THE PRICE OF DOING BUSINESS WITH PRICELINE.COM

[JustDee]

I'm not usually one to make a big deal about things. I make mistakes and I deal with the consequenses but sometimes, things just make so little sense that it is impossible to allow it to go unsaid.

I have been doing business with priceline.com for a while, probably since they launched. I have made hotel, care and plane reservations through them. Sometimes, I have had to change or cancel my reservation and at times, I have even had to pay a small fee to do so, but this evening has not only changed my opinion of priceline, but has me so rattled that I feel like I am going to explode. I am so angry and frustrated that I am literally shaking. Here's what happened, tell me if you think I am out of my mind or if priceline is just doing something shady.

this evening at aprox. 7 pm, I made reservations through priceline at an Americas Best motel in Little Rock, AK. For some reason, Joe, who is in Ruston, LA (he was bringing Aley and the baby back) in any case, he thought that he was only 2 hours from Little Rock and he wanted to come back home to Knoxville through Memphis. So he called me this evening and asked me to find a hotel for him in Little Rock, which I did. I don't know why I didn't look it up before hand, I just took it at face value that he was correct. However, while giving Joe the hotel information, I looked up where Little Rock was located and realized it was going to add 4 hours to his 8 hr drive and that just seemed crazy.

So I called priceline and said, listen, we made a mistake, can we transfer our reservation to an Americas Best in Victorburg, MS, mind you, it was still the same chain. I was then informed that I could indeed cancel the reservation, however, I would not be receiving a refund. In order to get a refund, I would have had to cancel my reservation by noon this today. Mind you, I called priceline 15 minutes after the initial reservation was made, but yes, they expected me to cancel the reservation more then 7 hours before I actually made the reservation.

I asked to speak to a supervisor, but was given to another automoton and pretty much she repeated the same exact thing. I kept saying to her, but according to your rules, I would have had to cancle my reseravation before I ever made it... I asked to speak to HER supervisor, she apparantly has none. In fact, aparantly, there are no SUPERVISORS on at all, the next step is to talk to corporate. Well I have their number and I will call tomorrow but can someone tell me, is it me or is priceline practicing some shady business...

I intend to fight this as far as I have to to get my monely back. It doesn't matter that it was only 50 dollars. Right now, thats a lot to people like us who work for every penny they earn. Not only do I want my money back, but I also want their practices to change and I want them to give me an appology.

[JustAnotherUserName]

I had the same experience, only it was THEIR eff-up in the first place WHICH THEY EVEN ADMITTED but I still had to fight for a refund.

Priceline is a double-edged sword. They're cheap because they tell you up front: no refunds. Yet sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. I don't know what their reasoning is.

I do not think you're out of line at all...I would do exactly the same thing until they give you your money back. Just keep calling back until you get someone halfway normal. I think most of it actually depends on who answers the phone and what kind of a day they're having. I wouldn't count on them changing their practices or apologizing, though :-)

[SydTheSkeptic]

That's ridiculous. GET 'em, Dee!!!

What I do is I use Priceline to find the best deals and then I call the place directly and ask them for something comparable to what Priceline offers. It works...sometimes.

[JustDee]

I usually do that too.. but I was tired and Joe needed me to find him some place to stay.. I didn't stop to look at the fact that the way he wanted to come home would have taken him 4 hours out of the way.. All I can say is, I will never use them again.

[JustDee]

so, its not a victory yet, however, after locating and emailing every high ranking muckety muck at priceline, including the CEO, I received this:

Dear Joseph Maurizio

Your Hotel refund request has been submitted for review. We will notify you about the status of your request, and we will do our best to provide an update within the 15 business days.



Your Priceline Refund Request information is listed below for your reference:

Case number: 24726242
Product: Hotel
Request number(s): 14541067357

Thank you for your patience while we review your request.

Sincerely,

bryan
The Travelweb Customer Service Team

Like I said, not a victory yet, but its the most progress I've made so far. Understand, its not the 60 dollars I'm out, its just the principle of the thing. If I had made the reservation at 11 am and canceled it at 11:10 this would not be an issue, but because I made it and canceled it after 12 pm.. well, thats just stupid.

[JustDee]

I win...I am expecting a full refund in the next few days.

[SydTheSkeptic]

Wooohoooo!