Can a company charge a CC without your knowledge?

[hinodis]

We recently stayed in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. We decided at the last minute to go down one day early. I contacted the cabin rental company and they agreed we could arrive a day early. The woman from the company told me she was not in the office and she would settle up with me on monday. We were arriving on a Sunday. On Sunday we were shopping for our groceries for the weeks stay and I got a phone call from her telling me that she "forgot" that someone was checking out that morning and the cleaning lady had arrived late. She asked us to drive around for a couple of hours till the cabin was ready. She said check in isn't until 4:00 anyway. I pointed out that it was 5:15 and told her I just bought food, including meat, and we just drove 9 hours and we were fine with having the cleaning lady there. She tried to argue but I was adament, we were going to the cabin. We arrived and unloaded our stuff. The lady was cleaning. No biggie. The rental lady shows up and makes a big fuss about us being there. DH looks at the hot tub and it is filthy. They claim it was cleaned. The TV's did not have any reception. Anyhow, they were there until 9:30p.m. I was never contacted about paying for the extra night. I had talked to the lady several times because she was working on the TV issue. I figured that she was not charging us for that night due to all the problems. I got home and I found a charge on the CC i used for the first nights deposit on my bill. I had paid my balance due by check before we left. I did NOT authorize that payment. Can she just charge my card without my knowledge?

 

[mtblujeans]

If I were in this situation, I would call the woman and ask her if she charged something that I did not authorize on the credit card. Sounds like she went with the credit card route because she thought you might refuse to pay for that first night due to the cleanliness issue.

If it is not resolved to your satisfaction by talking to her, I would then call my credit card company and talk to them about the charge. If you dispute the charge with your credit card company, it could become a very big issue that you might not appreciate.

I would suggest starting with the woman you made the reservations with and talked to in person that first night. Perhaps the issue can all be resolved with her. Good luck.

 

[carj]

I would think that they would want to ask you how you were planning on paying for that additional night, but since you were actually spending the night, I would expect to be charged.

From what I am reading, you did spend the night there. The cabin wasn't ready but you insisted on entering anyway. (No judgement, you were expecting it to be ready and you were exhausted.)

If you did in fact spend the night, then I would expect to be charged. Who were you supposed to "settle up" with? These people sound pretty disorganized and it sounds like you should not rent with them again. However, since you did stay there, then I would pay the charge, unless she told you that you were not going to have to pay.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Oh my.. We had a similar problem when we stay in the Smokey Mountains. The cabin was full of mold. We stayed one night and the next day both of us had a terrible backache from the saggy bed. The hot tub was green. I called the owner who does not even live in TN. I asked him when the last time he was at the cabin because it was clean by the water marks on the paneling that there had be significant water damage. He said oh yea turn the dehumidifier on. I told him it has been running not stop the bed is so saggy we both rolled to the middle yada yada. And he was nice and refunded our money. And we were lucky enough to find a nice condo close to town.

As for charging you I would fight it with your credit card company. It was in deed an unauthorized charge.

 

[joellyn23]

I would think that they would want to ask you how you were planning on paying for that additional night, but since you were actually spending the night, I would expect to be charged.

From what I am reading, you did spend the night there. The cabin wasn't ready but you insisted on entering anyway. (No judgement, you were expecting it to be ready and you were exhausted.)

If you did in fact spend the night, then I would expect to be charged. Who were you supposed to "settle up" with? These people sound pretty disorganized and it sounds like you should not rent with them again. However, since you did stay there, then I would pay the charge, unless she told you that you were not going to have to pay.

I agree here. Unless they told it you could stay the extra night free of charge, I would have expected to pay for it.

I hope it all works out.

 

[msmayor]

This is not much different than a hotel charging you for items they 'missed' before you checked out.

If you provided a CC number for the stay, and then added an extra night, they really had a logical reason for charging the card. You can't just assume that because you weren't happy with the way the room was cleaned (and it sounds like they weren't even done when you got there) you wouldn't have to pay.

