Credit Card Dispute

[ctsharpie05]

**Trying to help a friend so please do not attack me**

 

My friend had his cruised cancelled (many of us can relate). Because Carnival sent him zero emails in regards to the cancellation/refunds he went ahead & disputed his Cheers/Shore Excursion purchases (he rescheduled the cruise so no dispute for the fair). I warned him that there may be consequences for this decision. What consequences could he face with Carnival (this is money that obviously would have been credited back to him if he had been more patient)? I am thinking he may not be able to use a credit card for his S & S account? Maybe a Carnival Gift Card or Cash only? When I told him that he should not have done this (explaining the 90 day wait) he tried to cancel the dispute but the Credit Card company had already reached out to Carnival (he can still cancel it because Carnival has not yet responded but I am thinking that may mess things up more?). Let me know what you think. 

[1025cruise]

Worst case scenario, Carnival blocks your friend from cruising.

[ctsharpie05]

7 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Worst case scenario, Carnival blocks your friend from cruising.

I've seen those articles but I find it highly unlikely if they were really planning on returning his money. The one case I have seen of this was someone who filed a $3k dispute because she did not like her room (she actually went on her cruise) & they actually did end up letting her sail again (she had to fight with them though). 

[Elaine5715]

Nothing will happen.  Plenty of people think this method will speed up their refund.  It won't.  Carnival will inform the CC that the refund is being processed,

[ctsharpie05]

3 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Nothing will happen.  Plenty of people think this method will speed up their refund.  It won't.  Carnival will inform the CC that the refund is being processed,

So if that is the case & they deny the claim do you think  he will still face any of the ramifications above? 

[bahacca]

Ugh! These disputes are going to hold up refunds for other people! Carnival will not approve any of these! If they approve these, they risk double refunding people.

[LaRue1975]

I agree, filing a dispute accomplishes nothing except slowing down your refund even further.  It surprises me how many people think they will get their money back this way, it just adds a complication. I have seen posts saying they already got their money back, obviously they have no idea how it works. 
 

There should not be any long term repercussions for your friend though, Carnival knows people are not trying to cheat, they just don’t understand how credit card disputes work. Those that open disputes will move to the back of the refund line though as Carnival will not begin their refund process until the dispute is closed. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by LaRue1975

[LMaxwell]

35 minutes ago, ctsharpie05 said:

So if that is the case & they deny the claim do you think  he will still face any of the ramifications above? 

 

None, zero. Why are people worried about this?  No one is getting blocked, black listed, scorned, etc.  The dispute will likely close, favoring your friend, after Carnival responds and says "Yes, we are going to refund them".  The Credit Card company will remove the charge from the card and wait for Carnival to reimburse them.  There's nothing acrimonious to be afraid of 

[LMaxwell]

34 minutes ago, bahacca said:

Ugh! These disputes are going to hold up refunds for other people! Carnival will not approve any of these! If they approve these, they risk double refunding people.

No they don't.  I think it makes more admin work but it won't put people at the back of the line and it won't risk double refunds. 

[mrgame101]

Merchants sometimes do blacklist people when they initiate chargebacks. 

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, bahacca said:

Ugh! These disputes are going to hold up refunds for other people! Carnival will not approve any of these! If they approve these, they risk double refunding people.

Well carnival will still process the refund, but it slows down all refunds to have to deal with it. But the credit card company will see the refund when its issued

 

disputes have up to 90 days legally to close the dispute. The credit card company issues a temporary credit until ccl issues the credit. The credit card company see the credit within the 90 days and removes their credit and tells you the credit will remain on your account.

 

Meanwhile as stated above you wasted time of the credit card company and carnival because of impatience. Holding up other peoples refunds because they had to process the dispute and everything takes time. 

 

Unless they go broke your friend would have gotten the refund within 90 days anyway. Its hurting the cash flow of the credit card company who will value your friend less. (Yes there is a value for each card member they wouldnt tell you).

Edited April 15, 2020 by firefly333

[firefly333]

51 minutes ago, mrgame101 said:

Merchants sometimes do blacklist people when they initiate chargebacks. 

Or merchants turn over legit charges that got charged back to bill collectors which go on your credit.

 

But in this case. The credit card company has time to contact the merchant, maybe the letter goes out in 3p days after dispute opened if the credit hasnt appeared. The merchant has 20 days to reply, etc etc. Its a process. 

[doublebzz]

Questions:   (1) Does Carnival refund direct to the customer or does it go through the travel agent in which the cruise was booked and; (2) If Carnival does not provide the refund after 90 days, is there still recourse with the credit card company to obtain the refund?

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, doublebzz said:

Questions:   (1) Does Carnival refund direct to the customer or does it go through the travel agent in which the cruise was booked and; (2) If Carnival does not provide the refund after 90 days, is there still recourse with the credit card company to obtain the refund?

