I work for a community trust in east London and we have been trying to help a disabled woman who had a terrible experience after using Booking.com to book a hotel stay in Paris.
When she arrived at the property along with her sister-in-law in April, the door was answered by a woman who explained that the address was her own house – not a hotel or apartment.
When they tried to contact the listing’s owner by phone, the number was not answered. Two other men who lived locally told her that the address was not a hotel and they had seen others turning up in similar circumstances.
Eventually she and her relative had to give up and find emergency alternative accommodation at a cost of £400 – considerably more than the £243 she paid.
When Booking.com refused a refund, we took the matter up with her bank. Lloyds initially said it would process a cashback. However, after Booking.com objected and supposedly produced evidence to show that the property exists, Lloyds declined the return of her money – meaning she is still considerably out of pocket.
We are getting nowhere with the travel website – can you help?
MC, London
This is an abridged version of a longer letter, and it’s clear your client had a very difficult trip.
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I asked Booking.com about this case, and it very much stuck to its assertion that the listing was not a fake. It says: “The property has hosted many guests successfully before.”
However, the “successful” argument is rather undermined by the reviews of the place she booked, which are terrible, with some customers claiming there were demands for extra money or that it was a scam.
One odd thing about this case is that fake listings tend to have some great reviews, which is very much not the case here.
Quite what happened that day we may never know. However, Booking.com has agreed to refund the £243 that was paid as a gesture of goodwill.
I suggested it should refund the extra £160 that the woman was forced to spend on the replacement accommodation but it has declined.
Interestingly, since I took up this complaint, a banner has appeared saying that bookings at this property are not currently being taken.
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