 

[hinodis]

My issue is mostly with the fact that I was charged without my knowledge. The day we checked out the cleaning lady pulled up and sat at the end of our driveway at 10:00a.m. Checkout was at 11:00. She sat there for an hour watching us load up the van. I definatley will not be staying there again.

 

[npmommie]

any place we have ever stayed has just charged the credit card used if we decide to spend an extra night.
they usually will ask, should we just use the cc on file?
since you did spend the night i don't think its unauthorized.

 

[CalvaryMike]

How did she get your credit card number to begin with? Did you sign an agreement? If you did, what does the agreement say?

I agree with the other posters. Since you stayed the night, you incurred the charges. You said, "I figured that she was not charging us for that night due to all the problems." Did she ever say that you would not be charged due to the problems?

 

[hinodis]

I had to pay for the first night as a deposit on the room when I made the reservation. I used my CC for that. I just feel that she should have contacted me and asked how I would like to pay for the extra night. She spoke with us several times during our stay. She had the TV repair people come out to fix the TV problem. That was about halfway through our stay. I am NOT trying to get a free night, it was only @ $100.00. It is the principal of it. Hotels always ask do you want to use the card we have on file, before they charge you. If asked I would have said No, I will stop in your office and pay cash. I just want to know if what she did was LEGAL.

 

[RitaE]

this is really quite different than being charged without your knowledge.
If you asked for a night to be added to the reservation, then it is reasonable to expect that you would be charged for that night. It would be perfectly acceptable for any hotel or rental agency to charge the same card you used to pay for the other nights of your stay.

Now, if the room was below standard and you felt you were entitled to a discount, then you should have addressed the issue with her and ask for compensation. You can still do so, either by phone call or letter.

Hotels always ask do you want to use the card we have on file, before they charge you. If asked I would have said No, I will stop in your office and pay cash. I just want to know if what she did was LEGAL.

Short answer -- yes. Since you didn't stop in the office and pay by another method, they paid according to the card which was on file.

 

[horseshowmom]

Well, my response is going to be a little different than the others. I would contact her questioning the charge (and fully expecting it to be removed). I would state that since she didn't include it in the regular charges, I had assumed she had comped me that night (had indicated you would "settle up" later but didn't contact you).

I certainly think she should have, and it was a reasonable assumption on your part (probably should have mentioned it at the time though). You made your arrangements expecting to get into the property, drove 9 hours, bought groceries - which basically left you with no choice but to go to the property, and then were informed that she "forgot" somebody was checking out that day. Then you had someone there until 9:30 and still had a dirty hot tub.

If she doesn't take care of the issue, I would definitely contact the credit card company. I've had to do this before, and it's really not that big of a deal. They will send you some paperwork to complete to justify your claim. Go ahead and document everything that happened (times, etc.), so you don't forget before the paperwork gets to you.

Under the circumstances, I definitely do NOT think you should have been charged for that night. I had something similar happen in a beachfront condo. When we got there, the maid had apparently not shown up (beds had obviously been slept in and towels on the floor). I spend two hours trying to get somebody on the phone. When they finally called back, they moved us to another unit and comped us for that night's charge.

 

[mtblujeans]

Well, my response is going to be a little different than the others. I would contact her questioning the charge (and fully expecting it to be removed). I would state that since she didn't include it in the regular charges, I had assumed she had comped me that night (had indicated you would "settle up" later but didn't contact you).

I certainly think she should have, and it was a reasonable assumption on your part (probably should have mentioned it at the time though). You made your arrangements expecting to get into the property, drove 9 hours, bought groceries - which basically left you with no choice but to go to the property, and then were informed that she "forgot" somebody was checking out that day. Then you had someone there until 9:30 and still had a dirty hot tub.

If she doesn't take care of the issue, I would definitely contact the credit card company. I've had to do this before, and it's really not that big of a deal. They will send you some paperwork to complete to justify your claim. Go ahead and document everything that happened (times, etc.), so you don't forget before the paperwork gets to you.

Under the circumstances, I definitely do NOT think you should have been charged for that night. I had something similar happen in a beachfront condo. When we got there, the maid had apparently not shown up (beds had obviously been slept in and towels on the floor). I spend two hours trying to get somebody on the phone. When they finally called back, they moved us to another unit and comped us for that night's charge.

