Charged Double

[eeyore29]

DH called last nite to reserve our room (POP) and he put down $200 with our Visa Debit Card; however, our online bank statement shows two $200 transactions.

He called the reservations line today & was told it could take as much as 25 days for that money to be transferred back to our bank, and by that date our balance would be due since we're going in a little over 2 months. The rep apologized for the inconvenience but said it wasn't his fault and that he couldn't do anything else about THEIR error.

Of course this puts a kink in our regular monthly budget. It's just a good thing we had a little extra $ this month or their error would've caused "bounces" & fees from our bank. I really don't mind paying them $400 down cause then all we owe is $60 but I do think someone should be held accountable and we should get something from them (am I just being greedy?). If they can't comp any nites or maybe even park tickets, couldn't they at least give us a free meal or an upgrade?!

Do you think if we call back & speak to a manager we'll get anywhere? Any freebies, refunds, etc.? First we had a problem with our airfare & now this...I'm really beginning to think someone's trying to tell us to stay home!

 

[zurgswife]

Errors happen....I don't see how an error like this entitles you to any extra perks....they didn't overcharge you they just took money early.....This is why I don't use debit cards...I've never had a problem with money being returned to my cc account without any difficultly and usually within 7 days.

I think you should just move on...JMHO

 

[bhillier]

I say you were over charged. You said $200.00 now not $400.00. maybe you didn't have the extra. Maybe someone else was going to pay the rest of the balance. If you gave for the $200.00 and $200.00 only then you were over charged.
Yes, I would hope that there would be some type of upgrade or something to say sorry.

I don't mean to sound harsh. It's just that if a mistake is made and it can not be fixed imed. then to try to keep the customer happpy is what I would think that Disney would try to do.


Did you try to talk to a manager?

 

[Jestocost]

You should contact your bank and let them know the debit was made in error. Under federal banking regulations, they are required to provide you with provisional credit for the amount in question until they resolve the issue.

 

[eeyore29]

bhiller, no we haven't spoken with a manager yet...I thought I'd give DIS a try since it's always been so helpful in the past. I was hoping someone here could guide me and let me know if it's even worth the try, and if it is, what I should push for & what I should expect as a result (especially if it's happened to them). We're not anywhere near wealthy so every little cent in our accounts makes a difference some times! Thanks for your support!
P.S. I don't think you sounded harsh at all! Good customer service is key, and it's what I'd expect from WDW. Any gesture, however small, doesn't go unnoticed and would be very welcome, even if it's just priority seating at a parade/fireworks...anything to show that they really are sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[TwingleMum]

Good Luck and I hope this gets resolved soon.

 

[epcotfan]

Originally posted by zurgswife
Errors happen....I don't see how an error like this entitles you to any extra perks....they didn't overcharge you they just took money early.....This is why I don't use debit cards...I've never had a problem with money being returned to my cc account without any difficultly and usually within 7 days.

I think you should just move on...JMHO

We were charged for SOMEONE ELSE'S entire trip a few years back. They got our surname mixed up with someone else upon check out. Arrived home to a CC statement showing an extra $2000.00 USD charged to it! Was resolved through Disney. Their mistake. Did we ask for freebies? Nope. Mistakes happen. They apologized. We appreciated that.

 

[johnsonet]

I think you should either focus on getting the second $200 debit credited or, if you can make it, look forward to having only a small balance due. Priority seatings and room upgrades will not happen - it's a billing error. This happened to me a year and a half ago on my cc and Amex researched it and the error was corrected but there are no perks to be had in a situation like this. Of course, hopefully for you, you will prove me wrong

 

[thepianoman]

I'm beginning to think that there's a systemic problem - read this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=597761

I would be screaming if I was told it could take 25 days to get that money back. They could cut you a paper check in less time. Call back and ask for a supervisor -- they need to fix this immediately. It's their error, not yours.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

For the person that was charged the $2000- did you have to wait a month to get it back? If not, there lies the "issue" in my opinion.

It's not a big deal to be overcharged- IF they refund you as soon as possible. Asking you to just "do without" the money, whatever the amount may be, for a month is ridiculous IMO... if it's their error (and not something like you booking twice or something like that). I'd be upset even if it WASN'T going to cause me any problems financially. My money is my money- and it's not fair for any company to make an error, take some of your money they aren't entitled to, and then not give it back for a month! If they want to credit to the amount that would be owed by that month's time anyway- fine... but to say they'll credit it back in 25 days meanwhile also charging you the amount left owed is ridiculous...

