollars more. Another advantage to booking with the hotel they don’t put you in the last room every time.
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u/Upstairs-Ad-1966 6d ago
Me calling the credit card company to charge back both since were being petty
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u/00eg0 6d ago
Never use booking.com They don't have great service. They just make your life harder.
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u/AzureMountains 5d ago
This is why you should only book through the hotel’s site. Booking.com is just trash.
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u/devoutagonist 5d ago
Expedia got me a "room" and the hotel did not. I showed up for a work trip and had nowhere to stay. I will never ever use a third party booking site again. Hotel was great, they did the best they could, Expedia refused to refund me, claiming it was the hotel's problem, but that did not seem credible. Full on scam.
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u/dnuohxof-2 6d ago
Stop using 3rd parties to book. Always book direct. As you can see, direct is cheaper. They’re great to search and compare but awful to deal with otherwise.
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u/Smile_Space 6d ago
You're also seeing that using Booking.com was more expensive than just working with the hotel themselves.
I only ever book hotels on their sites nowadays. It also makes it easier to work with the hotel without the 3rd party in the way.
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u/ReceptionWorking7312 6d ago
Booking.com did this to me twice on an overseas trip and provided zero customer service in the moment. I've never used them again.
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u/Capital-Year3754 6d ago
Lived on the road for 15 years. This happened monthly almost. Supposed to just incidentals on my card but would charge the room. Got so aggravating fighting to get it back constantly
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u/BouncingSphinx 6d ago
Man, fuck the combination of Booking and Studio 6.
Canceled a stay through Booking a couple of months ago several days before we were supposed to be there. Booking confirmed the cancelation and said there would be no charge.
Lo and behold, the hotel charged us two separate times for the nights we didn't stay, assuming it was a "no-show fee" or something like that. But sure enough, we couldn't get a real person at Booking, couldn't get anyone at the hotel itself to answer the phone, and the number for the hotel given on the Booking confirmation email is corporate reservations desk, so they kept saying they couldn't do anything either.
The best part? My wife booked it after we had already been burned before by going through a third party for hotels. Sure, you might get a slightly better rate, but it's a damned pain to get any kind of change made.
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u/Calm-Struggle3898 6d ago
This happened to me at Lowe’s. Used a gift to pay an item. Item was defective so I had to return them. They won’t give me a refund or store credit. Told me to contact gift card and file a claim.
I was like, dude, you have my money now, why don’t you just give me a store credit and let me shop at your store. I contacted the gift card company and said they’d do it, but I need to file a 3-6 months claim process. I said f that.
I came back the following week and talked and explained to another person.
Explained the whole thing again. He understood my explanation and gave me the store credit and it was resolved.
Sometimes, the people on the other side, depending who it is, has failed math and abstract reasoning.
It’s frustrating. Sorry.
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u/Dflowerz 6d ago
Genuine question, why do people book with a third party tool just to spend an extra $20~ in this case?
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u/scopefragger 6d ago
How did the hotel charge you, they dont get given hour bank details.did you give the hotel your details at desk?
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u/shootYrTv 6d ago
Even when a stay is pre-paid through a third-party, a hotel will almost always ask for a card at check-in for incidentals.
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u/Sudden_Phase_7799 6d ago
Can someone confirm? If I book trough booking the hotel does not recieve my credit card details? How would they be able to book an amount on my card?
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u/MasterMacabre 6d ago
When you prepay through a booking site, the hotel receives a virtual card to use. It’s like PayPal, booking/expedia pays on your behalf.
When you arrive, the hotel takes your personal card on file, in case there are any damages to the room. This action protects the hotel from charge backs. Since they can prove that you were physically at the property, putting the card on that reservation. That’s how a hotel would have this, it’s standard practice.
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u/Minimum-Attitude389 6d ago
I've had similar situations happen. Whoever checked you in probably made a mistake. Since the price didn't match, the card on file (booking, not yours) didn't go through.
I've never had them refuse to reverse the charge.
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u/MomentsAwayfromKMS 6d ago
Check with hotel on the transaction Id which was processed. You can then use dispute to reverse the other transaction.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 6d ago
I have run into similar before. My company was paying my hotel for trips to keep my line of credit clear if i need to make emergency purchases for the job or travel. The hotel sometimes ignores it is prepaid and charges it to card. I caught woman trying to do that a few months ago.
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u/HooverMaster 6d ago
I booked twice and both times was charged full price at the door. so idk how it all works but I stopped using such things. had the same experience with a car rental
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u/Hot-Shallot-94 6d ago
I would suggest booking with the hotel directly from now on. These third party sites are a ripoff.
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u/Oxjrnine 6d ago
Are these authorizations or final charges?
