How Agoda tricked me into paying twice - and never refunded

[dahagla]

I booked a room for 2 nights recently on Agoda, paid it initially with the promptpay service. Got a timeout message from Agoda immediately so booked the room again by credit card. Room confirmed by second booking, all good.
BUT: both payments were deducted from my account, the first one despite receiving an error message and subsequent cancellation of that room booking, the second one regularly by credit card. Upon calling Agoda call center they told me, the amount should be refunded shortly. 5 days later, nothing. Talking to another agent I again get the information that the amount has been refunded and I should contact my bank. I waited a few days more and of course nothing happened. Upon my 3rd call they request bank statements about the transaction. I send them both the full monthly statement generated from my bank and the transfer slip (from Promptpay) about the first payment.
The answer I get reads: We can´t proceed on the matter because your bank information is incomplete.
So they get all official documentation, they see the booking with the payment in their system and still they basically shut me down.
Draw your own conclusions....

[Fat is a type of crazy]

For what it’s worth my experience has been good. Nearly always heaps cheaper and normally free cancellation option. If cancel money back fast. You may need to persevere and see what they need but from my experience they’ll likely fix it eventually. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Fat is a type of crazy

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, dahagla said:

Draw your own conclusions....

That like any large company they are not particularly efficient with refunds and could do better. 

That you are upset with the mistake and want to vent on here. 

That you will get your refund, you perhaps need to follow up again, ask them to escalate. 

 

To reassure you, the same has happened to me in the past and it was resolved fairly quickly - its most likely due to connection errors during the payment processing along with a little impatience in the booking process and pulling the trigger too quickly on re-booking (second attempt).

 

 

 

[Upnotover]

I've found them pretty good at refunds and other payment issues.  Sounds like a Promptpay issue, what does the bank say?

Edited May 5, 2023 by Upnotover

[Snugs08]

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

That like any large company they are not particularly efficient with refunds and could do better. 

That you are upset with the mistake and want to vent on here. 

That you will get your refund, you perhaps need to follow up again, ask them to escalate. 

 

To reassure you, the same has happened to me in the past and it was resolved fairly quickly - its most likely due to connection errors during the payment processing along with a little impatience in the booking process and pulling the trigger too quickly on re-booking (second attempt).

 

 

 

Hmmm... Agoda take it too the next level, it is not like any large company, if you want a refund and not something silly like agoda cash if you didnt pay via CC then try this insanity...  I never use Agoda after this process. Take your money - no ID - no documents - 30 seconds. Give you money back - KYC galore - 30day+

 

 

Option 3: Bank Transfer Refund – This option requires processing time. You will need to submit 3 documents as instructed below. Contact us once you have uploaded the required documents so that we can assist further.  Please note that this option generally take at least 30 days for completion.

 

Please respond to this email with your preferred choice so that we can assist you right away.

 

If you are choosing to process a refund via the bank transfer then please follow these instructions:

 

Please attach the 3 documents requested below to the following online form:

 

-- url

 

A. Scanned copy/Photo of the signed bank transfer form.

 

B. Photo of valid government-issued photo ID (e.g. passport, driver’s license).

 

C. Evidence of the bank account’s ownership (e.g. copy of bank book, screenshot of online statement with bank account details).

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Snugs08

[heiri007]

You give up so easily, OP? This can happen anywhere with any company. Unfortunately you have to waste some time on this, but you'll get your money back.

[Don Chance]

I never book in advance. I find their listings and reviews to be dubious and misleading. 

I stake out some guesthouse that i am interested in before i arrive and then check out a few by foot until i decided.  Always cheaper and better.

 

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Snugs08 said:

Hmmm... Agoda take it too the next level, it is not like any large company, if you want a refund and not something silly like agoda cash if you didnt pay via CC then try this insanity...  I never use Agoda after this process. Take your money - no ID - no documents - 30 seconds. Give you money back - KYC galore - 30day+

Agoda give full refunds to source of payment.

They’ll offer Agoda-cash, but you don’t have to accept it and can instead request a full refund, thats just part of their process. 

 

It’s not difficult, but may take a little patience as does getting a refund from any large company. 

Try getting a compensation from an airline after a long delay...  now thats next level !!!... 

