Booking.com promised to refund $655 but now it won't!

"Booking.com should have honored its promise to refund the $655 price difference immediately. Under Australian Consumer Law, businesses must fulfill guarantees made to customers. The company's own policies also say it will cover costs if it cancels a reservation. But most importantly, you had Booking.com's promise in writing. (Nice job in securing this promise, by the way.) You did everything correctly: You kept detailed records and followed up repeatedly. Always save correspondence like emails and screenshotsthey're critical evidence."

"If a company ignores you, escalate your case to executives. I publish key contacts for Booking.com on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. It's not clear why Booking.com ghosted you, but this kind of thing is becoming more common. A company will make a promise and then go silent, pretending it never had the conversation. And that leaves you in a difficult position. You can drop the matter or you can take it to court."

"But did Booking.com really promise you a refund? I reviewed the paper trail and it looks like the company used a few weasel-words in its promise. If you have any additional charges at the new place, please send us an invoice after your stay so we can look into a refund for you, a representative told you. We may need to share this with the accommodation in order to confirm your claim. That's a half-hearted promise."

A Booking.com reservation was canceled due to overbooking, and Booking.com promised to refund a $655 price difference when a pricier room was booked. Australian Consumer Law requires businesses to honor guarantees, and Booking.com's policies say it will cover costs after cancellation. The customer secured the promise in writing and kept detailed records and correspondence. Booking.com then failed to respond to follow-up emails and calls, leaving the customer without the refund. The company's written reply contained conditional language requiring an invoice and confirmation from the accommodation, creating ambiguity and delaying resolution. The customer can escalate to executives, consumer advocates, regulators, or pursue legal action.

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