I am FURIOUS with Sandals!!!

[robbie3982]

FI and I booked our honeymoon on the 19th. We included airfare and insurance and opted to pay the minimum deposit required with my discover card so that we could have more time to save. It was supposed to charge us $400 to hold the reservations and $158 for the insurance.

Well, I just checked my credit card bill (it doesn''t close until the 2nd) like I do every so often to see how we''re doing for the month (we charge everything and then pay it off at the end of the month so we can get rewards points) and noticed that it was almost 3 times as much as I expected it to be! I looked, and instead of charging me $558, Sandals charged me over $1800!!!

.

I called their 800 number right away, but apparently only reservation takers are working on the weekends. The lady just kept telling me that we had to pay for our flight in full to reserve it. NO WHERE did it say that when we were booking. FI and I even went back and started to make another reservation (fake names and address) to see if we''d missed something. We didn''t. When you select the flight, right next to it it says how much you can reserve the reservation for. Next to ours it said $400. The reservation lady is claiming this is just for the room. It can''t be though because if you select a flight with a different airline, the price jumps up a lot to over $1000. If it''s just for the room, why would changing the flight change the cost to hold the room??? We went all the way through the reservation until we''d need to put in credit card info. We even selected the payment option which said $558. NO WHERE does it have a different amount listed. The $1800 isn''t even an option!

I just looked at the confirmation (I looked at it when we made the reservation, but I only checked that dates, times, the room and departure and arrival cities were correct when I first printed it) and it says that we were charged the $1800. By the time we got a confirmation, though, we''d already been charged.

I''m so FURIOUS!!!

. My credit card is now over the limit (which i totally don''t understand because I thought you can''t charge past your limit...) and I had to call them to see if I''d be getting penalty charges. They said as long as I paid it down before the period ends I''d be ok. What if I hadn''t checked though??? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[fatafelice]

Oh, Robbie, how infuriating!!! I hope you can get it all worked out on Monday, but it sucks that you have to wait until then!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Robbie....did you do this through the Sandals website?? We''ve been to Sandals and many other AI resorts in the Caribbean. We''ve NEVER had to pay for more than a minimum deposit with paying the balance 60 days in advance. I would call back on Monday (enjoy your weekend until then) and find out what happened by someone who can answer your questions!!!

In fact, we''re booked right now with Couples Negril (hence my avatar!!!) and we only put down a $400 deposit.

 

[robbie3982]

Yup, we did it through the website

. Stupid website

 

[poptart]

I''m so sorry this happened! DH and I just had a similar money issue like this only last week! I hope you get it worked out.

*M*

 

[sumbride]

I''m so sorry Robbie! I do hope you get it worked out! We didn''t book our airfare through Sandals, but I only paid the $400 deposit. Hope you get some answers soon.

 

[akw94]

Robbie, I''m so sorry! I''m sure you are very frustrated!!! I would definitely talk to some management level person. What they did is awful and it should be fixed right away.

 

[RoseAngel04]

oh no, that''s a HUGE difference in

!!! I hope you can get things worked out tomorrow! Good luck.

 

[rockzilla]

You can also try to dispute the charge with your CC company. While it is in dispute, you don''t have to pay interest or fees on it.

RZ

 

[robbie3982]

They''re going to refund the price of the tickets and it''ll be due at the time the rest of the balance is due. Woohoo! She didn''t give any explanation as to what the problem was though.

 

[sumbride]

yea!!! they were probably hoping you wouldn''t notice, but I''m glad you got it straightened out! And before your closing date too. good!

 

[sarie_j]

YAY!! I work in a hotel, and have actually been told by many guests that this had happened to them when they booked packages - I really believe they don''t think anyone will notice, and that''s why she wouldn''t ever tell you what the problem was.
Just keep a close eye out to make sure that credit comes through --

 

[akw94]

Great Robbie! I''m glad it worked out so quickly!

