Booking.com not refunding my Disneyland Paris stay
Back in January, I booked to stay in Hotel Disneyland Santa Fe in March (in Paris). Due to the effect Covid-19 has had in everyday life and travel, Disneyland Paris had to close including the hotels for guests who were not there at the time of the closing down decision. I contacted Booking.com 5 days before my stay at the Hotel and explained the situation and they said they would get back to me in 24 hours.
In the meantime, I contacted the hotel and they said that I should only deal with Booking.com as it's their booking to manage. The hotels in Disneyland Paris also announced that for the visitors affected they would offer either a full refund or a chance to reschedule for a later date whilst keeping the same charge for the rooms as the ones in their original booking.
Now Booking.com says that since the reservation wasn't cancelled beforehand and they're unable to cancel it after the arrival date has passed, they can only offer me half of the money back. I should note that on my initial phone call with them I wasn't told to cancel the booking or do anything for that matter, as they would have to investigate the best way to resolve this.
The booking was made using my credit card, but since it was made in January, I'm now out of the period that I can ask them to step in and withdraw the money and return them back to my account.
Is there anything that I can do at this point to make sure I get my money back for a travel that I was not allowed to make considering the hotel was not accepting guests and the French government was cancelling my Eurostar trains at the same time (Eurostar, by the way, has issued a full refund since my trains got cancelled). Alternatively is there any official route to report this behaviour or complain about it?
I live in the UK if that's relevant at all.
Best Answer
This is a time when everyone is looking for the same thing - a refund. And the travel industry is "tilting" because everyone is looking for a refund at the same time, and obviously, they don't want to give it. So everyone is giving you doubletalk, malarkey, and flat out lies.
And on the other side of that, you seem to be prevaricating a lot in your message, over-justifying, as if you don't feel like you are really entitled to it. You're entitled to it.
Though it may be a bit out of character, you need to go full "alpha wolf" on these people and be completely ruthless about pursuing your refund. And you need to do it fast, because it's a bit of a footrace amongst customers like yourself - some travel companies that weren't properly managed will start declaring bankruptcy. Your deposits are supposed to be held in trust, but they don't all do it right.
You give booking.com one opportunity to issue a refund in full, and they don't do that, go straight to the CC company and avail yourself of Section 75 protection. That's worse for the booking company, because they must relinquish the amount in full, they get no refund on fees, and they must pay fees/costs for the process to boot.
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Can I get a refund on my Disneyland Paris holiday?
Change or cancel your booking without feesWe are currently offering the possibility to change or cancel your booking with full refund anytime up to 7 days before your arrival date, excluding insurance(5).Can you get refunds through booking com?
Cancel Your Reservation and Ask for a Refund by Contacting Customer Support. To cancel your booking by contacting Booking.com's customer support, you need to dial 888-850-3958.How long does it take for Disneyland Paris refund?
4 to 6 weeks.What is the Zen guarantee?
Book your Disney holiday of a lifetime with the peace of mind. Book your Disney holiday of a lifetime with the peace of mind offered by our reinforced health and safety measures which allow you to cancel or change your booking without incurring any fees!12 Mistakes NOT to make at DISNEYLAND PARIS!
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