I’ve had an interesting experience with what I believe is literally the evil arm of Priceline and the kind of corruption we now witness in corporations. It’s with a subsidiary of Priceline and Agoda, called “GetARoom.” They’ve been disciplined by the Better Business Bureau and have a class action lawsuit against them, yet continue to operate unimpeded.
They deceive you into thinking you’re at a hotel website—say the Holiday Inn. You book a room but are not led to a confirmation page before they charge you—-a page that confirms the details of your reservations such as date, price, taxes, room type, etc. before charging you. They charge you right away without any disclosure. But the price you pay is suddenly doubled, and you see this at the end.
So, you call the Holiday Inn and that’s when you learn a third party has made your reservation. So you call Get A Room—-the number given to you by hotel staff—and the people In this foreign office are well trained to keep your money. Some consumers have even said they were told they were speaking to the Holiday Inn when they call.
They won’t refund you even though you’ve caught them in deception. After a two-hour wait for a supervisor, they call the Holiday Inn, put the fear of god into the poor front desk guy, and then let you know the hotel refuses to cancel.
It’s such an evil script. You type “GetARoom Steals From People” in your browser and you start reading thousands of complaints on the web—people who fared much worse than you—people who are out thousands of dollars, despite their vigilance to get their money back.
Sometimes the Better Business Bureau is successful in helping to get your money back, but GetARoom has figured out that if they only refund say 1/4 of the time, it’s just enough to keep operating by appearing falsely “sympathetic and honest” part of the time. The BBB says they gave the company a year to improve their practices, but the company has failed to do so. They have a poor rating, but in Biden’s America it hardly matters to them. They’ll get a few years out of this and millions of dollars before changing their name or disappearing.
There is truly a feeling out there that anything goes, that the customer can be a victim of deception without any recourse. Evil seems to be spreading like fog and it’s up to us to take care of ourselves and our bank accounts.
I won’t be making reservations online anymore. It’s best to call the hotel directly. This is what you’re facing out there, so it’s truly a time of “buyer beware.” I’m out $300 but I’ve read about others who have it far, far, worse.
Be vigilant out there. The system is not your friend. In fact, some are deceptively evil.
Call your credit card company, and request a stop payment. They're usually pretty good at stopping the payment.
I’m doing that, but GetARoom has that base covered too. Consumer’s banks are letting the charges go through. This is their letter to banks as found on the BBB site. This letter is such BS! Discounted rates? That’s a joke.
Thank you for contacting Getaroom regarding the complaint from **** ********. We regret that she experienced a level of service that did not meet her personal expectations and ultimately prompted her to file a formal complaint. We understand from the complaint that the guest researched and found what she thought was a direct website for Tru By Hilton Burlington. While we understand that internet search results can sometimes be confusing, rest assured, we are authorized to provide our discounted rates through various sources, suppliers, and affiliate partners. The Tru By Hilton Burlington does provide their direct number and website on various internet search browsers as well. From the customer's online search results page, the customer's booking journey depends on which link they choose to click on. By securing the reservation online the guest had to agree to the terms and conditions of the reservations prior to submitting payment. In addition, upon completion of the booking, an electronic copy of the itinerary was sent via email to the email address that was provided during the booking process. All prepaid reservations that are posted on our website are fully visible along with the subtotal, tax recovery charges and service fees. In addition, the cancellation policy was fully disclosed at the time of booking and was agreed to at the time of purchase. Each room in this reservation is subject to the hotel's cancellation policy which is: This reservation is non-refundable. There is no refund for no-shows or early checkouts. While we realize the process may be confusing, we do not feel we deceived or misled the guest in any way. Given the fact Getaroom is financially liable for the guest's reservations, we will not be able to provide a refund at this time. The guest reservation remains active and confirmed per the original booking conditions. We regret any inconvenience or frustration that this experience has caused the guest and hope the information we provided has adequately addressed her questions or concerns. Sincerely, Consumer Relations
This language is in direct conflict with your account of the situation:
If you can get proof that payment was collected prior to you agreeing to their terms, then you need to record, and document that proof. That would be solid evidence of fraud, because it directly conflicts with their statement. Such evidence would be useful to support future, potential legal action.