Originally Posted by
USirritated
Keep in mind, it will be your word against theirs...
Originally Posted by
hhoope01
Given that the OP has a receipt showing a 0 balance, I would guess the onus would be on Marriott to show that there was in fact more to charge.
But the point made is a good one. I would much rather solve the issue directly with Marriott if possible as opposed to working it through the CC company.
In the hotel business, and to a lesser degree in the restaurant business, credit cards are charged/authorized twice. The first time is for a hold amount, and the second time is for the final amount, then releasing any remaining unneeded hold amount. In hotels especially, one of the biggest reasons is in case late charges come in, specifically from the gift shop, the restaurant, the pool bar, the adventure excursions hut, and yes, even for telephone charges. In cultures where English is not the primary language, I have always found that even trying to get mis-charges off of my bill at check out can be a challenge (not because of language, just because of "if it's there, you are responsible for it" sort of thing, or "How do I know if you did not have that drink at the bar?" "Oh, I don't know Mr. Manager, maybe it is because I wear this medic alert bracelet, and I can't drink alcohol, it would make me very sick?"
I was recently at the Renaissance Amsterdam for a six night stay, yet when I checked out, there were charges for EIGHT nights of Internet usage on my bill. Thinking that this was some sort of weird little glitch easy to correct, I went to the front desk on my way to my driver, who was waiting patiently out front. If I pointed this out at a hotel in the US, not only would they correct it almost immediately, they would probably deduct anywhere from two more nights to all of the nights of Internet off of my bill. I asked the front desk clerk to correct this overcharge for a physical impossibility of two nights more than I was actually in the hotel. She did not say "Yes Sir, right away Sir!" She said "One minute Sir, I must check with my collegue." Then she came back and said that a manager had been called and as soon as the manager comes, that this problem would PROBABLY be taken care of! I had to wait another five or six minutes before the extra charges were removed and the new bill was printed!
This mentality makes it that much more difficult to dispute charges through an unrelated third party such as a credit card company. How do you explain some of these twilight zone happenings to Bertha in Rochester who works for Chase or Citi in disputes resolution, when you were dealing with Hildegarde at the Ren Amsterdam, or Yojoba at the Marriott St. Lucia, or Sadohiro at the Courtyard Tokyo Ginza (which used to be a Renaissance, and which I had a dispute with that took over six months to resolve!)?? YMMV
Last edited by USirritated; Oct 24, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Reason: syntax/clarity