Contacting the credit card company is not a big deal or tough process. However, if the cabin manager will not drop the charge for the cabin from that night, can she claim you are attempt to 'steal services'? That is what I meant by "it could become a very big issue that you might not appreciate". IMHO, you have to be very careful of the claims you make.

 

[undertheradar]

Look at it this way, you added a night on the front end of the stay. The rental charged a deposit on your original dates and it was placed on a credit card. You added a night after you had paid for all of your original nights. The rental office charged you an additional deposit which was applied to your first night's stay. If you intended to pay anyway, leave it go. If you had conversations with the rental office during the week, you could have asked how you should pay them for the added night. They didn't overcharge you and you authorized the charge when you gave them your credit card information for your original dates. As I see it, they accomodated you by allowing you to add on the night. Not every guest leaves on time and most fail to report things that are not working.

 

[missj1975]

It sounds to me that you left without settling the bill so yes it is legal for the company to charge your credit card. You shouldn't have assumed you were going to be comped the extra night. You should have verified with the hotel manager.

You can always try to dispute the charge but since you did stay an extra night and the hotel has proof of that, you will lose the dispute.

 

[Benducci]

You had to pay the bill for that night - You had given her your CC # - you didn't tell her that you were going to pay otherwise- it is entirely legal for her to charge you then.

Now, you may want to argue it about the cleaning ady & other problems you had with your stay but that has nothing to do with the fact that you stayed an extra night & would be expected to pay for it.

 

[horseshowmom]

You had to pay the bill for that night - You had given her your CC # - you didn't tell her that you were going to pay otherwise- it is entirely legal for her to charge you then.

Now, you may want to argue it about the cleaning ady & other problems you had with your stay but that has nothing to do with the fact that you stayed an extra night & would be expected to pay for it.

This is what I respectfully have to disagree about. The problems were created because they told her she could have the extra night. I'm sure if they had told her that she would have to wait for the cleaning lady (particularly that late), she wouldn't have booked for that night. They didn't tell her that there was a problem until after she had driven there and bought groceries. The fact thay they didn't have their act together should be their problem, not hers. JMHO

 

[mjkacmom]

I've checked out of many hotels without them asking me how I wanted to be billed. They don't have to comp you the whole $100 for not having the room ready. I arrived at a resort with my 5 children, and my 2 year old twins needed to nap, and the person who had the room before us refused to leave for 3 hours! Needless to say, it was a LONG 3 hours!

 

[ELLE-TN]

My family rents cabins in that area frequently...never the same place. Would you mind sharing the name of the rental agent (PM if you need to). I wouldn't want to stay there myself considering the hot tub wasn't clean.

 

[msmayor]

This is what I respectfully have to disagree about. The problems were created because they told her she could have the extra night. I'm sure if they had told her that she would have to wait for the cleaning lady (particularly that late), she wouldn't have booked for that night. They didn't tell her that there was a problem until after she had driven there and bought groceries. The fact thay they didn't have their act together should be their problem, not hers. JMHO

Then the issue of room condition and payment for the room for that particular night should have been settled BEFORE she left and came home.

Its very difficult to prove your case when you didn't make clear your intention not to pay at the time of the problem. The fact is...she used the cabin for that night and the owner is entitled to be compensated for it UNLESS she can prove some type of negligence or lack of services.

My parents had a situation a few years ago when they rented a cabin up in Maine. When they arrived after an 8-hour drive and checked in, they couldn't believe how awful the place was. Doors didn't close all the way, broken screens, fans that didn't work. The place was not clean.

Their problem was that they were VERY tired, it was late...and they had no idea where they could go to find another place. They called the realtor emergency number to complain, and made it known right then and there they intended to ask for their money back (the entire stay had already been charged). They spent a mostly restless night there, but left the next morning and found another place.

It took some significant legwork to get the full refund, but the fact that they had over 40 photographs of the property's deficiencies really helped make sure the CC company was on their side.