 

[robbie3982]

So, here it is, 10 days after I spoke to the Sandals Help Desk, and nothing has been fixed! I was supposed to receive an email confirming everything and the woman who was helping said it could take 7-10 days and then I''d still have to wait for it to be credited to my credit card for however long the credit card company takes to do that. My payment on the card is due April 1st so if they don''t hurry up and fix it I''m going to have to open a dispute on the charge or I''ll get interest on it! I just called and left a message for her. Grrr. I''m definitely going to request that they do something for all the trouble they''ve caused me. We went with Sandals for a stress-free experience and so far it''s been anything but!

 

[snuga]

UGH! This must be really infuriating you!

I hope that things start looking up for you soon! Keep us posted!

 

[FireGoddess]

I''ve learned that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I would be calling them every day until the amount is credited. Use it as your venting time for the day.

This is ridiculous!

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 3/8/2007 4:06:46 PM
Author: FireGoddess

I''ve learned that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I would be calling them every day until the amount is credited. Use it as your venting time for the day.

This is ridiculous!

Ditto, looks like you are going to have to stay on top of them. What a PITA.

 

[robbie3982]

So, when I still hadn''t heard back from her around 4, I called again and actually got her on the phone. She gave me some excuse for not calling me back. Something like she was unsure of my confirmation number or phone number (both of which I left in the message...). Anyway, she didn''t remember me at first and left me on hold for a really long time (at least I was calling from work...) while trying to find info on what was going on with my problem. She finally came back on the line and said that she found all of the emails back and forth between her and the air department and her boss, but it looks like nothing was ever taken care of with it even though it should''ve been.

. She said that she''d make sure that it got taken care of as soon as possible, but it would still be 3-5 days and then it would take a while for my credit card company to credit me.

. I explained that I have to make a payment on my card by april 1st and this entire experience has really upset and inconvenienced me and I feel that I should be compensated for it. She seemed like that was the most ridiculous thing she''d ever heard!!! She said that we are being compensated by them refunding the money for the tickets because they dont'' usually do that once they''ve been issued. Uh, hello! This was THEIR mistake that I got charged for them in the first place!!! Which I told her. She was like, "well what do you want???" I said I don''t know, but I really feel like they should do *something* to make up for all the trouble they''ve caused me. I suggested maybe they could give us a free candlelit dinner (these cost extra at Sandals) or a room upgrade or something and she said "well, you have a really nice room! That''s the room I would pick if I were you" We like it too, that''s why we booked it, but our room is like the 3rd up from the bottom. You can''t tell me that there''s nothing nicer! there were at least 5 rooms above ours. She said she didn''t think she would be able to do anything, but would speak to her manager. I said, I should just speak to her manager, but she wouldn''t give me the number! She insisted that she would speak to her boss.

She''s supposed to call me sometime this morning after she gets in at 9:30. If she doesn''t have anything to offer us, I''m going to make sure I speak to someone who can offer us something. This is just ridiculous. I''ve now had to open up a dispute on the charge with my credit card company because I have no faith that this will be taken care of before I have to pay the bill.

 

[RoseAngel04]

OMG Robbie!!! I''m so sorry that you''re going through all this with them! They for sure should give ya''ll some sort of upgrade! This is utterly ridic and it sounds like the woman handling your account is trying to save her bootie, hence her not wanting to give you her superiors contact information.

 

[snuga]

I would be ENRAGED!!!!

I am so sorry that this is still going on.

I can''t believe that woman wouldn''t give you her supervisors phone number!

I hope this gets resolved soon, and they should DEFINITELY compensate you somehow for all this trouble!

 

[So_happy]

That is just ridiculous! Her not giving you her boss''s extension just took this to a WHOLE other level IMHO

 

[FireGoddess]

Call again, and tell her that if she won''t give you her boss''s number, you will go to HIS boss and all the way up the chain. And send letters. Real, snail mail letters all the way up to the CEO of frickin Sandals. She should not get away with this.

