Credit card charge dispute - Who's right?

[Bass Viking]

Hi all,

I'm disputing an amount charged to my Visa account and currently waiting for the resolution. I'm curious who you folks think will prevail.

The situation

My son and his friends decided to rent a limo for prom night. He kept insisting that they had to make a down payment ASAP so I called the limo company to make a $100 deposit with my credit card. A classmate of his, we'll call her Susan, was making the arrangements and the group of them would all split the cost of the limo. Some weeks later, he mentioned that there had been a falling out between Susan and one of the other girls and they wouldn't be using the limousine service after all. I called the limo company to inform them and to ask if I could get my deposit back. I was told that deposits are non refundable. Fine, I grumbled, and figured that was that.

The prom night passes and shortly after I receive my Visa bill with a charge from the limo company for $1040! I look at it and go "WHAT THE...?!!! I call the company and I'm told that they require 30 days notice of cancellation or else they bill the person whose credit card number they have on record. According to the limo guy, Susan called a few days before prom night to cancel. All this is news to me! I call Visa to dispute the amount and they suggest I try to work it out with the limo service, which I do, and all they would offer me is "a couple of hundred dollars off". I remind the guy that I had phoned him earlier about the cancellation but he doesn't recall the conversation.

I open a dispute with Visa and a few weeks later I receive an envelope from them with a copy of the limo company agreement with my name and Susan's name on it and, of course, no signatures (this is the first time I've seen or heard of any agreement). There is also a copy of the credit card transaction, without my signature on it. The fishy thing is, Visa told me that their records show "paid in store". I've never been to the limo company's office and had I known I'd be liable for over a thousand bucks I wouldn't have signed anything.

Thanks for reading this far. So what do you guys think will happen, will I get reimbursed or screwed?

[bongomania]

Of course they'll try their damndest to screw you, but you didn't sign (on paper, verbally, or electronically) for anything other than the original deposit price. Hammer home that one point, and you should eventually prevail.

[rayzak]

The moral of the story: women just can't get along with other women, and it's us guys who get screwed

I have no idea how this will play out, but i'm on your side in this situation. Best of luck to you!

[Mike N]

$1000 to rent a limo for one night??? I'm in the wrong business.

Hopefully you get everything resolved, BV.

[basstotheface]

No signature. End of case. Unless you ordered online or something of the sort there is no way they could win this, should be quick but this legal system is backed up, will be awhile before you get your money back.

[Pilgrim]

A lot of credit card orders are made over the phone, but if they noted that the card was presented in person and they don't have a sig, I think you will win eventually. You certainly should pursue it - this is enough money to be serious about.

I also think they were unethical in not informing you of the cancellation policy when you called - don't forget to bring that up. They did everything they could to make sure you got stuck with a BIG bill.

[MJ5150]

How many days out did you call and ask for your deposit back? How did you go about getting your deposit back at that time without telling them the rental was cancelled?

-Mike

[JohnMCA72]

If not from the limo company, or the credit card, you may have a case against the girl that canceled.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by JohnMCA72

If not from the limo company, or the credit card, you may have a case against the girl that canceled.

Definitely. Although I would try to handle things via the limo and card company first - considered you never officially signed anything. If not, it might be worth it to talk to the girls parents and possibly pursue legal action if nothing is done.

That in mind, I kinda can't believe you'd trust some kid with your card information unless I read the OP wrong.

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

How many days out did you call and ask for your deposit back? How did you go about getting your deposit back at that time without telling them the rental was cancelled?

-Mike

Bada boom. I've been on all sides of this coin (credit card, customer, retailer). Credit card companies are generally on the customer's side. Even if something is a little skewed toward the retailer, the customer often wins the chargeback.
So in answer to your question, pursuing the chargeback with the credit card company was the right decision (after trying to fix it with the limo company). And you will probably win

[Gard]

IME, the CC company will ALWAYS side with the customer on a chargeback.

Call the CC company, and tell them you DID NOT AUTHORIZE the charge, the charge is fraudulent, and insist that they initiate a chargeback immediately.

