Page 13 | Hotel have taken all my spending money ...ridiculous?

whatshardknock · 2020-08-19T07:28:40+00:00

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.

browneyes77 · 21/08/2020 06:27

@beautifulmonument

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.

Why is using a debit card to pay for a hotel stay a ‘bit silly’?

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays? There’s plenty of people out there (me included) that have always used a debit card to book a hotel.
And there’s plenty of people out there that don’t have the ability to obtain a credit card.

Whilst it might be ‘useful’ to have a credit card to book hotels, I think calling the OP silly for not having one is quite harsh.

Downunderduchess · 21/08/2020 07:21

The hotel does it in case of damages, mini bar, room service charges etc. that you may leave without paying for. Annoying yes, but standard practice, at least here in Sydney. It’s quite usual.

Downunderduchess · 21/08/2020 07:22

To clarify, I stay in five star hotels in Sydney often & it always happens. The funds are “released” after your stay.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/08/2020 07:59

^Why is using a debit card to pay for a hotel stay a ‘bit silly’?

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays? There’s plenty of people out there (me included) that have always used a debit card to book a hotel.
And there’s plenty of people out there that don’t have the ability to obtain a credit card^

No, they should have them as a matter of routine, and as to why paying using a debit card is silly, that is illustrated in the OP. There's several reasons why having a credit card is useful, none of which involves spending money you don't have or getting into debt.

Hotel or hire car deposits

Cashback

Purchase protection if your supplier goes bust or fails to supply what you've bought from them

If you have to pay work expenses that take a few weeks to be repaid

If you pay the bill off in full by direct debit each month, you can delay having to pay for things by a few weeks, especially if you get the timing right, so effectively spread the cost over a couple of pay packets. Good for things like car repairs that many might struggle to pay in one go

To be used for normal spending if you don't have a lot of spare money as it keeps money in your current account for longer so cost free instead of high interest overdraft charges.

So the benefits are wide ranging and make life a lot easier and probably cheaper, and of course 'not everyone can get one' but most people can, and probably all of those who have the means to stay in 5* hotels, even as a one off.

Ijumpedtheshark · 21/08/2020 08:19

It’s normal for hotels to do this. It’s incase you charge things to the room.

browneyes77 · 21/08/2020 10:10

@BarbaraofSeville

^Why is using a debit card to pay for a hotel stay a ‘bit silly’?

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays? There’s plenty of people out there (me included) that have always used a debit card to book a hotel.
And there’s plenty of people out there that don’t have the ability to obtain a credit card^

No, they should have them as a matter of routine, and as to why paying using a debit card is silly, that is illustrated in the OP. There's several reasons why having a credit card is useful, none of which involves spending money you don't have or getting into debt.

Hotel or hire car deposits

Cashback

Purchase protection if your supplier goes bust or fails to supply what you've bought from them

If you have to pay work expenses that take a few weeks to be repaid

If you pay the bill off in full by direct debit each month, you can delay having to pay for things by a few weeks, especially if you get the timing right, so effectively spread the cost over a couple of pay packets. Good for things like car repairs that many might struggle to pay in one go

To be used for normal spending if you don't have a lot of spare money as it keeps money in your current account for longer so cost free instead of high interest overdraft charges.

So the benefits are wide ranging and make life a lot easier and probably cheaper, and of course 'not everyone can get one' but most people can, and probably all of those who have the means to stay in 5* hotels, even as a one off.

Nobody has to have a credit card as a ‘matter of routine’. What tosh.

Some people don’t like them. Some people don’t want them. Some people can’t afford to have them.

Nobody has to get a credit card ‘just in case’. It is not a necessity.

So yes, saying the OP should have a credit card and by not having one she is silly, is ludicrous.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/08/2020 10:13

That's fine, but don't start threads on Mumsnet, moaning when life trips you up because you don't have a credit card .

Roussette · 21/08/2020 10:25

The case of 'I wouldn't be able to get a CC' is not right. See my link above with possibilities of cards for those with low credit ratings.

Personally, I don't know why anyone doesn't have one, if only for the protection they offer and in cases like this of course. I don't understand about not liking them, if you get an emergency one, and don't use it, it doesn't matter, at least it's there for this sort of thing.

canigooutyet · 21/08/2020 11:09

I'm one of those who cannot get a CC even through the link posted I get 0% chance in red.

I've stayed in loads of hotels using my debit card or even cash. Sure I've used Paypal in the past as well.

The hotels and booking.com should clearly state how much deposit they are going to take. They however don't.

The op has clarified it is NOT for room charges, this is for insurance. What hotel company is going to have a policy with an excess charge of £200?

And what business is it of other people to want to know why the op only has £800 for 4 nights spending money? London is only as expensive as you make it, for some that live here that is their wage and they still enjoy London. Isn't some of the budgeting advice on this site to have another account for exactly this type of spending/savingg?

canigooutyet · 21/08/2020 11:20

I get cashback through my debit card and other places.
I get purchase protection on goods, plus of course there are consumer law protections we all have.

Work related purchases to be claimed back, if I couldn't afford it at the time tough shit if it ended up costing them more because I couldn't get it authorised in time.

I still get to stay in 5* hotels without having to cough up an additional £800. Some has been at most £50, others nothing for insurance.

I'm not one of those sensible with credit. I've been blacklisted for at least a decade. Every couple of years I try and the response is always no even though I have cleared those debts eventually. Not being to have one has saved me money. It hasn't stopped me going anywhere or doing various things. When I travel I use something. like Revolut, prepaid card etc or my debit card depending where I'm going.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 21/08/2020 12:27

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays?

