Can a foreign hotel take legal action against you?

[Lilly1102]

I booked a hotel in Norway ages ago a life got in the way and I only got round to trying to cancel today. I thought it would’ve been a standard 3 day cancellation policy but when I checked today it’s 30 days!!! I know this is such a lesson to always read the fine print.

I sent a very polite email saying that actually, the reason I’m cancelling is due to a change of financial circumstances in the first place and asked politely if they could cancel my room and waive the fee (there’s still 2 weeks for someone to book).

The entire hotel stay would’ve been £2500 for a hotel in Norway and the hotel manager replied back saying everyone needs to adhere and pay and she offered me 4 months of £700 instalments.

They tried to take the money out today (ironically after I emailed to cancel) and it got declined because actually I’m maxed out on overdraft. I then ordered a new card with a new number in the hopes that they’ll never be successful in taking £2500+ out. I would be happy to pay a 1 nightly fee , that seems reasonable.

I’ve emailed them again apologising and saying I’m happy for them to ban me from their hotel list (it’s not really a chain) and I offered to pay some of it just not all (waiting for a response). It really has caused me great stress and anxiety because OBVIOUSLY if I knew they would charge the full amount within 30 days I would’ve cancelled sooner.

Tbh I’ve never heard of a 30 day cancellation policy before so this is new to me, I’ve only ever seen 3 days max.

i KNOW this is my fault and a lesson learnt but realistically, can a Norwegian hotel take legal action and will I get a bad mark on my credit score for this?

it’s causing me great monetary worry. I’m hoping the hotel manager sympathises because I’ve told her that I can’t even afford the monthly payment she’s offered me!

Credit cards don’t have an overdraft

There is no international standard 3 day cancellation period. No idea why you would assume there was?

You sound like a shitty person tbh. Why would you book such an expensive hotel (even if earning a decent wage at the time) and then not pay it off in 8 months?? How long exactly have you known you can’t afford to pay it and why wait until the very last minute to try and cancel?

How were you planning to get there? Are travel costs separate?

When did your financial circumstances change?

Just an FYI: 30 days is quite normal for various European hotels. It’s definitely something to consider in the future.

could they sue you? Yes, absolutely. Will they? Eh…

first they’d have to sue.
Then they’d have to actually collect the debt, which is massive hassle internationally (at least IME). It probably depends on corporate policy and on how annoyed they currently are…

edit: but you’re behaviour is rather shitty. Especially if it isn’t a large hotel / hotel chain.

You're just going to have to pretend to be dead and go into hiding really

I've never heard of a 'standard 3 day' cancellation period. It's up to you to check the ts and Cs when you book - I had accommodation booked in January that I wasn't 100% committed to the cancellation period was 60 days so I made a note in diary to decide in October. They are entitled to claim the full amount as you entered into a contract - wether they do will be up to them

Well…I kind of hope they DO pursue it. What a shitty thing to do - book a wildly overpriced four night stay over Christmas that you were never going to be able to afford and then cancelling it without the proper notice period and then changing your card so they couldn’t claim the money.

Of course you’ll get away with it because chancers like you always do. But I hope it IS a stressful few weeks!

I think your sense of entitlement - that you should be let off the hook - is astounding!

I really do feel bad and it’s a lesson learnt but I don’t feel I need to be punished by paying the full amount of stay when I cancelled

Im not sure that being expected to stick to the T&Cs you agreed to constitutes a punishment.

They may use the UK legal system. I work for a hotel/travel company and I would take this through the legal system for this amount once I had chased a number of times however I would also consider a one off payment of like 30% to 50% to get some form of cancellation in. I would just wait and see what they say, they might accept a smaller cancellation charge.

They’ve lost a considerable amount of income unexpectedly and you haven’t read the terms and conditions. That’s on you.
Im on the side of the hotel here.

I’m on the side of the hotel too.
Your behaviour is appalling.

I’ve done an AS and you were posting about how you were thinking of giving up work at 25 and letting your boyfriend financially support you. You don’t sound too bright tbf.

🙄 I doubt she'll return to the thread.

😮🤣😮🤣

The hotel has lost out.
They projected revenue they will now not receive
They yielded their rates based on occupancy they no longer have.
It's just one room, but it's 4 nights, that will sting I'd they can't resell. They likely don't expect last minute pick up or wouldn't need a 30 day cxl policy

I'd imagine they won't bother to come after you. In my experience when guests do this we would try the card regularly (on likely pay days days / dole days), but as you've changed card you have denied them this too.

Ideally they will resell the room and not lose out, except for the staff hours spent dealing with you and your entitlment 🙄.

You could offer to make up any shortfall between your rate, and what they end up selling for (if they only get a 3 night booking you'd pay for the 4th type thing). But I suspect you won't as you seem happy to leave them high and dry.

You're alright Jack, but they will now need to tighten policy on others. Now someone leaving early for a medical emergency might be denied refund etc as they have no good will left. The hotel won't really lose out, they will shift the issue to other guests.

It's quite a normal attitude ime. I've dealt with it in different venues where we take a deposit for a service (because people like to book things and not bother cancelling and don't turn up) and have people wanting to cancel at the last minute and fully expect the non refundable deposit back, their full payment if they've paid upfront, or all charges waived as a gesture of 'goodwill'. Even had a few that have ignored all communication attempts and have after the date, demanded their non refundable deposit returned or have wanted refunds if paid up front. I've heard every reason in the book. They will then go on to try and destroy the business with reviews and social media on every platform they can find.

'The customer is always right' is often quoted, it bypasses people that actually if you're not paying for anything then you're not a customer.

It's one of the reasons why running a hospitality business can be challenging, and why some places routinely overbook, because it happens often enough to cause a problem. But people aren't really bothered about the business staying afloat or the potential loss of jobs because of loss of income, that's not their problem apparently, fully expect someone else to pay the price for their lack of planning and to be happy about it.

You sound like a shitty entitled person and I hope they come after you.

Yes. They can either sue you in Norway and once they have a judgment in Nkrway they can register this in the UK to take enforcement proceedings here.

Or they can sue you here. If I were them I would be doing it there as that's far easier for them.

In the circumstances I would sort out the agreed payment plan ASAP.

It’s an expensive lesson to learn but I think they would have the law on their side if they decided to pursue the debt. I have no idea how likely it is that they will do so.

You booked a hotel and cancelled outside of their cancellation window, so you’re liable for the whole amount. There is no standard cancellation period for hotels. I’ve got three hotels booked for a trip next year. One is completely non-flexible and can’t be changed or cancelled, one can be cancelled up to two weeks ahead and one can be cancelled up to 24 hours ahead. At some hotels they will charge different rates for different cancellation periods. You always need to check your Ts&Cs and it’s usually pretty clear.

Yes they can, 30 days is far from unusual in smaller establishments or those in locations which people book far ahead to stop just what you have done, with 2 weeks to go they are unlikely to get another booking in many locations. Yabvu to expect special treatment.

Do you expect companies to keep their side of the bargain when you sign up to things?

I asked about that too but @Lilly1102 didn't care to explain.

Why didn't you cancel as soon as you knew you couldn't afford it? You would have given them longer to fill the room.

There is no standard 3 day cancellation on hotels. Just do you don't put a small business out of pocket again.