Double billed again?!?

[extremez]

Gonna vent here for a moment. This isn't necessarily a jab at NCL but this looks to be the 2nd time this has happened to me in the 6 cruises we have taken and I'm beyond PO'd at the moment. A phone call will be placed tomorrow in hopes of getting this straightened out at smoothly as possible with the least amount of yelling.

 

It looks as if I have been double billed for this past cruise on the Gem 11/25-12/4. My wife and I did our cruise rewards just like we have always done and decided to go the ahead and get the NCL Mastercard/BOA credit card. We were approved on ship and our final invoice states the final bill was charged to the new card. However it looks like the initial credit card I provided was also charged and charged an additional $135 at that. I think the additional is due to OBC not being added during the cruise.

 

The 1st time this happened it was actually with our bank card (cruise purchase)and put me in the red which caused issues and I keep thinking "it took you (NCL) the click of a mouse to take the money but now it's going to take 1-2 weeks for me to be reimbursed"

 

Has this happened to anyone else? And how would you handle this?

 

Again I'm venting and if I seem out of line it's the anger typing.

[DMH15]

I have been double billed at stores and restaurants. It happens. Usually one phone call takes care of it.

 

It will all be fine.

 

Hope you had a great cruise.

 

 

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[extremez]

Thank you. We did have a great cruise. Hard to not have a great cruise when the weather and activities are great.

 

I certainly hope it's going to be a quick fix.

 

If it was just a simple $50 charge I would be fine but it's over $1,100 dollars and it doesn't seem to sit so well with me at the moment. I've got to get up in the morning and call NCL then probably call both CC companies to make sure things are in order.

[Demonyte]

The 1st time this happened it was actually with our bank card (cruise purchase)and put me in the red which caused issues and I keep thinking "it took you (NCL) the click of a mouse to take the money but now it's going to take 1-2 weeks for me to be reimbursed"

 

Unfortunately this is how the whole card system is built globally, there is nothing NCL-specific about that. The main function of the whole system is to process incoming payments quickly and reliably but any other functions like reverse charges and refunds are secondary and in many cases still have to be done a lot more difficultly, one of the reasons being fraud prevention (f.ex. in some cases possible four eyes rule for approving refunds etc) and that's why they can not be as automatic and optimized for speed as incoming payments.

 

I know that these things are hard to accept for "normal folks" (no offense to anyone) because of the simple thought process you presented - "it was just one mouse click to make the payment, why can't you just undo that with another click?!?" etc - but once you need to work with all these restrictions professionally, the perspective changes completely and these kind of delays are just a drop in the ocean. :D (I've been involved with large PCI DSS certified systems, card issuing/management systems etc for couple of years now.)

[footballbabe3]

.I totally understand you being upset. I don't think you need to apologize for being upset. With the holidays around the corner, it taking more time to be refunded and the fact that it could cause banking problems. You have the right to be upset. One thing I did notice. Stay Calm when speaking with a rep. it will get your problem resolved faster. Good Luck!!

Edited December 8, 2013 by footballbabe3

[newmexicoNita]

Gonna vent here for a moment. This isn't necessarily a jab at NCL but this looks to be the 2nd time this has happened to me in the 6 cruises we have taken and I'm beyond PO'd at the moment. A phone call will be placed tomorrow in hopes of getting this straightened out at smoothly as possible with the least amount of yelling.

 

It looks as if I have been double billed for this past cruise on the Gem 11/25-12/4. My wife and I did our cruise rewards just like we have always done and decided to go the ahead and get the NCL Mastercard/BOA credit card. We were approved on ship and our final invoice states the final bill was charged to the new card. However it looks like the initial credit card I provided was also charged and charged an additional $135 at that. I think the additional is due to OBC not being added during the cruise.

 

The 1st time this happened it was actually with our bank card (cruise purchase)and put me in the red which caused issues and I keep thinking "it took you (NCL) the click of a mouse to take the money but now it's going to take 1-2 weeks for me to be reimbursed"

 

Has this happened to anyone else? And how would you handle this?

 

Again I'm venting and if I seem out of line it's the anger typing.

