Quite the surprise on my credit card bill

[mpls_mm]

I have the DxDP and called to make reservations last month. I got Hoop Dee Doo and Mickeys barbecue reserved. I've done this many times so I know the drill, this time however, I got the quite the surprise when I opened my CC statement and had been charged in full for both events for all of us. It took forever to even figure it out because I had so many reservations, the first two CM's told me it was impossible, that I was mistaken, they actually kind of acted like I was a moron and explained authorization and actual charges. Like I am not looking at my statement in my hand. The third finally gets it but says she has to transfer me to the billing department but cuts me off before she transfers. Finally, I get a very good CM who could look and figure it out. She was able to see instead of a courtesy hold, it was all charged.. I knew that. She said she issued a credit, but I am still waiting to see it get credited. I pay my balance off every month, and am frustrated by several hundred dollars in extra charges, especially after upgrading to Deluxe dining. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Why no apology or anything? What if I went over my limit or really needed the money? Thank goodness I didn't use my debit card.

[Mackey Mouse]

I have had issues when I use to charge on my room key.....that is why I never use that option anymore.. I was getting double charges for restaurants.. Now I strictly use my AE and charge it directly.. that way if there is an issue, AE and I figure it out.. they handle it with Disney.

I have never used the DDP, but I would think it could happen and that is why we have to pay very close attention to our credit company bills when they come in. :)

[Bete]

Did you state you were on the the dining plan at the time of the reservation? When I've done this, I don't have a charge. A charge will only occur if you don't show up or don't cancel in time. I will say I will verify with CMs now to make sure they don't charge on such events when making the ressie.

If you can get on line with your credit card statement, you might be able to see the credit. I don't think it's instant, but it doesn't take too long for it to be posted. Also, you can call your customer service of your credit card company and check that way, too. It may take a couple of calls, but eventually they should be able to tell you there's a credit. Make sure it's the exact amount in question.

[mpls_mm]

Yes, I always tell them deluxe dining. I have never had an issue before. The CM told me they have a lot of new people and it is easy for them to make a mistake. I have been checking online but have not seen a credit. The CM said it could take a full cycle to show up, but I give credits to people all the time and they usually show up. I am just disappointed at the lack of follow-thru on their part. I'm sure most people would be upset at having several hundred dollars charged on their card without notice. they always explain the hold when they take your number and the cancellation policy.

[kaytieeldr]

Ah, but you 'give credits' how? Do you work for a credit card company (e.g. once you're notified of the credit and apply it, it shows up on the customer's account immediately BUT you have no control over the merchant's accounting system, especially how many steps a credit has to go through before you get it); do you work for a merchant (e.g. you apply the credit immediately but you have no control over the card's processing center OR the customer's billing cycle)?

I don't care WHERE you work - just offering some general scenarios for why it MAY take X days/weeks for a credit to appear on someone's account.

[carj]

This is not the same thing at all because mine was a valid charge but I thought that it might be helpful since you are waiting for a credit.

We charged CRT in full for dinner. I was finally able to get CRT for breakfast but had to charge that amount in full as well. They told me that it could take up to a full billing cycle to get the amount for the first charge back but it was actually there is about 3 days. I think that they say a full billing cycle so people don't expect the credit to occure immediately.

[mpls_mm]

Ah, but you 'give credits' how? Do you work for a credit card company (e.g. once you're notified of the credit and apply it, it shows up on the customer's account immediately BUT you have no control over the merchant's accounting system, especially how many steps a credit has to go through before you get it); do you work for a merchant (e.g. you apply the credit immediately but you have no control over the card's processing center OR the customer's billing cycle)?

I don't care WHERE you work - just offering some general scenarios for why it MAY take X days/weeks for a credit to appear on someone's account.
I own a business and process over a million dollars per year, but thats not the point. I think if someone tells you they are taking your credit card to put a courtesy hold on your tickets and they will not charge you and then they charge you, it's not good business practice. I also don't think I should have to wait a full billing cycle to see if it is corrected and then if it is not call again and wait another billing cycle and on and on. I don't want to dispute with my credit card company because that might cancel the reservation, and I don't want to do that. I think someone should have apologized and done their best to rectify the situation immediately instead of telling me to wait and month to se if it worked. This is the dining plan thread and I am sure I am not the only one that uses a card to guarantee my ressies and I think people should be aware it could happen. From now on I am using a virtual credit card.

[kaytieeldr]

I own a business and process over a million dollars per year, but thats not the point. I think if someone tells you they are taking your credit card to put a courtesy hold on your tickets and they will not charge you and then they charge you, it's not good business practice. I agree completely, and wasn't defending Disney. Your card should NOT have been billed in the first place. Obviously, somebody made a mistake.

It's not that you WILL have to wait a full billing cycle to see the credit; it's that, despite the merchant putting the credit through immediately, it now falls on your credit card issuer to apply that credit to your account.

