Check your credit card bill urgently

[ozscotart]

Major problems today with the card we used on Oosterdam at the end of November: our bill at the end of the cruise was paid in full in the usual way but today I noticed what appears to be a duplicate transaction on this months bill. I rang HAL uk and they said the system had been down since yesterday and there was nothing they could do. They also said this was not unusual. They said to email them the details and they would look into it. In the meantime I have to pay my bill. I have of course notified the bank, and fortunately also our bill was not large, it was only a week .

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope this hasn't happened to others who sailed on the Oosterdam.

Let us know how long it will take to straighten out the mess.

[VennDiagram]

Not sure how things work in Scotland, but here in NA we can dispute the charge with the credit card company. Could you try that, instead of paying it and waiting for a refund from HAL?

[Tom O.]

I don't know how it works in the UK, but in the US, if you call your credit card issuer (bank) and tell them you want to dispute a charge, they will put a hold on it, until it is investigated. While on hold you will not be required to make payments on the charge, and no interest will be charged on this particular charge. If it is an error, it will eventually disappear. But if it is a legitimate charge, then you will be charged interest on it.

At least that has been my experience, but it may also depend on how your bank handles disputes.

I had a similar experience once, and it happened in the UK. I took my family of 4 to see the Tower of London and purchased tickets with my credit card (American Express). The tickets were quite expensive, and when I got back home I discovered I was charged twice for them. I called Amex and the extra charge was taken off in a couple of days. I never had to contact the Tower of London, thank goodness.

Like you say it is always good to closely monitor your credit card purchases for errors like this and for actual fraud.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Tom O.

[ozscotart]

I have lodged a notification of fraudulent or duplicate transaction with the bank of course, and I have notified HAL now both by phone and in writing with no reasonable response. But I will certainly be reluctant to give them my card details in future if this is the kind of response I get !

 

 

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[alwaysfrantic]

If you've called the bank they should handle it for you.

[Petunia1950]

I spoke with Holland America's accounting office. They can't say how it happened yet -- they are still investigating, but all passengers on the November 18 cruise were affected. Holland America is taking steps to refund the duplicate charges. But since the refund may take up to 10 days, everyone should be sure to notify their credit card companies so that no interest charges will accrue.

[easyboy]

I spoke with Holland America's accounting office. They can't say how it happened yet -- they are still investigating, but all passengers on the November 18 cruise were affected. Holland America is taking steps to refund the duplicate charges. But since the refund may take up to 10 days, everyone should be sure to notify their credit card companies so that no interest charges will accrue.

Agree. We should not leave everything to chances.

[ozscotart]

I spoke with Holland America's accounting office. They can't say how it happened yet -- they are still investigating, but all passengers on the November 18 cruise were affected. Holland America is taking steps to refund the duplicate charges. But since the refund may take up to 10 days, everyone should be sure to notify their credit card companies so that no interest charges will accrue.

 

 

Thanks for that, I have had no response as yet from them but the UK business day has not yet started. I'm still curious about the comment from the HAL UK staff member that this happens all the time !

 

 

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[Petunia1950]

Dear Guest,

 

Thank you very much for sailing with Holland America Line aboard the ms Oosterdam.

 

We are writing regarding your onboard account payment. Regrettably, it appears that due to a system error you may have been charged again for your shipboard expenses on December 16th. If you were impacted by this error, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this processing error may have caused and want to assure you that we are in the process of reversing the duplicate charge. Please note that individual bank refund processing procedures differ and this reversal may take up to10 business days to appear on your account.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns you may contact our Reservations Accounting department by email at reservation_accounting@hollandamerica.com, or by phone at 1-888- 663-5384 (US and Canada) or 1-206-626-7380 (International).

 

We understand that in some cases this could have caused additional bank fees. If you remain out of pocket following the correction of your transaction, you may submit a claim for reimbursement by emailing guestrelations@hollandamerica.com. Please include your name and booking number in your email, along with a copy of your credit/debit card statement attached showing any fees charged by your financial institution as a result of the transaction. You may black out any areas of the statement that include private information. All we need to see is your name on the statement and the fee charged in relation to the duplicate charge. Once you have submitted your claim, it will promptly be assessed and processed.

