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Mischarged? Stand your ground!
Mistakes happen, and we've all been on both sides of errors. So, if you find that a hotel has overcharged you – or charged you for services you didn't consume – keep a cool head. If you remain pleasant and reasonable, the situation can generally be fixed pretty quickly. On rare occasions, however, you'll meet with a bit of resistance. As Christopher Elliott wrote on CNN.com, the hotels have a lot at stake in not reversing the charges associated with in-room entertainment. Since it splits the revenue with a third party (such as LodgeNet), the hotel is on the hook for up to half the fee, even if the charge was erroneous. In the case that Elliott presents, the front desk staff offered to cut the charge in half.
Do not let a hotel push this alternative on you.
A charge that is not yours is a charge you should not pay. Stand your ground. Ask to speak to increasingly higher ranking personnel at the hotel. Eventually, it is more expensive for them to talk to you than it is to swallow the charge. If you have to dash out to the airport, register your objection in writing.
If you still have not been able to settle the problem, take your complaint public. Visit the many travel review sites (such as Trip Advisor) and explain your situation. Many hotels do read these reviews and reply to customer complaints there. Take action, and they will have to, as well.
[Via CNN]
Filed under: North America, United States, Hotels and Accommodations
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
former Jan 30th 2009 9:18AM
If you have been charged for a movie that you did not order then Have the hotel staff check and verify that the room you stayed in has the correct hardware address associatied with that room, If 2 addresses are swapped then you could be charged for a movie ordered from another room.
jack Feb 2nd 2009 5:31AM
The first poster is right but that is rare.
What is more common is that people think they can get something for nothing or they don't want the dirty movies they ordered to show up on a bill their company or spouse might see so they lie and say they didn't order it.
What they fail to realize is that computers don't lie and that every second they are using that service it is being logged. The hotel can tell WHAT you watch, when you watch it, how long you watch if for, how many times you watch it, how much it costs, what TV you watched it on and if you push the matter the hotel staff can make things quite embarassing for you in front of that long line of people behind you at the front desk.
I work in the hotel industry and the number of times that someone requests a refund and the fault leads back to the "address" being wrong on the TV is very, very slim
former Feb 2nd 2009 11:07AM
My post was aimed at the honest guest that has a real argument, When all else fails and hotel wont bend and they have checked what they think you watched and for how long and so on and you as a guest know for certain you had not purchased a movie then have the hotel verify that your room matches the hardware address.
I have seen hotel staff move TV's from 1 room to the next without readdressing the hardware to correspond with the correct room.