When you stay at a hotel and the service isn’t up to par, you expect to be able to discuss it with someone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Staff will sometimes assert that nothing can be done to avoid having to refund your money or give you a room in another part of the hotel. This means you can’t stay where you are, but you also don’t have a room in which to move either. If this has happened to you, you are not alone, but this doesn’t mean that you have no options. Learn what you can do if the hotel refuses to return your money and avoid being saddled with an expensive hotel bill you didn’t mean to pay!
If you are rejected a refund, you may be eligible to sue for that expense. The Federal Trade Commission Fair Credit Billing Act (FTC) offers some protection for consumers who have been denied refunds for services that they have not used or never agreed to purchase. If the hotel violated the FTC Act, you have the right to sue them. The first step is to check if you have a case. If the hotel refuses to refund your money because you cancelled too late, you may be out of luck. However, if the hotel refuses to refund your money for any other reason, then they might be liable for your losses. Hotels can be held accountable for not refunding customers’ money in three ways: breach of contract, quantum meruit, and conversion. To win one of these cases, you must show that the hotel owes you money or property as a result of an agreement or commitment.
The initial step should be to acquire all of your documents. This includes the initial confirmation email, any emails you exchanged with the hotel, the phone call recording (if available), and any printed correspondence from the hotel. After gathering all of your possessions, draft a letter requesting a full refund due to the events of your stay. Demand letters are a formal way of requesting something from someone or a company who owes you money. The letter will typically be in writing and detail the amount owed, what it is for, how much time they have to pay, and what will happen if they don’t comply.
If the demand letter does not address your case, you should think about engaging an attorney. When someone owes you money, you have several legal options. Before taking any action, you should counsel with an attorney who is competent in this area. It’s best not to sign any agreement that offers less than you believe is rightfully owed. Finally, most businesses only issue refunds under certain conditions, so it’s crucial to understand the terms of service before making a purchase.