They should comply right away.

Let the unethical limo company try to get what they didn't earn.

[guroove]

This kind of stuff pisses me off to no end. I've never known of a reputable limo company. They are almost all run by the lowest scum of the earth types, and are often cover up operations for all kinds of criminal activity.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by guroove

This kind of stuff pisses me off to no end. I've never known of a reputable limo company. They are almost all run by the lowest scum of the earth types, and are often cover up operations for all kinds of criminal activity.

Funny you say that. I dont have any personal experience with a limo company, but there is one being run from somebody's house quite close to where I live. There is always at least one or two really nice limo's parked in front of this house in the Hacienda Heights hills. The house looks like it could be owned by some famous rapper or something. I call it the Rapping Limo Service House. I would not be surprised to learn they're selling coke or doing some mafia business out of this place. Theyre probably the first ones I would call for a limo.

[Jared Lash]

My guess is that you'll get your money back, other than the $100 deposit. They can certainly have a nonrefundable deposit as part of their policy but if you called to cancel they would have a very difficult time proving their side of things, especially since (as others have noted) credit card companies generally side with the customer.

The other thing that I thought of reading this thread is that I've been left holding the bag far too often in similar circumstances. Paying for concert tickets only to have others cancel at the last minute, paying for a large group dinner and never getting money back from certain people, covering rec league basketball dues and not getting other guys to chip in their share.

At this point in my life there is a small handful of friends and family who I will trust to pay me back for things and outside of that I don't ever put myself in the situation to cover for others with the understanding that they'll pay me back. Too often things go wrong and I end up out way more money than I ever planned on.

And I'm not trying to criticize you and I know this doesn't help after the fact, but a group of teenagers renting a limo is not one of those things I'd ever front money for.

That said, the limo companies behavior is incredibly shady here. They probably do this sort of thing a lot. If the customer raises a fuss, then they get their money back. But if they don't, then they can pocket extra cash for doing nothing other than sending a somewhat fraudelent bill.

Good luck in your dispute. If you're persistant I think you'll get your money back.

[hbarcat]

In order for the limo company to be able to charge you the full $1,040 without having to perform the service they need to have that as part of their cancellation policy that is part of a legally enforceable contract. This can be either written or verbal (over the phone, in this case). Any competent business would certainly have informed you of that policy when you first made the reservation and before they took the credit card information from you. As well, an attempt at professionalism would have them send you an agreement to sign (mail or fax) and send back to them.

Since they didn't, it would be difficult for them to make the case that they are entitled to more than the $100 deposit (which is reasonable as well as routine in such businesses) forfeited when you canceled the service. However, they should at least have told you of their cancellation policy when you called again to cancel. The fact they didn't do that is a pretty good indication that they weren't just unprofessional and incompetent, but were downright dishonest. They fully intended to charge you for the full amount and knew that if they informed you of this then you would dispute it and block the charges. As for their story that they didn't remember you calling them to cancel and only learned of the cancel from Susan, that is such an obvious crock of crap.

Their charge is completely unauthorized and they aren't entitled to anything. Have the credit card company reverse the charges and if the limo company tries to go after you in small claims court (they'd be really stupid to) then so be it.

[Yerf Dog]

So when you paid the $100 deposit over the phone, they didn't explain their cancellation policy?

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by Yerf Dog

So when you paid the $100 deposit over the phone, they didn't explain their cancellation policy?

That's right. If they had informed me, I would definitely have followed up on it.

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

That in mind, I kinda can't believe you'd trust some kid with your card information unless I read the OP wrong.

The kid is 18 and an adult. I never gave her my card number. At the time, all I was doing was making a deposit, or so I thought. If I knew then what I know now I would never have gotten involved.

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

A lot of credit card orders are made over the phone, but if they noted that the card was presented in person and they don't have a sig, I think you will win eventually.

That's the thing, somebody's lying and I don't think it's Visa.

[DavidE]

If they didn't tell you the deposit was non-refundable when you made it, I'd argue that you should get that back too.