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Original poster

Would you respond to abusive email from hotel?

323 replies

digginforturnips · 13/07/2023 09:26

Stayed at a small guesthouse recently for two nights. The hotel had overbooked their cheapest rooms. They told us on arrival that we could either pay the £100 extra for an upgraded room, or they could cancel our reservation and find another hotel. There was no availability nearby. We were seriously unimpressed, but after a long journey had no real choice other than to say we’d pay. Owners actually seemed really nice other than that.

We checked out at 5am and did not pay the £100. Hotel has sent us 6 emails asking for the money, which I have ignored all of them. Then today I got a long and very angry email from them telling us how we are dishonest, untrustworthy, unhonourable people. They told us they would be leaving bad reviews of us, and they would be filing a complaint with the booking website.

What would you do? Would you email back? Contact the booking platform for advice?

OP posts:

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:46

Scienceadvisory · 13/07/2023 14:43

Then you are a mug.

Show quote history

Your own opinion but I do have integrity and morals and if I say I will pay for something I will pay for it. I keep my word.
I would have paid and then slated them in reviews but I would not have snuck out and dodged emails.....sure she hasn't even got the balls to answer an email.

sadlittlelifejane · 13/07/2023 14:48

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:44

They did actually renege...they agreed to pay and they did not. They had no intention of paying at all. Sorry but that does not sit well with me.

Show quote history

OK what would you have done? Argued with them at the time? Fine, what if they didn't budge? Where do you stay? In the car? Under a bridge? Fork out hundreds to go back Home immediately? Would you really want to take that risk to be ⭐️honest⭐️? To people who had tried to scam you?

MzHz · 13/07/2023 14:49

If I were you, I’d complain to the booking website that not only did they fail to honour their reservation and tried to extort you for more that now they’re threatening you

if they had mistakenly over booked, of course the rooms should have been offered at no additional charge to the guest.

sadlittlelifejane · 13/07/2023 14:50

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:46

Show quote history

You just admitted you would have paid and left a review. That doesn't sound like someone who has "balls?"

Viviennemary · 13/07/2023 14:53

The hotel were in the wrong for not honouring your booking. But not sure if you were within your rights legally to do what you did. Just ignore them. I doubt they will take it further under the circumstances.They might be scammers.

12RedRoses · 13/07/2023 14:53

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 13/07/2023 09:50

Who's to say the cheaper rooms were overbooked? Or even exist at all? They might do this to every person. Sounds like a complete racket.

This, sounds like an extortion scam.

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:54

sadlittlelifejane · 13/07/2023 14:50

You just admitted you would have paid and left a review. That doesn't sound like someone who has "balls?"

Show quote history

No my friend, I would have let them know I was not happy and that I would have been leaving a review when I was paying.

MrsSweatyBetty · 13/07/2023 14:59

You are 100% in the right. I very much doubt they were overbooked, they tried to rip you off but it backfired. Shame on them.

SirChenjins · 13/07/2023 14:59

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:46

Show quote history

More fool you then - you and people like you are the reason these scammers exist.

SamW98 · 13/07/2023 15:00

I used to watch these programmes with people who get scammed by chancers and wonder how the hell anyone was mug enough to fall for it.
Then I discovered Mumsnet

NeedleFeltedFox · 13/07/2023 15:01

Bossmum94 · 13/07/2023 13:50

if you name and shame them on here I expect they would get a barrage of bad reviews 🤣

Grow up will you - there’s only the OPs word that this even happened. Deliberately trying to sink a business on the word of an anonymous post on a forum is ridiculous behaviour

BalletBob · 13/07/2023 15:02

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:54

No my friend, I would have let them know I was not happy and that I would have been leaving a review when I was paying.

Show quote history

But you'd have let them mug you off for £100. Total pushover.

