The websites through which more and more Romanians book their holidays are also full of at least dubious people, who in some situations try to take advantage of people’s good faith. In some cases, the entanglements are difficult to resolve and ruin the vacations of those caught in the traps.
Illustrative image. PHOTO by Pixabay
Scammers, but also unforeseen situations can ruin the vacations of those who use the booking sites, especially if the payments are made without the right of free cancellation. A Romanian woman told on the Facebook group Vacanțe do it yourself the problem she faced after she booked a vacation and already paid, without the right of free cancellation, to the owner of the hotel where she was going to stay. Later, the owner told him that he could no longer honor the deal and asked him to cancel the reservation, although in such situations customers lose money.
“Hello! I made a reservation on Booking, and the owner sent me a message to cancel the accommodation because he can no longer honor it for medical reasons. I want to mention that I already paid for the accommodation, as there was no free cancellation, and the owner only messaged me 2 weeks after I made the reservation. Those of you who have experienced situations like this, what steps did you take to get your money back? Thank you in advance!“, she wrote.
The biggest mistake
That’s how she found out that she was not the only one who faced such problems, but also that it would be the biggest mistake to follow the owner’s advice, which would practically leave her without money.
“Do not cancel it yourself, as you will lose your money. Tell him to cancel it himself if he really has problems. Be careful how you word it, as it is possible that your message will show up at Booking. Make it clear in the message that you are not requesting the cancellation“, someone recommended.
“The owner cannot cancel. Only the tourist or Booking at the motivated request of the owner if they wish”, someone contradicted him. It was in turn contradicted. “The owner can very well cancel, but he is penalized by Booking and hopes to avoid this by shamelessly lying to the customer,” someone else wrote.
“There must be a protocol between the owner and Booking. It is clear that the first request will be made by the owner, who will probably take over the expenses for the new location as much as will be offered by booking (if the client requests)”someone else said.
“The owner should transfer the money to you and only then, if you wish, cancel the reservation. Or call Booking to find you a similar accommodation, and if it is more expensive they are obliged to pay the difference in one form or another. That’s the official procedure,” explained other netizens.
“Contact Booking to relocate you. You must receive superior conditions to what you booked or extra services. You don’t cancel anything”, was another piece of advice.
Others asked them to contact Booking directly. “Tell him to send you a cancellation request and call Booking in the meantime”, was just one of these tips.
Emotions and more emotions
Finally, the author of the post followed these tips and partially solved the problem. However, she wasn’t very sure that she would get her money in time to make a new booking, so she risked spending her holiday at home waiting for the money.
“Thanks for the info! I did as you recommended. How long did it take you to get your money back? I’m a little stressed about this situation because I want to make a new reservation“, she returned. “In less than a week“, someone encouraged her. Someone else, however, told him that it could be more than a month before he gets his money back. “In 33 Days”came the implacable reply.
“Last year, the money was taken from my card 6 months before the travel date (although it was the option with free cancellation) and the worst… The one who took the money was the owner, not Booking, and I waited over a month for it I am recovering after the owner canceled the reservation a month before. It was horrible. I didn’t think something like this could happen. And the bank kept telling them that if I communicated the card data, I agreed with the transaction without taking into account that the terms of the transaction were not respected”another lady wrote.
