Capital One Ripoff charged my credit card without consulting me and now won't give me my money back Richmond, Virginia

While I think this thread has gone on FAR too long and the original poster has not a clue why she's responsible, I'm posting what the charges were for:

IF the damage to the room was minimal, there is still cleaning to be done. There is still carpet and walls to be cleaned, as well as all the fixtures and such within the room. There's cleaning of the actual smoke and the smell of smoke. Just because you can't smell it with your nose doesn't mean the next renter with smoke allergies could not smell it. Repainting if necessary. And the biggest charge of all: the loss of the revenue to the hotel through the cost to rent the room being out of service while the room was being repaired.

I think $700 was a bargain. You're darned lucky. Pay it or make an offer to pay what you believe is fair. I do not believe you will get off scott free, especially if the hotels lawyers get ahold of this website and use your posts ADMITTING it was your candle.

And it's not up to Capital One...it's the hotel your argument is with.

While I think this thread has gone on FAR too long and the original poster has not a clue why she's responsible, I'm posting what the charges were for:

IF the damage to the room was minimal, there is still cleaning to be done. There is still carpet and walls to be cleaned, as well as all the fixtures and such within the room. There's cleaning of the actual smoke and the smell of smoke. Just because you can't smell it with your nose doesn't mean the next renter with smoke allergies could not smell it. Repainting if necessary. And the biggest charge of all: the loss of the revenue to the hotel through the cost to rent the room being out of service while the room was being repaired.

I think $700 was a bargain. You're darned lucky. Pay it or make an offer to pay what you believe is fair. I do not believe you will get off scott free, especially if the hotels lawyers get ahold of this website and use your posts ADMITTING it was your candle.

And it's not up to Capital One...it's the hotel your argument is with.

While I think this thread has gone on FAR too long and the original poster has not a clue why she's responsible, I'm posting what the charges were for:

IF the damage to the room was minimal, there is still cleaning to be done. There is still carpet and walls to be cleaned, as well as all the fixtures and such within the room. There's cleaning of the actual smoke and the smell of smoke. Just because you can't smell it with your nose doesn't mean the next renter with smoke allergies could not smell it. Repainting if necessary. And the biggest charge of all: the loss of the revenue to the hotel through the cost to rent the room being out of service while the room was being repaired.

I think $700 was a bargain. You're darned lucky. Pay it or make an offer to pay what you believe is fair. I do not believe you will get off scott free, especially if the hotels lawyers get ahold of this website and use your posts ADMITTING it was your candle.

And it's not up to Capital One...it's the hotel your argument is with.

Although I understand that the customer is at fault for starting the fire, I do see some legal issues.

First, What are they basing their $706 charge on? Where are the receipts, or invoices? Step into any court and the judge isn't just going to take your word for it. I agree with the customer, some proof has to be produced that shows how they arrived at that amount. I am not stating that it could not have cost that, but as a matter of law, there has to be proof.

Next, Capital One had no right to accept the charge period. Capital One should have said that this is a private matter and you need to take the person to court. Capital One can not act as a judge and jury in this situation. This is a matter for the courts. I understand there is a process at every credit card company for disputing charges. This isn't a simple commerce dispute. This is a legal matter. Criminal charges could apply.

However, being that the customer was on vacation, chances are they would not be able to meet the court dates and the judge would rule against them anyway. But at least a judge will have decided the matter, and not the credit card company. The only good that would come for the customer is an exact list of the damages, itemized.

Accidents do happen. That is a fact. The people who cause the accidents, however, have to take responsibility for what they did. It is the way our world works.

No one is accusing you of intentionally starting the fire, but you are the one who chose to bring the candle into the room (or allowed your daughter or her friend to do so). That the candle may have been faulty is not the hotel's fault - and the hotel did not tell you to use the candle, so why should it have to pay for the damage you brought about? (Actually, your homeowner's insurance might cover this. You might want to check with your agent.)

You gave the hotel your card for whatever expenses you might incur while staying there. You legally authorized its use for that purpose when you gave it to the hotel. This fire was a BIG expense you created. The hotel DID NOT need further authorization to charge the cost to your card. Your attorney will explain this to you.

