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!

Interesting. It’s only happened to me once and thankfully was with a hotel that not only had a room for us but upgraded us too. So I can’t complain about that. But I know quite a few people who have been landed in a sticky situation by booking.com and, as you say, they don’t do much to help.

Sounds like he wasn’t too enthralled with that plan.

You gave them permission to ban you. How kind you are.

This.

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

This ^ It's piss takers like the OP that make life harder and more expensive for the rest of us.

As a Dr I'm not going to give a sick note to get someone out of a holiday, we are obliged by the gmc for honesty. Typically major surgery or cancer treatment would get it.

Op I've always assumed any hol booking was non refundable tbh. Not sure on how you'll get out of it tbh if you agreed the t&cs

....but not for a broken limb or Covid or pneumonia? You disappoint me (my suggestion was actually a wind up so apologies).

I hope they do recover the full amount plus costs from you.

International lawyer here; yes they absolutely can go after you and enforce here. Various different mechanism depending on the contract. Obviously you can’t just walk away from liability because they are overseas. You are screwed mate.

Just go on the holiday, it's likely you'll be paying for it anyway.

I think OP is lying down in a darkened room with a cold flannel to her forehead!

Fair play and fair point! :)

Trying not to 'out' friends and family, but I personally know similar instances of UK debts with Norway, which also informed my earlier reply. Not exactly the same, but similar.

One was flight tickets which were booked, subsequently the family member concerned tried to cancel but it was not allowed. So they cancelled their credit card and had a new one reissued as the amount hadn't come through at that point, so that it couldn't be taken. It wasn't pursued, it was deemed too complicated and too costly to enforce.

In another instance it wasn't a hotel room, it was accommodation and a large payment with a similar style contract. This was a colleague on a course. They left early and refused to pay the outstanding amounts, which they were supposed to do. The colleague closed the bank account the payments were due from and also changed their correspondence email address, then returned to the UK. They were not pursued although they cannot return to Norway now.

Internationally, Norwegian businesses could do something but the likelihood is very low indeed. As I said, it takes a long time - paperwork takes far longer in Norway than here (it takes months even to open a bank account if you're not a national) and whether a hotel would really pursue this to that extent, with all the costs that would also involve, would surprise me. However, it is true that I'm not a legal expert.

whether a hotel would really pursue this to that extent, with all the costs that would also involve, would surprise me

@MeanderingGently, as long as they can get it enforced in Norway, the hotel can enforce in the UK as the mechanisms are there to do so. I suspect by offering a payment plan, and OP saying she can be banned from the hotel (more likely Norway and the rest of the EEA/EU countries) indicates they've enough evidence to get a judgement. It is also easier than previously as Norwegian law was recently tweaked when it came to debt collection plus they can simply sell the debt to a debt collection agency once the debt has been verified through the Norwegian procedures. The additional costs would be added on to OP's debt to repay. To cap it off, I know of at least one hotel group who will actively pursue foreign debts through Norwegian courts and get them enforced in the UK (fairly recently). If OP booked with a hotel in the group, they're screwed. Others may be more lenient as in your cases.

Unfortunately for OP, this is a Brexit benefit as part of our trade deals and post-EU negotiations with EEA countries, of which Norway's was highly successful.

I’m certainly not a chancer. Forgetting something is a mistake, and in my opinion not worth £2500 for an entire stay. I’ve had very poor mental health (anxiety, etc) and so this hotel just hadn’t been at the for front of my mind. I’m a kind person and the way I look at it, if I was a hotel manager and a client said they couldn’t afford it, I’d be understanding (I actually sent them a screenshot of all my bank balance) so in that case I’d be like ‘on this occasion’ but you’re banned from ever booking this hotel again

Why did you book it originally if you didn't think it was worth the £2500 ?

Bull!!! It’s a business would you be ok if your boss said sorry @Lilly1102 we can’t pay you this month as poor Laura from Canada can’t afford to come even though she booked 8 months ago?!?!?

This is people’s bread and butter and saying you forgot a Norway trip sounds and is 💩

Can you ask them how much to change the dates to say mid March, and then cancel in January?

