August 5: The remainder of my refund showed up on my credit card account today. On Wednesday, I sent TRIP Advisor another email. This time, I apparently found the right button.
I had finally found their refund policy, which basically says if a property was misrepresented you will be refunded by Trip Advisor. Prior to bringing up this information, TA kept giving me the excuse that they were waiting on approval from the property owner before they could give me my money.
The end of the Story: I did get my money back, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't reminded TRIP ADVISOR numerous times what their duty to their customers is.
July 30 Update: Nothing has changed on the Trip Advisor front. Sent another email to them today including a link to this post.
Seeking any insights any of you may have concerning an ongoing interaction I am having with Trip Advisor.
In early June, we used Trip Advisor for lodging on our family vacation. We booked our trip and the FULL PAYMENT for lodging ($518.38) was made on May 21. We were scheduled to arrive at our destination on June 7. Our lodging was promoted as being "2 rooms, sleeps 12".
Fast forward to about five days before our trip:
After numerous attempts to contact the owner of the property where we are booked, the owner revealed that she was having issues with the air conditioning in her unit. Without our knowledge, the owner had been planning to solve this problem by putting us in a unit (2 rooms, sleeps 4) that has functional air conditioning. This unit would just barely meet our lodging needs; however, it was not anywhere near what we were promised when we booked.
I communicated with the owner about this issue. She seemed contrite and indicated that if I were able to find a more suitable property for our visit, she would "absolutely" refund our fees.
Fortunately, I was able to find an alternate property, so I booked that place for our visit. Consequently, I canceled our booking at the original location.
Our deposit of $150 was refunded in a timely manner- on June 6. Expediting the return of the remainder of our fees($368.38), unfortunately, has been a different story.
Several times in the last seven weeks, I have contacted the Trip Advisor support team, which has resulted in a series of friendly, yet completely unproductive emails. These emails basically say tell me: we understand you are trying to get your money back, we have contacted the owner via phone and gotten no answer. We have sent her an email and are waiting for her to release her funds so we can give you your money back minus any booking fees.
Needless to say, these emails help me very little. I am still short $368.38 as a result of a property owner with which I contracted via Trip Advisor not following through on her promise.
Has anyone who has used Trip Advisor had an experience like this? If so, what did you do about it?
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