The disclaimer used to be "up to two billing cycles"; it depends on the bank processing the credit AND the customer's billing cycle. If you call today and get the merchant to process the credit today, and your billing cycle runs from the 16th of a month to the 15th of the following month, the credit would show on your June statement.

Surprising as it sounds, many credit card customers do not have Internet service, or at least don't use it to track financial transactions. "It may take one full billing cycle" covers everyone; of COURSE the credit should show up on the cardholder's account much sooner than June 15th - but the merchant isn't going to change the content of the information, they're going to tell everyone the same thing; in this case, warn every Guest of the possibility of how long it will generally take for the credit to show on one's bill.

[jcemom]

This recently happened to me also. I was charged in full for HDDR when I clearly stated I was on the DDP at the time of making the reservation. I know the CM was aware of it because I booked HDDR and SoA at the same time, my card was charged for HDDR but not SoA. Whether it was a system error or a CM error I don't know, but one way or the other I was charged a couple hundred dollars. When I noticed the charge on my account several days later (I check mine online often) I called. The CM I got had no idea how to fix it but was very polite and apologetic. He put me on hold while consulting a supervisor, then returned within five minutes or so to let me know they had issued a credit to my card, and he apologized again. The credit showed up within a week (Disney Visa).

[Mom2Max]

I made reservations for HDDR before the free dining came out. I then called back after I applied FD to our trip to have them credit my account. They told me a refund has been "applied", but that it will take up to a couple of billing cycles to show up on my account. It's been almost a month and a half and I'm still waiting.....:confused3

[kaytieeldr]

You need to call back. As i tried (probably poorly) to explain above, the "X billing cycles" is, or should be, standard text based on the possibility of a billing cycle ending on the day the credit was requested/processed. It may take that long to show up on your bill, but no way should it take nearly that long to show up on your account.

Call again.

[mpls_mm]

I understand that it takes time to show up on my credit card bill, however, I can see at the end of the day if a credit has been put through. Disney will see at the end of the evening when they batch out if the credit has gone through on their end. They can pull reports at any time to see if they have actually processed a credit for that customer. I think someone actually looking at it and verifying that they have indeed applied a credit is better than me waiting a billing cycle to see if they did. If they incorrectly charged me the first time, why should I assume they know how to process a credit? I pay off my credit card bill every month to avoid paying interest and I don't like having to pay several hundred dollars off or pay interest while I wait for the people that made a mistake to correct their mistake. Your credit card company can see within 5 days if a credit has been given by Disney, but talking to my credit card company is worse than talking to Disney.

[skater]

I own a business and process over a million dollars per year, but thats not the point. I think if someone tells you they are taking your credit card to put a courtesy hold on your tickets and they will not charge you and then they charge you, it's not good business practice. I also don't think I should have to wait a full billing cycle to see if it is corrected and then if it is not call again and wait another billing cycle and on and on. I don't want to dispute with my credit card company because that might cancel the reservation, and I don't want to do that. I think someone should have apologized and done their best to rectify the situation immediately instead of telling me to wait and month to se if it worked. This is the dining plan thread and I am sure I am not the only one that uses a card to guarantee my ressies and I think people should be aware it could happen. From now on I am using a virtual credit card.



ITA. As much as I love the Disney parks, I think the corporation unnecessarily messes up wtih these type of customer service issues.

[Sugardimples]

This happened to me with CRT last January. The charge was reversed after I called about it.

[KigerKat]

Wow! We've got HDD reserved, and I'll probably add Mickey's BBQ - I hope this doesn't happen to us!! I'll be sure to keep my eyes open. We are using a separate vacation account for this, and we don't check it too often.

Thanks for the heads up!

[bumbershoot]

I understand that it takes time to show up on my credit card bill, however, I can see at the end of the day if a credit has been put through. Disney will see at the end of the evening when they batch out if the credit has gone through on their end. They can pull reports at any time to see if they have actually processed a credit for that customer. I think someone actually looking at it and verifying that they have indeed applied a credit is better than me waiting a billing cycle to see if they did. If they incorrectly charged me the first time, why should I assume they know how to process a credit? I pay off my credit card bill every month to avoid paying interest and I don't like having to pay several hundred dollars off or pay interest while I wait for the people that made a mistake to correct their mistake. Your credit card company can see within 5 days if a credit has been given by Disney, but talking to my credit card company is worse than talking to Disney.

The likelihood of anyone in CS having that info, or even knowing that that info is possible to see is so low it's miniscule.

When I worked at amazon, all we could EVER see was if the refund had been requested. We could go NO further.

And I knew from being a customer as well that what my bank might show nearly instantly, it would take another bank or card a month or more to show, even though the refunds were requested around the same time and went through the same process.


It's rotten you were charged, though, most definitely!!!