Has This Happened to Anyone Else?

[mpls_mm]

Long and maybe not even in the right place.This is a serious budget buster, we went to WDW last September. I got home and got a call from resorts that they hadn't charged me for $500 in room charges. I had a printout from Express Checkout but it wasn't on my credit card so I gave it to Resorts and they ran it. Fine, I see it on my statement the next month so I think I am all good. In February I get a nasty letter from a collection agency, they say Disney has turned it over to them. I call and fax proof but the collection agency says that it is for a different account number. I call Resort Research (yes there is such a place and if you think getting through to customer service is hard, try getting this office, I ended up in HR several times) and they agree it is paid and call the collection agency with me and we conference and all is good. I am assured that this will not be on my credit report and I will never hear about it again. Now it is July and we are trying to close on a house, the underwriter calls and says my credit has dropped 40 points because of a collection from Disney. You know I flipped out and called the collection agency and Disney. Disney was not helpful and made me work to prove this yet again. The collection agency has now sent a letter saying I have "satisfied" a debt that should have never gone to them. My underwriter says the bank doesn't care about letters for my mortgage, I have to wait 30 days for the credit bureau to update and hope that I am not affected again. Meanwhile I have sent numerous emails to Disney and no one answers. I know sometimes posts here get read but how do I get someone to really give a crap? Or apologize? We plunked down 4k for our new september trip before all this happened. I went from getting a new car at 0% financing to having my mortgage delayed in the same month because of a bad debt.

 

[momejay]

My mom & I had connecting rooms & she was paying the hotel bill. I requested that they take the phone out of the room as my autistic DS likes to play with phones & take them apart. They did. After arriving at home, I got phone call about a bill for $80 for phone calls & assumed that my mom had made the calls. I asked them to send a bill & I would pay the bill with a check. They wanted a credit card or check number immediately. I have heard of too many scams & I refused. They sent a bill & I paid it without asking my mom about it. The bill when it arrived was for a missing phone! The whole point of asking them to remove the phone was to avoid a charge such as this, but I paid it.


I later found on my credit report that I paid an $80 bill LATE to them for "destruction of property." Imagine how embarrassed I was!

 

[Kay1]

That's just rotten.

When BWV first opened we stayed there for a long weekend and used the credit card left at the front desk for all charges. A couple of months later, we received a very unfriendly letter from Disney's collection department about a $60 or so room service charge that we skipped out on.

I finally made contact with a man who worked in that department and he said he would look into it. I guess because the resort was new, room service didn't charge our room. The man apologized and said to forget the $60, the room service was on Disney since it was their mistake.

Now we really look over the bill on the last day. I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[TheRatPack]

How do they get this stuff on your credit without a social security number? Can anyone list anything on your credit like that? I would fight to get it off my credit, you can visit Creditboards.com/forums and ask them for some letter suggestions. I know I've written letters in situations where I didn't owe the bill..etc and have been able to have them removed from my credit report. Worth a try for that 40 points.

 

[Motherofboys]

Very similar situation happened to my brother last year after their August trip.

They checked out early and headed for home since their baby wasn't feeling great. They were assured that there would be no charge for the early checkout since their package was paid in full.

Fast forward two weeks later and he gets a bill in the mail for $60 from Disney for early check out. He calls in and is told that it's a mistake, the CM checking him out made an error. All taken care of, don't worry about it.

Fast forward to December, gets a letter from a collection agency for the $60!!! Dinged his credit over something he NEVER even owed!

I was very ticked at Disney and very embarrassed since I was the one who had convinced them to go there and planned their trip

Long story short, he called in and got no where. I wrote a scathing letter for him that he sent in to guest relations.

He ended up getting a personal call from a manager and 4 tickets for their next trip.

It pays to write good letters, much more effective than phone calls or emails

Good luck to you, sorry that you have to go through this!

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

File an online dispute with the credit reporting companies. They resolved something for me with in 24 hours.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

We went to Fort Wilderness last year (December) and stayed in a cabin. I had booked the trip months earlier and paid it all off in full. When we arrived, they told me there was still more than $600 owing! I knew this was wrong, but I had to dig around to find the paperwork. The person took it and went in the back room and said they had no record of it being paid. (What is really odd is that I paid it all at once, so it doesn't make sense that it should show a partial payment.) They said they'd check me in and get it sorted out, because at that point we'd been waiting quite a while.

Later that day I get a phone call to say it's all sorted out, yes I paid, no worries, enjoy your vacation.

