[TiredOldHack2]

[quote quote=871823]great customer service and good product, all went bust. Monarch[/quote]

Monarch? Monarch? Er, no.

[TiredOldHack2]

[quote quote=871832]BA Gold card 0800 number goes through to Didsbury Manchester. If you ask for Gold Card Customer Relations then they connect you to Newcastle.[/quote]

Thanks for that. Letter sent to Cruz, for all the good it will do, but the Times’ Travel Doctor, Julia Brookes, is on the case. I contacted the hotel and they said I would be reimbursed ‘as soon as possible’ but they’ve been singing that song for three weeks now.

I simply can’t believe that a major airline and a major hotel chain can, between them, screw things up so badly. I mean, people make mistakes, and in a case like this, it’s a simple matter of re-crediting a card. But no, a month has gone by and no refund although both agree that there should be.

[FCTraveller]

A number of years ago I wrote to Mr. Walsh complaining about a first class flight and comparing the seat and service to a recent first class flight on Singapore Airlines. He wrote back personally, addressed my compliant and invited me to Waterside to be part of a focus group to advise on the next first class seat. There were six different versions including the one we have today. I then returned six months later to help them fine tune the one they had picked. These were whole day affairs which included lunch with a group of executives firing all kinds of questions at us about BA first class and how it compared to the competition. Needless to say I was in my element, two full days of telling BA what I thought AND them taking notice. As they say, be careful what you wish for. Although I doubt this would happen today.

[rferguson]

I don’t think sending an email to the CEO will have much effect. Perhaps aim high, but not THAT high.

Perhaps you should try the Director of Brand and Customer Experience, Carolina Martinoli?

90% of email addresses at BA follow the same format.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

This sounds like total and utter incompetence beyond belief, and certainly you should threaten legal action if this is not sorted by xxdate. That would get your money back smartish as they wouldn’t have a hope. I would damn well expect a shower of avios to boot.

[nevereconomy]

I have tried the Cruz (or Walsh or someone equally ineffectual) route with not much success – would echo that the Newcastle folks really go the extra mile to get things sorted. I wish I could remember the route I took to reach them..

[Mikeact]

Serious complaint? I think not…..annoying, yes, but easily dealt with.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=872272]Serious complaint? I think not…..annoying, yes, but easily dealt with.[/quote]

So, if obtaining a substantial amount of money that is not due to the hotel is not worthy of a serious complaint, what is?

[capetonianm]

Serious complaint? I think not…..annoying, yes, but easily dealt with.

If any entity had several hundred pounds/$/EUR (more likely in this case into 4 figures) of mine and I had pointed the error out and had no refund after a reasonable period of time, I would consider it a serious complaint and I would go in guns blazing.

Mistakes happen but it’s how they are dealt with and rectified that is important. SERVICE RECOVERY!

Last year we had dinner at a lovely hotel in Co. Kerry. One of the party was not feeling well so I paid the bill without checking it, although it seemed on the high side, and we left. In the morning I realised that they had overcharged us (incorrectly applying Gourmet Society discount, and adding in an extra course), so I called the hotel and left a message at reception who told me that someone from the restaurant would call me back. 15 minutes later a gentleman called me to say that they had checked the bill, applied the discount, deducted the extra dish, and deducted 2 Irish coffees that we had ordered and then cancelled but which I hadn’t noticed had been on the bill, and had processed the refund to my CC account. Not only was the refund more than I expected, it was done quickly and pleasantly with no argument, and to top it all, he said : “If you’re still in the area please come in and have afternoon tea on the house.”

That is SERVICE RECOVERY and engenders goodwill.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=872272]Serious complaint? I think not…..annoying, yes, but easily dealt with[/quote]

I am with Mikeact on this one – no it is not a serious, high level complaint, needing the intervention of a board member and definitely not a CEO.

The problem here is whilst BA has a complaints procedure, of sorts, its broken and quite frankly, this billing error should have been resolved in 48 hours max. I imagine the crux of the problem is neither Marriott or BA, but a local issue of a Costa Rica hotel, processing a refund.

A similar experience in Edinburgh recently, I had to cancel 2 rooms at the Residence due to a medical issue that stopped me flying for a week. Despite the cancelation over £650 appeared on my Amex card. Straight to the phone, demanding to speak to the GM (and I will admit I had a DYKWIA attitude)… however, a very receptive receptionist took 100% hold and responsibility of the issue, apologized that the accounts manager was not in for the day and she would look into this and get back to me tomorrow. She did, the problem was resolved and despite the credit taking 14 days to post as a credit, it did. Low level problem resolved without it growing into an unnecessarily high level problem.

[norbert2008]

Again call direct to the PR department you will find numbers in press centre they called me back 3 times in 2 hours. Good luck.

[capetonianm]

Some people operate on tight cash flows, and a thousand pounds or so incorrectly retained on a credit card can cause serious inconvenience, potentially going over the card limit and blocking its usage, and incurring costs if interest is accrued.

[canucklad]

I’m afraid I’m going to disagree with Mikeact ……and think it’s a bit patronising assuming a level of wealth.

I personally don’t know TOH2’s personal circumstances , but a full weeks accommodation at a high end American owned hotel chain won’t come cheap.
On Martyn’s point if Marriot choose to have a property in Costa Rica, surely then, when things go wrong, it’s a responsibility /accountability that should ultimately end in their Maryland offices ?

Maybe TOH2 can surf the financial incontinence , but he’s still out of pocket whilst 3 blue chip companies abdicate responsibility !!

If my CC had unexpectedly been charged , I’d struggle (dependant on the amount) to have spending flexibility.
For example , It might mean I couldn’t take advantage of a great fare to HKG that’s just flashed into my inbox this week.
Consequently, if I can’t take advantage of this fare because of the charge imposed on me. It means that Marriot, BA & AMEX would have collectively cost me £200 -£300 as a conservative figure because I couldn’t book the promotional fare in a timely manner.

Overall, a poor show, that sadly is becoming the norm with these big organizations these days !!

[TiredOldHack2]

[quote quote=872336]I imagine the crux of the problem is neither Marriott or BA, but a local issue of a Costa Rica hotel, processing a refund.[/quote]

You are spot on. It seems they cocked up the refund, and had to start again from scratch, but even so, why it took an entire month to sort out is beyond me.

I strongly suspect that I was not the only poor sod in the same boat.

Anyway, the money is back in my CC account, BA has said it’s chucking another £150 in ex-gratia, and Marriott has chucked in 25,000 points though, to be frank, I’d rather not have had the hassle in the first place than the hassle and the compensation.

[TiredOldHack2]

[quote quote=872339]Some people operate on tight cash flows, and a thousand pounds or so incorrectly retained on a credit card can cause serious inconvenience, potentially going over the card limit and blocking its usage, and incurring costs if interest is accrued.[/quote]

Fortunately, I have a high enough credit limit for that not to be an issue, and the sum involved was £600 so not a serious financial worry (for me, anyway, though I can certainly see it would be for some).

What really, really pissed me off was the Marriott’s inability to refund swiftly.

[Author]

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