Hotel have taken all my spending money ...ridiculous?

[whatshardknock]

I'll currently at a hotel in London (Piccadilly circus )
I'm here for 4 nights (checked in yesterday)
I'm meeting friends who I haven't seen in years.
It's been a bit of a treat it's a lovely hotel and I've spent £1000 on the hotel (which I never do )As a treat after a shit year.
I booked on booking.com
I checked my bank the £1000 has came out and also a pending £800
I spoke to downstairs and the £800 will be refunded after I leave.
That's pretty much all my spending money.
Aibu to think booking.com should have said and also £800 deposit for a 4 night stay is mental surely.

So I'm left with £600 spending money. I know you're in London but 600 for 4 nights is loads so you'll be fine! I know food and drink can be expensive but it can also be really reasonable if you don't choose all fancy places. And there are loads of free things to do in London too so I'm sure you'll be fine!

Really feel for you. Me and some friends stayed in a London hotel in the new year and they too took deposits pending for a one night stay.

what a pisser OP. Sounds like this treat was a special trip for you.

Does that mean you are now £200 down on what you expected? Or more?

This happened to me once when I booked a car but at least they thad the grace to point out it would be better to pay by CCard and not Debit.
So as not to block funds.

Who cares if it's in the T&Cs or 'they "always" do it don't you know.' It obviously wasn't clear to you.

Hope you can make it work OP. So frustrating. Have a lovely time.

Sorry OP hotelier here. I would be massively surprised if this wasn’t laid out in terms and conditions. Particularly on booking.com - they are actually one of the best for the fine print. BUT the amount of conversations I’ve had with customers who are certain they didn’t get told.. just to prove to them that they had been is vast. We even sent an extra guest information sheet ahead of arrival explaining what a pre- authorisation is and how much will be taken but people don’t read it 🤷‍♀️

Had a similar experience when I went to Vegas in 2006. Booked into hotel with credit card (my first) and tried to pay for some drinks in a bar on my first night and it was declined. Found out I'd been charged $300 for "incidentals." Always pay in advance!!!

I never book through the likes of booking.com and always book direct. Most hotels from the main chains have price guarantees, and with companies like Accor it is almost always cheaper booking directly with the hotel. I am often asked for a pre-authorisation at check-in. Usually I decline and they just disable the ability for me to charge things to my room during the stay, which I prefer.

Sometimes they do push for a pre-authorisation, and I just stick it on my Amex and it has no impact on my spending ability during the trip. It's a really unfortunate situation to be in and I sympathise completely. But booking through third party websites is always a poor option as you're not initially dealing with the people you really want to make the contract with.

It is not illegal and apart from all-inclusive places it is common practice to cover things that have a cost. A lot of hotels do this, they put a charge onto your card, they haven't actually taken it though.

It is a steep daily charge for where you have booked. Do not spend a penny there!

Maybe get a loan from a relative/friend to temporary help you out?

If you have absolutely no spending money other than the money they've taken as a deposit, that suggests you spent £1000 on a hotel when you have no savings. Which seems odd to me.

@hadenough while it is true that you may get a better deal direct. Plus the company don't have to pay commission to the booking agent. So win win.. If there is a pre auth deposit required this will be the hotels policy, and it will be shown on booking.com in terms and cons.. it has nothing to do with the agent. Also a pre with isn't always for incidentals it often doubles as a security deposit, trust me there have been times it's much needed! But you are right.. putting the deposit on a charge or credit card is the best option because when the hold lifts there is no charge from the hotel or the cc company

It's to stop you running up a big bill on food and drinks etc and then just leaving. Sadly, it was such a common occurrence, this fraud, that hotels have to do this now.

£200 is not that hard to spend in a London hotel.... a night.

Perhaps OP has a jam jar of £50 notes under her bed at home. Or she's going to sell a kidney after the hols. None of your business really @NaturalStudy

Booking.com is notorious for these sorts of small print T&Cs. They really don't spell it out.