 

[robbie3982]

So, she was supposed to call me back this morning after she got in at 9:30. I had a huge work emergency come up that kept me super busy all day (I''m still taking care of it), but made sure to keep my cell with me (that''s the number I gave her) all day. By 4:45 I still hadn''t heard from her so I called her extension and got her voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message and got myself transferred to the general help desk number. Someone else answers the phone and I asked if the woman I''d been speaking with was in today. She said she was and I explained that this was the 2nd time she had said she''d call me back by a certain time and hadn''t and I''ve had it and wanted to speak to her supervisor. She said she''d transfer me and to hold on. Guess who she transferred me to...THE ORIGINAL LADY!

. She said she hadn''t called me back because she hadn''t heard back from her boss about the upgrade/compensation and I would have to wait to hear until Monday. I said, well did the refund get put through at least? She said she''d emailed her boss while on the phone with me last night, so yes. I said, you emailed her about it the last time and nothing got taken care of! She said that she would double check and call me right back. That was almost an hour ago!!!

Seriously, what do I do?!?! Every time I ask to speak to a supervisor, I get this same &%^%#^! HELP!

 

[mercoledi]

Call back, and when you get someone (not her, just whomever the central phone person is) ask to speak to a manager/supervisor etc without disclosing who you are or whom youve been speaking to. Failing that ask for "dispute resolution". Truely this is ridiculous and you need a new rep!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 3/9/2007 5:56:03 PM
Author: mercoledi
Call back, and when you get someone (not her, just whomever the central phone person is) ask to speak to a manager/supervisor etc without disclosing who you are or whom youve been speaking to. Failing that ask for ''dispute resolution''. Truely this is ridiculous and you need a new rep!

Ditto. Get the operator, ask to speak to the highest ranking manager/supervisor. When asked who you are, say that you decline to state and want to talk to a supervisor NOW. I would seriously call every 10 minutes until a supervisor is on the phone.

 

[FireGoddess]

One more thing...if you get the same unhelpful person, restate that you want to ralk to a supervisor NOW and if she refuses, threaten to cancel your reservation AND file a formal BBB complaint in which SHE is named.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I had a bad situation when my purse was stolen last year, almost exactly a year ago today, anyway, and I had to go ROUNDS with insurance, my credit card company, and the car repair people about all this stuff. By nature, I try to be nice and understanding that there are other people who have issues and concerns, and that customer service can''t just drop the world to serve my needs, but at the same time, I know that customer support and ANYONE you choose to work with is supposed to be there to help solve issues. Particularly those that leave a bad taste in your mouth!

End result, if someone says their supervisor isn''t in, or isn''t available, I let them know that I would like to know when they will be in next, as well as their extension, so I can speak with them. They may try to give the run around, but if you stick to your guns, you''ll get it. The credit card representative I talked to didn''t want to give it to me, so like the previous poster said, I had to mention Better Businesss Bureau. That makes things change. Quickly. Especially when you''ve already done the research and know who to contact there, too.

I suggest looking into the BBB and even making a call, explaining the situation in *GENERAL* terms, telling them you''re not sure what action to take, but what are the options? That way, you have the knowledge of just what you *CAN* do, so you can pass that information on to Sandals, which will make blowing you off a *much* less intelligent thing to do.

It sucks you have to go to all that work, but you know, sometimes it takes a little bit of "grrr" to get it done. It''d be nice if always being nice worked, huh?

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Hi Robbie~
I''ve been following your mind-boggling situation and I don''t have any answers for you other than what others have said. Keep bugging the he!! out of them until something is done. I would definitely file a formal complaint with the BBB or at least ask them about your options, like fisher suggested. I can''t believe she is adamantly refusing to let you speak to her supervisor...definitely sounds like she''s covering her own butt. Grr. I really hope they compensate you in some way for the stress this is causing you, and I hope you are still able to enjoy your honeymoon. At any rate, I''m sure you''ll be saving many PSers the trouble when we don''t even think about booking a vacation with Sandals. I know I certainly never will. Good luck hun! *hugs*

 

[So_happy]

I''m thinking that you might want to file a complaint ANYWAY with Sandals. This type of behaviour should not be rewarded and the BBB is the only way (that I can think of anyway) that can serve as some sort of "punishment".