I have been scammed twice by Priceline.com. The facts are as follows:
Incident One:
I booked a flight through Priceline and bid on a rental car. The rental car bid did NOT go through. I received no confirmation.
Immediately thereafter, I was informed by the party whom I was visiting that the trip was not necessary. I immediately called Priceline and cancelled the flight reservation. I was given a cancellation confirmation number.
At the same time, I asked if I needed a cancellation confirmation for the rental car. I was told "no" because the bid had not been accepted.
Priceline billed me for the car anyway, in the amount of about $78.
I contested it, giving customer service service the cancellation number and recounting to them that I was told the bid did not go through, so I didn't need a cancellation number.
Tough. No refund.
I tried to cancel the charge through my credit card.
Be advised: Priceline is very aggressive about billing credit cards. They contested the charge and prevailed. So, I got burned for $78 for something I never bought.
Incident Two:
On June 3, I booked to tickets to Guatemala for a vacation. We had to delay out travel. I was told that I had one year within which to complete the travel, plus applicable fees. I had no problem with that, considering I was the one making the change.
When I went to book my travel within the year, I was told by the air carrier that Priceline had "cancelled" the reservation and there was $0.00 in credit.
This was totally contrary to the published and stated policies.
I am supposed to leave for Guatemala, to take the delayed vacation, and I have been cheated out of any credit due to Priceline's cancellation of the credit.
I am more than happy to provide any and all documentation to support these claims.
Customer Service:
Priceline's customer service consists of nominally literate people who obviously work with little or no training and go off a script which ultimately ends with, "I am sorry sir, I cannot help you."
Priceline's strategy appears to be a common trend of building an insulated barrier between the scorned consumer and any meaningful help.
Dear Priceline:
I am a lawyer and I would sue you if it were my field of practice. It is my professional opinion based upon your practices that you prey upon the inability to properly redress these matters in a court of law. You deserve to be sued. You are also running afoul of certain unfair competition laws in the State of California.
As of this writing, this is the 199th complaint against Priceline.com on this site, alone. The web is rife with such complaints. An investigation of Priceline is fully warranted and should not only include publication of false claims, violation of unfair competition laws and fraud, but also unauthorized billing of credit cards for services not received.
With respect to billing for multiple or declined "bids" by unsuspecting consumers, Priceline has clear knowledge of this problem with their site function. Yet, Priceline continues to employ a practice of multiple billing and billing for services not tendered.
Priceline needs to be brought to justice with imposition of a judgement for monetary damages and punished pursuant to the laws permitting for exemplary damages.
I will fully cooperate with any such lawsuit.
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