To expect my friends to pay?

[samppo]

Me and 3 friends are going away for one night next year June.
The hotel room is 2 double beds and is costing £248.
As usual I reserved it on my bank card (using booking.com) 3 months ago.
Today checked my bank and yesterday they've charge my account the full £248.
I've text my friends telling them what's happened and can they all pay there share.
They've all said no this close to Christmas,they have nights out planned and this close to Christmas can't do it.
So basically I've lost £248 ..I can't afford to cover £248.
Aibu here?

[diddl]

Did Op ever confirm whether or not the friends do intend to pay their share?

[ConcreteUnderpants]

Not nice, esp arpund xmas time, but think the OP is just going to have to suck it up and learn a lesson about reading the small print and shit friends.

I'd personally sell my own concert ticket (no way would I want to go with those 2) and consider £280 a small price to pay for finding out exactly what these friends were like.

[thesepretzelsaremakingmehungry]

Ok but what do you think they are going to do?

[thesepretzelsaremakingmehungry]

Legally? What do you imagine will happen? Op sells tickets in her name that have been sent to her....I don't see the issue.

[ConcreteUnderpants]

it’s outrageous that the hotel has billed you now, just before Christmas for a booking in the summer, completely outrageous. In fact I’d be taking to their social media pages and letting other people know what they’ve done, seems very sneaky and underhand if it didn’t say that on the booking page and is hidden in small print on their website.

Except it was.
If you want to pay at the hotel/at a later date, select that option.
Hint: it won't be the first, cheapest one you see.

The issue here isn't that the hotel is being outrageous at all, it's her friends.

[Ellapaella]

Wow that's just shitty of your friends op! Do they realise you paid with a debit card and not a credit card? Maybe they are presuming you paid by credit (that's me being generous).
I would never let this happen to a friend.. even if it made me out of pocket I'd cough up and not let them just pay the full amount. It's only about £80 each, if they can't afford £80 to give you now should they really be making plans to go away at all?
I know it's just before Christmas but personally I'd forgo a night out rather than let a friend be out of pocket on my behalf!

[TheSerenDipitY]

if the tickets are being sent to your address, i would text them and say well seeing as they wont pay up their share of the room, NOW, that when the tickets arrive you are going to sell the tickets and room as a package and they will miss out... shame

[thesepretzelsaremakingmehungry]

I'd sell their tickets and take someone else to the concert. I'd consider the hotel cost a small price to pay in getting rid of these people from my life.

[TimeForDinnerDinnerDinner]

They've pretty much said they can't pay any of it.
Just a sorry nothing we can do. Ha

WOW and
Can't believe people would dump their friends in the crap like this.

[Tippexy]

*read

[Tippexy]

@OffToBedhampton

Read the thread responses again. Booking.com is very, very clear about the terms. It’s the OP who hasn’t rad the website properly.

[eddielizzard]

I think I'd sell their tickets to some other friends to cover the hotel costs.

[makingmiracles]

FWiw i hint it’s outrageous that the hotel has billed you now, just before Christmas for a booking in the summer, completely outrageous. In fact I’d be taking to their social media pages and letting other people know what they’ve done, seems very sneaky and underhand if it didn’t say that on the booking page and is hidden in small print on their website.

[diddl]

I think that the worst thing is that the friends have no intention of paying until it suits them.

As a pp has put-don't they feel any responsibility to help Op at all?

I'd be tempted to sell their tickets to cover the hotel & bin the "friends".

[ReflectentMonatomism]

The booking was “pay on arrival” but the hotel want to pre-authorise the payment from the card (as they’re likely to be filling on a busy date). Because the OP used a debit card, pre-authorisations are not possible so they took full payment. Error on the part of the OP.

Hmm, if that's what happened then although I re-iterate my concern about what happens when civilians meet prosumer websites, I have some sympathy for the OP.

If what happened is they booked a cancellable room on a debit card (I don't think it is, but I'm not sure the OP knows themselves) then "you can't pre-auth debit cards so it's charged instead" is a pretty obscure piece of financial knowledge. To be blunt, anyone sophisticated enough to know this is unlikely to be doing anything other than using a credit card anyway.

[Figgygal]

If there's nothing you can do with the hotel or booking.com Your friends are being selfish shits
They'll be £70 short instead of you being £250 short
It would put me off going at all

[BeanBagLady]

OP, bad behaviour by your friends.

But given the whole situation, I would try and get a temporary overdraft from your bank and get your friends to pay you next payday.

[Symposium123]

There’s two possible root causes here:

1. The booking terms allowed the hotel to take full payment at any time and that’s what they’ve done. Error on the part of the OP.
   
   
2. The booking was “pay on arrival” but the hotel want to pre-authorise the payment from the card (as they’re likely to be filling on a busy date). Because the OP used a debit card, pre-authorisations are not possible so they took full payment. Error on the part of the OP.
   
   Having said that, I don’t think I would let one of my friends struggle due to an error they made whilst doing me a favour, so I wouldn’t be impressed but if they won’t pay, the OP will need to get an overdraft/loan.

[ReflectentMonatomism]

I get that the night way isn't until June, but it makes no difference WHAT you're buying. If you use your card for something, you get charged.

That isn't true, and particularly not for travel. If you order stuff that Amazon don't have in stock, they don't charge until they ship. Which can be a pain if you have for whatever reason changed your card in the interim, as the order fails even if they also have details of a card which is valid. Indeed, more generally, mail order companies aren't supposed to charge until they ship, although a lot of them play rather fast and loose with the definition of "ship".

But back on travel, if you book on booking.com, or direct with Accor or Premier Inn or Marriott or whatever, on a cancellable basis, they will take your card to guarantee the first night but won't charge it. They might pre-auth, but for most people that doesn't matter. Ditto cancellable car rentals: sometimes they charge and refund, sometimes they pre-auth, sometimes they do nothing, depending on who you are, who they are and the phase of the moon.

This is the problem when people who don't book travel on a regular basis decide to use prosumer sites like booking.com. They're exposing the raw reality of room booking, and assuming their customers know the rules of the game. The OP is now learning that travel agents of yore did add some value in exchange for their vig.

[zingally]

So... You used a card to pay for something online...? They are surprised when they take the money...? That's generally how these things work.
I get that the night way isn't until June, but it makes no difference WHAT you're buying. If you use your card for something, you get charged.

Saying all that though... Your friends need to be able to tell you WHEN they will be able to pay you.

[Alfie190]

Why are posters still suggesting OP cancels it! It is non refundable and the wording is absolutely crystal clear. "Non refundable".

[Wetwashing00]

Realising you can’t actually cancel it, just threaten too to your friends.

I would be calling booking.com & the hotel to try and get this refunded (even if they cancel your room) as the wording is very misleading.
Call your bank & tell them you did not authorise the payment to go through.

It is a bit shitty of your mates to not pay up now, but it is nearly Xmas and I’m sure you’re all in the same boat.
You did use your card which means leagally it’s your responsibility.

Where abouts is the concert?
I work in hotels and receive good rates for many different chains.
If you PM me I can add you to my friends & family and you can look/book at those rates. That’s if booking a new hotel becomes an option for you.

Best of luck