I went online to orbitz.com to make reservations for sometime in December for the bestwestern in Key west, FL. It CLEARLY stated on the reservation page that my debit card would not be charged until I checked into the hotel 4 months from now and then the very next day, to my surprise, the fee for the first night which is around 121.00 was debited to my account.
I accrued a total of 216.00 dollars on account of insufficient fund fees because they debited my account without my authorization. It took them 3 days to refund it back to my account (and not easily mind you!) Due to the unexpected debit to my bank account i withdrew my bank account tremendously. I called the actual hotel where my reservations were for and they are telling me that they know it states that this was a deposit hotel and to contact customer service with anymore complaints. Everyone i talked to was rude and transferred me to someone else. I contacted customer service and they tell me its orbitz.com fault i contact orbitz and orbitz tells me its best westerns fault. Best western has the "largest hotel chain for over 60 years" yet my 12 year old brother has better phone ettiquette than them.
I wrote them a letter. I enclosed copies of my bank statements showing the insufficient funds fees on account of their mistake and showing that it was best western that ran the credit through and not orbitz.com. I sent them a copy of the reservation page that stated that my card would not be charged until check in or check out. I was contacted by e-mail saying that they would not compensate me for the fees incurred and that they had made no error.
I wouldnt have booked the room had i known there was a deposit needed. I am in no financial situation to lose 216.00 for nothing because i obviously had to cancel my trip. Please be aware when booking with best western that they are sneaky and dishonest and most of all CHEAP and that if you have a complaint, nothing will be done about it, no matter what route you take to try to fix it.
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