Advise!! got my docs, but now they say I owe $500!!

[sheilb4]

I am hoping some cc'ers can help/advise me...

I received my cruise docs/tickets last week for my cruise on 10/18, completed the on-line check-in etc, and am ready to go....

Today I get an email from my TA that RCCL are saying that I still owe $500, yet I paid in full early august and have invoices etc to prove, from my TA...they want me to pay this by sunday or my cruise will be cancelled!! How the heck can this happen? I know I have paid in full, I have my cc statements/invoice etc, my TA agrees...so what gives? How could tickets be issued if there was a balance still due?...and why suddenly now?

Any input or advise PLEASE..I am freaking out!

[uksimonusa]

I am hoping some cc'ers can help/advise me...

I received my cruise docs/tickets last week for my cruise on 10/18, completed the on-line check-in etc, and am ready to go....

Today I get an email from my TA that RCCL are saying that I still owe $500, yet I paid in full early august and have invoices etc to prove, from my TA...they want me to pay this by sunday or my cruise will be cancelled!! How the heck can this happen? I know I have paid in full, I have my cc statements/invoice etc, my TA agrees...so what gives? How could tickets be issued if there was a balance still due?...and why suddenly now?

Any input or advise PLEASE..I am freaking out!

 

 

Has something changed with your reservation since final payment?

[Davey Interweb]

That's a strange amount; is it actually $500.00 even showing as owing on the booking?

 

Do you have a copy of Royal Caribbean's own booking confirmation? By this I mean not the agency's own invoice; that's not really gonna help.

[TBSCruiser]

Either go to your TA's office and be there when they call RCCL or do a 3 way call, something doesn't make sense. They will NOT send out docs with money owed. Have you upgraded since final payment.

 

 

the other thing that comes to mind is who were your cc payments to? Did your TA pay the cruise line direct, as in your cc statements would say RCCL. Or does the charge say XYZ agency, if it is the agency did they pay RCCL. I wouldn't use a TA who didn't pay the cruiseline directly.

[sheilb4]

Final payment was Aug 5th..paid in full, $0 balance...have invoice from TA to prove.

Received docs 10 days ago...Only diff was that 2 days ago I received a discount for senior citizen (my mother) part of tuesday sale, which they applied as OBC.....

I am guessing someone has messed up, either RCCL or my TA, but surely I shouldn't be penalized? doesn't make sense, but very very worried and upset...:eek:

[rjm1cc]

If you can I would scan my documents. Then CALL the cruise company and ask then to tell you what is on your account and why the 500 showed up. Probably an accounting error which can happen. You can email the documents to the person you are talking to if needed and they can email you back a corrected statement.

[TBSCruiser]

Final payment was Aug 5th..paid in full, $0 balance...have invoice from TA to prove.

Received docs 10 days ago...Only diff was that 2 days ago I received a discount for senior citizen (my mother) part of tuesday sale, which they applied as OBC.....

I am guessing someone has messed up, either RCCL or my TA, but surely I shouldn't be penalized? doesn't make sense, but very very worried and upset...:eek:

 

 

Have your TA send you a RCCL invoice not the agency's one, very easy to do.

[sheilb4]

That's a strange amount; is it actually $500.00 even showing as owing on the booking?

 

Do you have a copy of Royal Caribbean's own booking confirmation? By this I mean not the agency's own invoice; that's not really gonna help.

 

I only have the emailed invoices from my TA...nothing from RCCL. Tried to speak with them, but they won't discuss anything at all with me....

[TBSCruiser]

That's a strange amount; is it actually $500.00 even showing as owing on the booking?

 

Do you have a copy of Royal Caribbean's own booking confirmation? By this I mean not the agency's own invoice; that's not really gonna help.

 

I only have the emailed invoices from my TA...nothing from RCCL. Tried to speak with them, but they won't discuss anything at all with me....

 

 

Is your TA local? If yes, get your self to their office in the am, I am assuming they are open?

[sheilb4]

Either go to your TA's office and be there when they call RCCL or do a 3 way call,

I am in Fl, TA is in NJ

something doesn't make sense. They will NOT send out docs with money owed.

Thats what I would have thought too

Have you upgraded since final payment.

No upgrade

the other thing that comes to mind is who were your cc payments to? Did your TA pay the cruise line direct,

TA paid RCCL direct

as in your cc statements would say RCCL.

they do say RCCL

Or does the charge say XYZ agency, if it is the agency did they pay RCCL. I wouldn't use a TA who didn't pay the cruiseline directly.

[Davey Interweb]

Okay, just for future reference, always ask for Royal Caribbean's own confirmation. There's no reason I can think of why your agent couldn't furnish this, unless they've booked you via a third-party entity.

 

Although this didn't occur in your situation, l'm going to go ahead and quote this as it is good advice:

 

I wouldn't use a TA who didn't pay the cruiseline directly.

[crusinmama06]

You have gotten some great advice on this thread so far, the most important:

 

--it doesn't matter what your TA's invoice says, they could have made a mistake. It only matters what RCCL's invoice says.

 

--go to your credit card statement and total the payments, dates payments were made and amount of each (you already said it was made directly to RCCL, so that's good)

 

--once you have the payment dates in front of you, have the TA call RCCL and have you on 3 way. PERIOD. There is no other way around this. If your TA doesn't have a GOOD explanation then YOU need to be on a conference call with RCCL.

 

--RCCL is open till 10pm (maybe its 11pm) - so get your TA on the phone and have them call RCCL and figure this out.

