RCI keeps sending me "Notice of Balance Due" for paid up cruise

[SherriZ366]

We are sailing on Harmony later in the month and I have gotten two email notices so far about a balance being due for my cruise that was fully paid before payment was due in late March.  Last week (4-1-2022), I received a "balance due" notice and called the D+ desk who looked at my reservation and the representative said that although my invoice (that she could see) shows a zero balance, my file also has an invoice that shows $50 due.  The D+ Rep contacted resolutions and I finally spoke to a Resolutions staffer.  This staffer said that RCI is having IT problems that cause these "balance due" notices keep getting generated and emailed to fully payed cruisers.  She told me that they have been trying to work with the IT department to resolve the issue.  She also told me that my glitch was caused by an item in my Cruise Planner that was cancelled and RCI owes me a refund (rather then my needing to pay $50.)  She said that RCI would refund the cancelled Cruise Planner Item to my onboard credit and my Visa (that's how I paid for it).  I think the refund has been made to my OBC but no refund has been posted to my Visa card.  I was on the phone for 55 minutes.  

I thought the problem was resolved on 4-1-2022 however I got another Balance Due notice from RCI for the same $50.  I talked to a D+ reservationist who finally had me talk to another person in Resolutions.  After I held on for awhile, she told me she would call me back once the problem had been resolved with IT.  It's been 3 hours and I haven't received a call back.  This call lasted 55 minutes.  

From my conversations with RCI, I understand that this IT glitch has affected many cruisers.  They are assuring me that they won't cancel the reservation (we booked a Grand suite and were really looking forward to the cruise).  But I want the situation resolved with no more "Balance Due" emails coming to me.  I am also afraid of getting to the pier and having no reservation.  

All of my invoices show that I have paid in full. 

[Biker19]

58 minutes ago, SherriZ366 said:

But I want the situation resolved with no more "Balance Due" emails coming to me. 

How much time do you want to spend on the phone?

[NightOne]

Had the EXACT same thing happen to me. Royal owed me money from cancelled cruise planner items.

 

I just kept checking my booking every single day until sailing to make sure it was still there. I called every time I got another balance due e-mail. Eventually I wrote an e-mail to an executive at Royal and someone from their team contacted me.

 

When I got to the terminal and checked in they still said I owed money and gave me a form to take to guest services when I got onboard. I went to guest services and showed them all the e-mails and such and they made the problem go away after I gave them the name of I guy I was working with from Royal's Executive Office.

 

I finally got my cruise planner refund from Royal AFTER I got back from the cruise.

 

Save all your correspondence and receipts but you should be fine.

 

If you can find me on FB I will private message you an e-mail address of someone that can help you. (not posting it here)

 

 

[Janet524]

It's happened to me several times.  As long as you have an updated cruise receipt you're fine.  As with many things with RC, the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing.

[John Reid]

I could type my name at the top of your message and not have to change a word. I've received four notices so far for my 4/24 Anthem. The initial call to clarify was 80 minutes and three different reps. Still shows as payment due in my Cruise Planner. Still receiving notices.

 

My only worry is that the glitch may cancel my current reservation. I'm sure that (after another 80 minutes on the phone) RCI would see the mistake and rebook.

 

But what if my cabin is sold during that time span? I don't want what they consider the equivalent; I want that exact cabin that has advantages I'm looking for.

 

An IT glitch on RCI; who'd have thought it possible.

[GJustice]

I'm currently waiting for a correct email on my Final Payment due Saturday. The email (and online balance pay screen) say 159.98 due, but the invoice ATTACHED TO THE EMAIL says 98.98 due.

 

Was on the phone for nearly half an hour before they came back and said I'd get a "corrected invoice" in 24-48 hours.

 

Guess I'll wait until tomorrow and call them if I don't have anything.

 

$61.00 isn't THAT big a deal, but there's a principle here that just grates on my 40+ year IT career. 🙂 

[island lady]

Sherri.  Same thing happened to me.  They owed me 926.00 for a price drop.  Instead of crediting me the refund, they added that amount to my then zero balance.  Which then showed I owed 926.00...instead of getting a refund.  A week later got an email that they would be cancelling my cruise if I did not pay up immediately.  😠

 

Obviously, from the posts here... it is happening too often.  Reminds me of the "oops...mistake" when they charged mini bar charges years ago after we had already left...which happened constantly.  Sooo happy they got rid of the mini bar and those "pay to drink" bottles of water.  

 

Something stinks....and I don't think it's the fish in the sea.  😉 

[seadays4me]

Yesterday final payment was due on my June cruise.  Correct balance was paid but when the transaction went thru the cruise got repriced when I received the payoff statement.  Now it showed that I stilled owed $1,500 more to pay off.  Two hour call to TA for Royal to correct glitch.  Good thing I looked at the new statement.  Except for that one booze package glitch all of the new ones seem to be in Royals favor.  How many people are not catching these glitches? 

[Tlbecker1]

We also have had this problem.  Royal doesn’t seem to be able to add and subtract.  I feel everyone’s pain, but I am glad that I am not only one with these issues.

