Ah Please Help :(

[ukanonymous]

I have just made a booking on www.booking.com and I made a mistake. Anyhow what has happened is it is non refundable. I called them 10 minutes after the booking to try cancel but they can not refund me. I booked the wrong place. This is for a holiday in 2 weeks time and they said if I dont turn up they will charge my card. It is for 400 Pounds. Is there anything at all I can do :(
If I cancel my card will it make any difference? It is a lot of money and they dont care at all

[Old_Geezer]

I have no idea if these things are subject to a cooling off period, but I do think cancelling your card would not change whether you owe the money. You’d probably be pursued for it if it has not already been taken, having made the agreement.

[ToraToraTora]

well I guess you could close the account. Try calling your card supplier for advice, they may be able to freeze the card.

[Khandro]

I have found Booking.com to be quite good on these matters, you cannot cancel with them on the phone or with the hotel or whatever direct, you have to do it online. With hotels it is possible to cancel I know because I recently did so. Check your online booking form and see if there is information on there how to cancel.

[saintpeter48]

Cancel the payment with your card company and inform booking.com that you made a mistake and you have cancelled payment, keep all records of booking, emails and phone calls made, then let them pursue you if they want, if it went to small claims court I think you'd have a very good case as you tried everything to cancel a genuine mistake, I doubt whether they would go this far to get the money.

[Khandro]

Go to; http://www.booking.com/faq.en-gb.html and click on 'Can I cancel or change my reservations on Booking.com?'

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe they are simply stating the hotel's policy of no refund.

[ukanonymous]

Unfortunately it was a non refundable transaction. I have called themn and they said my card details have been passed to the Hotel. I called the hotel and they were very unhelpful and said I should have checked the details. I only called them 20 minutes after. Booking.com said they can do nothing but they will try contact the manager of the hotel and ask him. In the mean time I have cancelled my bank card as it was such a large amount of money UI can not afford to lose.

I jhope somehow they cant still charge me from it. This is stressing me out so much I am so stupid sometimes :(

[jno]

unfortunately, you were in the wrong; they don't care whether your mistakes are genuine or not. You'll just have to keep your fingers crossed and hope common humanity prevails.

[ukanonymous]

Do you think somehow they can still charge my visa debit card? It was a hotel in Amsterdam

[black_cat51]

when you say "wrong place" do you mean wrong country or wrong hotel?

[jno]

if you gave them your card number in return for a room, yes, they can take the money and hold the room; you've made a contract. Have you checked their T&Cs?

[ukanonymous]

It was the wrong city :(

[black_cat51]

is it possible for you to still go on the holiday then and travel to whatever it was that made you want the other city?

[jno]

Holland's easy to get around, so black cat's suggestion could be a good one

[ukanonymous]

I have cancelled my card now so I dont know what the repercussions will be if I will get into trouble. I know its my own fault for not thinking. The problem is I am supposed to be going to a conference for 3 days which is 200 miles away from Amsterdam so it definitely will not work.

[boxtops]

I'm afraid that the charge will stand - the fact that you have cancelled your card probably won't make any difference, the transaction will be live on your card 20 mins before you cancelled it. The card will honour the payment then pursue you for the £400.

[ukanonymous]

boxtops I called the bank and they had no record or given any authorisation for a transaction apart from the phone top up I made a few minutes earlier. Bearing this in mind is it possible to still get charged?

[ukanonymous]

booking.com only give your card details to the hotel you see and the hotel charge you directly. Can I still get charged?

[boxtops]

are we talking credit card or debit card here? The transaction wouldn't usually appear on the statement immediately but it'll be in the pipeline, surely. I think you're on a very sticky wicket, IMO - it was a mistake but as you say, that's not their problem, you knew it was a non-refundable transaction....

[boxtops]

yes, as others have said before - the hotel has accepted your booking and it's not refundable, someone has to pay for it.

If it were me I'd try selling the booking to someone else, but you might find that it's non-transferrable as well :-(