jonspencer

I stayed at a Hyatt property a few months ago and just had a charge pop up on my credit card for UISD 250

After contacting them I was told it was for major damage to the room

I was only there a short time and no idea what they could be referring to, anybody else here on FF had this happen?

tfung

Should ask them to send you pictures and show you exactly what they are talking about... If it's really "major", $250 seems quite a small amount...

Doc Savage

I don't see how they could link you to room damages after a couple of months. I'd expect to be informed within a day or two if they had questions.

Require proof of their allegation, and if they don't provide it satisfactorily or reverse the charges, file a credit card dispute.

Good luck!

ETA: This amount sounds like it could be deep cleaning of a non-smoking room after it has been smoked in. Is that possible? It's pretty common in the US.

Miesque

$250 is around the rate I see posted in non-smoking room that they will charge if they think you smoked in it (or if you happen to smell so much like a smokestack that impact the freshness of the room).

JumboJet

Smoking was the first thing that came to mind for me (not saying you did). I'd fight it just because of the time lapse.

Miesque

I have several times been assigned a room that was non-smoking which smelled suspiciously like someone was a heavy smoker was in it, but not the overbearing stench of a room that someone was smoking in and I go back downstairs and comment on it and get another room in such circumstance.

jonspencer

happy to post they refunded the charge, all seemed a bit strange and I am a non-smoker ;-)

NYC2SGN

Reviving this thread after more than five years.

This is happening to me. Hotel charged me two times after my stay because they said I broke their TV. I told them I watched the TV and it worked just fine. They sent me a picture of the TV. It didn't look out of the ordinary. I spoke with the manager and they said the charges would stay because I was the last guest in the room before the housekeeper. I didn't photograph or video record the room before leaving, so I don't know what other evidence I can provide besides my partner being with me the entire time in the room when I was there. I feel like it's my word against theirs, it doesn't look like hotels take an 'innocent until proven guilty' approach to this kind of situation. Anyone have any advice?

1mileman

do a chargeback. the hotel will need to provide evidence to prove the charge is needed.

LowValueCustomer

Yep, chargeback. In a circumstance like this, I might dispute all charges from the merchant, not just the excess charge. There are of course risks with that approach (e.g., charge could be submitted to collections), but for me at least, those risks are well worthwhile to cause pain to properties operating in bad faith. YMMV.

JackE

That's not how chargebacks work. If you run up a $1,000 bill in a restaurant and they incorrectly overcharged you by $1 (say, incorrect menu price), you will not get away with cancelling the whole amount. Bank is more likely to just cancel your credit card.

LowValueCustomer

It is indeed how chargebacks work. If the property wishes to dispute, it can provide evidence supporting the portion of the charge it feels is valid, which is fine. Then they've caused me an administrative nuisance, and I've caused them one.

mahasamatman

You are far more likely to succeed if you only claim the overcharge and not the entire charge. The bank could consider the latter to be a fraudulent or nuisance claim.

seawolf

!?!?

So you just admitted that is not how chargeback works

What you are suggested is just spite also involving administrative nuisance for resources from card issuing and merchant acquiring banks as well.

VegasGambler

Unless if you lie on your chargeback claim it won't get that far.

If you dispute a $1000 claim because you were charged a $250 fee that you should not owe, and you say that in your complaint, the bank will not request documentation for the valid $750; they will just amend your request to be for the $250 that's in question.

If you lie in the dispute and say that the entire $1000 is invalid, then they will request documentation, it will be submitted, you will lose, and the bank will do whatever they do to people who file fraudulent chargeback requests. My suspicion is that you can get away with it a couple of times before they just feel that you aren't worth their time.