Help!! Credit card charged iincorrectly. What do I do?

We had to cancel our credit card while on board the Breakaway 2 weeks ago because it somehow disappeared on one of the islands. Naturally, this was the card NCL had swiped before boarding. We went down to Guest Relations, explained what we had done, and gave them a different card to swipe, which they did. At that time, they explained that there would normally be a $300 charge placed on the old card, but since we had swiped a new one, that wouldn't happen. The agent even disappeared for a little bit, and said he double checked and it would definitely be OK. Fine.

Next part of the story. We had some outrageous amount of OBC which we were chewing away at during the cruise. One of our perks that was offered when we first reserved was pre-paid gratuities, so we didn't have that daily charge to deal with. We didn't have the free drink package, so we charged the few drinks we had to the the account and some other stuff. On the last day, I took pictures of the account listing on our TV screen. Why I didn't go for a paper accounting is beyond me, except that we have always received a paper statement under our door on the last night of the cruise, so I didn't really think about it hard. I just wanted to check to see roughly where we were. I think the amount we owed came to something like $16. That showed in the pix I have, with the date but not the time.

Well, today I was balancing accounts and checking my cards to see that first of all, they had charged the first (defunct) card $300. Great. Then I checked the other, replacement card to see that on that one they charged me $364!! I know we did not rack up alot of bills, if any at all on that last night. But without a paper statement, I have nothing to go on.

I have no idea how to go about taking care of this. Who do I call? obviously not guest relations on the ship. Where do I start? Help!!!

Call the billing department or whatever they call it (accounting, finance, etc.). I don't have the number handy but any rep at the general number can transfer you (but ask them for the number because I suspect you will need to call them more than once…) They are able to look up your onboard account and figure out (hopefully) what all these charges are.

Are you sure that the $300 on both accounts is not a pending charge/hold that will drop off? Or has at all moved into the billed items? I've noticed that sometimes it takes awhile for the holds to drop off, but as long as they do so, it's not a big deal. It seems possible that you could have had a $64 balance with a $300 hold.

But yes, call the billing department and get it straightened out. They should be able to give you an accounting of your onboard charges.

Good luck!

Call the card company and determine if it is a charge or a hold. The hold will go away.

If it is a charge, put it in dispute and call NCL with the problem.

This is a prime example of why you should never, ever use a debit card for this.

This is the number I have for NCL accounting: (866) 625 9177.

Call the card company and determine if it is a charge or a hold. The hold will go away.

 

If it is a charge, put it in dispute and call NCL with the problem.

 

 

 

This is a prime example of why you should never, ever use a debit card for this.

You don't dispute a charge before you try and work it out with the vendor. But I suppose it is just the normal $300 temporary hold.

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This won't help you really but make sure they were both not holds.

We hired a car in Coquitlam and they put a hold on of about CAD1200, on our Credit Card, as it was over a week hire. We paid the account on returning the car, about CAD950. Then it took over a month for the hold to come off the card!!

It was a good job that the card limit could cover it. MasterCard said that, in future, if a hold doesn't drop off in a week call them and they will sort within a couple of days.

Call your card people.

Hope it all comes out well for you.

Mike

You don't dispute a charge before you try and work it out with the vendor. But I suppose it is just the normal $300 temporary hold.

 

 

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You call the card and tell them you're disputing it. That way you are not liable until the dispute is settled.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will call NCL in the AM. A call to the CC company confirmed that it was not a hold but an actual charge (DARN!) So when I call NCL I will try to iron it out, and if need be, then register a dispute on the charge.

Hopefully it won't take a million phone calls. I'll post back when I get some answers. Thanks for your help!

This is why we bring 2 credit cards. The one linked to the ship account stays on the ship. The other one we will use ashore. Of course, we call both companies to let them know where we will be, so they don't issue a fraud alert when they see charges from out of the country!

When I got home off the NCL Star this past Sunday, I checked my CC and saw a charge for $1,700 which was a hold, and the $724 which was the actual charge ($500 of that was for four $250 CruiseNext credits, the rest was the daily $13.50/pp service charge, a couple of shirts, and port taxes on drinks in Tampa). I have the final paper bill, and seeing this thread reminded me to check my account again. The $1,700 hold is gone, the $724 is cleared, I now have a $9.94 charge that cleared which I have no idea what it is, and I have another $724 in pending... I hate when companies can't get billing correct and I have to stay on hold waiting to resolve it. Guess I'll be doing this tomorrow!

When I got home off the NCL Star this past Sunday, I checked my CC and saw a charge for $1,700 which was a hold, and the $724 which was the actual charge ($500 of that was for four $250 CruiseNext credits, the rest was the daily $13.50/pp service charge, a couple of shirts, and port taxes on drinks in Tampa). I have the final paper bill, and seeing this thread reminded me to check my account again. The $1,700 hold is gone, the $724 is cleared, I now have a $9.94 charge that cleared which I have no idea what it is, and I have another $724 in pending... I hate when companies can't get billing correct and I have to stay on hold waiting to resolve it. Guess I'll be doing this tomorrow!

To help you relax, the pending charge will sometimes stay pending for a day or two after the 'live' cage processes for some cards. I have one where if I go out to eat and the bill is (for example) $50 and the place where we eat runs a charge for that, the $50 is pending until they run the final amount with any tip I might add. After the final charge is processed and posts (even if I leave cash for a tip) the initial pending charge stays in pending status for a day or two before it goes away.

You call the card and tell them you're disputing it. That way you are not liable until the dispute is settled.