I have had all kinds of problems with them, and I now employ a caveat emptor approach to anything I do involving them.

I tend to avoid

It's not standard as such but it does depend on the hotel and it is usually implemented by 4 and 5 star hotels.

As others have said, it's so you don't clear out the mini bar and do a runner without paying your bill but it should have been made clear at the time of booking and again on check in..... you've just reminded me to check mine actually as I have a 2 night stay in Trafalgar booked in October also booked via booking.com.

Ta!

I have learned something from your post , me and my daughter were going to treat ourselves to a couple of nights in a nice hotel . I will make sure I double check on the terms and conditions because I have never encountered that before .

I had this happen to me as well OP around 10 years ago. Had gone to a Raddison hotel with my then DP and had paid upfront. When I checked my bank account the next day they’d taken the same amount of money again off my debit card and it took half my spending money.

I queried it at the reception desk and was told it was the deposit for damages etc. I was fuming at the time because it wasn’t made obvious in their T&C’s at all. I went back through them all and could find nothing in them to say they’d charge this, so I put in a complaint when I got back.

It’s super frustrating if you don’t realise that money is coming out. You go sick to your stomach when you see it’s been taken.

It’s a hard lesson learnt. But you seem to have found a temporary solution with your bank and hopefully you’ll still have a great time!

Re: the comments about the deposit info. If you saw, an (!) with 'Coronavirus' next to it, why would you assume it was about the hotel freezing a vast sum of money on your card?
This lady clearly says that staying in this hotel was a real treat, so not used to the high prices and ways of some hotels.
I also feel that booking.com have some responsibility to make this charge a lot more clear. Even say it twice!
Seasoned travellers are more comfortable with booking direct but a lot of others go to places like booking.com, thinking they'll have pitfalls pointed out. I don't think that pitfall was very clearly pointed out.
Some of us aren't too good at reading the small print, especially when hidden behind an ! mark with something else printed next to it.
Hopefully a few of us can learn from OP's mishap....
Maybe OP, you could mention this in feedback to booking.com?

The deposit is for any extras over and above your room charge. It’s perfectly normal practice in hotels that have other facilities ( room service, mini bar, restaurant, spa etc)

One way around it is ask them to unblock it and any where in the hotel you’ll be cash only... no charge. However given You have a debit card it’s probably a bit late for that...As it will likely take a few sprays to reappear on your card.

I would suggest going forward that for hotel stays have a credit card not debit card... debit cards are a nightmare when it comes to hotel stays both for the guest and the hotel.

Days! Not sprays!

Pending charges I am pretty sure won't be charged until you leave, and then only if you have knackered the room. Your bank balance has not reduced by £800 already, correct? Just make sure there is nothing to complain about for the hotel and the money will be paid back.

Get yourself a credit card . You should always pay for anything over 100 pounds on a credit card as it insures you Against holiday cancellations or faulty goods . Set it up so that your debit card clears the balance each month so you never owe anything as that can get ridiculously expensive

Just coming on to say poor you, so annoying and stressful :( This has happened to me on a smaller scale a few times and it is so frustrating.

We sometimes tour, US or SE Asia, staying in up to 5/6 hotels. Obviously, paying deposits in every one, & it not being refunded for 30 days, soon mounts up.
After the initial stay we realised this.
Now we pay the deposit in cash, tell them to put it in an envelope in their safe with our name on it.
When we are about to check out they send someone to the room to check It.
They then hand us our cash back & we use it & do the same for the next hotel.
Not much help to you this time op

That is ridiculous!
I've stayed in lots of very naice hotels here in Australia and never had money taken off my card!
You need to get a credit card though OP - using a debit card for this sort of thing is a bit silly.

It's uepsefulmto have a credit card for this kind of thing, so your day to day spending is not impinged and the deposit is refunded after you leave within the 30 days time limit for a minimum payment. Also offers some protection.

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