When you stay in a hotel and the service isn’t up to par, you expect to be able to talk to someone about it. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Staff will occasionally claim that there is nothing they can do to prevent refunding your money or giving you a room in another part of the hotel. This means you can’t stay where you are, but you also don’t have a room in which to move either. If this has happened to you, you are not alone, but you are not powerless. Learn what to do if the hotel refuses to refund your money and avoid being stuck with an exorbitant hotel bill you didn’t intend to pay!
If you are refused the refund of your money, you may be able to sue for that cost. The Federal Trade Commission Fair Credit Billing Act (FTC) offers some protection for consumers who have been denied refunds for services that they have not used or never agreed to purchase. If the hotel violated the FTC Act, you have the right to sue them. The first step is to determine whether you have a case. If the hotel refuses to refund your money because you cancelled too late, you may be out of luck. If the hotel, on the other hand, refuses to return your money for any other reason, they may be held liable for your losses. Hotels can be held accountable for not refunding customers’ money in three ways: breach of contract, quantum meruit, and conversion. To win one of these cases, you must demonstrate that the hotel owes you money or property based on an agreement or promise.
The first thing that you should do is gather all of your documentation. This includes the initial confirmation email, any emails you exchanged with the hotel, the phone call recording (if available), and any printed correspondence from the hotel. Once you’ve gathered all of your belongings, write a letter asking for a full refund owing to the events of your stay. Demand letters are a way of formally requesting something from the person or business that owes you money. The letter will typically be in writing and detail the amount owed, what it is for, how much time they have to pay, and what will happen if they don’t comply.
If the demand letter does not address your situation, you should consider hiring an attorney. When someone owes you money, you have several legal options. Before taking any action, you should counsel with an attorney who is competent in this area. It is advised not to sign any deal that offers less than what you believe you are owed. Finally, most businesses only issue refunds under certain conditions, so it’s crucial to understand the terms of service before making a purchase.