All these keyboard warriors saying I’m a terrible person etc. You know nothing about me, or my life. My question was ‘can they sue me’ in a nutshell, I didn’t ask for your opinion of me,

I’m a loving, kind person. Quite frankly, I don’t care about the hotel. It’s not selfish. As I say, if I were the hotel manager and someone apologised profusely / showed me their financial situation I wouldn’t even consider perusing it.

it doesn’t matter why I booked it either- it wasn’t expensive for me at the time. That’s the price per night we usually go on holiday for.

it’s been an incredibly busy time at work etc, I forgot, and now I’m just wondering whether they can sue me.

I’m not going to check anymore answers on here because it’s no wonder why so many people have poor mental health when there’s women on here calling me shitty etc for such a minor issue that in no way reflects me as a person.

i never expect my friends to pay me back for anything. Ever.

If I want to book holidays, even though it leads me to overdraft then so be it! Spending money on experiences is never a bad thing, you can’t regret it!

People don’t get paid their wages from turning up to the office and I’m fairly certain (I might be wrong) that hotel staff don’t get paid based on nightly rates,pretty sure most of them are paid hourly

I’m a loving, kind person. Quite frankly, I don’t care about the hotel. It’s not selfish. As I say, if I were the hotel manager and someone apologised profusely / showed me their financial situation I wouldn’t even consider perusing it.

The hotel manager is an employee, and they are required to follow their employers policies. So yes, it is selfish of you to expect anything else. And if you did anything else, you'd probably be sacked. Rightly so.

Your lack of care for anyone but yourself and your own slefish point of view is very much not a clear demonstartion of your self image.

You entered into a contract. Your problem. I hope they do pursue it. People like you are the reason the rest of us pay more.

Pretty sure the hotel staff get paid from the money that their guests pay (well the ones that actually pay.)

I’m not going to check anymore answers on here because it’s no wonder why so many people have poor mental health when there’s women on here calling me shitty etc for such a minor issue that in no way reflects me as a person.

It absolutely reflects on you as a person. Stop blaming your shitty behaviour on poor mental health, what you're trying to do is so unreasonable, why not just be honest with yourself and own it.

And bloody hell god knows what planet you inhabit if you think owing £2500 is a minor issue.

You've had the answer - yes, they can pursue you for the debt in the UK. I hope they do.

You're a muppet if that's how you think hotels and businesses work. They don't just say to the staff, "No work and no pay for you today, the guest cancelled".

I think you need to start seeing the bigger picture in life. You are part of society, but you seem to see everything revolving around you, your wants and your needs.

If the hotel loses money and doesn't make a profit people will lose their jobs. But your 'mental health' trumps all that and you don't care.

Can you get some help with your 'mental health'?

Shitty behaviour. If a friend was in your boat and mentioned this,I'd be wary of any future relationship with them. Screams untrustworthy

Whatever anyone else says the fact is, they can seek a court order in Norway following Norwegian law on unpaid debts. The hotel can then seek to enforce it in the UK and across the EEA/EU. If they do and you don't pay you will not only be barred from Norway but the EEA/EU as well (this will be an issue once the EU's ETIAS comes in as currently you can get away with it). Further your credit profile in the UK will be ruined and you'll have not only the hotel fees but the fees of the courts, debt collectors and any other justifiable fee on top too.

My advice to you is to pay and take the holiday. If you cannot afford to do so, offer a reduced payment fee (roughly 30-50%, potentially paid in installments) and see what they say. If they say no and seek judgement against you, you may be in a stronger position to tell the Norwegian court you attempted in good faith. So far, the offer of monthly installments works in their favour.

If they do decide to pursue you but not enforce in the UK, you're still faced with the issue of entering Norway and the wider EEA/EU.

I hope for your sake, if you genuinely cannot afford to pay due to circumstances outside your control, they don't take further action and you get away with it. And this is one big lesson. You need to learn from this as if it happens again, with you in full knowledge they can pursue you in the UK, it will be 100% on you and no-one would be able to help you.

I am curious to know the hotel as they may be bluffing. Not all companies go through the effort. I would question where £2,500 falls on the scale of resources used v return. I suspect it is borderline as they can tack the fees of recovery on top and get a nice amount back.