Prestigia.com False and misleading exchange rate made it appear than I was paying less than I actually paid london, Internet
I recently booked a two night hotel stay through Prestigia.com. In doing my research with all of the other travel websites (Expedia, Travelocity, Agoda, Orbitz, etc) Prestigia offered a rate that was 7% less than the others in USD. In reviewing my credit card transaction I was actually charged the same amount that the others were quoting that day and not the rate provided by Prestigia ($501.75 vs the $478.52 which was acutally on my invoice from them).
Prestigia uses a currency conversion from Euro to USD that is 7% less than what the actual exchange rate is for that day and what you will be actually be billed. As a result, it reflects a grossly underestimated quote and invoice, misleading customers to believe that they are going to charged less than they are.
I have contacted this company five times and have yet to receive a response. In the meantime they continue to change the Euro to USD exchange daily and continue to misrepresent the actual exchange rate by 6-7%. I am convinced that they are fully aware of what they are doing and that is exactly how they have made a business for themselves.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
jayme smith
houston,Texas,
United States of America
Do not use this company
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, December 14, 2012
I would like to add that since my negative comment about this company I still do not have my credit. We did book another travel site for our upcoming trip. The reason I originally booked with Prestigia was due to comparison shopping, and they were 7 to 12 percent lower. All other sites were exactly the same pricing! I thought I was getting a bargain and saving some money. This is not the case....they advertise the rate being lower and when your credit card is charged it's higher then all the other sites. If you question it, they start the spill about conversion rates, bank charges, rates changed etc. Funny no other travel sites have this problem! If you find a property you want to book, go with booking.com, expedia etc. Although it seems higher, you actually will pay more with Presigia. I still do not have my refund and the hotel canceled my reservation with out fees and sent Prestigia an email stating so. To continue to argue instead of apologizing for the error is fueling the fire! Save yourself some grief and don't believe the rates they post!
Prestigia.com team
United States of AmericaPrestigia.com: Reliable conversion rate process
#3UPDATE Employee
Tue, December 04, 2012
Dear customer,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
We base our converted rates on the conversion rate of the day, which is provided to us by the very reliable XE platform (updated every second).
Any difference you have observed might be due to a rate change from the Hotel or some additionnal fees from your bank.
Also, we clearly state on our payment page, before you proceed to the payment, that the amount in USD is provided only as a reference and calculated according to the current exchange rate at the time of reservation.
Our customer service team is at your service 7/7 at the following phone number +1 201 830 1902 or at this email adress: resa@prestigia.com
Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with.
Your Prestigia.com team.