 

 

Agoda, booking.com they’re all fairly easy to deal with but things do go wrong and when they do it takes a little time to sort things out - thats all. It's not fun, but thats the way it is.

 

 

[Don Chance]

On different note, imagine if you invested in booking  com and agoda 10 and 20 years ago.  This company just prints money, it is like owning a 15% piece of 80% of hotels and guesthouses on the planet!

 

Probably still a good investment today but a bit expensive right now. Also i see a lot of competition around and people like me who refuse to book in advance.

[richard_smith237]

Quote

How Agoda tricked me into paying twice - and never refunded

OP: By the way... Agoda didn’t ’trick’ you... Your implication that you were duped is somewhat incorrect. 

 

You were not patient enough during the booking process. 

It was likely there was an ‘internet timeout’ and while the payment went through, it didn’t go through in sufficient time hence the ‘error response’ (people also often hit the back-page etc when encountering such issues which also causes hassle). 

 

This is just a facet of ‘online booking’ and happens occasionally...   You’ll get your refund - it looks like you’ll need to go through Agoda again that all.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by richard_smith237

[norfolkandchance]

I always book direct with the accommodation, majority of times cheaper. Send one nights payment as deposit.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

1 minute ago, norfolkandchance said:

I always book direct with the accommodation, majority of times cheaper. Send one nights payment as deposit.

I have noted this before but it is definitely a mixed bag. As I am on holiday if in Thailand I tend to stay larger places and they nearly all charge a higher rate if I want to book direct or additional nights. They refer me to a booking site if I want a better deal. If dealing with the owner in a smaller place could be different.

[GameMaster]

I've booked more rooms that I can count with Agoda.

I've been using their app almost every week or so for almost a year now.

I had issues with them twice.

 

First time was because the Malaysian gov introduced a new tax that wasn't reported on my booking. So I got pissed but I had to pay extra on-site because...well... that was the law. Agoda's customer service was fast to clarify and apologize that day.

 

Second time was yesterday. I booked a hotel and the booking was cancelled by the owner due to "Incorrect Rate". So I had to cancel my booking, got a refund and was given some extra Agoda cash as an apology. Pretty f:cking lame if you ask me. The hotel or Agoda should have taken the loss and I should haven gotten the room anyway. That being said, the customer service was efficient in sorting things out.

 

Agoda is also the world champion of fake discounts. All the promotions that you see on their website like "50% off - 1 room left!" is total bs. The price displayed as a promotion is just the normal rate, roughly what you'd get if you'd book directly with the hotel. The different VIP statuses that you can unlock are mostly useless and the associated deals usually suck big time. For example all the worse hotels are labelled as VIP deal and they are indeed not expensive. But it's not because you are a "special customer" but because the hotels are so bad, they wouldn't find clients otherwise. Honestly I don't understand why they aren't sued for those practices.

 

Anyway, Agoda commercial practices might be despicable but their customer service will usually solve your problem pretty quickly if you're legit. Don't count on them to do anything else but the bare minimum though.

[KannikaP]

22 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

On different note, imagine if you invested in booking  com and agoda 10 and 20 years ago.  This company just prints money, it is like owning a 15% piece of 80% of hotels and guesthouses on the planet!

 

Probably still a good investment today but a bit expensive right now. Also i see a lot of competition around and people like me who refuse to book in advance.

All the booking companies are owned either by Expedia or Booking.com. Google a comparison of the two for interesting information.

[Don Chance]

19 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

All the booking companies are owned either by Expedia or Booking.com. Google a comparison of the two for interesting information.

Maybe for Thailand, i have seen a few news doing well in India.

[KannikaP]

Just now, Don Chance said:

Maybe for Thailand, i have seen a few news doing well in India.

I was under the impression it was Worldwide. Expedia is USA, booking is Dutch.

[Peterphuket]

Something happens with me recently with Booking.com, I booked but suddenly I made a mistake, after I booked again but don't cancel the first one because I was thinking, they can see I made a mistake, of course I use the same name.

But I have to mention with the second booking I did use a different email address.

2 Days after my visit at the hotel, they (booking.com) deduct my card again.

But I always ask, when I checked out for the invoice, and yes after some troubles, they gives the money back.