You complaint should be with the hotel for overcharging the damages (though they probably can verify everything) or perhaps with the candle company for reimbursement for what you had to pay due to its product "malfunctioning" (what web site told you a candle can light itself and how did it start a fire on a wall if nothing flammable was near the candle and the candle was in the middle of a table?) but Capital One is NOT going to decide the issue for you as the hotel met its responsibility of showing what the charges were and why they were charged the amount to your account.

Take it up with the hotel of the candle company.

I don't think you people are understanding this. When I signed up for this site to post this I thought people would be understanding because EVERYBODY else we've told said it was wrong and horrible what the hotel did to us. So either you people have no hearts at all or just don't like us.

We were not responsible for this fire. If we were responsible that's saying we went to the hotel and lit it on fire. It was a total and complete ACCIDENT. Accidents happen all the time weither it's spilled milk or a fire, they happen. We had paid the hotel for four nights stay and we didn't stay there one night. The hotel KICKED US OUT, WE HAD NO WHERE TO GO IN A STATE WE WERE NOT FROM! THIS WAS OUR VACATION, WE CAME TO GET AWAY AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS?! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL? I HAD CHILDREN WITH ME! WE ENDED UP IN A CAMPSITE!!

The candle was in the middle of the table in the kitchen, there were no things around it for it to catch on fire in the first place! It was a DEFECTIVE candle. We were not even in the room when this fire happened, we were at the pool! We blew the candle out but being defective, it re-lit itself from the bottom up (we've look this up online) The fire was so small that the alarm or sprinklers didn't go off so how do you explain 3,000 dollars worth of damage that they're saying they paid. They had no receipts for the work they had done and they RENTED THE ROOM OUT BEFORE WE LEFT FLORIDA.(There was a woman at the hotel who thought what the hotel was doing was horrible to us so she gave us her number and we called and she said there were other people in the room!!)

We were only there for FOUR DAYS! Whatever you say about the smell of smoke or whatever, it was a very faint smell because we opened the windows and WE WERE GOING TO STAY IN THE ROOM if the hotel hadn't have kicked us out! I have pictures and documents proving that this fire was not worth even $761. The point is THEY HAD NO RIGHT WHAT SO EVER TO CHARGE MY CARD WITHOUT CONSULTING ME OR EVEN TELLING ME AT ALL! We're planning on sueing the hotel but first we need to find a lawyer in both New York and Florida.

Think about this: If you had a fire in your house, while you and your family was out because of a candle or the dryer or something and the house caught on fire and when you called the insurance company they said oh no sorry we can't give you anywhere to stay or give you money because it's your fault. What would you do? It's almost the same situation. ACCIDENTS HAPPEN.

It is time to face facts. You caused the fire. You put the candle in the room. You lit it. You failed to place it in a location away from other flammable objects. You failed to extinguish it fully (a standard perfumed candle cannot spontaneously relight itself, so the flame must not have been put out completely.) Anyone who lights candles in their home runs this same risk which is why there are so many caution labels and consumer warnings about candles.

If the room smelled, you should have reported it to the hotel. That someone else at the hotel may be negligent sometime in the future with his/her cigarette is irrelevant to what you did and the damages you caused. If that hypothetical person causes a fire, he/she will be responsible for it as well.

It was an accident, no question. It also is your responsibility to pay for the damages you caused. You gave your credit card to the hotel for any expenses or damages you might incur while staying there. You authorized its use, and that is how the card was used. Capital One is not going to settle this dispute between you and the hotel as the hotel has shown why it made the charge and what the charge was for.

You are entitled to know what the damages were and how the hotel came to the final damage costs. You might even be able to sue the hotel for charging you for more than the actual damages you caused (check with a Florida attorney about this) but you still are responsible for what happened.

It is time to face facts. You caused the fire. You put the candle in the room. You lit it. You failed to place it in a location away from other flammable objects. You failed to extinguish it fully (a standard perfumed candle cannot spontaneously relight itself, so the flame must not have been put out completely.) Anyone who lights candles in their home runs this same risk which is why there are so many caution labels and consumer warnings about candles.