 

[kelscross]

I know thousands upon thousands of people make their ressies for WDW and it doesn't happen to everyone, HOWEVER, it seems to be happening quite a bit at least to the folks on this board.

Last year when the 7/4 package came out Disney let me return my PHP tickets since I was switching to the package. They said it would be 5 business days for my credit (over 500.00 mind you) 30 days later the credit still wasn't issued. Disney said it was my bank, my bank said it had to be Disney because they hadn't received anything.

Point is...this is a lot of money. Some people are getting double charged thousands of dollars. An error is an error, but Disney should make up for bounced check fees etc. because it was their error that caused the visitors mortgages to bounce etc.

Looks like they need to retrain their CMs on how to use the system. IMHO

 

[fam4jc]

Alarm bells are ringing!! I think pianoman is right. The same thing just happened to someone else who used a Debit card. This is poor customer service and there is not an excuse for it. I don't think asking for anything special is really apropriate, but they sure should fix thier error immediately. What if I made a payroll error? Would my employee wait 25 days to get the rest of their pay? NO WAY. This is the real world. In the real word financial / computer errors are fixed and fixed fast. The credit can be made immediately, they, Dis, just don't process things that fast. So, I guess we all understand that is the risk we run when booking our reservations. If they make a mistake, it will take lots of time to get our money back. So the solution? Use a ta; only send them checks; use a credit card like AE that will research it for you. No more debit cards. To risky. Yours was $200 over the other poster was $2000 over what she authorized.

 

[BluOrchid2]

epcotfan, yours is a completely different scenario entirely. Your charge did not affect your available cash - it was billed to a credit card. The OP's charge was on a debit card - checking account, and I fully understand the hardship that the oP faced. We are on a very tight budget, and I would DIE if an extra $200 was taken without my knowledge or permission.

 

[eeyore29]

Thank you all so much for your info, advice, and support. It seems like this may be a pretty common thing that unfortunately other folks have had to suffer thru as well (sorry everyone!).
I doubt we'll really get far anytime soon so I think we'll just leave it the way it is. I already had DH make sure that all we owe then next month is the remaining $63 (which won't be on the debit card!). One of my biggest fears was that they'd have no record of the extra $200 they got from us. (THANK GOODNESS WE HAD EXTRA $ IN THE BANK OR WE'D BE UP THE CREEK...!!!)
I'd thought that if this was a really rare thing, they might do something extra to show their sincere apologies, you know, like other customer-service-oriented companies may do. It sounds like they have some sorta glitch (either in their computers or with their personnel) that needs to be addressed ASAP since people are spending hundreds & even thousands of dollars extra because of their errors.
Again, thank you & I'm sorry to everyone else this has happened to. Good luck to you all...and try to enjoy your trips...85 days til ours!

 

[epcotfan]

For the person that was charged the $2000- did you have to wait a month to get it back?

No not quite. Thankfully Amex handled the situation well. Disney research also acted quickly.

 

[JohnnyTarHeel]

We had this same thing happen to us in Cleveland a few years ago at the Renaissance Hotel. Made the mistake of using our debit card instead of a credit card for our room and learned the hard way how the banks and hotels handle this kind of thing. It was scary, and maddening, considering the bill was for a week's stay.

 

[Cinderella37]

My fiance uses his debit card to pay for our room, but not this year after I told him what happened. He'll be writing a check or using Traveller's Checks at check-in (or another credit card). He said maybe CRO is having trouble authorizing debit cards for some reason and the reservationist tries again for authorization, not knowing the first try actually went through. This just happened to us at a restaurant and happened to a friend of mine putting a deposit on a bridesmaid dress. Both times it happened with debit cards. Good luck to everyone. I hope Mickey releases your money soon .

 

[HappyMommy2]

I hope everything works out quickly--what a hassle!

Am I understanding correctly that Disney's computers show that you have paid the full $400 and not just $200? That's what it sounded like from your post so I hope that's correct. We were double charged by a non-Disney hotel once-- the two charges showed up on our online statement but not in the hotel's system! Thankfully it didn't take much to get things straightened out but that was not a fun experience.

Thanks for sharing your story so we can all remember to keep an eye on our charges and watch out for mistakes!

 

[trracers]

Okay, well you got me wondering, so I went and looked at my Disney Visa (I booked on June 1) and they charged me twice!! I am infamous for hiding the bills instead of looking closely at them . Anyway, a few days later, a credit is posted correcting the error without me having known or even asked

Good Luck!

 

[dkrause716]

You need to get in touch with your bank immediately. You authorized $200, not $400. There are protocols in place for situations like this. Why should Disney get the interest on your money, money that you did not authorize them to take??