To dispute or not dispute?
#16
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHX, SEA
Programs: Avis President's Club, Global Entry, Hilton/Marriott Gold. No more DL/AA status.
Posts: 4,422
Customers like this are the bane to any small business.
Dude, you got a Mercedes S-class for your ride. And now you want to dispute this? I sure hope that I never encounter you personally or in business. If I were the car service, I'd give you what you want up to 30% off just to keep you off my back, and privately I and my staff would despise you (which you deserve). Save your and the business' time for less trivial items than this. This is a trivial and inconsequential complaint.
Dude, you got a Mercedes S-class for your ride. And now you want to dispute this? I sure hope that I never encounter you personally or in business. If I were the car service, I'd give you what you want up to 30% off just to keep you off my back, and privately I and my staff would despise you (which you deserve). Save your and the business' time for less trivial items than this. This is a trivial and inconsequential complaint.
#17
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 401
#18
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 600
They promised him a ride in an S-Class Mercedes and he got a ride in an S-Class Mercedes.
OP never said that they "guaranteed" him a particular model year of that car.
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Programs: Piggly Wiggly "Shop the Pig!" Preferred Shopper
Posts: 57,066
Among the ways the card-issuing banks earn their fees, from cardholders' perspectives, is that they will seriously consider a cardholder's claim that he/she did not get the goods/services promised. They are not hesitant to deny payment to the vendor, and to side with the cardholder. This is a very valuable service Amex and other card-issuers provide. I've invoked it two or three times in my life, and each time they sided with me.
Still, I hope we all reserve this measure for when the vendor really blew it. Not just a minor failure to deliver, but a major one -- we got half or less of what we paid for.
OP, I think you have good reason not to use this car service again. But in response to the question you posed, my answer is "not dispute."
#20
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta Gold, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, UA Gold (status match)
Posts: 777
I once complained to a car service company (that frequently has offers on a amex) because we reserved a luxury car and we were picked up by a minivan (not a Mercedes). I didn't ask to be credited but inquired as to whether the car was really a luxury car. They ended up crediting me the difference between the standard/economy and luxury cars. They claimed that the minivan was considered a luxury model, though. We use the car service frequently and they always have good customer service.
#21
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: probably an airplane...
Programs: AA Lifer, and other stuff...
Posts: 40
Please do many consumers the favor of *not* disputing this with AMEX. Such a dispute would: (1) almost certainly fail; and more importantly, (2) take the time away from customers with legitimate disputes, and decrease the likelihood that future (legitimate) disputes will be handled well.
The credit card dispute system exists for when goods/services aren't provided, or are provided in a way that is materially different such that cognizable harm occurs (e.g., a person who is 6'7" orders a size 13 shoe and receives a size 9).
(Before everyone freaks...)
Don't get me wrong, you have a legitimate customer service issue with the car service. And I encourage you to pursue it through their system, professionally and politely. If that doesn't reach satisfaction, I encourage you to use other means (e.g., social media) at your disposal to share your story. Should you reach that level, keep it simple, factual, and devoid of personal opinion or judgment -- just provide it as "useful information" available to other consumers when selecting which car service they want to use.
But please, please, don't interfere with the CC grievance process that is so critically important to helping so many consumers avoid predatory business practices. No one likes being deceived. I get you. But you weren't harmed that much -- you got where you were going, safely, and in a clean vehicle. A courier didn't drop the fragile gift you'd saved all year to buy your partner on the concrete pavement outside your door, you weren't threatened by anyone, and no company charged a recurring fee to your credit card without proper authorization to do so. (The examples, of course, get much worse than this, but I'm deliberately trying not to overdramatize.)
The credit card dispute system exists for when goods/services aren't provided, or are provided in a way that is materially different such that cognizable harm occurs (e.g., a person who is 6'7" orders a size 13 shoe and receives a size 9).
(Before everyone freaks...)
Don't get me wrong, you have a legitimate customer service issue with the car service. And I encourage you to pursue it through their system, professionally and politely. If that doesn't reach satisfaction, I encourage you to use other means (e.g., social media) at your disposal to share your story. Should you reach that level, keep it simple, factual, and devoid of personal opinion or judgment -- just provide it as "useful information" available to other consumers when selecting which car service they want to use.