If the room smelled, you should have reported it to the hotel. That someone else at the hotel may be negligent sometime in the future with his/her cigarette is irrelevant to what you did and the damages you caused. If that hypothetical person causes a fire, he/she will be responsible for it as well.

It was an accident, no question. It also is your responsibility to pay for the damages you caused. You gave your credit card to the hotel for any expenses or damages you might incur while staying there. You authorized its use, and that is how the card was used. Capital One is not going to settle this dispute between you and the hotel as the hotel has shown why it made the charge and what the charge was for.

You are entitled to know what the damages were and how the hotel came to the final damage costs. You might even be able to sue the hotel for charging you for more than the actual damages you caused (check with a Florida attorney about this) but you still are responsible for what happened.

It is time to face facts. You caused the fire. You put the candle in the room. You lit it. You failed to place it in a location away from other flammable objects. You failed to extinguish it fully (a standard perfumed candle cannot spontaneously relight itself, so the flame must not have been put out completely.) Anyone who lights candles in their home runs this same risk which is why there are so many caution labels and consumer warnings about candles.

If the room smelled, you should have reported it to the hotel. That someone else at the hotel may be negligent sometime in the future with his/her cigarette is irrelevant to what you did and the damages you caused. If that hypothetical person causes a fire, he/she will be responsible for it as well.

It was an accident, no question. It also is your responsibility to pay for the damages you caused. You gave your credit card to the hotel for any expenses or damages you might incur while staying there. You authorized its use, and that is how the card was used. Capital One is not going to settle this dispute between you and the hotel as the hotel has shown why it made the charge and what the charge was for.

You are entitled to know what the damages were and how the hotel came to the final damage costs. You might even be able to sue the hotel for charging you for more than the actual damages you caused (check with a Florida attorney about this) but you still are responsible for what happened.

It is time to face facts. You caused the fire. You put the candle in the room. You lit it. You failed to place it in a location away from other flammable objects. You failed to extinguish it fully (a standard perfumed candle cannot spontaneously relight itself, so the flame must not have been put out completely.) Anyone who lights candles in their home runs this same risk which is why there are so many caution labels and consumer warnings about candles.

If the room smelled, you should have reported it to the hotel. That someone else at the hotel may be negligent sometime in the future with his/her cigarette is irrelevant to what you did and the damages you caused. If that hypothetical person causes a fire, he/she will be responsible for it as well.

It was an accident, no question. It also is your responsibility to pay for the damages you caused. You gave your credit card to the hotel for any expenses or damages you might incur while staying there. You authorized its use, and that is how the card was used. Capital One is not going to settle this dispute between you and the hotel as the hotel has shown why it made the charge and what the charge was for.

You are entitled to know what the damages were and how the hotel came to the final damage costs. You might even be able to sue the hotel for charging you for more than the actual damages you caused (check with a Florida attorney about this) but you still are responsible for what happened.

On the afternoon of April 11 2006 I checked into The Palms Hotel and Villas in Orlando Fla. with my daughter and her friend. The hotel had already been paid through Expedia on my husband's credit card.

At check-in I gave the hotel my Capital One credit card to be used for incidentals. Sometime in the evening, while we were out of the room and by the pool a fire started, by a defective candle. THE FIRE STARTED FROM A CANDLE. Just making that clear to everybody. It was an accident. They have smoking rooms and just could have easily happened in one of those rooms. We BLEW the candle out and it re-lit itself from the bottom. A guest alerted me, since I was close by; I went to the room and put out the fire with the fire extinguisher.

Neither the smoke alarm nor the sprinkler systems were activated because the fire was so small. The only three things damaged in the room were the wall, a picture frame and 36 of my daughter's CD's that melted together. We have pictures proving this! The smell of smoke in the room was barely there after we opened the windows. The hotel staff called the fire department so a report was filed.

After the firemen left the hotel, the hotel threw myself and my two kids out on the street at 10:00 o'clock in the evening and wouldn't give us a refund. We had no where to go and I had two children with me. We found another room with the assistance of the Orlando police department only because one of the policemen was from the town we live in, and once again had to pay for other accommodations.