 

Again, we want to extend our most sincere apologies for this error and thank you for your patronage. We hope to be given the opportunity to welcome you aboard again very soon.

 

Kind regards,

 

Holland America Line

[InTheWASide]

Not sure how things work in Scotland, but here in NA we can dispute the charge with the credit card company. Could you try that, instead of paying it and waiting for a refund from HAL?

 

Exactly. Depending on UK/European rules dispute the "duplicate" amount and usually the CC companies (at least here) will effectively set that aside and not hold you responsible until that portion gets figured out. Of course pay the parts you aren't disputing as per normal.

[InTheWASide]

Dear Guest,

 

Thank you very much for sailing with Holland America Line aboard the ms Oosterdam.

 

We are writing regarding your onboard account payment. Regrettably, it appears that due to a system error you may have been charged again for your shipboard expenses on December 16th. If you were impacted by this error, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this processing error may have caused and want to assure you that we are in the process of reversing the duplicate charge. Please note that individual bank refund processing procedures differ and this reversal may take up to10 business days to appear on your account.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns you may contact our Reservations Accounting department by email at reservation_accounting@hollandamerica.com, or by phone at 1-888- 663-5384 (US and Canada) or 1-206-626-7380 (International).

 

We understand that in some cases this could have caused additional bank fees. If you remain out of pocket following the correction of your transaction, you may submit a claim for reimbursement by emailing guestrelations@hollandamerica.com. Please include your name and booking number in your email, along with a copy of your credit/debit card statement attached showing any fees charged by your financial institution as a result of the transaction. You may black out any areas of the statement that include private information. All we need to see is your name on the statement and the fee charged in relation to the duplicate charge. Once you have submitted your claim, it will promptly be assessed and processed.

 

Again, we want to extend our most sincere apologies for this error and thank you for your patronage. We hope to be given the opportunity to welcome you aboard again very soon.

 

Kind regards,

 

Holland America Line

 

Sounds reasonable to me. Surely annoying to those dealing with it, but they are not only making it right but also ensuring no one is subject to fees associated with this after the fact. End of the day the customer is being made 100% whole in each instance.

[iancal]

What is so urgent?

 

HAL made an error. They are correcting it. Last resort is to challenge the charge on your credit card. Hardly a biggie.

[TAD2005]

What is so urgent?

 

HAL made an error. They are correcting it. Last resort is to challenge the charge on your credit card. Hardly a biggie.

 

If you used a debit card or a low limit credit card, HAL's double charging could prevent you from paying your bills and causing some charges to be declined until this gets sorted out. Not every guest is running around with an unlimited Amex card. This could be a "biggie" to some folks.

[RocketMan275]

If you used a debit card or a low limit credit card, HAL's double charging could prevent you from paying your bills and causing some charges to be declined until this gets sorted out. Not every guest is running around with an unlimited Amex card. This could be a "biggie" to some folks.

 

Certainly true but there is a solution. Get a second debit card not linked to your main checking account. Only put enough cash in the account for that card to cover your expected expenses plus a small reserve. Use that second card for travel.

[iancal]

Just one more reason why we never, ever use our debit card unless there is no other alternative.

[slidergirl]

If you used a debit card or a low limit credit card, HAL's double charging could prevent you from paying your bills and causing some charges to be declined until this gets sorted out. Not every guest is running around with an unlimited Amex card. This could be a "biggie" to some folks.

 

Issues like this is why you should NEVER, EVER, use a debit card for cruises, hotels, rental cars!!! That money can be locked up and unavailable for weeks, depending on your financial institution. If you must use a debit card, be sure that you can do without that money for awhile, or sign up for a second debit card that you will pre-load with only the money you can do without for whatever reason you need. Even if you never use it outside of vacations, a credit card is good to have to avoid just this situation.

