Our report last week about the pitfalls of the accommodation website Booking.com led to a deluge of emails from readers.
Reservation scams have cost some readers more than £1,000, with many questioning the cyber security of the site. Others have complained of misleading descriptions of properties and poor treatment on arrival.
Here is a sample of your complaints…
The Daily Mail’s report about the pitfalls of the accommodation website Booking.com (pictured) has led to a deluge of emails from readers
While booking a hotel in New York in September, my 20-year-old daughter and her boyfriend were scammed out of £1,100 after a message received via the Booking.com app said they had to go through a credit card authorisation process.
Booking.com has continually fobbed them off and not refunded them.
Philip Parker, via email.
In June we booked a twin room, but were given a double, and my friend and I – both in our 70s – did not wish to share a bed. No other rooms were available. I rang Booking.com and was told we could stay there and have a small refund. I am still waiting.
Sandra Whaley, Ludlow, Shropshire.
Some readers have questioned the cyber security of Booking.com
I reserved a room in September at a ‘hotel’ in southern France, but it seemed derelict, with a scrawled phone number on the door. The proprietor said he had received no payment from Booking.com and we must pay again. But Booking.com had charged my card. We declined and were kicked out. Booking.com refused to refund us the £115.
Alan Franck, via email.
When booking a hotel in Krabi, Thailand, in February, Booking.com said we would be charged once we got there. I then received an email from the hotel requesting payment, plus a similar message via Booking.com. After paying, the hotel advised us not to pay when receiving such requests. But it was too late. The scam cost us £943. I am getting nowhere with Booking.com.
David Calver, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex.
In April I booked a caravan at an East Lothian campsite via Booking.com. I arrived to find an unserviced, unclean and unlocked caravan. I tried to contact the owner and Booking.com to no avail and paid to stay in another caravan. I am £126 out of pocket. Four months of phone calls and emails to Booking.com have produced nothing.
Allan Gray, Sunderland.
I was scammed out of £400 by someone posing as an eco lodge in Costa Rica on Booking.com. Through its messaging system I was asked to give payment details by scanning a QR code. I did so and a week later a charge appeared on my credit card from a Nigerian bank. Booking.com’s customer services have been useless.
Lee Wakerley, via email.
One Booking.com customer says he fell victim to a scam that was linked to a booking for a hotel in Krabi, Thailand
We attempted to book a hotel in Blackpool, but when I checked my Booking.com account it was not recorded. I rang Booking.com to be told the booking had not been completed. We stayed somewhere else, but have been charged for both hotels. After 15 calls and 20 emails, Booking.com has still not refunded us.
Mr Nykola and Mrs Lorraine Hryziuk, via email.
Booking.com says: ‘We can confirm that there has not been any hack of Booking.com. Some hotels and other accommodations have been targeted by professional scammers, resulting in malware being downloaded onto their own computer systems. Every week, we facilitate millions of stays as the intermediary booking platform.’
WHAT WE THINK
Many of us trust Booking.com as it is such a big name. But security failures, scams, misleading descriptions and poor customer service does it no favours. Be careful when making payments via online messages – try to pay on arrival.
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We want our REFUNDS! Following the Mail’s report last week, readers say Booking.com has left them high and dry…
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