Upon returning home imagine my surprise when I opened my Capital One credit card statement and I was charged another $761.00 when my credit limit was only 500 hundred dollars and I had less than one hundred dollars available on the card. I called Capital One to have the charges disputed and ask what they were for.

Capital One informed me they were for the damages done to the room. My husband obtained the Fire Marshall's report from the Orlando fire department that stated the damage to the room was less that $150.00 and that the alarm never went off or the sprinkler system.

The hotel informed Capital One that they had thousands of dollars in damages and made a rebuttal. How could there be thousands of dollars in damage if the alarm never sounded. The hotel had kept my money, threw me out, rented the room out before I left Florida (we know this because we took the number of a very nice woman and her kids who also that this was unfair, who were staying there and they called to tell us they rented the room out), charged my credit card and probably made a claim to their fire insurance.

The hotel sent copied pictures that you couldn't even make out what they were pictures of, to Capital One, with a list of everything that was damaged on their letter head written by them and not any outside contractor to confirm it. I was the one with the proof from the Orlando fire department and pictures taken and I didn't have the credit available on the card and I who was the customer was not believed and they put the charges back on my credit card and that is a rip-off.


Answers to questions being asked: I had a credit limit of $ 500 to begin with and I only had less than $ 100 left on the card BEFORE they charged me the $ 761, which I did not consult to. I put the names Barbara and Samantha because Samantha is my daughter's name and she was just as much a part of this rip off as I am. The fire marshall report said damages were only $150 and no matter if the damages were more, the hotel had no right what so ever to charge my credit card without consulting me. They showed no bills or pictures to what needed or what was repaired. I don't understand why people are saying the story is suspicious. What reason would we have to make this up? This trip was a nightmare for us and now we want justice.

To second question asked: We bought the candle because the room smelled bad. I clearly stated that we blew the candle out but it was defective and re-lit itself from the bottom. I'm sure you all leave candles lit at home while you are not watching them and they don't start fires. It was a defective candle, we blew it out. The fire departement knows it was a candle that started the fire. Besides, they have smoking rooms and a cigarette could have easily & accidently started a fire also.

Barbara & Samantha (My daughter)
Huntington station, New York
U.S.A.

If it was YOUR candle, then double-tough applies.

And even if it were the Motel's candle (I have NEVER had a motel EVER provide me with a candle, probably because of the fire hazzards and, I suspect, the fire codes) and if YOU left it lit, then YOU caused the entire problem.

B/t/w leaving a lit candle unattended in a building of public accomodations, or even LIGHTING a candle in a building of public accomodations, may be contrary to law. I suggest you check. If leaving a lit candle unattended in a building of public accomodations is specified as being illegal, maybe you better quiet down and hope no one comes looking for you..

On the afternoon of April 11 2006 I checked into The Palms Hotel and Villas in Orlando Fla. with my daughter and her friend. The hotel had already been paid through Expedia on my husband's credit card.

At check-in I gave the hotel my Capital One credit card to be used for incidentals. Sometime in the evening, while we were out of the room and by the pool a fire started, by a defective candle. THE FIRE STARTED FROM A CANDLE. Just making that clear to everybody. It was an accident. They have smoking rooms and just could have easily happened in one of those rooms. We BLEW the candle out and it re-lit itself from the bottom. A guest alerted me, since I was close by; I went to the room and put out the fire with the fire extinguisher.

Neither the smoke alarm nor the sprinkler systems were activated because the fire was so small. The only three things damaged in the room were the wall, a picture frame and 36 of my daughter's CD's that melted together. We have pictures proving this! The smell of smoke in the room was barely there after we opened the windows. The hotel staff called the fire department so a report was filed.

After the firemen left the hotel, the hotel threw myself and my two kids out on the street at 10:00 o'clock in the evening and wouldn't give us a refund. We had no where to go and I had two children with me. We found another room with the assistance of the Orlando police department only because one of the policemen was from the town we live in, and once again had to pay for other accommodations.

