I was charged on my Discover Card for 2 rooms at the Mason Beach Inn for a "No Show." I know I called back the same day I made the reservations to cancel. The hotel is very small, and relies solely on guest name and dates of arrival/departure, hence, I was never given a reservation number, much less a cancellation number when I called.
I disputed this charge to Discover when I received my bill, and they agreed to "investigate." Their investigation consisted of accepting whatever the hotel provided.in this instance, the documentation consisted of the credit card charge slip and my reservation sheet with simply the words "No show, 2 Rooms" scribbled accross without a date or processor.
I had called Discover Services several times and was routed to various reps who could never help me - the representative I was supposed to speak with was never available. They claimed she had attempted to call me on numerous occasions, however, I only had 1 message from her, ever, on my answering machine.
When I finally got a hold of the rep, Ann Diaz, and also spoke with the supervisor, Terry Hopkins, they claimed there was nothing more Discover could do for me. They would accept the documentation, valid or not, simply because that was "proof" enough. So, that means, if a hotel makes any mistake and doesn't cancel your reservation, haven gotten your credit card number, you will be at their mercy because Discover Card certainly will not back you up and pursue to obtain valid documentation and authorization of the card's transactions.
Terry the Discover Card Inquiry Dept. Supervisor, per our telephone conversation, claims that they do NOT protect my money. Hmm... Isn't my account indeed my money? Where and how I am being charged? He also claims that because both the hotel and I are their custumers, they are only the mediator and cannot prefer one over another.
Clearly they prefer the business of Mason Beach Inn over mine since they are dismissing my dispute and honoring whatever the merchant cares to provide as "proof." I guess getting the business of a hotel is much more preferable to that of an individual cardmember.
Discover Card, through this whole ordeal, was VERY difficult to reach, conducted a half-hearted investigation, and does not back up its cardmembers to protect their interest against unauthorized charges.
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