QueenOfThe20StoneAge · 13/07/2023 15:03

And where are they going to post these bad reviews of you exactly? All they can do is reply to any reviews you might submit to TripAdvisor, Booking.com etc. And even if they do, so what? Mr Marriott is hardly going to turn you away when you're booking your next trip 😂 I'm dying to know which hotel this was - the owner wasn't called Basil by any chance? Cheeky twats.

chaffinch32456 · 13/07/2023 15:04

@digginforturnips

I think you agreed to pay a certain price formally, and any extra they tried to charge you was purely verbal - so they wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

You could have a look at their terms and conditions/terms and conditions on the booking platform.

But I’d continue ignoring the emails. They messed up, no way should they try and charge you £100 more. You could lodge a complaint with the booking platform as I suspect this won’t be the first time they’ve ‘tried it on’.

LumpyandBumps · 13/07/2023 15:04

I am totally on OP’s side. The hotel should have provided an acceptable room at the agreed rate.
After they way it acted I wouldn’t have trusted the hotel to honour the promised refund, and even if it did it wouldn’t have been in OP’s bank account immediately to use to book other accommodation.
I wouldn’t have paid £100 just for the pleasure of leaving a review.
I would assume that if there was any way of the hotel obtaining payment via the booking platform it would already have done so.

SmartHome · 13/07/2023 15:07

this: they should have given you the better room for free with apologies

Name and shame OP and get in first on the booking platform

Hibiscrubbed · 13/07/2023 15:08

sadlittlelifejane · 13/07/2023 14:50

You just admitted you would have paid and left a review. That doesn't sound like someone who has "balls?"

Show quote history

😂

SamW98 · 13/07/2023 15:08

changeyerheadworzel · 13/07/2023 14:46

Show quote history

Having integrity and morals isn’t the same as letting yourself be mugged off by chancers.

But I’m sure that you leaving a strongly worded review after they’ve scammed your money out of you will give them sleepless nights

DrSbaitso · 13/07/2023 15:13

It must be a scam. Whenever something like this has happened to me, I've just been upgraded for free. Why would they risk losing the business completely?

VimtoVimto · 13/07/2023 15:13

It seems bad business practice on behalf of the hotel. If they had overbooked the cheaper rooms but had more expensive room unoccupied surely getting any revenue for that room is better than nothing.

SirChenjins · 13/07/2023 15:13

SamW98 · 13/07/2023 15:08

Having integrity and morals isn’t the same as letting yourself be mugged off by chancers.

But I’m sure that you leaving a strongly worded review after they’ve scammed your money out of you will give them sleepless nights

Show quote history

Exactly this - while everyone reading the negative review would just think ‘you mug’.

Jongleterre · 13/07/2023 15:19

Do not give in to their poor management.

You booked a room. They overbooked that room and the alternative was a luxury room.

That is not your fault or problem and they have to suck up the extra cost as it was their error.

saffronsoup · 13/07/2023 15:19

I have had this bait and switch happen in AirBnB too. The oh sorry the room you booked is no Ionger available but we have this room for x more money. It’s just scammy business practice and I would not send them money. A legit business would feel horrible they accidentally overbooked and would give you a free upgrade. Their response shows this was all just a scam. They know there is nothing else available so they can get people to pay the scam tax.

Twiglets1 · 13/07/2023 15:24

They should have offered you the upgraded room free of charge since it was their fault.

One glorious year we booked 2 hotel rooms in Lanzarote and the hotel phoned me up a few days before our flight to say they apologised but they had overbooked so would we mind accepting 2 junior suites instead? I bit their hand off! Obviously they didn't charge me though the suites were much nicer and more expensive than the ones I had originally booked.

listsandbudgets · 13/07/2023 15:26

I once turned up.at a hotel and they had double booked my room..I was offered an upgrade for same price price or a less.good room for 50 percent discount and free dinner.. I went with downgrade and dinner..The room.was.fine and the dinner.was delicious and since it was only for 1 night it was fine. I went back the next time I was in the area and got a superior room sonthey secured my loyalty. They were extremely apologetic.

It definitely sounds like a bait and switch scam OP

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