People should have a credit card to pay for big purchases. They offer extra protection and that's absolutely worth to have it. If I paid by debit card, I would never see the money from Home Office back after their fuck up.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 21/08/2020 12:29

The case of 'I wouldn't be able to get a CC' is not right.

I know someone who had 10points credit score. 10. That's not a typo. He got CC🤷🏻 it was the shit one, but it helped build his credit score so he could get better one.

sunglassesonthetable · 21/08/2020 12:30

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays?

As you can see from this thread it's a good idea. ( among other things )

browneyes77 · 21/08/2020 12:31

@BarbaraofSeville

That's fine, but don't start threads on Mumsnet, moaning when life trips you up because you don't have a credit card

.

Well the OP didn’t get tripped up by not having a credit card. She got tripped up not realising she’d have to pay a £200 daily deposit.

browneyes77 · 21/08/2020 12:37

@sunglassesonthetable

So people should get credit cards purely for potential hotel stays?

As you can see from this thread it's a good idea. ( among other things )

It’s not a good idea if you’re someone who can’t stop themselves from spending on that credit card though is it? There’d be no money left for emergency or big purchases if you’ve already maxed it out.

And as people don’t know the ins and outs of people‘s financial circumstances on MN, then encouraging people to potentially get into debt, isn’t the most sensible advice.

sunglassesonthetable · 21/08/2020 12:43

idea. ( among other things ) 
*It’s not a good idea if you’re someone who can’t stop themselves from spending on that credit card though is it? There’d be no money left for emergency or big purchases if you’ve already maxed it out.

And as people don’t know the ins and outs of people‘s financial circumstances on MN, then encouraging people to potentially get into debt, isn’t the most sensible advice.*

IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS THREAD AND HOTEL DEPOSITS.

Not dishing out financial advice per se. god.🙄

SchrodingersImmigrant · 21/08/2020 12:52

*It’s not a good idea if you’re someone who can’t stop themselves from spending on that credit card though is it? There’d be no money left for emergency or big purchases if you’ve already maxed it out.

And as people don’t know the ins and outs of people‘s financial circumstances on MN, then encouraging people to potentially get into debt, isn’t the most sensible advice.*

But, but, but...
Obviously if you can't control yourself it's not a good idea! The advice of getting a credit card for situation like these, extra protection, cash back and other benefits is general. Then it's up to a person if they do or not for whatever reason.

That's like if someone said "people should take extra vitamin d in a winter"
"But what if someone can't swallow?! They could choke on it! You are encouraging people to potentially choke!"
Equally ridiculous.

I am out

canigooutyet · 21/08/2020 12:55

And if the op had a CC with a limit of £600 how would this help with this ridiculous £800 insurance deposit?

Iirc those help your credit rating cards come with a very small limit of a couple hundred quid. Those getting thousands limit won't be the ones with flaky credit rating, and if you are why haven't you changed to a better card?

BarbaraofSeville · 21/08/2020 13:03

Well if the OP only had a £600 limit, she could have used that for her holiday spending money and then paid off what she's spent when the hotel's released the hold on the money in her current account.

It's simply a case of not having all your eggs in one basket. What would she have done if she had lost the card for the account with all her money in, or that particular bank had some kind of technical issue?

I can't believe so many people are arguing against putting simple contingency plans in place to protect against common and easily overcome issues that can cause significant inconvenience because they may not be available to a minority of people.

HariboLectar · 21/08/2020 13:10

Credit cards if used sensibly are very useful to have, especially for any purchases over £100 due to the extra protection they offer.

sunglassesonthetable · 21/08/2020 13:15

And for ridiculous hotel deposits as above.

canigooutyet · 21/08/2020 13:15

It's not common though to be charged £200 a night as an insurance policy.

Is this actually legal? They say a deposit might be taken, that's it. No mention of the amount. That is the issue I have.

Many people do have contingency plans, many people have more than one bank account and can quickly transfer funds when needed.

canigooutyet · 21/08/2020 13:16

Some current accounts over protection of purchases over £100. It's not exclusive to CC

browneyes77 · 21/08/2020 14:23

@SchrodingersImmigrant

*It’s not a good idea if you’re someone who can’t stop themselves from spending on that credit card though is it? There’d be no money left for emergency or big purchases if you’ve already maxed it out.

And as people don’t know the ins and outs of people‘s financial circumstances on MN, then encouraging people to potentially get into debt, isn’t the most sensible advice.*

But, but, but...
Obviously if you can't control yourself it's not a good idea! The advice of getting a credit card for situation like these, extra protection, cash back and other benefits is general. Then it's up to a person if they do or not for whatever reason.

That's like if someone said "people should take extra vitamin d in a winter"
"But what if someone can't swallow?! They could choke on it! You are encouraging people to potentially choke!"
Equally ridiculous.

I am out

Talk about missing the point. Nobody here knows the OP or anyone else on here, well enough to know how they handle their finances.

So telling the OP she’s “silly” for not having a credit card for unexpected expenses, is harsh and unfair. Especially when nobody knows the reason why she doesn’t have one.

Suggesting a credit card for emergencies is one thing. Insulting someone because they don’t have one, is quite different.

Alwaysinpain · 21/08/2020 17:22

@Malin52

Oh dear god. V regular business traveller here. Yes this is very very normal. It is not theft. Usually banks don't 'count' the money as spent so you can draw against it. Credit card is a better option for the future though

Mine most definitely does not! (Regular Halifax Reward Current Account)