- Report: #1045384
Complaint Review: Priceline - Internet
Reported By:
Got shatted ! -
East grand forks, Minnesota,
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Priceline
Internet, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
Priceline.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
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Priceline Total deception at best , most likely fraud. Internet
We booked 2 hotel rooms on Priceline at about 8:20 pm central time using their "express deal" thing tonight 4/22/13. When you first enter the site you must enter your dates and basic info. As we checked different options we found that the express deals was the best option for us. We were booking 2 rooms for a wedding in June 2013 and filled the form out for the date of 6/29/13. There was no room for error on this date as you had to click the calendar arrow twice to get the date calendar to move from April to June. After completing this and researching the options we decided to go with it. While filling the next part out ( more detailed ) we came to the travel insurance offer. Not ever using Priceline we decided to read the fine print on this insurance and read the fine print. After determining it was kind of like buying accidental death insurance ( useless) we decided to decline. We called our second party for the second room to confirm the details. We then made the fatal error of clicking " buy my room". After clicking it the page refreshed and came back with an error message with two items in red. We hade failed to initial what they call the contracts page and had failed to re enter our email address. We did these two simple things and then re clicked. We watched the negotiator do his stuff for a short time and then it came back with congratulations as if we had won the lotto for getting a few bucks off the open rate. It asked where to email the confirmation to, which I found strange since the error was to renter our email address. Anyway we did such and about 10 minutes later we got an email with confirmation # s and much to our horror it confirmed our stay for next week April 29 not June 29 as entered. We immediately called Priceline No more than 15 minutes from booking. We were not asking to cancel nor to say it was a day off of what we thought or something like that. This was 2 months incorrect. We just simply wanted them to change the date to the date we entered. They refused saying no changes no refunds etc. . They basically told us tuff luck. They would cancel for the cost of 1 room or in other words they would keep 1/2 of the prepaid 174.50 and we could rebook the correct date. After a heated exchange and a transfer to another person they then said if we went back in and rebook the correct date and pay all over they would issue a full refund for the first booking minus a 25.00 dollar fee. We asked to speak to a manager which they basically refused. They told us this was the hotels policy and not theirs. We hung up and called the the hotel and the hotel stated that they had no problem changing the date and that this was not their policy but rather Pricelines but they had to make the change since it was booked thru them. Priceline lies like a cheap rug. We plan on disputing the charge with our credit card company and re booking with the same hotel directly for more money rather than giving these thieves 25.00. 3 hours later the hotel still has no record to our booking from Priceline. When they claim the confirmation comes from the hotel and that is why they can't make changes they are full of it. The hotel says they have no clue about the reservation until it gets to them. Further researched shows that any deals that Priceline offers on the express deals thing are pre approved thru national agreements. They have every right to change the date prior to sending the booking to the hotel and the hotel could care less if the rooms are available. The hotel assured us they had plenty of rooms available for June 29. Priceline confirms they have plenty of rooms at that hotel for the correct date as we did a mock check on their site. Again I could understand them on this if we called a week later or even a day but 10 minutes or actually about 15 seconds after we seen the mistake. Wow! Shameful a company does business this way. We pretty much figured out what happened. If you fill out the form and then let it go stale for 10 minutes or so as we did while reading the insurance stuff and the page refreshes it defaults back to a week out booking. I believe what happened to us is by design because when it refreshed it did not even make us re enter or credit card info which is highly unusual. This tells me that this happens a lot and I feel that if their site is to set to refresh if you wait to long to complete it needs to go back to the top ( where the date is ) to refill the entire form out. The fact that it went right to the credit card info and initials section and the credit card info entered was still there would lead anyone to believe nothing else had changed on the form. Beware of these crooks! Most probably just eat the 25.00 and call it a day. If more stood their ground it may make a difference. We are going to fight this on principle as we feel we are getting truly ripped off!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Got shatted !
East grand forks,Minnesota,
Update
#2Author of original report
Tue, April 23, 2013
It is now noon 4/23. The hotel is calling Priceline directly to see if they can get the date changed without a fee but also stated how awful this company is. The funny thing is the hotel 14 hours later still has no paperwork on our reservation for the wrong date of otherwise. We are fairly certain Priceline is intentionally withholding the reservation back as they know we intend on disputing the charge with our credit card company and they know we can't open the dispute until the charges goes from a pending authorization to an actual charge.
We found out that Priceline does not pay the hotel until after stay. This basically means they are going to attempt to keep the entire 174.50 knowing full well we can not go and did not authorize a 4/29 arrival date. We also figured when Priceline changed the date during the process. It happened when we checked the box to accept the travels insurance and then unchecked it after reading the fine print. At this point their site refreshes and you have to re click the express deal. It then goes directly to the part where you need to refill your detailed info.
The only way one would know they changed the date of arrival to a 1 week default is if you scrolled all the way to the top. Why do I believe this is is flat out fraud? In the same box you enter the date you also need to enter the number of rooms. The starting default for number of rooms is for 1 room. We booked 2 rooms. I would like to hear an explanation as to how the incorrect reservation is for two rooms just as we entered and not 1 if the site refreshed after we unchecked the insurance box. Does anyone believe that this is anything but intentional on Pricelines part? Thank you