Upon returning home imagine my surprise when I opened my Capital One credit card statement and I was charged another $761.00 when my credit limit was only 500 hundred dollars and I had less than one hundred dollars available on the card. I called Capital One to have the charges disputed and ask what they were for.

Capital One informed me they were for the damages done to the room. My husband obtained the Fire Marshall's report from the Orlando fire department that stated the damage to the room was less that $150.00 and that the alarm never went off or the sprinkler system.

The hotel informed Capital One that they had thousands of dollars in damages and made a rebuttal. How could there be thousands of dollars in damage if the alarm never sounded. The hotel had kept my money, threw me out, rented the room out before I left Florida (we know this because we took the number of a very nice woman and her kids who also that this was unfair, who were staying there and they called to tell us they rented the room out), charged my credit card and probably made a claim to their fire insurance.

The hotel sent copied pictures that you couldn't even make out what they were pictures of, to Capital One, with a list of everything that was damaged on their letter head written by them and not any outside contractor to confirm it. I was the one with the proof from the Orlando fire department and pictures taken and I didn't have the credit available on the card and I who was the customer was not believed and they put the charges back on my credit card and that is a rip-off.


Answers to questions being asked: I had a credit limit of $ 500 to begin with and I only had less than $ 100 left on the card BEFORE they charged me the $ 761, which I did not consult to. I put the names Barbara and Samantha because Samantha is my daughter's name and she was just as much a part of this rip off as I am. The fire marshall report said damages were only $150 and no matter if the damages were more, the hotel had no right what so ever to charge my credit card without consulting me. They showed no bills or pictures to what needed or what was repaired. I don't understand why people are saying the story is suspicious. What reason would we have to make this up? This trip was a nightmare for us and now we want justice.


Barbara & Samantha (My daughter)
Huntington station, New York
U.S.A.

"charged another $761.00 when my credit limit was only 500 hundred dollars and I had less than one hundred dollars available on the card."

How could you A) Have a Credit Limit of $500, B) Have a charge of $761.00, and C:) still have $100 of credit available? =? (Unknown) or basically doesn't add up at all.. :(

Besides that your story still doesn't make sense and the repeated copy rebuttel from your first post (the author of this report) is not helping your story at all..like others said, it just makes you look more suspicious in the long and short run.. :/

I used to work in the hotel business, as a housekeeper, many years ago.

At one of the hotels I worked for, we had a former disgruntled employee who was basically "Trying to burn the place to the ground." Which was stated to the police when he was finally caught.

One of the areas this nut job started a fire in was the area I was assigned to clean everyday. He put lit cigarettes between the mattress and box springs of one of the beds in this room. Fortunately this fire was detected before it even spread beyond the mattress and the fire department was right next door so their response time was pretty quick.

The only actual damage that was done was to the mattress, box springs, and the bedding. But, because of the smoke smell, the other mattress and box springs had to be replaced, along with all the carpet, draperies, bedding, towels, shower curtain, and cloth lamp shades.

All hard surfaces had to be scrubbed down with an order eliminator and the ceilings had to be re-painted.

This was back in the 70's and the cost then was way in the thousands!

I can't imagine even the smallest of hotel room fires only costing $150.00 to totally cleanup.

I used to work in the hotel business, as a housekeeper, many years ago.

At one of the hotels I worked for, we had a former disgruntled employee who was basically "Trying to burn the place to the ground." Which was stated to the police when he was finally caught.

One of the areas this nut job started a fire in was the area I was assigned to clean everyday. He put lit cigarettes between the mattress and box springs of one of the beds in this room. Fortunately this fire was detected before it even spread beyond the mattress and the fire department was right next door so their response time was pretty quick.

The only actual damage that was done was to the mattress, box springs, and the bedding. But, because of the smoke smell, the other mattress and box springs had to be replaced, along with all the carpet, draperies, bedding, towels, shower curtain, and cloth lamp shades.

All hard surfaces had to be scrubbed down with an order eliminator and the ceilings had to be re-painted.

This was back in the 70's and the cost then was way in the thousands!

I can't imagine even the smallest of hotel room fires only costing $150.00 to totally cleanup.

