Hotel overcharge my debit card what is my recourse?

Question

I paid for a hotel room for 3 nights and checked out this morning. The amount on my receipt which I signed for is different than what my online bank account states. I called the hotel and of course the person I talked to said I have to talk with the manager who will not be in until Monday. My bank states that the hotel needs to fax them a statement to make the correction. I feel like the hotel cheated me and thought that they could get away with overcharging me. What is my best recourse to getting the hotel to credit me back the difference that they owe. Also, isn't it fraud to charge me the amount quoted with a receipt and to charge a different amount on my debit card?

Answer 1

I just went through this a couple of weeks ago too. I argued with the hotel over this but it is all standard as I realize now.

What happens is they charge like 10 or 15 dollars more to the bank in case you have made long distance calls from your room or in case you have gotten booze out of the fridge, or whatever. Then they tie up the money for three days in the overcharge amount. Within about a week it will completely drop off and dissappear from your account and you will be totally refunded the entire amount. Then the hotel will after about three days repost the correct amount.

I threw an all out fit over this and the Holiday Inn express I stayed at swore to me that it was legite, and of course I didn't believe him, but he was right, it went through just fine. I wasn't even double charged or anything to correct the amount. It dropped off completely, gave it three days, then reposted for the correct amount.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Because you DO have an agreement with the hotel, the amount charged to your account is now between you and the hotel. Your bank can attempt to return the transaction as unauthorized but then it would return the entire amount, and not just the difference of the payment. You need to request a credit from the hotel. . . .If that doesn't work, then go to your bank, and you can claim it as fraud because you have attempted to resolve a relationship you had with a vendor, and they are not honoring their part of the agreement- the amount, in this case.

BTW: Before you fight this, make sure what you are looking at, is the transaction amount, and not just the hold. Hotels, restaurants and gas stations will all sometimes hold more than they actually charge. . .It is a weekend, so it might be the hold, and not the transaction, and the amounts will then clear up. Wait til Monday and see what happens perhaps?

Answer 3

If they did overcharged you, it is possible that the reason was because they put a temporary authorization through. You need to contact them to fix it as soon as possible. Despite whether or not they do this regularly, it is actually against the terms and conditions of the merchant agreement with visa, mastercard, and american express. In some states, it is actually against the law. If the hotel fixes everything on Monday, then there is nothing you need to worry about. When talking with the manager, make sure to mention to him that the temporary authorization is against the credit card merchant agreement. If he says you are wrong, tell him you are looking at the merchant agreement, and it says it is against the merchant agreement. He will fix the mistake from there.

Please add what state the hotel was in, so I can tell you if it is against that state's civil code as well.

Also, when you call the hotel, ask to speak with the supervisor, and tell the supervisor to make a note to the manager that you have called, and also make sure to take down the supervisor's number and time that you called. Do this as soon as possible. If they say there is no supervisor, ask to speak to whoever is in charge (there has to be someone in charge at any point in time).

BTW: Anonymous is right that it is standard practice, but just because it is standard practice, doesn't make it legal. It is still against the merchant agreement. Make sure you explain to the hotel manager, that just because other hotels do it doesn't make it legal. It is also standard practice for smaller companies to charge fees for using a credit card, or to have minimum purchase requirements for using a credit card, but this is also against the merchant agreement, and is specifically stated as being against the agreement. This is also illegal in many states, and is punishable by a hefty fine to the merchant.

Answer 4

Hotels put a hold on your account for an amount for what they anticipate you will spend.  This is more than just the room and tax..  If you ask beforehand, they normally can tell you.  

When the amount actually clears (which most likely won't be on a weekend), you should see the correct amount was actually charged.  That's why hotels have signs indicating why it's usually not a good idea to use a debit card for a hotel stay.  And actually some hotels have stopped accepting debit cards for just this reason.