But please, please, don't interfere with the CC grievance process that is so critically important to helping so many consumers avoid predatory business practices. No one likes being deceived. I get you. But you weren't harmed that much -- you got where you were going, safely, and in a clean vehicle. A courier didn't drop the fragile gift you'd saved all year to buy your partner on the concrete pavement outside your door, you weren't threatened by anyone, and no company charged a recurring fee to your credit card without proper authorization to do so. (The examples, of course, get much worse than this, but I'm deliberately trying not to overdramatize.)
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: BAEC Gold, Delta Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, AMEX Platinum (US)
Posts: 18,486
I did speak with one of the managers of the company, we had a civilized chat and we came to a mutual agreement that is beneficial to all. He noted that they did have to subcontract the ride out to another firm as it was a busy day and apologized. I understand that some companies can drop the ball but it is how they respond in those situations that makes a difference. On this occasion after sending a second follow up last night I had a response within a matter of a few minutes.
#25
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 600
Thank you for understanding my point. This isn't something I expect everyone to understand or sympathize with, I was just disappointed that I did my homework and yet ended up with something that I didn't necessarily want.
I did speak with one of the managers of the company, we had a civilized chat and we came to a mutual agreement that is beneficial to all. He noted that they did have to subcontract the ride out to another firm as it was a busy day and apologized. I understand that some companies can drop the ball but it is how they respond in those situations that makes a difference. On this occasion after sending a second follow up last night I had a response within a matter of a few minutes.
I did speak with one of the managers of the company, we had a civilized chat and we came to a mutual agreement that is beneficial to all. He noted that they did have to subcontract the ride out to another firm as it was a busy day and apologized. I understand that some companies can drop the ball but it is how they respond in those situations that makes a difference. On this occasion after sending a second follow up last night I had a response within a matter of a few minutes.
#26
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: GIG - YYC - SVO
Programs: Lost it all and don't care
Posts: 945
A few days ago I utilized a local car service for a Mercedes S Class and paid for this with my Platinum charge card.
Their website showed a stock picture of a 2014 and onwards vehicle, I emailed them to ask them what the age of their S Class was and they responded noting it was a 2016. The car that arrived was a very basic S Class of the previous generation (2007-2013), the driver was great and the ride in was fine but ultimately I could have got the same car or similar on Uber Black for about 2/3 the price and had I known that it was an older car upfront I would have looked elsewhere.
I have emailed the company back to ask them but it has been a couple of days without response when my previous email interactions have been responded to in a couple of hours at most.
I've not had to dispute much but the closest I had to this in the past with Amex was when I had to use a credit card in a payphone and was charged $18 for a 30 second local call. I called Amex and they credited $17 back to me which I was not expecting, I just didn't recognise the origin of the charge so called to get more information.
Anyone else with thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Their website showed a stock picture of a 2014 and onwards vehicle, I emailed them to ask them what the age of their S Class was and they responded noting it was a 2016. The car that arrived was a very basic S Class of the previous generation (2007-2013), the driver was great and the ride in was fine but ultimately I could have got the same car or similar on Uber Black for about 2/3 the price and had I known that it was an older car upfront I would have looked elsewhere.
I have emailed the company back to ask them but it has been a couple of days without response when my previous email interactions have been responded to in a couple of hours at most.
I've not had to dispute much but the closest I had to this in the past with Amex was when I had to use a credit card in a payphone and was charged $18 for a 30 second local call. I called Amex and they credited $17 back to me which I was not expecting, I just didn't recognise the origin of the charge so called to get more information.
Anyone else with thoughts on this?
Thanks!
#27
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: BAEC Gold, Delta Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, AMEX Platinum (US)
Posts: 18,486
My plan was only to dispute the charge/get Amex involved if the company went radio silent with me and even then it wasn't for the whole amount, just a "reasonable" credit for the additional premium for the newer vehicle over what an older one would have cost. As noted in my initial post this is something Amex have done for me in the past pro-actively.
As noted before, my initial emails (pre-booking) were answered in a matter of hours but after 3 days with no response to the "complaint" email I was thinking they were looking to not respond and wait for me to go away.
Whilst that may be accurate it's not exactly feasible in the real world in most cases. If you're going to catch a flight or aim to be somewhere at a specific time you can't take that approach.