I used to work in the hotel business, as a housekeeper, many years ago.

At one of the hotels I worked for, we had a former disgruntled employee who was basically "Trying to burn the place to the ground." Which was stated to the police when he was finally caught.

One of the areas this nut job started a fire in was the area I was assigned to clean everyday. He put lit cigarettes between the mattress and box springs of one of the beds in this room. Fortunately this fire was detected before it even spread beyond the mattress and the fire department was right next door so their response time was pretty quick.

The only actual damage that was done was to the mattress, box springs, and the bedding. But, because of the smoke smell, the other mattress and box springs had to be replaced, along with all the carpet, draperies, bedding, towels, shower curtain, and cloth lamp shades.

All hard surfaces had to be scrubbed down with an order eliminator and the ceilings had to be re-painted.

This was back in the 70's and the cost then was way in the thousands!

I can't imagine even the smallest of hotel room fires only costing $150.00 to totally cleanup.

I used to work in the hotel business, as a housekeeper, many years ago.

At one of the hotels I worked for, we had a former disgruntled employee who was basically "Trying to burn the place to the ground." Which was stated to the police when he was finally caught.

One of the areas this nut job started a fire in was the area I was assigned to clean everyday. He put lit cigarettes between the mattress and box springs of one of the beds in this room. Fortunately this fire was detected before it even spread beyond the mattress and the fire department was right next door so their response time was pretty quick.

The only actual damage that was done was to the mattress, box springs, and the bedding. But, because of the smoke smell, the other mattress and box springs had to be replaced, along with all the carpet, draperies, bedding, towels, shower curtain, and cloth lamp shades.

All hard surfaces had to be scrubbed down with an order eliminator and the ceilings had to be re-painted.

This was back in the 70's and the cost then was way in the thousands!

I can't imagine even the smallest of hotel room fires only costing $150.00 to totally cleanup.

On the afternoon of April 11 2006 I checked into The Palms Hotel and Villas in Orlando Fla. with my daughter and her friend. The hotel had already been paid through Expedia on my husband's credit card.

At check-in I gave the hotel my Capital One credit card to be used for incidentals. Sometime in the evening, while we were out of the room and by the pool a fire started, by a defective candle. THE FIRE STARTED FROM A CANDLE. Just making that clear to everybody. It was an accident. They have smoking rooms and just could have easily happened in one of those rooms. We BLEW the candle out and it re-lit itself from the bottom. A guest alerted me, since I was close by; I went to the room and put out the fire with the fire extinguisher.

Neither the smoke alarm nor the sprinkler systems were activated because the fire was so small. The only three things damaged in the room were the wall, a picture frame and 36 of my daughter's CD's that melted together. We have pictures proving this! The smell of smoke in the room was barely there after we opened the windows. The hotel staff called the fire department so a report was filed.

After the firemen left the hotel, the hotel threw myself and my two kids out on the street at 10:00 o'clock in the evening and wouldn't give us a refund. We had no where to go and I had two children with me. We found another room with the assistance of the Orlando police department only because one of the policemen was from the town we live in, and once again had to pay for other accommodations.

Upon returning home imagine my surprise when I opened my Capital One credit card statement and I was charged another $761.00 when my credit limit was only 500 hundred dollars and I had less than one hundred dollars available on the card. I called Capital One to have the charges disputed and ask what they were for.

Capital One informed me they were for the damages done to the room. My husband obtained the Fire Marshall's report from the Orlando fire department that stated the damage to the room was less that $150.00 and that the alarm never went off or the sprinkler system.

The hotel informed Capital One that they had thousands of dollars in damages and made a rebuttal. How could there be thousands of dollars in damage if the alarm never sounded. The hotel had kept my money, threw me out, rented the room out before I left Florida (we know this because we took the number of a very nice woman and her kids who also that this was unfair, who were staying there and they called to tell us they rented the room out), charged my credit card and probably made a claim to their fire insurance.