[sandyf]

50 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I was under the impression it was Worldwide. Expedia is USA, booking is Dutch.

Both Agoda and Booking.com are part of Booking Holdings, a US based company.

 

Booking Holdings Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, owns and operates several travel fare aggregators and travel fare metasearch engines including Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak.com, Cheapflights, Rentalcars.com, Momondo, and OpenTable. It operates websites in about 40 languages and 200 countries. Wikipedia

[Ajarnbrian]

With smaller places, I usually book directly with the accomodation. With larger places I’ve used Booking.com successfully many times. If internet connection is not so good, avoid online payments.

[KannikaP]

30 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Both Agoda and Booking.com are part of Booking Holdings, a US based company.

 

Booking Holdings Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, owns and operates several travel fare aggregators and travel fare metasearch engines including Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak.com, Cheapflights, Rentalcars.com, Momondo, and OpenTable. It operates websites in about 40 languages and 200 countries. Wikipedia

Booking.com - Wikipedia

[treetops]

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

They refer me to a booking site if I want a better deal. If dealing with the owner in a smaller place could be different.

Agreed - I used Agoda primarily when travelling monthly within Thailand for over a year during covid.  I've lost count of the times I wanted to stay an extra night or two and the hotel reception could beat the Agoda price.

 

Mainly I think that's down to reception staff not having the authority to reduce the walk-in rates, but as you say, if you can deal with an owner (or manager) your chances improve.  I do this now with a hotel I stay in every couple of weeks and the manager still honours my covid times rate.

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, Don Chance said:

I never book in advance. I find their listings and reviews to be dubious and misleading. 

I stake out some guesthouse that i am interested in before i arrive and then check out a few by foot until i decided.  Always cheaper and better.

 

I’ve mostly found that booking via these agencies is cheaper than direct (even directly on their own website) even when I’ve pushed them to beat/match. The other problem with your strategy is that in busy times you may find difficulty getting accommodation you want . Example- Phuket this February when it was full of Russians. 
best to use a mixture of strategies depending on circumstances 

[ChipButty]

I was talking to a hotel receptionist a couple of weeks ago and she said trip.com is good for business maybe check it out next time you are looking for a hotel, 

[Peterphuket]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Both Agoda and Booking.com are part of Booking Holdings, a US based company.

 

Booking Holdings Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, owns and operates several travel fare aggregators and travel fare metasearch engines including Booking.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com, Kayak.com, Cheapflights, Rentalcars.com, Momondo, and OpenTable. It operates websites in about 40 languages and 200 countries. Wikipedia

Booking.com is from origine a Dutch company, they still have the head office in Amsterdam.

[Jaggg88]

I cancelled a booking with Agoda and the auto reply said no refund as payment wasn't made. I happened to notice on my BKK Bank account that payment had actually been taken the day before so I contacted customer services and they say a refund will be make upto 30 days from cancellation - day 14 now and still waiting!

[cmjl]

I won't be using Agoda again, after booking a room for a couple of nights in NSW on a pay at the hotel(which I did),when opening my cc statement when I finally got home I found that Agoda had also taken the money off my cc card,they refuse to refund me because I can't produce a receipt-once bitten twice shy.

[Confuscious]

What's the use of the "Re-affirmation" anyway?

A few  months ago, I booked a room with Agoda.
At 2am, while I was sleeping, Agoda send me a "Re-affirmation" of my booking, stating that if I don't send a "Re-affirmation" in the time frame of 1 hour my booking was cancelled.
Lucky, I booked the room with "Pay at the hotel" and didn't lost anything.
The next day, I got a mail from Agoda that I should pay for not showing up and I forwarded the message that THEY CANCELLED the booking and THEY should pay.
Blocked all messages from AGODA and that was it.
Lot's of other and better companies.

 

[AustinRacing]

I don’t think they tricked you. 

[sandyf]

22 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

Booking.com is from origine a Dutch company, they still have the head office in Amsterdam.

You mean the subsidiary head office, been part of a group for nearly 20 years.

[Peterphuket]

3 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You mean the subsidiary head office, been part of a group for nearly 20 years.

Maybe the next time you'll say Philips and ASML is also a American founded company.????