Hello
I am planning a short break to Thorpe Park in June and have been looking for hotels near there to stay at as I live in Liverpool.
Literally about two hours ago I booked a two night stay at the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T5 thinking it was going to cost me only £71. I thought I double checked everything before confirming however when I received the conformation email I found that that rate was £71 per night, not all together. So it was going to cost me double what I thought it was. Naturally I wanted to cancel immediately and was going to phone the helpline however seeing that it would cost me 10p/min I decided to use the online chat help.
I explained my situation and that I wanted to cancel my room however the chat helper told me because I booked under a '21 Day Super Saver Rate' deal, I would forfeit the entire amount of the cost of the booking. So if I were to cancel I would be charged the full £142 anyway. She told me to contact the hotel directly for further assistance, which I did.
I spoke to a lady at the hotel desk who told me that because I literally booked two hours ago that the cost of the booking had not been taken out of my account yet and that they take the money out in a weeks time. I explained that I booked under the '21 Day Super Saver Rate' however she told me that if I wanted to cancel at that moment I would not be charged anything at all because no money had been taken out of my account. I told her that I would like to cancel as long as it would not cost me anything and she assured me that it wouldn't, so I agreed. She also gave me a cancellation number but I regret to admit that I forgot to take down her name.
Now I am having second thoughts as I have been given two conflicting sets of information. One told me I would be charged the full amount no matter what because of the terms of the booking and the other told me I would not be charged anything at all. I went on to book a cheaper hotel and checked to make sure everything was fine, which it was. I'm now really worried that the woman on the phone is wrong and that next week the Holiday Inn are going to take the £142 out and I'm not going to be able to claim it back.
If this does happen, what are my rights? Am I able to use the fact that the woman on the front desk told me I wouldn't be charged? I work at the weekends in a shop and volunteer my time during the week so I really, really can not afford to lose £140!
Thanks for your help.
Laura.
I am planning a short break to Thorpe Park in June and have been looking for hotels near there to stay at as I live in Liverpool.
Literally about two hours ago I booked a two night stay at the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T5 thinking it was going to cost me only £71. I thought I double checked everything before confirming however when I received the conformation email I found that that rate was £71 per night, not all together. So it was going to cost me double what I thought it was. Naturally I wanted to cancel immediately and was going to phone the helpline however seeing that it would cost me 10p/min I decided to use the online chat help.
I explained my situation and that I wanted to cancel my room however the chat helper told me because I booked under a '21 Day Super Saver Rate' deal, I would forfeit the entire amount of the cost of the booking. So if I were to cancel I would be charged the full £142 anyway. She told me to contact the hotel directly for further assistance, which I did.
I spoke to a lady at the hotel desk who told me that because I literally booked two hours ago that the cost of the booking had not been taken out of my account yet and that they take the money out in a weeks time. I explained that I booked under the '21 Day Super Saver Rate' however she told me that if I wanted to cancel at that moment I would not be charged anything at all because no money had been taken out of my account. I told her that I would like to cancel as long as it would not cost me anything and she assured me that it wouldn't, so I agreed. She also gave me a cancellation number but I regret to admit that I forgot to take down her name.
Now I am having second thoughts as I have been given two conflicting sets of information. One told me I would be charged the full amount no matter what because of the terms of the booking and the other told me I would not be charged anything at all. I went on to book a cheaper hotel and checked to make sure everything was fine, which it was. I'm now really worried that the woman on the phone is wrong and that next week the Holiday Inn are going to take the £142 out and I'm not going to be able to claim it back.
If this does happen, what are my rights? Am I able to use the fact that the woman on the front desk told me I wouldn't be charged? I work at the weekends in a shop and volunteer my time during the week so I really, really can not afford to lose £140!
Thanks for your help.
Laura.