Rewards Member Accused of Using Glitch to Fraudulently Obtain $48k in Gift Cards, Choice Hotels Sues

A Florida man is being sued by Choice Hotels after allegedly fraudulently redeeming thousands of dollars in gift cards.

Robert Chat of  St. Petersburg, Fla. learned this week that he is on the receiving end of a major lawsuit from Choice Hotels International. According to a lawsuit filed May 21, Chat discovered and subsequently took advantage of an apparent glitch in Choice’s online reservation system that briefly allowed rewards members to keep points earned from canceled bookings.

Although Chat denies any wrongdoing, Choice alleges Chat used the glitch to fraudulently redeem $48,500 in gift cards by making and canceling hundreds of reservations from October 2014 to January 2015. Chat told the Tampa Bay Times that he was not aware there even was a lawsuit until a reporter spoke to him about it Tuesday.

“I’ll be hiring a lawyer tomorrow to fight the suit as there was nothing done illegal nor was anything done in malice,” said Chat. “I stayed at over 1,100 Choice hotels in the last five years … I worked with their bonus structure to obtain points.”

Chat claims he saw less than 10 percent of the amount Choice alleges. “I’m not even computer literate. If I obtained more rewards than allowed, it’s on their end, not mine. As I’ve stayed in their hotels exclusively for over six years, points do accumulate.”

Choice acknowledges in the lawsuit that Chat actually stayed at a few of its hotels, but allegedly ceased doing so after discovering the glitch. The hotel chain is seeking reimbursement of triple damages from Chat, approximately $145,5000, within 30 days. According to the lawsuit, Choice sent Chat a demand letter in March but he did not reply.

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