Woman Blames Bad Click For 150,000 Bangkok Hotel Bill. Then Her Story Got Weirder.

By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

 

The location of what was supposed to be ‘Private Club in the Heart of Bangkok’ as listed on Agoda Homes. Image: Google

 

BANGKOK — A woman says an accidental swipe on her smartphone cost her 150,000 baht when she inadvertently booked a residence that turned out not to exist.

 

Sulawan Luckchonlatee on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against online booking agency Agoda after she was billed 150,000 baht and was unable to cancel the booking or contact the place – because she could not find it.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/crime-crime/2017/12/07/woman-blames-bad-click-150000-bangkok-hotel-bill-story-got-weirder/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2017-12-7

If nothing else, this story should serve as a reminder how careful one has to be booking anything online, or as she claims in this case, accidentally booking.  I can understand that as I have had a few instances where I almost hit "Submit" or "Confirm" rather than the back or cancel button.

 

I once tried to book a non-refundable airline ticket online;... my CC was declined, I thought the transaction was done.  I subsequently booked another ticket, using a different website and card and the transaction was completed.  Next day I got an email from the first agent that they had re-submitted my CC and this time it was approved and the transaction was completed...I did not know that online bookers often have 48 hours to re-submit credit cards, so now I had 2 non-refundable tickets.  Took hours and hours on the phone and several hundred dollars in penalties to straighten it out.

Lesson learned the hard way.

Agoda could take the high Road here. 

She didn't stay there. There really should be a number you can call to assist with a mistake. 

5 minutes ago, dddave said:

If nothing else, this story should serve as a reminder how careful one has to be booking anything online, or as she claims in this case, accidentally booking.  I can understand that as I have had a few instances where I almost hit "Submit" or "Confirm" rather than the back or cancel button.

 

I once tried to book a non-refundable airline ticket online;... my CC was declined, I thought the transaction was done.  I subsequently booked another ticket, using a different website and card and the transaction was completed.  Next day I got an email from the first agent that they had re-submitted my CC and this time it was approved and the transaction was completed...I did not know that online bookers often have 48 hours to re-submit credit cards, so now I had 2 non-refundable tickets.  Took hours and hours on the phone and several hundred dollars in penalties to straighten it out.

Lesson learned the hard way.

Thanks for that. 

That's shocking that they can resubmit your credit card without your knowledge. 

15 minutes ago, greenchair said:

Thanks for that. 

That's shocking that they can resubmit your credit card without your knowledge. 

Probably 99% of us click the "Agree" button to sellers terms without reading those terms but boring as those statements are, they often contain critical conditions such as the 48 hour re-submit option.

Many are not really aware that when you hit a "submit" or similar transaction activator, you are essentially signing a contract and agreeing to it's terms.

Edited December 7, 20178 yr by dddave

59 minutes ago, dddave said:

Probably 99% of us click the "Agree" button to sellers terms without reading those terms but boring as those statements are, they often contain critical conditions such as the 48 hour re-submit option.

Many are not really aware that when you hit a "submit" or similar transaction activator, you are essentially signing a contract and agreeing to it's terms.

Thank you again. 

I will read those terms now. 

The hospitality business has changed so much for the better with apps, but there's always a downfall, now you have to be so vigilant what you click.

 

I got screwed on a recent no refund booking. They changed my serviced apartment location due to **servicing** issues and I had no fallback. I had booked purely for convenience/location and ended up getting cabs to work across town. Then to add salt to the wound they didn't refund my deposit for 21 days after I left. In the effort to save a few bucks I could have stayed 4/5 star hotel and life could have been so much easier with relocating and work etc.

 

There is something very wrong about an outside agency being able to hold onto your ccard and block access to your own money.

 

The devil is in the detail.

 

Have never used agoda or booking since, just like skyscanner they're just a pointer in the right direction to go directly to the source,  NO REFUND NO CAN DO.

Edited December 7, 20178 yr by coulson

144.000 for three nights ? In suk43 ? Hell even the Oriental is only about 17.000 per night. 

 

this sounds like a major rip-off.

4 hours ago, dddave said:

If nothing else, this story should serve as a reminder how careful one has to be booking anything online, or as she claims in this case, accidentally booking.  I can understand that as I have had a few instances where I almost hit "Submit" or "Confirm" rather than the back or cancel button.

 

You may have this problem if your credit card details are already on Agoda's file. The best idea is to only enter credit card details AFTER you've had a very good look at what you're going to pay for. I think you'd have to blind drunk or high on drugs to make the mistake the lady did here.

people shouldnt play around with bookings they dont want to make, why even look at it in the first place, maybe trying to be more than what she was/look important and then got cold feet. Pretty hard to screw up a booking you didnt want in the first place, probably didnt realize she would have to pay with reserving and wants to be refunded for her screw up

17 minutes ago, seajae said:

people shouldnt play around with bookings they dont want to make, why even look at it in the first place, maybe trying to be more than what she was/look important and then got cold feet. Pretty hard to screw up a booking you didnt want in the first place, probably didnt realize she would have to pay with reserving and wants to be refunded for her screw up

The customer is king. This kind of practices is hardly just, no need to secure the whole booking in one go. And I am still surprised at the amount 144.000 for only three nights. That does not sound right. 

Looks like a fraud is taking place.

 

Fake address

Then gets booked at an extortionate rate.

 

Kind of a clever fraud to be fair and it shows flaws in the agoda system which makes them look very amateurish. No verification of property.

 

The claimant has bided her time too. This issue happened as far back as august or earlier and she has done a fair bit of complaining online.

