Would you dispute this credit card charge?

[auralia]

last week we got a baby sitter and dh booked a zip lining tour at a local Zoo for 80$. When calling to book he asked if it was refundable as he often gets called into work. He was told refundable so long as you cancel before your scheduled time. He said great and of course as life often is he got called into work. He called at 8am to cancel and was told they do not do refunds and if he had booked through the website he would have known that. The website was down when he booked.... And upon later inspection the web site said nothing about being non refundable. They now refuse to return my calls. The operator just takes my number and no one calls back.

I don't want credit trouble or collections but I was charged for a service I never used and canceled in the allowed time frame. Their website says nothing about no refunds.

Add insult to injury we were called at 5pm that day asking why we were not there for the zip line after calling 5xs taking to 3 different people and being assured it was canceled by 2 of them.

Is this something to dispute or do a charge back on?

Thanks!

 

[scrapquitler]

last week we got a baby sitter and dh booked a zip lining tour at a local Zoo for 80$. When calling to book he asked if it was refundable as he often gets called into work. He was told refundable so long as you cancel before your scheduled time. He said great and of course as life often is he got called into work. He called at 8am to cancel and was told they do not do refunds and if he had booked through the website he would have known that. The website was down when he booked.... And upon later inspection the web site said nothing about being non refundable. They now refuse to return my calls. The operator just takes my number and no one calls back.

I don't want credit trouble or collections but I was charged for a service I never used and canceled in the allowed time frame. Their website says nothing about no refunds.

Add insult to injury we were called at 5pm that day asking why we were not there for the zip line after calling 5xs taking to 3 different people and being assured it was canceled by 2 of them.

Is this something to dispute or do a charge back on?

Thanks!

If the website doesn't say anything about it being non-refundable, then yes, it is worth disputing the charge. The credit card company will investigate and decide. Your case will be much better if you have a confirmation number for the cancellation, or at least names of who you spoke to and times (I always take notes for these kind of things, just in case).

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

You can dispute the charge. The merchant will need to show that the cancellation policy was properly disclosed. Did they offer to let you reschedule ?

 

[disneymayz]

Can you just go to the zoo and talk to someone? Maybe they can meet you in the middle and give you a gift certificate to use another time instead of refunding the money.

 

[auralia]

The zoo is about 1.5 hours away so going to talk is not realistic. My husband even suggested she deduct 10$ from what we paid to cover credit card fees they may have incurred just to be nice. I think I will call them one last time to get all the names and numbers I need for the credit card company and tell them I am disputing unless they can help


They did offer to reschedule but that would require a baby sitter on our end which we almost never have. (No family within 1000 miles of us) we had a rare opportunity the other day so he tried to do something special. Can't bring they kids they are not old enough.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Yes. They lied twice (once when they said it was refundable if cancelled before scheduled time, and again when they said their non-refundable policy is on their website).

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Are you 100% sure it's not on the website somewhere? Usually these places do not allow a last minute cancellation and full refund. They may allow you to rebook, but not just give your money back.

Think of it from their standpoint. You reserved that time. That meant they couldn't sell it to anyone else. Last minute you cancel. They don't have time to resell it. They give you your money back and now they have absolutely zero income for that time slot. They'd be fast out of business if they allowed everyone to do that. Even Disney has the $10 cancellation fee on ADRs!

That's why I'd be very surprised if there wasn't something on their website somewhere. Maybe it's on the ordering/checkout screen when you buy the tickets that way. And if you were told something different over the phone, it will end up being he said/she said.

 

[sprousehouse]

I'd dispute it. You behaved in good faith based on the information you were provided.

 

[tvguy]

This sounds like a perfect example of why credit cards companies have a dispute process. Yes, i would dispute it. I'm not 100% certain you will prevail, but it does seem like a legitimate dispute exists.

 

[supersnoop]

I am 100% certain you will prevail, but maybe not for the reason you expect.

Also, American Express is much better about disputes and Visa and Mastercard.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Are you 100% sure it's not on the website somewhere? Usually these places do not allow a last minute cancellation and full refund. They may allow you to rebook, but not just give your money back.

Think of it from their standpoint. You reserved that time. That meant they couldn't sell it to anyone else. Last minute you cancel. They don't have time to resell it. They give you your money back and now they have absolutely zero income for that time slot. They'd be fast out of business if they allowed everyone to do that. Even Disney has the $10 cancellation fee on ADRs!

That's why I'd be very surprised if there wasn't something on their website somewhere. Maybe it's on the ordering/checkout screen when you buy the tickets that way. And if you were told something different over the phone, it will end up being he said/she said.

This is similar to my field. I'm a massage therapist at a spa. We say over the phone that you must cancel 24 hours before your appointment. If not, 100% will be charged. This is a different scenario with the zoo because I'm fairly certain that nobody at the zoo is a commissioned employee. I am, so when someone cancels (we make exceptions occasionally) I (the therapist) loses out -not just the spa. You've essentially stolen my time that I could have spent on another client. Bam- I'm out $40/the spa $60.

It's unfortunate that this happened to the OP. If it is in fact NOT on their website I would definitely fight for it. You have every right if they stated there is no cancelation policy. However, if there is, you lose that money IMO. I have had clients come to me who are on call and cancel. After the second time rescheduling, I refused to have them booked on me. My time is valuable, literally. I have many other people requesting to be on my books.