DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I write to express my disappointment and distress with my recent experiences at Booking.com. I travel frequently, as do my wife and family. I always recommend Booking.com, and we all use it almost exclusively.
Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter
Recently, while traveling, I discovered two fraudulent attempts to make bookings on my account. I canceled them immediately and contacted customer service. A representative told me to change my password. I did this, yet the next time I tried to log in using my email address, I received a message that my account had been disabled.
I contacted Booking.com’s customer service. A representative assured me that the company was investigating the problem, and that I should set up a new account and import my existing bookings.
I did this, but when I contacted Booking.com, a representative told me that I couldn’t import my existing bookings. Now I have another problem: I can’t reactivate my old account because I have too many cancellations. The only cancellations in recent history were the two fraudulent ones.
I feel like I am being punished for reporting fraudulent behavior. Can you help me get my Booking.com account reinstated?
— David Hendrick, Charlottesville, Virginia
ANSWER: Booking.com should have fixed your account without making you set up a new one, and it should have transferred your existing reservations. And if a Booking.com agent told you to do that, they also should have helped you with restoring your account.
But that’s difficult. You can ask for the agent’s name and extension, but often the agent will only offer a first name, which makes it hard to find the person again. (You had part of the conversation in writing from a representative named “Ahmed M.” How do you contact Ahmed M.? Who knows! There’s no direct phone number or email for him.)
It looks like something went wrong — very wrong — with your account. First, someone gained access to your personal information and made fraudulent bookings. But then, Booking.com flagged your account for fraud after you reported the bogus bookings. Finally, adding insult to injury, it wouldn’t help you fix the problem and instead effectively banned you.
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You needed to appeal this above the chatbot level at Booking.com. A human being needed to review your case and figure out a way to fix it. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of those humans at Booking.com on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. You could have reached out to them. I recommend doing so in writing and using my proven methods for fixing a consumer problem.
You asked my advocacy team for help, and after we reviewed your case, I reached out to Booking.com. According to the company, it was a combination of your booking history and the fraudulent bookings that triggered the review of your account. Booking.com disabled your account “to ensure your security” and told you to create a new one. However, it ran into trouble when you tried to transfer your loyalty status and points to the new account.
After I asked Booking.com for help, the company worked with you to find a way to secure your account.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.
(c) 2024 Christopher Elliott
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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