The charge if you look at it should have been billed by carnival who is the merchant. The credit should be issued back to the card billed. Look at the charge on your billing statement, the merchant's name should be there. 

 

It does get harder to open a dispute after a certain time, but in cases like a cruise at a future date (past the billing date) there are exceptions. Like a wedding dress that has to be made, future services.

 

Note that the charge doesnt become disputable until the next billing cycle, so the 90 day clock is pushed back by this as well. Let's say the charge hits on the 10th but your billing cycle cuts on the 30th. 

[doublebzz]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

The charge if you look at it should have been billed by carnival who is the merchant. The credit should be issued back to the card billed. Look at the charge on your billing statement, the merchant's name should be there. 

 

 

This is what the statement says:  CARNIVAL CRUISE TKT/RES MIAMI FL  so I assume it was billed by Carnival direct.

Thanks for your help.

[DWolf2020]

Don't think Carnival is massively going to blacklist a ton of people.  Many people on these boards and the Facebook page have already disputed their charges..hope it works out for everyone that does.  But that's probably a lot of potential future customers they're banning, and given the current circumstances, it makes sense that people want their money back and don't want to wait 90+ days.

If anything, I hope it gets Carnival MOVING on issuing refunds.  The sooner they start doing that, the sooner they don't have to worry about more frustrated customers.  Because now it'll be customers, credit card companies, AND banks they're dealing with.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I have read that the credit card with the disputed charge will not be accepted again by the cruise line.

[RogueMonk]

4 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

 filing a dispute accomplishes nothing...

 

Actually, it does accomplish something. It takes the charge "off the books" temporarily so that interest doesn't accrue on it. I disputed my payment for exactly that reason, so that I would not have to be out of pocket or pay interest on the transaction while I wait for a refund.

[13cheermom]

I guess I don't get the whole dispute credit card charge concept.  I never put anything on my credit card unless I have the funds to pay for it to begin with.  While I am not going on my booked Alaskan cruise, it was money that was saved at one point and expected to be used for payment.  Of course I want to get my refund but when it was charged on the card originally it was in good faith for payment for services to be rendered.  So why dispute the charge??  I will be patient and wait for the refund from the cruise line in place of the services not rendered.  Seems to be a lot of extra paperwork and processing for the cruise line to have to do when they already have a full plate as it is.

[1causeway]

5 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

I agree, filing a dispute accomplishes nothing except slowing down your refund even further.  It surprises me how many people think they will get their money back this way, it just adds a complication. I have seen posts saying they already got their money back, obviously they have no idea how it works. 
 

There should not be any long term repercussions for your friend though, Carnival knows people are not trying to cheat, they just don’t understand how credit card disputes work. Those that open disputes will move to the back of the refund line though as Carnival will not begin their refund process until the dispute is closed. 

I had waited for over a month and no refund.  I filed a complaint with my cc company and lo and behold I got a refund in two weeks.  I will never sail with carnival again.  They are the worst and going downhill.

[Elaine5715]

8 minutes ago, 1causeway said:

I had waited for over a month and no refund.  I filed a complaint with my cc company and lo and behold I got a refund in two weeks.  I will never sail with carnival again.  They are the worst and going downhill.

Six weeks sounds about right in normal times

[LaRue1975]

1 hour ago, RogueMonk said:

 

Actually, it does accomplish something. It takes the charge "off the books" temporarily so that interest doesn't accrue on it. I disputed my payment for exactly that reason, so that I would not have to be out of pocket or pay interest on the transaction while I wait for a refund.

You are correct, it is not a consideration for me because I don’t use my credit cards for credit, the interest rates are way too high. Also, I am not 100% sure but I believe if the dispute is not resolved in your favor you will be charged the interest. I understand not wanting to pay interest for a cruise you didn’t get to enjoy, I hope you get your refund soon! 

[LaRue1975]

14 minutes ago, 1causeway said:

I had waited for over a month and no refund.  I filed a complaint with my cc company and lo and behold I got a refund in two weeks.  I will never sail with carnival again.  They are the worst and going downhill.

I am glad you are happy with your outcome. Because you no longer will be sailing with Carnival filing the dispute won’t matter although I doubt it would have anyway. Enjoy your next cruise, I hope it meets your expectations! 

[jimbo5544]

27 minutes ago, 1causeway said:

I had waited for over a month and no refund.  I filed a complaint with my cc company and lo and behold I got a refund in two weeks.  I will never sail with carnival again.  They are the worst and going downhill.

Glad you got your refund, your credit came actually sooner than they predicted.  All sounds reasonable to be during these trying times.  You of course can sail or not with whomever you want. Happy cruising

[xDisconnections]

On 4/15/2020 at 9:53 AM, bahacca said:

Ugh! These disputes are going to hold up refunds for other people! Carnival will not approve any of these! If they approve these, they risk double refunding people.

Not with proper communication.