[erinsmom03]

So ironic, I have to call them today for the same problem for our May 8 Allure cruise! This is ridiculous...

[STEVE-O]

I had a similar problem....In Reverse!

 

The invoice said Royal owed Me $2000! 45 minutes on the phone and they sent out an invoice saying they owe me....$3000!

 

A Resolutions agent got involved and now it says I owe Royal DOUBLE what I should owe.

I should have asked for a VISA credit of the $3000. Live and learn.

[whyrlygig]

I simply called and they said IT would have to fix it.  The next day it was fixed.  

[ladychater]

Yeah, I'm living this story too.  I got an email saying I owed them $138.  But the bottom of the invoice showed that I'd PAID them $240 more than the total price of the trip.  Looks like they owe ME money.  They guy told me they'd credit it back to my Visa.  I haven't seen it yet, but I'll give it another day before I call.  I was on the phone for an hour and 50 minutes!!!

[rbell]

6 hours ago, SherriZ366 said:

We are sailing on Harmony later in the month and I have gotten two email notices so far about a balance being due for my cruise that was fully paid before payment was due in late March.  Last week (4-1-2022), I received a "balance due" notice and called the D+ desk who looked at my reservation and the representative said that although my invoice (that she could see) shows a zero balance, my file also has an invoice that shows $50 due.  The D+ Rep contacted resolutions and I finally spoke to a Resolutions staffer.  This staffer said that RCI is having IT problems that cause these "balance due" notices keep getting generated and emailed to fully payed cruisers.  She told me that they have been trying to work with the IT department to resolve the issue.  She also told me that my glitch was caused by an item in my Cruise Planner that was cancelled and RCI owes me a refund (rather then my needing to pay $50.)  She said that RCI would refund the cancelled Cruise Planner Item to my onboard credit and my Visa (that's how I paid for it).  I think the refund has been made to my OBC but no refund has been posted to my Visa card.  I was on the phone for 55 minutes.  

I thought the problem was resolved on 4-1-2022 however I got another Balance Due notice from RCI for the same $50.  I talked to a D+ reservationist who finally had me talk to another person in Resolutions.  After I held on for awhile, she told me she would call me back once the problem had been resolved with IT.  It's been 3 hours and I haven't received a call back.  This call lasted 55 minutes.  

From my conversations with RCI, I understand that this IT glitch has affected many cruisers.  They are assuring me that they won't cancel the reservation (we booked a Grand suite and were really looking forward to the cruise).  But I want the situation resolved with no more "Balance Due" emails coming to me.  I am also afraid of getting to the pier and having no reservation.  

All of my invoices show that I have paid in full. 

I guess being D+ don't mean that much LOL

[PhillyFan33579]

That has happened to me on 4 of my last 6 cruises. I just started ignoring them. I keep a spreadsheet that details how much I have paid on every cruise, when the payment deadline is, etc. I know my spreadsheet is correct so I simply ignore the e-mails, since I know it is a known issue. 

[rudeney]

This sounds like the time I got a bill from the lab my doctor uses for bloodwork.  It said I owed $12.50, but they were supposed to write that off per my health insurance contract.  I called, they said they saw the issue and would correct it.  Next month, I get a bill for $25.00 - the original $12.50 plus a NEGATIVE credit for $12.50 (added together makes $25.00).  I called, they said they'd fix it and the next month I got a bill f or $50 - they again did a NEGATIVE credit.  This went on for over SIX MONTHS!  Each time I called, they claimed they saw the problem and promised to fix it.  Eventually, I got a letter from a collection agency stating I owed $800 plus a bunch of fees and interest.  I wrote them a letter, disputing the debt and explaining the problems.  I also noted that they were not to contact me again.  Well, the next month, I get a letter that I now owe $1600 + fees and costs.  It ended up in court and I pocketed $2500 for their FDCPA violations.

[GJustice]

16 hours ago, GJustice said:

Guess I'll wait until tomorrow and call them if I don't have anything.

 

$61.00 isn't THAT big a deal, but there's a principle here that just grates on my 40+ year IT career. 🙂 

Well, got a fresh confirmation this morning using the dial-a-digits and it says balance is $98.98. I PAID $98.98 (even though it SAID balance is 159.98) and got a ZERO DUE invoice. NOW says balance due is $61.00.

Waiting on hold for the person to "fix it" so balance shows ZERO.

Guess only time will tell. 🙂 She said it won't be cancelled and I SHOULD get a corrected invoice in 5-6 days. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by GJustice

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:02 PM, Biker19 said:

How much time do you want to spend on the phone?

Agree -- spending these long times on the phone is eating up my time and I want to finish my To Do list before we sail.  

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:08 PM, NightOne said:

Had the EXACT same thing happen to me. Royal owed me money from cancelled cruise planner items.

 

I just kept checking my booking every single day until sailing to make sure it was still there. I called every time I got another balance due e-mail. Eventually I wrote an e-mail to an executive at Royal and someone from their team contacted me.

