Can I do anything???

[diamond80]

What is the name of your state? FL

I recently stayed at a hotel in New Orleans for two nights, and when I booked it online I had to pay a deposit of 171.37(one night) the total for the hotel was 342.74. When I arrived at the hotel I checked in and signed near my check out date. I checked out on 2/09/05 and everything was fine. Recently I checked my checking account and they swiped my card at check-in for 222.38!! This resulted in over draft fees of 60.00. Now, my balance when I checked in was 171.37. I used my debit card for the room and my boyfriend's card was for incedentals. There was nothing said about swiping my card for that amount and the slip I signed when checking out was for 171.37. I called the hotel and she said that I authorized my card at check-in, which I did for 171.37 not for 222.38. Is that considered and unauthorized charge? Is there anything I can do.
I would appreciate any help.

 

[Veronica1228]

What is the name of your state? FL

I recently stayed at a hotel in New Orleans for two nights, and when I booked it online I had to pay a deposit of 171.37(one night) the total for the hotel was 342.74. When I arrived at the hotel I checked in and signed near my check out date. I checked out on 2/09/05 and everything was fine. Recently I checked my checking account and they swiped my card at check-in for 222.38!! This resulted in over draft fees of 60.00. Now, my balance when I checked in was 171.37. I used my debit card for the room and my boyfriend's card was for incedentals. There was nothing said about swiping my card for that amount and the slip I signed when checking out was for 171.37. I called the hotel and she said that I authorized my card at check-in, which I did for 171.37 not for 222.38. Is that considered and unauthorized charge? Is there anything I can do.
I would appreciate any help.

Give me a little more detail. First of all, a debit card doesn't even need to be "swiped" for the hotel to put an authorization through on your card number. Now did they actually put through a hard charge to your account, or just an authorization? There is a difference. If they only put an authorization through, but didn't actually charge your account, then they did nothing wrong. It is common for a hotel to put through an authorization for the full amount that covers the nights you reserved your room for, even if you check out a day or more early. The slip you signed is for the actual amount you owe, and this is what gets posted to your account.

The problems that usually occur from this process is that most banks will hold the funds in your account for the authorization for up to 5 business days. If no slip is put through for this authorization amount, the hold falls off of the funds and you can access them again. It is a very imperfect system, but if this is what happened, you would have no recourse other than to ask your bank if they would consider reversing the charges as a courtesy to you. I know this doesn't help now, but you should always use an actual credit card if possible, for hotels and car rentals agencies. If you don't carry large enough balances in your account, this will always happen.

However, if the hotel put through an actual charge to your account, and you did not sign a slip for that amount, then this could be considered fraud. You would need to notify your bank and fill out an affidavit. This will allow the bank to recoup your funds, and they should then be more then willing to reverse all fees that resulted from this.

 

[JETX]

Is that considered and unauthorized charge?

No.

Is there anything I can do.

Do about what?? Your post isn't clear as to whether there eventually was an overcharge or not. If there was, then you should contact the hotel and request a credit be processed to your account. If they refuse, then contact your credit card company and file a dispute on the overage.
However, if you mean as to the overdraft charges you suffered, you have the ultimate responsibility for knowing your balance... and controlling your spending.

 

[Ladynred]

Hotels and car rental agencies do something called 'blocking'. That means, as Veronica stated, that they will 'authorize' the FULL amount of your hotel stay or car rental with your bank. Its their way of making sure the money/credit is there to pay them. It certainly can cause havoc if you don't have the money in your account to cover the full charge.

 

[diamond80]

What I don't understand is if the full amount that was left on my balance was 171.37, then why did they do an authorization for 222.38? I had the money in there for the 171.37. Maybe I'm just screwed. I have to work 2 jobs to pay my bills, so it's not like I have this extra money just to throw away.
I'm still trying to get somewhere with the hotel also.

Thanks anyways for the advice.

 

[Veronica1228]

What I don't understand is if the full amount that was left on my balance was 171.37, then why did they do an authorization for 222.38? I had the money in there for the 171.37. Maybe I'm just screwed. I have to work 2 jobs to pay my bills, so it's not like I have this extra money just to throw away.
I'm still trying to get somewhere with the hotel also.

Thanks anyways for the advice.

The authorization for $222.38 could have been put through by the hotel to cover the night's stay and any other incidentals that could have been included in your bill once they inspected your room, or charged for other types of services like, mini bar charges, movie rentals, broken furniture, stolen towels, etc.

I know this doesn't sound fair, but it still boils down to the difference between an authorization and a charge. The hotel can basically put in an authorization for any amount they feel will protect their interests. There are really no rules against this that I can think of. However, unless you signed some kind of blanket contract when you checked in, they can only charge your card for the amount you sign for on your credit slip.

Have you even tried explaining what happened to your bank and asking them to reverse the charges? If you are a good customer with no history of other overdrafts, they are usually amenable to doing this on a limited basis.

 

[diamond80]

The man that I spoke to said that the hotel could give him a call, but no one has called. I may go back to my bank again and see if there is anything that can be done. If not, I guess this is a lesson learned. An expensive lesson, but one definetly I will not forget.

 

[MamaLuna]

I'd look into overdraft protection to prevent something like this from happening again.

 

[diamond80]

I just wanted to update everyone.
I had a total of $90.00 worth of overdraft fees.
I spoke with my bank and they took care of one of the overdraft fees $30.00. I kept up to date with the hotel and finally got in contact with the finance department and they refunded me the other $60.00 since it was a misunderstanding. I have definitly learned my lesson and will only use a credit card to book a hotel .

Thanks for everyone's input.