 

Venting is fine, I too would be upset, but I am sure tomorrow you will get it cleared up. Let everyone know what happens. I say everyone, not me cause I leave tomorrow (well in the afternoon) for the Sun. Yes, the sun as in out of this frigid weather and Sun, as in the ship.

[luddite]

I would call the credit card and let them know that the second charge is in dispute. That shouldn't be a problem.

 

Getting money applied to a card isn't quite just a mouse click but you will be fine.

 

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

[extremez]

Okay, NCL billing is closed til tomorrow.

 

The bank card issue happened a few years back and I chalk that up to a website issue.

 

Just so my story is clear, I provided my Citi credit card during the check-in process in the terminal like everyone has to do. That would be the card that would normally be billed all onboard expenses.

 

During the cruise we signed up for the NCL BOA credit card. After the approval the assistant cruise consultant went directly to the front desk and notified them the BOA card would be the card receiving the final payment, which obviously did by the looking at my final invoice. I wanted my double points. :)

 

Funny thing is, and I assume it's because of the Citi was being held on the account, the Citi was charged all of the onboard expenses back on 11/26. The 2nd day of the cruise.

 

I'll let everyone except newmexicoNita know what happens. Have fun on your cruise!!

[DMH15]

Venting is fine, I too would be upset, but I am sure tomorrow you will get it cleared up. Let everyone know what happens. I say everyone, not me cause I leave tomorrow (well in the afternoon) for the Sun. Yes, the sun as in out of this frigid weather and Sun, as in the ship.

 

So envious! But happy for you... You know how I love the Sun.

 

I hope our fave, HD Brian Walters is on board. Great man.

 

 

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[extremez]

Just a follow up from the double billing issue.

 

Placed a call to NCL on Monday. The girl on the phone wasn't exactly helpful but everything is fine now. For whatever reason they billed my Citi card everything but my onboard credits we received. It processed and hung around as a temporary authorization. So I've been watching the account balance and as of this morning it has disappeared and not on my statement.

 

I did ask the rep to call me back with her findings but that never happened.

[che5904]

Just a follow up from the double billing issue.

 

Placed a call to NCL on Monday. The girl on the phone wasn't exactly helpful but everything is fine now. For whatever reason they billed my Citi card everything but my onboard credits we received. It processed and hung around as a temporary authorization. So I've been watching the account balance and as of this morning it has disappeared and not on my statement.

 

I did ask the rep to call me back with her findings but that never happened.

 

Some days I hate those temporary authorizations. But I always wait it out just to make sure before I start calling around. I've been caught on that more than once.

 

Glad it all worked out.

Edited December 13, 2013 by che5904

[iceman2a]

I have noticed on my last few cruises 2 on NCL one Princess that it appeared I was double billed on my credit card. What accually happen was an original "merchants hold" on a certian ammount that showed as "pending charges" and the final bill that was charged. The pending charges did fall off after a day or 2. Not a problem since that card is only used for travel, but could see people concerns when avlbl credit is not what they think it should be!

[QuiGonJohn]

My wife and I did our cruise rewards just like we have always done and decided to go the ahead and get the NCL Mastercard/BOA credit card. We were approved on ship and our final invoice states the final bill was charged to the new card.

 

Could you please explain this promotion/program in a bit more detail?

[extremez]

Could you please explain this promotion/program in a bit more detail?

 

Basically while on board if you sign up for the cruise rewards you pay the deposit for your next cruise with NCL. You have to book and sail within 4 years.

 

$250 gets you a $100 onboard credit

$500=$200

$750=$300

$1000=$400

 

4 rewards is the max. You can use 1 per cruise or all 4 if you want to.

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-rewards

[QuiGonJohn]

Oh, I thought it was some kind of promotion involving getting a MasterCard or Visa through NCL and perhaps some kind of incentive, like OBC or something.

[extremez]

Oh, I thought it was some kind of promotion involving getting a MasterCard or Visa through NCL and perhaps some kind of incentive, like OBC or something.

 

No but if you sign up for the NCL Mastercard it can help build points up that you can redeem towards NCL cruises.

 

For signing up you get 10,000 pts and some onboard credit. If I'm correct anything you spend with NCL also gets you double points. Buy your cruise, fill your gas tank and get groceries and pay it off quickly. My rate was a bit high compared to other cards I have.