Oyster.com changed my price days after booking

[jama]

I booked two hotel rooms in New York City through Oyster.com....last week...got confirmation..my visa was charged full amount...then today I get a call from Oyster saying they had put the code for 2 beds in the computer wrong..that they accidentally charged me the rate for a king bed. Said it was their fault but I had to pay another $125 per room for the double beds!
This is the first time i have booked through a "travel" company...is this typical ...do costumers have to pay for their programming error? It sounds alot like bait and switch to me....
Has this ever happened to anyone else?

 

[phred52]

Oh my goodness. YOU don't own them ANYTHING more!! They sold you something now days later they can not say oops you owe this much more! I'd call my credit card company and dispute anything additional charged and call back the original company and speak to the owner or a manager. Maybe they are hoping you will just quietly accept additional charges. I wouldn't!

 

[GemmaPixie]

Correct. As the transaction has been processed and they have taken your money you have both engaged in a contract. Too bad so sad for oyster- they can't just change the agreed price in the contract. Don't give them another penny and enjoy your bargain!

Gemma

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, before deciding that they can't do this, I would read their terms and conditions. I bet you there's a clause in there that if there's an error on their side, they can indeed charge you the difference.

 

[Leajess99]

Oh, before deciding that they can't do this, I would read their terms and conditions. I bet you there's a clause in there that if there's an error on their side, they can indeed charge you the difference.

I just read their Terms of use and the hotel faqs and I did not see anywhere about charging more after booking or their mistake, etc.

OP- I agree with the other previous posters and would call them back and let them know they screwed up and you are NOT paying more for the rooms.

 

[MomToOne]

Price mistakes can and do happen, and these days most terms and conditions are written such that when it happens, the company has the right to not honor the mistaken price. And even if the terms and conditions don't state it, it is generally accepted that companies don't have to honor price mistakes these days.

That said, you also have the right to not accept the now corrected price, and should be able to cancel your reservation and expect all charges to be refunded, even if it was a prepaid, non-cancellable reservations.

If they refuse to refund - which I doubt they will - just dispute it with your credit card company.

 

[Oyster]

Hi Jama,

We completely understand your frustration. An error caused the wrong nightly rate to be displayed on our site. This caused a mix up between the One King Bed Room and the room with Two Double Beds. As soon as we realized that there was an error we wanted to inform you right away. We sincerely apologize for our error and we always want to be sure to take care of our customers and work on their behalf.

In a case like this, we can refund the full amount of the booking and cancel the reservation, rebook your reservation for the room with 2 beds at the correct price, or rebook you for a room with two beds at around the same price you paid before at another great hotel. Oyster is happy to help with any of these options by phone at (888) 776-9783, live chat or email.

Please contact us if we can be of further assistance, and again we sincerely apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this may have caused you.

Sincerely,
Oyster.com

 

[horseshowmom]

Hi Jama,

We completely understand your frustration. An error caused the wrong nightly rate to be displayed on our site. This caused a mix up between the One King Bed Room and the room with Two Double Beds. As soon as we realized that there was an error we wanted to inform you right away. We sincerely apologize for our error and we always want to be sure to take care of our customers and work on their behalf.

In a case like this, we can refund the full amount of the booking and cancel the reservation, rebook your reservation for the room with 2 beds at the correct price, or rebook you for a room with two beds at around the same price you paid before at another great hotel. Oyster is happy to help with any of these options by phone at (888) 776-9783, live chat or email.

Please contact us if we can be of further assistance, and again we sincerely apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this may have caused you.

Sincerely,
Oyster.com

Oyster, I commend you for your willingness to come forward to deal with the problem, but I have to admit that I wouldn't be happy with the resolution if I were the customer.

 

[phred52]

OOoo my STARS!!!!!


This site is going on my master list under the 'don't bother' column.

 

[Whistle]

I agree with the PP-- glad Oyster came forward, but the resolutions would NOT be suitable for me as a customer. I've learned enough to know that I will never use them. Thank you for this thread.

OP, I would look elsewhere if Oyster isn't able to do better!

 

[Berrie]

That resolution would NOT be acceptable to me. Words are cheap Oyster.
You can be certain I'm going to spend my $$ elsewhere.

 

[cindermomma]

OOoo my STARS!!!!!


This site is going on my master list under the 'don't bother' column.

I TOTALLY agree with you!

 

[msmayor]

That resolution would NOT be acceptable to me. Words are cheap Oyster.
You can be certain I'm going to spend my $$ elsewhere.

Then don't plan on booking on line with any travel provider...even the big outfits.

Pricing errors can and do happen. Other companies handle it EXACTLY the way Oyster is now...by providing FULL refund and offering to re-book at the correct price, or working with the customer to provide something that is legitimately in the original price range.

