travel refund
How to get my money back from hotels.com, paid for non-existing apartment?
<p>December last year, I was going to stay in Oslo from the 2nd to the 10th, and booked an apartment at hotels.com a few days in advance.</p>
<p>Soon after booking I got an email stating that the order was confirmed and a booking reference. A little later I got an automated email with a picture of the building entrance, and detailed instructions about check-in procedure.</p>
<p>I arrived in Oslo late on December 2nd, went to the address of the apartment and verified that the entrance was the same as in the picture I had previously received in the check-in instructions.</p>
<p>According to the instructions, there was a key-box near the entrance. I found this, but the code that was supplied did not work. At the time it was minus 15°C outside, so I thought maybe the key-box was frozen.</p>
<p>I was unsure what to do at this point, but I ended up ringing the doorbell to the apartment that I was supposed to stay in. After a while, a person came out. He informed me that these apartments were no longer rented out, and that he had been living there for the last half year. He let me inside the entrance, so that I could stay inside while calling the support number in the booking confirmation.</p>
<p>I called the support number and reached a person on the other end, this was apparently at a support center. In the beginning he did not know what I was talking about, but after explaining for a while, he did recall that they had previously been handling support for this address. He informed me that whomever was renting out the apartments were no longer in business, and he could not help me find any place to stay.</p>
<p>Since I had nowhere to stay, and it was minus 15°C outside I simply had find somewhere else. I searched the nearby area and luckily there was a Scandic nearby and they had a room available.</p>
<p>The next day, I went to the hotels.com support website. There was no email listed, but I found a phone number. After waiting for a while I got through to another person. I had a hard time understanding what the support person was saying, but managed to communicate the situation. My confirmed booking was found and I was told a refund would be in place within 10 days.</p>
<p>Fast forward 13 days, and nothing has happened. So I call support again, this time there is person on the other end that I can more easily understand. I explain the situation. He gathers my booking references and so on, then works for a long while. Eventually finding out that the previous call was logged, but there was no other information available. He informs me that, before a refund is given, they have to figure out what happened. I ask him if he can see that my booking was confirmed and that they received payment, to which he confirms. I ask him when I can expect a refund. His reply is pretty vague, but I understand it will be a few days at least. Next I ask to get a confirmation email from the current call stating that the situation has been registered. The email is received shortly after the call ends, it is in Swedish, but basically states that that the matter is under investigation (this also gives me a way to contact them back by email).</p>
<p>Four days later I get a new email from support. I'm asked to describe the situation, what happened at check-in and provide details from where I ended up staying. I reply with the information as requested. The following day I get another mail stating that they are still waiting for a reply &quot;from the original business to business email address&quot;.</p>
<p>Fast forward a month until mid-January: still nothing has happened. I sent a new email a week ago asking for a status update, but no response so far.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I'm legally entitled to a refund, but please let me know if I'm mistaken.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the amount is not huge (about 900USD), so if they decide to bury this in delays and paperwork then at some point I have to say the time spent on trying to get it back is not worth it.</p>
<p>So is there any legal action I could take? And importantly, would it be worth it given the amount and the time I would have to spend, or should I just consider it lost?</p>
<p>Edit: Booking and location is all inside Norwegian borders. According to google, hotels.com has HQ in Sweden</p>

<p>You are entitled to a refund, since the &quot;hotel&quot; breached their contract with you. You can sue both the booking company and the individual, though identifying and serving legal notice on the individual will be more difficult. The amount in question is well within the scope of <a href="https://www.domstol.no/en/civil-case/types-of-cases/small-claims-process/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">small claims court</a> in Norway. The biggest challenge there is that you have to first contact the local police to get a hearing with the local Conciliation board. You might also sue the booking company in your own location (which would be easier), though depending on how you made the booking they might not be liable. On the third hand, the time between the complaint and now is relatively short and does not yet reach the level of being &quot;an unreasonable delay&quot;. As for whether the cost would exceed. You will have to shoulder the burden of the <a href="https://www.domstol.no/en/civil-case/costs/court-fee/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">filing fee</a>, which can be added to your award in the case of a judgment in your favor.</p>

<p>After some digging I was able to find contact information to the executives in the company. I contacted the &quot;head of global brand&quot; and explained as above. Customer service followed up immediately after. A week passed, now I just got a refund receipt in my inbox.</p>
