Or is booking.com?

[fairynick]

I’ve had a nightmare.
I was meant to go camping in Cornwall next week but after seeing loads of things online about how dear it is and raining etc, I decided to look at holidays abroad instead because they can often work out cheaper.
I found a ridiculously cheap all inclusive hotel on booking.com, I’m a level 1 member or whatever so sometimes there’s good discounts. I also thought because it was last minute there’s often really good deals.
I booked but didn’t pay, payment is due to come out on Wednesday.
I received a confirmation email with the price, and I also rang up customer services to reconfirm the booking was made properly and also to clear up the price. The customer service agent confirmed the price, the booking etc and said I was good to go.
I then spent £175 on flights after being given the all clear.
Woke up this morning to an email from booking.com to say that there was an obvious error in the cost of the reservation and if I want to keep it they need to hear from me within two hours so that they can let me know the new cost (this email was sent at 3am). They have said that as per their terms and conditions if a price is an obvious error they don’t have to stick by it basically.
I have replied arguing that it it clearly wasn’t an “obvious” error, as they say, as I didn’t pick up on it, their app didn’t pick up on it, their confirmation email didn’t pick up on it, and their own member of staff didn’t pick up on it. It therefore does not break terms and conditions and they should honour the price. I’m just waiting for a response.
If they don’t honour the price and double it or whatever, then I won’t be able to afford to go. I am now in bits at having wasted £175 on flights, and looking at other hotels I don’t think I’d be able to afford them either. Wishing I didn’t bother.

Have you told them that you confirmed the price with an agent and asked them to check their call log for the time and date you rang?

Hmmm I think the fact you thought the price was too good to be true - to the level you called to verify it - means that it could be classed as an obvious error. I mean, you needed to check it, which implies you suspected an error.

@redheadwitch
If it had been £5.00 (it wasn't was it?) then I would agree, but the fact they verified the price means they should honour it.

I have mentioned in my reply that I spoke to a customer service agent. The price did seem ridiculously good, I will happily admit.
I booked my flights after reconfirming it though, what other steps could I have taken? It wasn’t obvious to their staff.

How much was it and how much should it have been?

It was £120 and I don’t know how much it should have been because they haven’t replied yet.
I might sound naïve but because I have managed to get last minute package deals to Spain before for around 300-400, I genuinely thought id just grabbed a bargain. I have never booked separately before, and have been told it’s even cheaper to do so.

I've always found booking.com to be quite good and the price on the page is what you pay, I've used them a lot and never had any issues (touching wood here). Even when other companies were increasing their prices Booking.com seemed to honor the initial price listed. Good luck getting it sorted.

How many nights are you going for? Because £120 for any length of time over two nights at the most sounds very cheap. And therefore an error.

You may find that when people couldn't travel, the prices were rock bottom, now more people are booking the prices have bumped right up.

Hope you get it sorted OP

Booking.com are a bunch of sharks.
I believe there is a class action against them in NL for underhand business practices.
They are owned by Priceline US and do not seem to care about customers

I've always found them to be very helpful so I'm surprised to hear this.

They were fantastic when an apartment that I'd booked kept asking me to cancel as they wanted to refurbish. They covered the difference in price for my new booking.

I'd echo what others have said, the fact that you rang to check suggests that you were unsure the price was right. Equally you should have the time of call so you booked the flights in good faith. I'd try pushing back.

I'd repost this in Legal. You may have a contract with them that they cannot just back out of.

How many nights is it for? Anything more than 2 for that price and I definitely would have assumed it was an error.

The fact that you phoned them to confirm the price should mean they have to honour it I would have thought, especially since you booked flights only after you double checked

You can use the argument that with Covid, people cancelling at the last minute, companies desperate to book people in, it wasn't unreasonable to assume that it was indeed an amazing las minute deal. Good luck OP.

@ForeverSinging

How many nights is it for? Anything more than 2 for that price and I definitely would have assumed it was an error.

But she did so she double checked, what else was she supposed to do?

She doubled checked and then relied on it to her detriment, ie paying the flights cost. I’d have thought that would mean they have to stick to it, although it’s not my area of expertise!

45 minute phone call and basically told to piss off :( I’m devastated. Call me an idiot, or a chancer, but I genuinely just thought I’d got a great deal.
I’ve now got to find somewhere but everywhere is of course so dear. I’ve paid £270 for flights though so feel like I really need to go.

That's terrible OP, what a bunch of crooks. I've used them a few times and probably won't again now.

Ignore all the posters that are basically taking pleasure in telling you that it was your fault.

I used them before and they booked a hotel in the wrong place. I booked one next to Alton towers, they reserved one of the same name 3 hrs away 🥴 it was a complete nightmare, turned up to the hotel I had booking confirmation for and they had no record of me and were full. Drove around for hours trying to find somewhere and I've never used them since funnily enough. Sorry this has happened to you.

Ah, I've used booking.com for years and never had a problem!

I must admit if I saw a hotel for under £200 I'd assume it was an error.

We go to a 3* in Tenerife that is £550 for 7 nights for this October, and we thought that was an absolute bargain.

How many nights is it for OP?

What a nightmare, I'm not surprised you're stressed.

I had a bad experience with them too a few years back. As pp suggested, this might be better in Legal. If you have the time, you have to keep on and on and on and on at them.

I had booked two rooms in an hotel in Spain. Paid the full amount by credit card. A day before we were due to fly, the hotel emailed to say that booking.com had not received any money or passed the information to them (or whatever it is they do) and that there were no rooms reserved for us.

They suggested I pay with debit card. So I did. That came out of my current account. Bloody hell, trying to get back the original payment took me weeks. I had to have a lesson in screen shotting statements to them. Booking.com really didn't make it easy.

It was very frustrating as the hotel could see that it had been paid twice. If you have the time, I would keep going. That is so unfair. Even if you hadn't confirmed with customer service, they should honour that price.

Tell them I said! I am so cross for you.

I'd escalate this. Can you take it to Twitter? You checked and they confirmed. I'd be raging.

Out of desperation at the end of the call, I asked if I could at least have a discount code or anything ... was told no haha.