<p>This is, I guess, part venting and part asking for advice.</p>
<p>In late August, my fiance was invited by a former professor of his to Georgia Tech, where he helped with a series of experiments. Georgia Tech put him up in a hotel and paid him back for his airline ticket.</p>
<p>The hotel took his credit card number for incidentals, and in early October, we were charged for the hotel room. We quickly contacted Ga Tech, who assured us they’d paid for the room already and gave us the check number. The hotel agrees that Ga Tech paid for the room, but “does not have a record” of charging us as well.</p>
<p>We’ve made many, many calls to the hotel since early October. We’ve only gotten through to the appropriate hotel staff member three or four times; she is rarely at the hotel when we call. I got through to her about two weeks ago, and she asked me to fax a copy of my bank statement with the charge highlighted. I did so. I think we have only reached her once since then (despite calling rather frequently!), and she told my fiance that she was still reviewing our request.</p>
<p>Is there anything else I can do to get our money back? Two nights at a hotel isn’t exactly pocket change for us, especially with Christmas coming up. I know many credit card companies will help out if you dispute a charge; does this generally apply to bank-issued debit cards as well?</p>
<p>I suggest writing to the CEO of the hotel (if it’s part of a chain) of some higher-up with the appropriate documentation and letting him/her know that you have contacted or tried to contact the staff person many many times and would like to be reimbursed pronto. Hotels are usually afraid of bad publicity, so you may want to mention various hotel rating sites.</p>
<p>I am a former hotel manager. You should contact your bank who issued the debit card. Explain the situation and tell them you want to know how to dispute the charge in the same way you would with a credit card.
This is sheer incompetence on the part of the hotel. Was the hotel a chain by any chance? If it is a privately owned hotel, ask for the General Manager. This staff person is just simply not doing her job. Mistakes happen but this needs to be corrected. You need to escalate your response, unfortunately sometimes you have to go over the staff person’s head and or start being a little less nice. PM me if you need further help. There is a way to get this fixed.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I almost know the answer to this question (but not quite). Most debit cards are actually issued through one or the other main credit card network (Visa or MC), and have the appropriate “bug” (logo) on them. I don’t know, however, whether the package of services represented by the debit card includes the dispute-resolution mechanisms that are part of what you get with a credit card or an Amex card. I strongly suspect that, as a matter of formal structure, the answer is “no”. On the other hand, it can’t hurt to call your bank and discuss it with however many service reps you get turfed to. Tell them that your card was charged improperly</p>
<p>Also, How about disputing the charge IN WRITING with the credit card company. I would include all documentation about the hotel having been paid by the university.</p>
<p>We were once double charged for dinner in a restaurant. I have the feeling that this was not an accident. We disputed the charge, and called the restaurant. They quickly apologized for their error, and then sent a gift certificate for $50 to dine there again. BTW, a few months later they were out of business.</p>
<p>Sorry, I did not read your last line. I thought they took his credit card #, and I assumed that they placed a charge on it. Debits… there must be a way, but I don’t have the answer.</p>
<p>ebeeee, it’s definitely a chain hotel. Maybe I should call them and threaten to reveal the name on CC? ;)</p>
<p>I definitely realize I need to be a little less nice, but then I get on the phone and all my resolve goes away. I am planning to call back tomorrow morning, and if I get the run-around again, I will ask if there is a corporate number I can call. (There! I promised to do it, and now I can’t chicken out!)</p>
<p>I just did a little bit of poking around my bank’s webpage, and it seems that it’s possible to dispute a debit card charge, so I will try that next. My bank is BoA, though, and I’ve heard not-wonderful things about their customer service… still, it can’t be much worse than two months of calling the hotel every other day!</p>
<p>If I were you, I would not call. Send all the information to the staff person at the hotel, to head of customer’s services at the corporate headquarters, to customer’s services at BoA and make sure everyone knows that the cc’s have been sent. The staff person may not care to receive a scold from headquarters.</p>
<p>I’ll bet you this will take a whole lot less time than hanging on on the phone. For all I know, the staff person will be thinking turkey all day tomorrow.</p>
<p>I would make a complaint to the bank that issued the debit card, in writing, and show the documents. I would explain that I was improperly billed, and how the hotel fraudulently took my money.</p>