Manospeed

I've never dealt with a situation like this before and wanted to see if others have experienced this. Long story short; had reservations at Hyatt Regency Andares Guadalajara July 4 - 7. Reservation was made (and confirmed) on Hyatt's website.

When I arrived at the hotel, they were under the impression (no idea why) that my reservation began on July 3rd. I show them the print-out of the confirmation, thinking this should resolve it.

Finally arrive back home and begin doing my business report. I convert the charge from Mexican pesos to USD and notice an overcharge on my credit card. Turns out they charged me a 'no show' fee and an extra night they thought I was supposed to have arrived. This was in early July.

I've contacted Hyatt customer service numerous times to have this resolved, which never does because I just get transferred to the hotel's accounting department. Last week I provide them with my credit card information so they can credit my account and now they're telling me Chase is declining the transaction and are requesting personal bank account, name of bank, ABBA code, and SWIFT code.

Has anyone ever dealt with such a nightmare? Thoughts?

RTW1

Dispute with you card issuer and be done with it, unless you signed anything that included the no-show fee.

vike

This sounds similar to a refund request I had with Etihad. They claimed they couldn't refund it to my credit card (I didn't understand why), and could only by bank account (with codes as described). I reluctantly provided the bank information and was correctly refunded that way. Hope that helps.

CloudCoder

If by "Hyatt Customer Service" you mean contacting them via the hyatt.com website, I've tried that about half-a-dozen times and I can't recall ever getting a satisfactory resolution.

If you contacted them by phone, you can definitely get a good resolution that-a-way, heavily depending upon whether you get a good agent.

I wonder if you've tried sending a PM to "World of Hyatt Concierge" here on FlyerTalk? It's quick, convenient and effective. That's the very first (and almost always the very last) method I use to fix any Hyatt issues. THey're really good. Try it.

iherebyresign

Also recommend HyattConcierge on Twitter.

Manospeed

So I went to my bank to get the information Hyatt was requesting in order to do the refund. As soon as I explained the situation to my bank, they advised me AGAINST providing anyone (especially overseas) with bank account, ABBA, and swift numbers as this information can be used to clear your account from any funds at a future date. The fact that you might have very little money in the account doesn't prevent anyone from withdrawing more as your account can go 'negative'. Bank manager explained that in case of fraud, the amount of paperwork you would have to fill out is massive. Plus there are no guarantees someone might not try to sell the info on the black market.

When I got back to my office I contacted Chase and they informed me there is no way the hotel's accounting department could have attempted to credit my credit card account and they would reject it, nor did they see any attempts made to credit the account. At that point, they referred me to their disputes department; after explaining the situation Chase will credit my account and they'll take it up with the vendor directly.

This is the first and last time I'm leaving a hotel without validating the charges at the desk before I leave. Lesson learned...

Often1

It's very common overseas to direct credit a bank account. But, it's risky.

If you are due a refund and don't have it, simply file a CC chargeback dispute noting that it has been promised and never arrived. The entire bank account issue is a side show and is irrelevant.

As a general practice, make the request once and then dispute.

MikeFromTokyo

I agree with above posters. I would make a request for a refund by email, to the property directly and CC Hyatt customer service. If you originally paid by credit card, a refund should be made to your credit card.

Then, don't worry about it, just wait several days to a week. If the matter is not resolved by then, just forget dealing with the property/Hyatt and just dispute the charge with your credit card company.

The written email record of your request for a refund may be needed to make the dispute process easier, so that is the reason for first sending off an email as a formality.

invalyd

Seems a chargeback is the best option here. Stop wasting your time with shady property managers and Hyatt customer service. I would even send the property an email to let them know they'll be receiving one in short order.

MikeFromTokyo

Exactly. Basically, please refund me x amount immediately as this was an unauthorized charge to my credit card. If this is not resolved promptly I will be filing a dispute with the credit card company.

End of story. If you get the refund from them, great. If not just dispute the charge and never talk with the property or Hyatt about this again. Either way, you'll get your money back.

Aventine

WOH concierge on here is usually quite effective at resolving problems too.

CloudCoder

Sounds familiar.

Aventine

Great minds!

Dr Jabadski

FWIW, not a nightmare but a similarly annoying experience. Booked 2 consecutive 1 night award nights at Hyatt Regency Cologne 3 months prior to a stay 2 weeks ago. A month prior, called Hyatt Diamond line and changed the 2 nights from Cologne to Dusseldorf. Had a lovely stay in Dusseldorf with no charges confirmed at check-out. Surprised to see a $75 (approximately) charge to my credit card from “Hotel Hyatt Regency” the day after check-out.

Thought the charge was from HR Dusseldorf, multiple calls (fortunately Hyatt Diamond line connected me to each of the hotels once or twice, saving me international calling charges) and emails of screenshots, turns out the charge was a Cancellation Fee from HR Cologne which was quickly refunded. (I did however, lose 28 cents and 0.84 Ultimate Rewards points on the Euro to dollar conversions for the charge and the credit. )

Teaching points: Hyatt likes their Cancellation/No Show Fees, they always have a credit card to charge when they want to, and watch your credit card activity like a hawk!

MikeFromTokyo

That's very disappointing to hear that they are quick to charge penalties, and without an email explanation of the charges. I certainly hope luxury Hyatt properties never do that, as good hotels only strictly enforce penalties in the ratest of circumstances, i.e. when the cancellation really affects their availability and actually costs them. Even then it's tricky, because penalizing an engaged regular guest runs the risk of pissing them off and can cost the hotel future business.