Word of caution on using Park Savers

[crusoe2]

First I want to preface this with the clarification that I am NOT suggesting anyone not buy their tickets from Park Savers. Just passing along my experience in hopes of helping others avoid my predicament.

I have ordered two park tickets from this company - in two separate transactions on 2 different days and for 2 different amounts. Rec'd emails with vouchers for both. However, when I went online and checked my CC activity, I found that I had three pending charges from them. I had been declined the first time I tried to buy the second ticket. However, the charge for it was showing up in my pending transactions on my CC account. Park Savers said that my CC company didn't decline it - Park Savers did. Supposedly because something didn't match up in the CC info I gave them. They assured me that since they didn't accept the funds from my CC company, that the charge would fall off the account rather than post. But today it posted. So I've been back on the phone today trying to get this straightened out. Aggravating and time-consuming. And tying up available credit on my CC until this whole mess is resolved once and for all. So not a happy camper and will most likely not buy any more park passes from them.

So my word of caution is - if you opt to buy from them, be sure to pay with a card that will allow you to dispute the charges. And keep a close check on your account activity. If I hadn't been keeping close tabs on mine, that extra charge would have either put me over my credit limit or caused a legitimate purchase to be declined.

 

[ellie05]

I bought tickets through park savers and I thought PayPal was the only way to pay through?

 

[crusoe2]

I bought tickets through pro savers and I thought PayPal was the only way to pay through?

I think that may have been the case in the past. But they do now accept credit card payment. I believe I saw a post about their contract with Pay Pal ending not long ago maybe?

 

[ellie05]

I think that may have been the case in the past. But they do now accept credit card payment. I believe I saw a post about their contract with Pay Pal ending not long ago maybe?

Maybe I'll go check it out. I just bought the tickets last month.

Edit: I just went to check it out. Yeah no PayPal anymore.

 

[efam]

I'm sorry for your frustration, but I feel like this could happen anywhere. Let us know if you aren't able to get the money back OP!

 

[crusoe2]

I'm sorry for your frustration, but I feel like this could happen anywhere. Let us know if you aren't able to get the money back OP!

Yes, that's true - something similar could certainly happen when purchasing from another merchant. This is just a little harder to sort out due to the fact that the merchandise is delivered via the two separate emails and then has to be activated. So it takes several days to fully complete the transaction and I couldn't wait that long or I risked getting hit with over the limit fees on my CC.

As it turned out, my CC company refuted the charges on the one that posted and refunded that amount back to my account. The other two charges - the one dated from the day of my first purchase and the lower amount from the day of my second purchase - were still pending at that time. Due to the dates and amounts on those, the CC rep and I both felt sure those were the two legit charges that needed to be allowed to go thru. But I just looked this morning and the charge from my first ticket purchase ended up being the one that fell off the account and didn't post. So as it stands now - the charge for the first ticket voucher I rec'd has been dropped, the charge for the ticket purchase that was declined went thru and then was refuted and that amount refunded to my account by my CC company, and the charge for the 2nd ticket voucher I rec'd has posted. I'm assuming this means that Park Savers won't be sending me the activation code that would allow me to link that first ticket to my MDE account. Nor should they since they won't be receiving the funds for that ticket. But I did want to caution others about the issues I've been having and all the confusion it has caused. If I had it to do over again, I would not have tried to order just one ticket at a time. But lots of people do purchase their tickets that way to try to spread out the expense and that shouldn't cause problems like this. I don't believe that I've ever had a merchant refuse to complete a transaction after the CC company approved it. And Park Savers doing so has caused a bit of a mess for me. Not the end of the world - we'll get it all worked out. And there are certainly worse problems to have. But hopefully what I've shared will save someone else this headache.

 

[aaarcher86]

Ew. Glad it worked out. Had a similar experience with Ulta - 9 pending charges for $70 each!!!

 

[efam]

Yes, that's true - something similar could certainly happen when purchasing from another merchant. This is just a little harder to sort out due to the fact that the merchandise is delivered via the two separate emails and then has to be activated. So it takes several days to fully complete the transaction and I couldn't wait that long or I risked getting hit with over the limit fees on my CC.

As it turned out, my CC company refuted the charges on the one that posted and refunded that amount back to my account. The other two charges - the one dated from the day of my first purchase and the lower amount from the day of my second purchase - were still pending at that time. Due to the dates and amounts on those, the CC rep and I both felt sure those were the two legit charges that needed to be allowed to go thru. But I just looked this morning and the charge from my first ticket purchase ended up being the one that fell off the account and didn't post. So as it stands now - the charge for the first ticket voucher I rec'd has been dropped, the charge for the ticket purchase that was declined went thru and then was refuted and that amount refunded to my account by my CC company, and the charge for the 2nd ticket voucher I rec'd has posted. I'm assuming this means that Park Savers won't be sending me the activation code that would allow me to link that first ticket to my MDE account. Nor should they since they won't be receiving the funds for that ticket. But I did want to caution others about the issues I've been having and all the confusion it has caused. If I had it to do over again, I would not have tried to order just one ticket at a time. But lots of people do purchase their tickets that way to try to spread out the expense and that shouldn't cause problems like this. I don't believe that I've ever had a merchant refuse to complete a transaction after the CC company approved it. And Park Savers doing so has caused a bit of a mess for me. Not the end of the world - we'll get it all worked out. And there are certainly worse problems to have. But hopefully what I've shared will save someone else this headache.

If I'm following correctly, it sounds like Park Savers tried to correct their mistake and then you had the credit card company try to fix it, too, but chose the wrong one. Park Savers is part of Expedia, so they are a legit company. I'm sure they will work with you to sort it out.

I've actually read posts on here where Disney restaurants do this too. If using a magic band, it's important to check your charges at the front desk before leaving!

 

[crusoe2]

If I'm following correctly, it sounds like Park Savers tried to correct their mistake and then you had the credit card company try to fix it, too, but chose the wrong one. Park Savers is part of Expedia, so they are a legit company. I'm sure they will work with you to sort it out.

I've actually read posts on here where Disney restaurants do this too. If using a magic band, it's important to check your charges at the front desk before leaving!

Yes, I think that's pretty much what happened. I would have waited a little longer on having the credit card company do anything if I hadn't already been so close to my credit limit on that card. But it looked as if one of two things would probably happen - either one of the legit charges would be denied or I would get hit with a penalty for going over my limit. We tried to avoid having either one happen. But for some reason the wrong charge was dropped by Park Savers. Just to clarify, we didn't actually choose the wrong one to refute - the dates and amounts on the purchases made it clear which charges were the ones for which I rec'd a ticket voucher and which one I had not. Park Savers dropped the charges on the very first transaction and I did receive a voucher for that one. I'm sure they are legit - don't mean to imply they are not. And I do appreciate that they tried to correct their mistake. I would just advise anyone who opts to buy from them to use a card that allows them to dispute charges if need be, to watch their account activity closely, and to maybe avoid making multiple purchases within a matter of days. It's probably a better idea to allow each transaction to go thru completely - get your email confirmation, your email voucher, and your code for linking to MDE - before making another purchase. Just to avoid additional confusion in case there are issues with one of the charges.