 

I've had too many people show up at the hotels I've worked in with only a debit card. The hotel takes the amount of money for the entire stay PLUS an amount for possible daily incidentals right away. One hotel did $100/day incidentals. A poor young couple on their honeymoon had all their money tied up that first night. They had to call Daddy to get more money so they could do continue...

[boards]

We strangely had our CC's refused while in St. Thomas this last cruise. We checked with the bank while on the ship and the bank said there was nothing wrong with them. When we got home they worked just fine. Have no answer why they didn't work.

Edited December 22, 2016 by boards

[iancal]

We use a Chase Visa card for travel and for all FX transactions.

 

On more than one occasion we have had the card refused. When I checked into it the credit card vendor said that there was no record of either a request or a refusal.

 

I was told that some foreign banks won't process certain cards, hence they get refused. It has only happened twice. Both times were on line purchases of airtickets directly from the airlines-once in Thailand, the second time in Australia. Not certain if this is in fact true or not.

[TAD2005]

We strangely had our CC's refused while in St. Thomas this last cruise. We checked with the bank while on the ship and the bank said there was nothing wrong with them. When we got home they worked just fine. Have no answer why they didn't work.

 

When I go on a cruise, I always give my bank the list of countries I will be in and the dates. He makes exceptions in my record so that if my card is swiped in a foreign country, the CC company does not block further use of the card. Because of the rampant cloning of credit cards, and identity theft, banks will block further use of your card unless you inform them in advance of your travel plans. Even though St Thomas and Puerto Rico are part of the US, you are still out of the continental US and CC companies get antsy when they see a charge coming in from those areas.

Edited December 24, 2016 by TAD2005

[HokiePoq]

Just one more reason why we never, ever use our debit card unless there is no other alternative.

 

Good idea. Better idea: NEVER have a debit card. I can see no positives, only negatives. If one can afford to go on a cruise, one should not need to have a debit card. I was head of an organization where young members had debit cards...probably all they could get. A hotel made a mistake and they all had their cards double charged and invalidated. Debit cards, in my experience, should only be used by those who cannot pay their bills in full each month.

[iancal]

Our debit card provides as second point of access to an ATM machine. When we travel, we need several and we keep the seperate in case of pickpockets or card failure. We often travel for 2-3 months at a time....we always have a fear of not being able to access cash or having a working credit card.

[MisterBill99]

Good idea. Better idea: NEVER have a debit card. I can see no positives, only negatives.

The only time I use a debit card for "payemnt" on a cruise is when I'm expecting a refund because of excess OBC and don't want to be penalized rewards/points if the refund were to hit a credit card.

 

OP: the next tme you post a thread like this, you might consider adding some context to the title. Like "If you were on the Oosterdam November 18", so people who it doesn't apply to don't waste their time reading ths thread thinking that it's relevant to them.

Edited December 24, 2016 by MisterBill99

[TAD2005]

Good idea. Better idea: NEVER have a debit card. I can see no positives, only negatives. If one can afford to go on a cruise, one should not need to have a debit card. I was head of an organization where young members had debit cards...probably all they could get. A hotel made a mistake and they all had their cards double charged and invalidated. Debit cards, in my experience, should only be used by those who cannot pay their bills in full each month.

 

We don't use debit cards for cruising, but we have one for another source of cash, but not while traveling. However, there are plenty of people who were financially killed by the severe recession, layoffs, real estate bubble bursting, etc, and they are just getting back on their feet. A debit card may be the only thing they have. They should not be looked down upon for using a debit card. If they can comfortably handle the expenses of a cruise, no one should belittle them for using whatever financial payment methods they have at their disposal. I'm for everyone experiencing cruising, however they want to pay for it.

[Jade13]

What is so urgent?

 

 

 

HAL made an error. They are correcting it. Last resort is to challenge the charge on your credit card. Hardly a biggie.

 

 

Agree. I would have the bank handle. They can see it is a duplicate charge.

 

 

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