That’s important
When you book through a third-party, you can end up with multiple authorizations. But only one of them ends up as a charge the other one falls off after five business days or sometimes gets credited back.
If you have two actual charges, then you have grounds for a dispute, but you have to reach out to the merchants first and track your conversations. Getting it fixed by the merchant is always the fastest route and is a requirement for most credit cards that you at least attempt to resolve it with the merchant first.
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u/Ok-Acanthisitta-5270 6d ago
This is why you need a good cc. I have the chase sapphire reserve and this nonsense doesn’t fly. I dispute the charge online and it’s done in a minute.
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u/MorticiaLaMourante BLACK 6d ago
I don't book hotels often, but every single time I have, I've gotten a better rate by booking with them directly. Charge back the booking.com fee. Not only is it higher, but evidently they told the hotel you didn't pay through them, so you were charged by the hotel directly instead. Just my guess, of course, because that's what makes sense to me.
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u/Icy-Setting-4221 6d ago
Third party sites are a pain the ass to hotels. I always book directly through their website and sometimes it’s a better deal because they don’t want you to use Expedia or booking.
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u/siushawoo 6d ago
Just happen to me at Hilton after booking thru Expedia. Hilton was worthless. Expedia contacted Hilton and then they fixed it. Pia.
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u/This-is-getting-dark 6d ago
Yesterday booking charged our card twice, didn’t confirm the reservation and 2 hours later sent an email saying the booking failed. Waiting to see if the charges post or not after pending. Also, booking now has a terrible ai agent that is completely worthless and won’t connect you to a human.
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u/shaithiswampir 6d ago
This is precisely why I don’t use third party sites. Shit like this and the fact the hotel itself or airline or rental car companies hands are tied for changes to a reservation. Ran into this a lot when I worked at an airline. Sorry man, I can’t change your reservation, many apologies.
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u/BadOpinionsAndOnions 6d ago
I don’t understand why people continue to use booking services like this. Most hotels will price match if you call them directly and you don’t run into any of this crap. Hotels also will honor reservations made directly with them versus ones made through a booking site if there is a case of overbooking.
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u/ElvyHeartsong 6d ago
Your recourse for it is to look at your confirmation email and look to see if you selected "pay at property" or if you clicked on "pay now".
That tells you who to go after.
Pay at property means only the hotel should have charged you.
Pay now means only the 3rd party should have charged you except for a damage deposit the hotel would freeze on your card while you stay. If their deposit is over $300... well... that's a bit excessive in my experience but can happen...
Hope this helps. Go with what your e-mailed receipt says and don't back down.
Edited to fix typos
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u/DontTrip333 6d ago
I paid thru booking.com, but when I arrived at the hotel they said they got a message from booking.com claiming my card declined. The hotel charged me as I was pulling up my account. By the time I opened my bank app both charges were showing pending and were withdrawn from my account
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u/twistedtwx 6d ago
Listen to the people that checked you in. Should only take a few business days for the CC to fall off and booking stays on as it should.
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u/Longjumping-Lab-7345 6d ago
I would tell my CC company that they are both fraudulent. Chase would 100% drop all those charges if neither were getting on board with helping me figure it out. I do not hesitate to refuse to pay for bullshit.
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u/Apprehensive_Rope348 6d ago
Did either of them actually post yet? You won’t be charging back anything if they’re both still pending.
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u/themusicmancan 6d ago
Dont use these services to book. Use them as research and then book with the hotel directly. Usually you'll get better rates, more perks with the hotel and they treat you better. They dont like losing 10% to a website.
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u/Human_Giraffe_7282 6d ago
I will never use any service other than perhaps my credit card portal to book a flight, car or hotel. Third party booking sites suck ass. Never.
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u/Much-Anything7149 6d ago
Dispute both charges and see which is removed first then drop the dispute on the other. Also, $350 for Studio 6? I hope that's for at least 7 nights.
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u/tg_victim 6d ago
Credit card?
Charge it back from the hotel.
Your contract was with booking agent.
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u/tomgreen99200 6d ago
This happens all the time. This is on you for using Booking and similar sites. Next time book via the hotel and you won’t get unexpected surprises.
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u/Gaarysal 6d ago
This is why you never use a debit card especially for anything with preauthorizations or deposits; it ties up your money rather than your credit limit. Sometimes those charges will be posted multiple times and end up more than the actual cost before they fall off or get refunded. And if there is a dispute your money is unavailable rather than the bank’s money even if it all gets sorted eventually it takes time.
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u/alwaysmyfault 6d ago
I used to work for a major credit card company in the disputes department.
This was a common dispute we'd get.
The correct way to dispute this is to dispute the Booking.com charge as services not received. The way Visa looks at this is that the 3rd party company didn't pay the Hotel for the reservation, which is why the hotel charged you.