Comments on: Car rental customer sees red after double-billing blues

By: Larry

Larry — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:02:23 +0000

Well I got the same from Priceline too.
Car Rental from Priceline in LAX charge to my credit card 8/29/09 to 8/31/09 for $66.03
Budget Rent A Car charge to my credit card for $68.61 again.
I tried to called both Priceline and Budget Rent A Car — was on hold for nearly 40 minutes, gave up.
Sent email to both Priceline and Budget Rent A Car. Wait for response.

By: carver

carver — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:25:00 +0000

I have long ago stopped booking with anyone other than the hotel or travel provider directly. I hate the passing the buck that we constantly see otherwise.

By: Alia

Alia — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:15:49 +0000

I had the same thing happen to me with priceline and a hotel. I immediately called the hotel when I saw that they had charged and they said they would credit me and did within 5 days. The only issue I had is that they charged me an extra $2.50 which they said they didn’t see so I am disputing it with my credit card. I did not involve priceline as I saw this as a mistake the hotel made which is what happened. The person who checked me out charged my card instead of changing payment option to voucher. It was annoying to have to do this as I stopped booking with hotels directly since they double charged me before and in doing so caused me $70 in overdraft fees which I have to this day not been able to receive back. I thought using priceline would solve this problem but it obviously did not. Now I always use my credit card because that way I can dispute it and not incur overdraft fees.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:49:23 +0000

I, too, now book directly with the airline or hotel I intend to use, although I will say that I’ve used hotels.com several times and have never had a problem. The problem nowadays is that if there’s a problem and you didn’t book directly with the airline or hotel, you’re stuck trying to get the third party vendor to intercede with some alacrity. Your emergency is not their emergency. And given that we’re witnessing the apotheosis of capitalism, always keep in mind that the bottom line is the bottom line.

By: cars rentals » Blog Archive » Car rental customer sees red after double-billing blues

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:11:44 +0000

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By: Sonia Vining

Sonia Vining — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:17:54 +0000

These horror stories with Priceline and Travelocity and Expedia and Hotels.com and all of the other middleman travel websites simply re-confirm what I’ve always done: book through the companies you’re dealing with directly. The couple of times a lower price has lured me to use one of those sites have ended badly, with either a missing reservation or a cancellation fee that I would have avoided had I booked directly with the hotel. It’s your choice: gamble on grief accompanying a lower price, or pay a bit more for one less company to deal with.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:34:11 +0000

I guess there are several scenarios on how this could come to fruition. First, Priceline never credited Mr. Lundeed. This is very possible and likely. Maybe the rental car company never returned the funds to Priceline and so they are passing the buck. Two other scenarios would be Priceline did indeed live up to it’s promise and Mr. Lundeed missed it on his bill, as did the previous woman. Another chance option, though less likely due to his uncommon name, is they refunded the wrong person. Either way, Mr. Lundeed needs to scour his bills and be sure he is in the right.

Assuming he is the victim here, I say call the Attorney General. They will help! Contact your bank and credit card. One might even pursue small claims, and ask for damages due to the financial effect double billing has on an individual and their refusal to correct.

Last, whenever wanting a supervisor, if you don’t get one don’t give up. One lesson we have all learned, or should have in life, is keep calling and asking when you don’ receive the answer you want on important matters. Eventually, you’ll reach someone willing to help! Sounds like a pain, but sometimes you have to do it!

By: KathyJ

KathyJ — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:54:02 +0000

Has anyone verified that Priceline credited the correct account? Maybe Mr. Lundeen has more than one credit card, or Priceline simply got the wrong person (who’s not likely to look a gift credit in the mouth). Did Mr. Lundeen actually have a Priceline car rental in 2008? Perhaps they credited that one (on another card) so he’s looking in the wrong place.

But if a customer asks for a supervisor, he should get one *now*, not a call back, much less the brush-off.