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, sjaak327 said:

144.000 for three nights ? In suk43 ? Hell even the Oriental is only about 17.000 per night. 

 

this sounds like a major rip-off.

Yes, that's like 40,000 baht a night. That can't be right. 

12 hours ago, dddave said:

If nothing else, this story should serve as a reminder how careful one has to be booking anything online, or as she claims in this case, accidentally booking.  I can understand that as I have had a few instances where I almost hit "Submit" or "Confirm" rather than the back or cancel button.

 

I once tried to book a non-refundable airline ticket online;... my CC was declined, I thought the transaction was done.  I subsequently booked another ticket, using a different website and card and the transaction was completed.  Next day I got an email from the first agent that they had re-submitted my CC and this time it was approved and the transaction was completed...I did not know that online bookers often have 48 hours to re-submit credit cards, so now I had 2 non-refundable tickets.  Took hours and hours on the phone and several hundred dollars in penalties to straighten it out.

Lesson learned the hard way.

I had the same think happen with a double booking. One company allowed a 24 or 48 hour cancellation. It cost me $80. in phone calls.

Big bad hit....Yesterday I was trying to pay for apartment I booked through Airbnb electing to pay in GBP.When I found the rate of exchange applied at 41TB I declined to confirm and went back to use my SGD account.SG $=24.50TB roughly but again it was at 23baht which I accepted reluctantly, hit Confirm,  huh ?I was suddenly told am being billed in US at yet another silly rate 31tb to the US $ making me confuses will My SGD account get billed directly in TB or USB after double conversion. HELL, CANCEL THE BLOODY THING I told myself &went back without completing the transaction. After 1 minute my mobile phone got a message saying your account was billed with 1$.

 Luckily 1$ imagine if it was 1000 or so. I contacted Airbnb but no reply and I was ignored till now.

I understand it is illegal for them to operate in Thailand but what can we do except complain to our banks.?

Big bad hit....Yesterday I was trying to pay for apartment I booked through Airbnb electing to pay in GBP.When I found the rate of exchange applied at 41TB I declined to confirm and went back to use my SGD account.SG $=24.50TB roughly but again it was at 23baht which I accepted reluctantly, hit Confirm,  huh ?I was suddenly told am being billed in US at yet another silly rate 31tb to the US $ making me confuses will My SGD account get billed directly in TB or USD after double conversion. HELL, CANCEL THE BLOODY THING I told myself &went back without completing the transaction. After 1 minute my mobile phone got a message saying your account was billed with 1$.

 Luckily 1$ imagine if it was 1000 or so. I contacted Airbnb but no reply and I was ignored till now.

I understand it is illegal for them to operate in Thailand but what can we do except complain to our banks.?

By far the biggest problem with online booking of anything is finding an actual human being to talk to if things go sideways. Seems most of them are now using "Instant Chat" but even those are often menu driven and very inflexible.

Maybe she should have contacted her credit card provider and cancelled the payment. She can also fall back on Thailands Consumer Protection Laws in regards to a "cooling off period" if that is applicable to accommodation transactions.

I booked a hotel thru Agoda on my trip to India.  I checked the box "book now pay later".  Agoda replied, if payment is not made one week before arrival, reservation will automatically be cancelled.  Wrong, Agoda charged my credit card.  I am a member with Agoda and they had my credit card information.  Contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge.  They said to email them the cancellation email and the would reverse the charge.  I had to eat the charge because I didn't email Agoda of my cancellation.  My fault for not following up with simple email.

 

I don't see how people can accidentally booked on agoda if you did not fill our your credit card details, email, and name? Unless you have automatic fill function on your web browser, which is quite rare these days. Or is it different on the app where all that info is stored ?

In my experience the customer service at Agoda has been excellent, helping with booking issues. Always got a refund if there was an error.

2 hours ago, TEFLKrabi said:

In my experience the customer service at Agoda has been excellent, helping with booking issues. Always got a refund if there was an error.

Yep... funny how so many different stories pop up.

 

we use agoda all the time.... mrs farc religiously reviews each place we stay at.

 

wrong bookings, in our experience, can be cancelled within 24 hours, if you speak to a customer service rep.

 

hell... once we rocked up at a “resort” in Krabi, having booked on agoda recommendation and reviews, to find the resort was Muslim owned, with no bar in the bar fridge .... plus a few other problems

 

after checking the hotel next door, I rang agoda.... told them to ensure the tape recorder was running, as I did not wish to repeat myself to a senior rep.... and went ballistic at the phone operator, listing every deficiency, quoting their references etc

 

the following day I got a call from agoda management, who took the cc booking ( vs pay on arrival), and my full payment was reversed

( note.... before abusing agoda, we booked into the hotel next door, thru agoda... so they could see I was serious)

 

so.... I call BS.

Your credit card company should help, mine do when anything is contested.

4 hours ago, mike324 said:

I don't see how people can accidentally booked on agoda if you did not fill our your credit card details, email, and name? Unless you have automatic fill function on your web browser, which is quite rare these days. Or is it different on the app where all that info is stored ?

Some people have stored their credit card with agoda, and unless the expiration date on that card has already expired, the card can be used for any booking and it will.

11 hours ago, greenchair said:

Yes, that's like 40,000 baht a night. That can't be right. 

That isnt right, its 48 000 Baht per night 

15 minutes ago, sanemax said:

That isnt right, its 48 000 Baht per night 

There would be 7 percent tax and 10 percent service. 

Let's not be too picky eh.