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The fraud tactic via using Booking

First of all, our hotel costumer A...S... has booked through booking.com to stay in our hotel between 23rd 2019 and 07 Jan 2019. Reservations are 15 days in full board style. So they bought the right to eat in our restaurant (except for some products and drinks such as fish products) in the morning including lunch and dinner. Accommodation fee is $ 2,700.

Our principle is to charge the payment after making reservation in our hotel and after that refund is impossible. This and all of other policies and rules are written clearly on our Booking.com page. So when the costumer looks at our page, he/she can see and read everything.

When we contacted the customer for payment, they told us to withdraw 500 dollars from their personal credit cards at first. We got this card information from Booking.com Then their card credit was insufficient balance, they uploaded new credit card that is business credit card on Booking.com. They both said that it is business trip so their holiday can be paid by their work place on Whatsapp messages, and wrote same thing on Booking.com page. In addition Booking.com send us a message about credit card. According to the message sent to us by Booking.com, the holiday will be paid from the company credit card. Booking.com said " This is a company credit card, which means the card won't be present when the guest checks in. It can be charged for the booking and has been guaranteed by the guest's company".

Therefore, we received the payment from the company credit card on the message of the customer and the message of the booking.

We did not face any problem with the costumer since they arrived our hotel.  During their holiday, the customer consumed products such as fish that were not included in the full board fee. They charged the time to check them out and they showed no reductions at that time. We also have receipts that they have signed. Then they left our hotel. After leaving our hotel on 15 Jan 2019.

Then we learned that, the customer withdraw money that is hotel price, food and extra payment via their bank and our intermediary firm. The excuses of their money-back claim is that the credit card used belongs to the workplace. But we rely on the message from the booking, they themselves can pay from the card in the first place, he said. We took all card information on the Booking.com.

I totally sure that they are swindler and this is a cheating technique. Now we have financial damage that is almost 3.000 dollars and emotional damage that is our trust on Booking. Since we trust in Booking, we are selling the rooms of our hotel here, we follow all the rules of it, but the customer who is coming through Booking is cheating us.

Is there any guarantee policy on booking against this fraud method?

I will be so glad if you help me.


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Aaltje B. 5 years ago

Hi Taylan Basarir.

I hear you.

It is very frustrating.

keep all the proof you have.

Have you spoken to the top Admin person? If not you can request to do so.

It is not a small problem.

Also a difficult one. Do you know about water? It is very hard to stop once it is running somewhere. It will find the finest crack to go through. That is how it is with criminal behaviour.

in some situations it would be best to accept direct cash payments but that is "old school" method, I know.

I hope you will be listened to and that Bdc finance team will assist you. Don't accept no for an answer!

Have a great weekend with great guests,

Aaltje B.