[TBSCruiser]

Are they open on the weekend? Call and get a real invoice direct from the cruiseline . TA's can ask for both agency and guest copies and just have your TA forward you the guest copy which should have all the payments and such.

[LadyRose]

I would try calling Crown and Anchor. I know that you have a TA, but it's worth a try. The few times I've call C&A they still helped me even though I also use a TA. I think they are open until 11pm tonight.

 

Good luck!

[sheilb4]

You have gotten some great advice on this thread so far, the most important:

 

--it doesn't matter what your TA's invoice says, they could have made a mistake. It only matters what RCCL's invoice says.

 

--go to your credit card statement and total the payments, dates payments were made and amount of each (you already said it was made directly to RCCL, so that's good)

 

--once you have the payment dates in front of you, have the TA call RCCL and have you on 3 way. PERIOD. There is no other way around this. If your TA doesn't have a GOOD explanation then YOU need to be on a conference call with RCCL.

 

--RCCL is open till 10pm (maybe its 11pm) - so get your TA on the phone and have them call RCCL and figure this out.

__________________

The first deposit was made one year ago and I don't have that cc anymore, so unable to check, otherwise all the rest checks out ok...if my TA or RCCL made a mistake would I still have to come up with the $500 do you think? still doesn't make sense that RCCL would issue my tix etc and then almost 2 months later discover I owe $500, when my cruise is only 4 weeks out???

[crusinmama06]

Are they open on the weekend? Call and get a real invoice direct from the cruiseline . TA's can ask for both agency and guest copies and just have your TA forward you the guest copy which should have all the payments and such.

 

Your TA can go ONLINE at the RCCL bookings site Cruising Power and click on "Payments" and can see the screen that displays all payments and charges.

 

Tell your TA you want the guest copy. All of your charges/payments should be listed. They can actually click on "email guest copy" at the RCCL online site. It should be quick and easy.

 

I wish you the best! And I hope you get it all worked out.

[sheilb4]

I am going to call C&A right now...stay tuned!

[TBSCruiser]

Oh I just had a thought could your TA have charged you the net rate by accident instead of the gross amount. The net rate is the gross minus the TA's commission. A TA can pay that net amount and the docs will still be sent out, this is sometimes done when client is paying with cash/check instead of credit card so the TA doesn't have to wait for their commission payment. Could your TA have charged you the net amount and now be scrambling to recover their commission?

[TBSCruiser]

I am going to call C&A right now...stay tuned!

 

 

they won't deal with you because you booked with a TA

[TBSCruiser]

Your TA can go ONLINE at the RCCL bookings site Cruising Power and click on "Payments" and can see the screen that displays all payments and charges.

 

Tell your TA you want the guest copy. All of your charges/payments should be listed. They can actually click on "email guest copy" at the RCCL online site. It should be quick and easy.

 

I wish you the best! And I hope you get it all worked out.

 

 

How true, easier then making a call.

[LadyRose]

they won't deal with you because you booked with a TA

 

It's worth a try. Not sure they will. So far I seem to have been very lucky with C&A.

 

I use a TA and all three times I've called, they helped me with stuff with out a problem.

 

I think it's just luck of the draw with the CSRs :(

[Davey Interweb]

Oh I just had a thought could your TA have charged you the net rate by accident instead of the gross amount. The net rate is the gross minus the TA's commission. A TA can pay that net amount and the docs will still be sent out, this is sometimes done when client is paying with cash/check instead of credit card so the TA doesn't have to wait for their commission payment. Could your TA have charged you the net amount and now be scrambling to recover their commission?

 

Maybe, but if we're talking about an exact amount of $500 this scenario would be mathematically unlikely, I think (but still possible!). $500 sounds like a group deposit on a double cabin; if they happened to book you into group space the agency is holding, I suppose it's possible a deposit wasn't allocated properly. That's really reaching, but other than that I have no idea personally.

 

Ultimately if you've underpaid, they're still going to want that money. They'll have a full history of all payments applied to the booking, at any rate. Don't worry too much, I'm sure it'll be resolved -- you either paid them in full or you didn't and it's fairly simple to prove either way.

[Beowulfpk]

Definitely review your credit card charges. Sometimes charges get kicked back. I've even had a vendor give me a credit on my credit card that I shouldn't have gotten and then I got a similar surprise demand for money which it turned out I did owe, but I didn't pay until I figured out what happened.

 

Other times you may have gotten a special discount that RCCL didn't fully qualify you for that they are now revoking. Sometimes they apply payments to the wrong reservations and then revoke them at a later point.

 

Either way someone screwed up. Make sure you get your TA on it ASAP.

[sheilb4]

This is very upsetting..called C&A, but as I anticipated they also would not discuss anything with me cos' of booking thru TA...

what I don't understand is, IF I owe this money why would they pick it up now, 7 weeks AFTER I made my final payment and 10 days AFTER I have my tickets?

IF my TA has screwed up, should I have to oay an extra $500 or should they? now I run the risk of losing my cruise (and the $4,000 already paid) if I don't pay this $500, which I know I already have...

What should I do?

[stitchisbad]

We just got a price drop on our cruise. When the PVP was making the change she explained to me that when she sent through the drop it has a dollar ammount assigned to it(don't ask me that is the way she said it had to be coded) It was 1000 per person but she said that in 48-72 hours that amt drops of and the OBC of 320 will show. She said to diregard the balance due. This sound like what happened to you. Seems like RCCL ould realize this as it is there process for doing price drops. Right now it shows I have a balance due of 1680 which is 2000(1000 pp)minus 320. It must be new math.