Move ahead to the LAST day of our trip. We have breakfast at Chef Mickey's. As we hurry out to the restaurant, I grab the "check-out" form that was left at our door. And guess what - they are putting the extra $600 on my credit card! I had a fit. When we got to Chef Mickey's I phoned them from the restaurant, spent about an hour while people went back and forth, and finally they agreed that I didn't owe them the $600. I said I was coming back to get something in writing, because I was sure that otherwise I'd get home and the charge would once again appear on my credit card.

It was disappointing, because we'd hoped to spend that last morning in MK but there was no time once we trekked back to the Fort and waited to get the correction confirmed in writing.

And no, they didn't offer me anything - no free tickets, no compensation, not even a real apology.

So - be sure you bring all your documentation, and read everything carefully!!

Teresa

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Wow! No advice at all. I have to say that I have never stayed on Disney property, and reading this stuff, I am not sure I want to.

 

[Traveliz]

Wow! No advice at all. I have to say that I have never stayed on Disney property, and reading this stuff, I am not sure I want to.

I have stayed dozens (maybe hundreds) of nights on Disney property and never had that happen there.

I did have it happen at a Marriott though so its just one of those things that occasionally happens. A pain nonetheless.

Liz

 

[mpls_mm]

I have stayed dozens (maybe hundreds) of nights on Disney property and never had that happen there.

I did have it happen at a Marriott though so its just one of those things that occasionally happens. A pain nonetheless.

Liz

I definitely don't think it will keep us from staying there, I grew up near Disney and my very first job was there so i am a huge Disney fan. I think the root of the problem is customer service and the amount of staff they have in places. Marriot probably would not have let things go that far. I think most people that have gone to Disney quite a bit and have had a decent size issue come up will agree customer service can be lacking. Even the Unofficial guide has a quote I love about complaining to Disney is like yelling at a brick or something like that. I just get a little sad when I remember all the training we had to go through to work there and all of the information we had to know, and how we had to solve guest issues then and there and the way things are now.

 

[Traveliz]

I definitely don't think it will keep us from staying there, I grew up near Disney and my very first job was there so i am a huge Disney fan. I think the root of the problem is customer service and the amount of staff they have in places. Marriot probably would not have let things go that far. I think most people that have gone to Disney quite a bit and have had a decent size issue come up will agree customer service can be lacking. Even the Unofficial guide has a quote I love about complaining to Disney is like yelling at a brick or something like that. I just get a little sad when I remember all the training we had to go through to work there and all of the information we had to know, and how we had to solve guest issues then and there and the way things are now.

Well my Marriott mess was a mess but I did get it resolved - I do think though it might be easier at Marriott getting to the right person to deal with than it is at Disney.

Liz

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Well, I'll be back in WDW in less than two weeks - let's hope nothing goes wrong this time! You can be sure I'll have ALL my paperwork in hand.

I do think that WDW is just so big that some of these mistakes are inevitable. However, a more helpful approach to solving the problems would be appreciated.

Teresa

 

[brekin67]

Thanks, OP. I am glad to have a heads up. I will start keeping my checkout bill when I leave.

 

[emh1129]

Wow.. I am so surprised to read all of this!
I will be sure to bring all of my paperwork down with us and keep a very close eye on my bills. Wow.

 

[ajh88]

Yikes - sorry that happened to you, OP. Our problem definitely never got nearly that far, but a couple of years ago when we checked in at All-Star Sports, they didn't show that I had paid my room deposit and wanted to charge us for that night (we paid 1 night's rate as the deposit). Fortunately, I had my paperwork and confirmations in hand and the issue was resolved relatively quickly at check-in.

Sort of related, though non-Disney, my dad stayed at a hotel back in January and paid CASH (he had a discount rate since he was traveling for work) - needless to say, he suspects the desk clerk may have pocketed his money as now the hotel is calling and harrassing him, saying he didn't pay for that one night. Of course, he can't find his receipt, so I imagine he'll have to end up paying the $50 or so, but the principle of the matter is what is most frustrating.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You know, I'm surprised a company the size of Disney doesn't have its own receivable/collections department. It appears that all the posters here who've had or are having problems with incorrect amounts due are hearing about it for the FIRST time from the collection agency! That's just stupid.

They sent a bill & I paid it without asking my mom about it. The bill when it arrived was for a missing phone!

This whole thread is asinine - not the posters and their issues, but Disney's actions! And it's GOT to be serious - I'm frequently 'accused' of being a Disney Defender (you know - Disney can do know wrong ). I guess I'm lucky - when I had to have a bed frame removed, maintenance stored it under the other bed. I can just imagine being charged for THAT!

Tip: next time, just unclip the cord from the phone and put it away somewhere. Just remember to put it back before you check out!