I would consider it unacceptable if they insisted on the extra payment or refused to cancel and refund. They are doing neither.

I have seen it happen with major cruise lines and hotels based on posts at other travel sites. Oyster is doing it right.

 

[MyZoeJane]

Holy CREEPINESS!! How on Earth did Oyster find your complaint about them on the Disboards, for one?! Seriously? A I missing something or do they stalk the customers they try to rip off?

Anyhow, I agree, mistakes made by a company providimg a service ought to be "eaten" by the company who made them.... Wihin reason, of course.


In this case, Oyster, you should have "eaten" the $125 difference. Selling at one price then changing or "correcting" that price is tantamount to bait and switch and it has landed you on the "Do Not Call" list for a lot of people.


Was it worth it? I guess you chose which way you would "pay for" your mistake. If you had any good business sense, you would have left the reservation as it was.

 

[toocherie]

Oyster:

your resolution does nothing to compensate the customer for the time they will incur to get this issue corrected or the stress of thinking you were "done" with your reservation only to find that someone else made a mistake.

If there was an error it was an error of either your site or another site (from which you get pricing info) and whoever caused the error should eat the difference in price. I agree with PPs that I would not use your site. Why should I take the chance that I would go through a booking thinking I had it out of the way only to have a bigger issue two days later?

 

[Tina]

Aside from the whole entry error, I'm shocked that they want to charge $125 more for 2 double beds vs. a king bed!!! Most places charge the same for either. Some may charge a difference of $10 or so. $125!?!?!?!?! That's insane!

 

[undertheradar]

Looks like Oyster monitors the internet and watches what is being said about it. Looking at pricing in most major cities, there is a different cost for rooms with more beds. OP, what made you book with this company, was the price significantly lower than everywhere else? The hotel sets the pricing, not the travel company.
For those of you writing off this travel company, the almighty Disney Corporation is known to have pricing errors and does not "honor" the mistaken pricing. We were misquoted by DCL and the president of DCL at the time, Matt Ouimet, refused to honor the price quoted by his own employees.
I think that Oyster shows they are serious and responded here, rather than ignoring the attacks of faceless posters.

 

[msmayor]

From Priceline's Terms and Conditions:

We endeavor to publish and maintain accurate prices and information for the services we offer, including but not limited to our Name Your Own Price ® services. Our suppliers provide us with the price and other information related to these services. In the event, however, that a service is listed or provided to us at an incorrect price or with incorrect information due to typographical error or other error in pricing or service information received from our suppliers, we retain the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed for such service. We shall have the right to refuse or cancel any such orders whether or not the order has been confirmed and/or your credit card charged. If your credit card has already been charged for the purchase and your order is canceled because of incorrect supplier information, we will promptly issue a credit to your credit card account in the amount of the charge.

From Expedia's Terms and Conditions:

THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR ERRORS, INCLUDING PRICING ERRORS. IN PARTICULAR, THE EXPEDIA COMPANIES AND EXPEDIA AFFILIATES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF, AND DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR OTHER INACCURACIES RELATING TO THE INFORMATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE HOTEL, AIR, CRUISE, CAR AND OTHER TRAVEL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE PRICING, PHOTOGRAPHS, LIST OF HOTEL AMENITIES, GENERAL PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS, ETC.), MUCH OF WHICH INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS. IN ADDITION, EXPEDIA, INC. EXPRESSLY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY PRICING ERRORS ON OUR WEBSITE AND/OR ON PENDING RESERVATIONS MADE UNDER AN INCORRECT PRICE. IN SUCH EVENT, IF AVAILABLE, WE WILL OFFER YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP YOUR PENDING RESERVATION AT THE CORRECT PRICE OR WE WILL CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION WITHOUT PENALTY.

I guess those of you who won't use Oyster won't use any on-line service then.

 

[pintamino]

Holy CREEPINESS!! How on Earth did Oyster find your complaint about them on the Disboards, for one?! Seriously? A I missing something or do they stalk the customers they try to rip off?

Most companies have google alerts enabled on keywords relating to their company, including their company name. Some of the bigger ones even have people in-house or retained to regularly comb the internet for mentions of the company. Any good PR person is on top of this. It's not creepy, it's good business practice. And stalking is a strong word...

 

[msmayor]

Aside from the whole entry error, I'm shocked that they want to charge $125 more for 2 double beds vs. a king bed!!! Most places charge the same for either. Some may charge a difference of $10 or so. $125!?!?!?!?! That's insane!

It may not be Oyster charging it though...it could very well be the hotel provider.

Has the OP checked the rates at the hotel's corporate site? If its better there, then take the refund and book that way.

And quite frankly, considering the sizes of hotel rooms in NYC it would not surprise me in the least if two beds costs a lot more than one. A single king bed takes up less floor space than two double beds. In NY, more space = more $$.