The hotel sent copied pictures that you couldn't even make out what they were pictures of, to Capital One, with a list of everything that was damaged on their letter head written by them and not any outside contractor to confirm it. I was the one with the proof from the Orlando fire department and pictures taken and I didn't have the credit available on the card and I who was the customer was not believed and they put the charges back on my credit card and that is a rip-off.

If you have any questions please post because I keep having to update this report.

Barbara & Samantha
Huntington station, New York
U.S.A.

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

You didn't responsd to the questions regarding the cause of the fire. Your evasion of that question only makes you seem more suspect.

And the fact that your credit card has only a $500 credit limit tells me that you, at least to creditors, are a risk. Therefore, I can only assume that YOU and/or your children caused the fire and the hotel may have had a right to throw you out as a risk to other guests.

The only "proof" you have was based on an initial investigation. As with anything, as repairs are being made, more damage can and likely will be discovered.

$150 would be direct property damage only, and is only an estimate. This was a guess at the value of the physical damage by the fire department.

In addition to the physical damage, there would be loss of revenue while the room was being brought back up to useable standards.. replacing any damaged furniture and fixtures, cleaning smoke damage from walls, ceilings, and furniture (not an easy task), getting rid of the smoke smell (that can be nearly an impossible task). There's also the cost of a disaster cleanup crew. This is not the type of thing that your hotel housekeeping staff is going to handle.

Sounds to me like you probably got off relatively light as far as charges go. What proof, if any, do you have that they rented out that room before you left Florida? The hotel probably did file with their insurance, and you're being charged the deductable.

What was the cause of the fire to begin with, according to the fire marshall's report?

$150 would be direct property damage only, and is only an estimate. This was a guess at the value of the physical damage by the fire department.

In addition to the physical damage, there would be loss of revenue while the room was being brought back up to useable standards.. replacing any damaged furniture and fixtures, cleaning smoke damage from walls, ceilings, and furniture (not an easy task), getting rid of the smoke smell (that can be nearly an impossible task). There's also the cost of a disaster cleanup crew. This is not the type of thing that your hotel housekeeping staff is going to handle.

Sounds to me like you probably got off relatively light as far as charges go. What proof, if any, do you have that they rented out that room before you left Florida? The hotel probably did file with their insurance, and you're being charged the deductable.

What was the cause of the fire to begin with, according to the fire marshall's report?

$150 would be direct property damage only, and is only an estimate. This was a guess at the value of the physical damage by the fire department.

In addition to the physical damage, there would be loss of revenue while the room was being brought back up to useable standards.. replacing any damaged furniture and fixtures, cleaning smoke damage from walls, ceilings, and furniture (not an easy task), getting rid of the smoke smell (that can be nearly an impossible task). There's also the cost of a disaster cleanup crew. This is not the type of thing that your hotel housekeeping staff is going to handle.

Sounds to me like you probably got off relatively light as far as charges go. What proof, if any, do you have that they rented out that room before you left Florida? The hotel probably did file with their insurance, and you're being charged the deductable.

What was the cause of the fire to begin with, according to the fire marshall's report?

$150 would be direct property damage only, and is only an estimate. This was a guess at the value of the physical damage by the fire department.

In addition to the physical damage, there would be loss of revenue while the room was being brought back up to useable standards.. replacing any damaged furniture and fixtures, cleaning smoke damage from walls, ceilings, and furniture (not an easy task), getting rid of the smoke smell (that can be nearly an impossible task). There's also the cost of a disaster cleanup crew. This is not the type of thing that your hotel housekeeping staff is going to handle.

Sounds to me like you probably got off relatively light as far as charges go. What proof, if any, do you have that they rented out that room before you left Florida? The hotel probably did file with their insurance, and you're being charged the deductable.

What was the cause of the fire to begin with, according to the fire marshall's report?

On the afternoon of April 11 2006 I checked into The Palms Hotel and Villas in Orlando Fla. with my daughter and her friend. The hotel had already been paid through Expedia on my husband's credit card. At check-in I gave the hotel my Capital One credit card to be used for incidentals. Sometime in the evening, while we were out of the room and by the pool a fire started, by a defective candle. We blew the candle out and it re-lit itself from the bottom. A guest alerted me, since I was close by; I went to the room and put out the fire with the fire extinguisher.