I just had to dispute some charges and that bank states on their dispute form that in case of an erroneous charge (everything else is ok, just the amount is wrong) I can not dispute the charge with them unless I have first tried to fix it directly with the seller.

Also forgot to mention: I too would assume that the "charges" OP sees are just regular holds if they are seen online. If the charges are already billed on paper, only then they are something to worry about.

I had an issue with my bill, $200 OBC not applied. I sent a message using the online form on the website, set my expectations at 28 days for a reply. Within an hour I had a response asking for either my bank details or if they could send me a cheque. The next day I had the monies in my account. Faultless service from NCL - not often do you hear that.

When I got home off the NCL Star this past Sunday, I checked my CC and saw a charge for $1,700 which was a hold, and the $724 which was the actual charge ($500 of that was for four $250 CruiseNext credits, the rest was the daily $13.50/pp service charge, a couple of shirts, and port taxes on drinks in Tampa). I have the final paper bill, and seeing this thread reminded me to check my account again. The $1,700 hold is gone, the $724 is cleared, I now have a $9.94 charge that cleared which I have no idea what it is, and I have another $724 in pending... I hate when companies can't get billing correct and I have to stay on hold waiting to resolve it. Guess I'll be doing this tomorrow!

Sorry, I replied and then noticed that the $9.94 charge is cleared, so it is probably worth making the call. Whether you will get anywhere or not is another matter. I suspect that they have found an additional charge which they have applied afterwards (mini bar possibly). The discussions which you will enter into will probably be interesting. :)

The second charge is no problem and will just disappear.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will call NCL in the AM. A call to the CC company confirmed that it was not a hold but an actual charge (DARN!) So when I call NCL I will try to iron it out, and if need be, then register a dispute on the charge.

 

Hopefully it won't take a million phone calls. I'll post back when I get some answers. Thanks for your help!

Dispute the charge with your CC company.

On the last day, I took pictures of the account listing on our TV screen. Why I didn't go for a paper accounting is beyond me, except that we have always received a paper statement under our door on the last night of the cruise, so I didn't really think about it hard. I just wanted to check to see roughly where we were. I think the amount we owed came to something like $16. That showed in the pix I have, with the date but not the time.

On newer ships, the statements are stuck in the holder of the cabin number sign outside the door, not under the door. I think some people missed it as they didn't notice it when leaving the cabin.

This is why we bring 2 credit cards. The one linked to the ship account stays on the ship. The other one we will use ashore. Of course, we call both companies to let them know where we will be, so they don't issue a fraud alert when they see charges from out of the country!

Sorry, I replied and then noticed that the $9.94 charge is cleared, so it is probably worth making the call. Whether you will get anywhere or not is another matter. I suspect that they have found an additional charge which they have applied afterwards (mini bar possibly). The discussions which you will enter into will probably be interesting. :)

 

The second charge is no problem and will just disappear.

I called and waited 11 minutes for an operator to pickup. I explained the issue of the $9.94 charge. She said it was the mini-bar but had no details. She told me to go to ncl.com, choose 'Help, Contact Us" the. "Post-cruise guest relations" and click the "click herr" and fill out the form with the issue.

As far as the mini-bar, we remove all items from the fridge and put them on the upper shelf above the fridge and put our soda/water in. At the end, we put everything back. We take a pic before and after to verify everything is there.

As far as the mini-bar, we remove all items from the fridge and put them on the upper shelf above the fridge and put our soda/water in. At the end, we put everything back. We take a pic before and after to verify everything is there.

Sorry to say but the pictures do not prove anything else than that the contents were there on the very moment the picture was taken, you can't prove anything after that.

A before picture might be good for helping to restock the fridge correctly, but the after picture is completely moot.

Sorry to say but the pictures do not prove anything else than that the contents were there on the very moment the picture was taken, you can't prove anything after that.

 

A before picture might be good for helping to restock the fridge correctly, but the after picture is completely moot.

The picture is just for us. I could take everything from the mini-bar... Its up to them to prove I did other than the steward saying its not there. Since its a separate charge after the fact with no billing or signature, it is easier to dispute it with the cc to have it removed because there is no documentation. I did nothing wrong here so I have a clear conscious should I have to dispute it.

The stewards keep track of the mini-bar by scribbling the info on a slip of scrap paper, and then someone enters this data at some point. There is plenty of room for misreading or mistyping a room number, etc. Also, on disembarkation morning, lots of cabin doors are propped open for hours…

So in my experience they don't push back a lot if you dispute mini-bar charges. But I wonder how you can get a charge of $9.94 (= $8.42 + 18% restocking fee) from the mini-bar. Does anyone have the current price list?

On newer ships, the statements are stuck in the holder of the cabin number sign outside the door, not under the door. I think some people missed it as they didn't notice it when leaving the cabin.

That's very possible. We had early walk-off, and were in a hurry to get there, so I probably missed it. I did call NCL to find out what went on and they were very helpful. BTW - the number given earlier in this thread is the correct one.

The lady I spoke to was very nice and helpful, explained everything that transpired. The whole thing concerning the OBC from my TA was very confusing, as the amount the little cards on my bed said I received was different (lower) than I expected, but the TV accounting showed a different, higher amount that was closer to what I remembered. I also forgot about the future cruise deposits I bought after I took pix of the tv accounting. It is amazing how different my perception of how much I thought I bought and how much I actually did spend is. She sent me via email the paper copy of my bill, and altho I still can't believe I spent as much as I did, apparently, that perception is seriously off.

Thanks to all that replied. I guess my mystery has been solved.

Glad you figured it out and thanks for coming back and letting us know!