My sister and I are going to London for a girly weekend in January. On November 10th I made a reservation at a hotel (through http://www.hotel-assist.com). As per usual I gave them my credit card information and was promptly charged. That's how it usually works, so I never thought twice about that, as I'd received my confirmation email and thought all was swell.
The reservation was made in the morning. Late that night I received an e-mail with an attached PDF informing me that I had to fill out the PDF and fax it to the hotel for the reservation to be complete. The PDF included my credit card information and they needed my signature. I was very suspicious at this, as my credit card had already been charged, and the website said nothing at all about needing a faxed confirmation, so I decided I didn't want to do business with them.
On November 11th I wrote back saying that having to send a fax to complete the reservation was highly inconvenient, that they should make sure the website reflected this so people knew and could make accommodations, and besides that I didn't have access to a fax, and would therefore have to cancel the reservation.
All cancellations have to be done through the website, so I went there to cancel and received two confirmation e-mails that I had cancelled - one from the website, and one as a reply to my e-mail (apologising for the inconvenience and confirming that my reservation had indeed been cancelled).
As I was feeling leery about having given them my credit card information I've been keeping a close eye on my account lately. Not that I think them criminal, but I was curious how long it would take them to actually issue a refund - seeing as they charged my credit card immediately after I'd submitted the reservation. It's now been a week. Even allowing for banks being closed on weekends, am I wrong in thinking the refund should have gone in by now?
I'm contemplating sending the following e-mail to them, but would appreciate any and all feedback before I actually do so.
To whom it may concern,
On November 10th I made a reservation through http://www.hotel-assist.com for a room at the R. N. H. in London, and my credit card was promptly charged.
On November 11th I received an e-mail from you, letting me know that I needed to fax my credit card information and signature in order to complete the reservation. This was inconvenient as I don't have access to a fax, and I therefore cancelled the reservation. See below for the correspondence.
Despite my credit card being immediately charged upon making a reservation, as of today (November 19th - 8 days after I cancelled), I still haven't received a refund.
This is unacceptable. Please ensure that the amount of US$2xx.xx is refunded to my account before the end of the week.
Regards,
kiwiria