 

When I got to the terminal and checked in they still said I owed money and gave me a form to take to guest services when I got onboard. I went to guest services and showed them all the e-mails and such and they made the problem go away after I gave them the name of I guy I was working with from Royal's Executive Office.

 

I finally got my cruise planner refund from Royal AFTER I got back from the cruise.

 

Save all your correspondence and receipts but you should be fine.

 

If you can find me on FB I will private message you an e-mail address of someone that can help you. (not posting it here)

 

 

NightOne -- thanks for your very complete and informative post.  I think this is what will happen to me.  Your suggestion to save all the emails, cruise planner info about refunds etc. and put them in my pier file. 

 

I am drafting a letter to send to the RCI Executive Office.  I've usually had prompt responses from this office.  I don't over-use it and I'm usually very complementary especially of staff. 

Judging by the response on this thread, lots of people are having similar problems. 

 

I just sent a FB Friend request to a NightOne on Facebook.  Hope it's you.  It sounds like your contact person is excellent.  

 

I'm checking my reservation on the RCI site and the APP and it's still there -- will continue tp check.  My only fear is that RCI will cancel our cruise.  There are a lot of notes in the file so far and contacting the Executive Office will probably prevent RCI cancelling us.  I'm also checking my Visa to see if the Cruise Planner refund has been applied.

 

If a balance shows when we check in and we get a form for paying it, I will ask the Suite Concierge to take care of it rather as we're sailing in a suite. We should be contacted by him or her the week before the cruise by the SL Concierge or I will send an email so I'll give them a "heads up."  This will be my third time sailing with one of the concierges and she has been helpful to me on those prior cruises.  I'll explain the situation to her when we connect.  

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:22 PM, Janet524 said:

It's happened to me several times.  As long as you have an updated cruise receipt you're fine.  As with many things with RC, the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing.

I have a couple of invoices for the cruise showing final payment and a zero balance.  In fact two of the zero balance invoices have been attached to the Balance Due emails that I received.  

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:30 PM, John Reid said:

I could type my name at the top of your message and not have to change a word. I've received four notices so far for my 4/24 Anthem. The initial call to clarify was 80 minutes and three different reps. Still shows as payment due in my Cruise Planner. Still receiving notices.

 

My only worry is that the glitch may cancel my current reservation. I'm sure that (after another 80 minutes on the phone) RCI would see the mistake and rebook.

 

But what if my cabin is sold during that time span? I don't want what they consider the equivalent; I want that exact cabin that has advantages I'm looking for.

 

An IT glitch on RCI; who'd have thought it possible.

RCI's computer glitch resulting in their cancelling my cruise and re-selling my stateroom is what I'm worried about.  I'm going to keep checking the website and the APP.  You are sailing an AN the same day that we sail on Harmony.  

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:09 PM, GJustice said:

I'm currently waiting for a correct email on my Final Payment due Saturday. The email (and online balance pay screen) say 159.98 due, but the invoice ATTACHED TO THE EMAIL says 98.98 due.

 

Was on the phone for nearly half an hour before they came back and said I'd get a "corrected invoice" in 24-48 hours.

 

Guess I'll wait until tomorrow and call them if I don't have anything.

 

$61.00 isn't THAT big a deal, but there's a principle here that just grates on my 40+ year IT career. 🙂 

Agree that $61 (or $50 in my case) is not that big of deal but they need to correct their IT problems.  

 

I can see how it grates on you being an IT professional.  I think if RCI IT could finally get the glitch corrected, it would cut down on the calls that need to go to Resolutions and that would cut the wait times.  I think cruisers with this problem make up a large percentage of these calls.

[SherriZ366]

23 hours ago, seadays4me said:

Yesterday final payment was due on my June cruise.  Correct balance was paid but when the transaction went thru the cruise got repriced when I received the payoff statement.  Now it showed that I stilled owed $1,500 more to pay off.  Two hour call to TA for Royal to correct glitch.  Good thing I looked at the new statement.  Except for that one booze package glitch all of the new ones seem to be in Royals favor.  How many people are not catching these glitches? 

Is your problem resolved?

[SherriZ366]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:26 PM, island lady said:

Sherri.  Same thing happened to me.  They owed me 926.00 for a price drop.  Instead of crediting me the refund, they added that amount to my then zero balance.  Which then showed I owed 926.00...instead of getting a refund.  A week later got an email that they would be cancelling my cruise if I did not pay up immediately.  😠

 

Obviously, from the posts here... it is happening too often.  Reminds me of the "oops...mistake" when they charged mini bar charges years ago after we had already left...which happened constantly.  Sooo happy they got rid of the mini bar and those "pay to drink" bottles of water.  

 

Something stinks....and I don't think it's the fish in the sea.  😉 

Did you get it resolved?  Or were they still threatening to cancel your cruise?

[SherriZ366]

23 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We also have had this problem.  Royal doesn’t seem to be able to add and subtract.  I feel everyone’s pain, but I am glad that I am not only one with these issues.

Agree -- maybe they need to have their IT people go back to elementary school 🤣