ArcaMax

Q: I booked a hotel in Wroclaw through Booking.com. I canceled my reservation well within the free cancellation period, but then I discovered a charge on my card for the full amount of $742.

I reached out to Booking.com, and a representative told me that I would be refunded within 10 days. This didn't happen. I called back, and this time, a representative told me to wait one month since the property made the charge and it is the hotel's responsibility to process the refund.

I then escalated this to the property. I sent my bank account details, but a hotel representative informed me that it could not provide a refund to an Indian account and that Booking.com would have to process it.

After making close to 30 calls to the hotel, I escalated my case to Booking.com, but it just reiterated its policy: It can't issue refunds since it's the responsibility of the hotel.

Each time I talk to customer support, they spin a different story. They either say my refund is being processed or that the merchant name is a mismatch. I also discovered that the property has negative reviews for engaging in similar transactions with other people, yet Booking.com took no action.

In one of my conversations, a customer representative also mentioned that they were investigating the property, but its hands were tied. Can you help me get my money back? -- Aman Chawla, New Delhi

A: You made your reservation through Booking.com, so the company should help you get a refund no matter who charged your card. This is a disturbingly common problem when you're dealing with an online travel agency. Since there's more than one party involved -- an online agency, an airline or hotel, and often a third entity that buys rooms or flights in bulk --there are a lot of finger-pointing opportunities. In my experience, companies rarely miss a chance to do this, which is endlessly frustrating for customers like you.

When you cancel a hotel room within the cancellation window, you should expect to get a prompt refund. But your hotel had done this to other guests who cancelled, and the property had negative reviews to prove it. So, please read the hotel reviews next time and consider booking a reputable property with one of the major hotel chains.

I'm a little dubious of the claim that a Polish hotel couldn't refund your Indian account. It had no problem charging you the first time, so what's the problem with refunding you quickly? Clearly, there was a breakdown in communication between Booking.com and the hotel. I'm not sure if this was intentional on the part of the hotel or just a problem of incompetence.

But it doesn't really matter. Booking.com should have stood by your purchase and refunded you as promised. You might have been able to get this fixed quickly by appealing to one of the customer service managers at Booking.com. I publish the names, numbers and emails of the top Booking.com managers on my consumer advocacy website, Elliott.org.

I contacted Booking.com on your behalf. A representative told me that the company is committed to "seamless travel experiences" for its customers.

"In this case, our customer service team has identified that there was a delay in processing the customer's refund and has since escalated the full refund payout to the customer's Booking.com wallet," the representative said. You received a full refund.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2025 Christopher Elliott

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