• Report: #649722

Complaint Review: Priceline.com

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  • Submitted: Monday, October 11, 2010
  • Last Posting: Saturday, October 23, 2010
  • Reported By: Burned — Kingsport Tennessee USA
Priceline.com
800 Connecticut Avenue Norwalk Connecticut 06854 United States of America

Priceline.com BE$T PRICE GUARANTEED? Not worth the air it takes to say it. Norwalk, Connecticut

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Best Price Guarantee misunderstandings


1Author 0Consumer 1Employee/Owner

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On September 15, 2010, I used Priceline.com to book a hotel room. My hotel receipt was for $121.55. Priceline charged my credit card $151.26. I entered into agreement with Priceline to provide a hotel for the "BE$T PRICE GUARANTEED". Priceline not only failed to meet their guarantee, but they also proceeded to charge me more than the actual cost of the hotel. I was traveling on business and turned-in my expense statement using the hotel receipt. I just received my credit card statement showing Priceline charged me more than the cost of the hotel room and it is now too late modify my expense statement and recover my costs. I called Priceline's Customer Service and explained the situation and was told they could not refund the difference because I had agreed to the price. I explained I agreed to the price based on Priceline's guarantee. Priceline failed to provide the services I paid for, which is a guarantee I can't get the room for less. If Priceline does not fulfill their advertised guarantee, I will spend a great deal of my spare time posting this story online and in many, many service reviews on Priceline.

Here is Priceline's response:
Thank you for taking the time to send us an e-mail. We understand that you have been charged more by us than the hotel for your reservation at the Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn and would like to receive the difference in rates according to our Best Price Guarantee.

We apologize; however, your claim for the Priceline Best Price Guarantee can not be accepted.

In order to qualify for the Priceline Best Price Guarantee, we require that you contact us within 24 hours of purchase and prior check-in. The reason we ask you to do this is because prices are constantly changing, and it's important that we have the ability to compare pre-check-in pricing.

You can review our guarantees on our website at www.priceline.com.
Please click on the Help link at the top of our home page and enter the word "Guarantee" as a search topic.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Amit L.
Customer Service Specialist

If I would have received my credit card bill within the 24 hour window, I could have responded, but from responses I've received from Priceline so far, it would not have made any difference.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/11/2010 2:51:24 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/travel-services/priceline-com/priceline-com-be-t-price-guar-a7c8b.htm. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
1Author 0Consumer 1Employee/Owner
Updates & Rebuttals

#1 Ex-Employee

Best Price Guarantee misunderstandings

AUTHOR: RF_X-pcln - West Jefferson (United States of America)

SUBMITTED: Friday, October 22, 2010

Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all the time. There are 2 issues here causing this problem.

 (1) The rate shown on the receipt, mistakenly given to you by the hotel, is not a rate generally available to the public. They gave you Pricelines receipt.

The hotel has accidentally given you Pricelines receipt, showing the rate that Priceline paid, per room, for hundreds, possibly thousands of rooms for that month. The rate you were charged for your room, by Priceline, is the rate you agreed to pay, based on the offer price YOU NAMED. Since the rate shown on Pricelines receipt, mistakenly given to you, is not a publicly available rate, and is not posted on the internet as such, it would not be considered valid for a "Best Price Guarantee" claim.

 (2) Customer didn't read or doesn't understand the "Best Price Guarantee" provided by Priceline.

In laymans terms, the guarantee states that Priceline guarantees the customer wont find the same hotel room / night  ...  posted at a lower rate anywhere on the internet, within 24 hours of your purchase ... and if you do find a lower rate POSTED ON THE INTERNET, within 24 hours of your purchase, they will refund you the difference (and they're not going to just take your word for it, they're going to have to go to the internet to see if a lower rate really was posted somewhere).

Since hotels generally dont allow you to check the rates for nights already passed, they would not be able to verify a lower rate on the internet after your check in/out dates have passed.


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