Neither the smoke alarm nor the sprinkler systems were activated. The only things damaged in the room were the wall, a picture frame and 36 of my daughter's CD's that melted together. The hotel staff called the fire department so a report was filed. After the firemen left the hotel, the hotel threw myself and my two kids out on the street at 10:00 o'clock in the evening and wouldn't give us a refund. We found another room with the assistance of the Orlando police department, and once again had to pay for other accommodations.

Upon returning home imagine my surprise when I opened my Capital One credit card statement and I was charged another $761.00 when my credit limit was only 500 hundred dollars and I had less than one hundred dollars available on the card. I called Capital One to have the charges disputed and ask what they were for. Capital One informed me they were for the damages done to the room. My husband obtained the Fire Marshall's report from the Orlando fire department that stated the damage to the room was less that $150.00 and that the alarm never went off or the sprinkler system.

The hotel informed Capital One that they had thousands of dollars in damages and made a rebuttal. How could there be thousands of dollars in damage if the alarm never sounded. The hotel had kept my money, threw me out, rented the room out before I left Florida, charged my credit card and probably made a claim to their fire insurance. The hotel sent copied pictures that you couldn't even make out what they were pictures of, to Capital One, with a list of everything that was damaged on their letter head written by them and not any outside contractor to confirm it. I was the one with the proof from the Orlando fire department and I didn't have the credit available on the card and I who was the customer was not believed and they put the charges back on my credit card and that is a rip-off.

If the hotel was the one who overly inflated what was due, why is the ripoff not about them?

Was it because you were going to dodge the bill, it was sent to you?

Just curious, because I'd be more frustrated at the hotel adding $600 onto what the fire department claimed was $150 worth of damage, than at the credit card company who paid them for it.

"How could there be thousands of dollars in damage if the alarm never sounded."

Maybe the fact that the alarm DIDN'T go off is the reason that there was thousands of dollars in damage?

In any case, please explain what the fire department determined the cause of the fire to be. THAT is the key element in this whole thing, isn't it -- whether the fire was caused by your family's negligence (cigarette, etc) or by something out of your control (electrical fire, etc.)?

What caused the fire?

How did the fire start? Cigarette? Crack pipe? Meth lab?

It's hard to believe that the fire would cause less than $150.00. To get the smell of the smoke out of the carpet, walls, bedsheets, etc, costs well over $1000.00.

If you were the cause of the fire, then the hotel was well within their rights to throw you out. However, you state that you only had a $100.00 on the card available, Capital One should've never allowed the charge to go through. Something sounds fishy here. They usually allow you to go about $75.00 over your limit, not over $600.00.

How did the fire start? Cigarette? Crack pipe? Meth lab?

It's hard to believe that the fire would cause less than $150.00. To get the smell of the smoke out of the carpet, walls, bedsheets, etc, costs well over $1000.00.

If you were the cause of the fire, then the hotel was well within their rights to throw you out. However, you state that you only had a $100.00 on the card available, Capital One should've never allowed the charge to go through. Something sounds fishy here. They usually allow you to go about $75.00 over your limit, not over $600.00.

How did the fire start? Cigarette? Crack pipe? Meth lab?

It's hard to believe that the fire would cause less than $150.00. To get the smell of the smoke out of the carpet, walls, bedsheets, etc, costs well over $1000.00.

If you were the cause of the fire, then the hotel was well within their rights to throw you out. However, you state that you only had a $100.00 on the card available, Capital One should've never allowed the charge to go through. Something sounds fishy here. They usually allow you to go about $75.00 over your limit, not over $600.00.

How did the fire start? Cigarette? Crack pipe? Meth lab?

It's hard to believe that the fire would cause less than $150.00. To get the smell of the smoke out of the carpet, walls, bedsheets, etc, costs well over $1000.00.

If you were the cause of the fire, then the hotel was well within their rights to throw you out. However, you state that you only had a $100.00 on the card available, Capital One should've never allowed the charge to go through. Something sounds fishy here. They usually allow you to go about $75.00 over your limit, not over $600.00.