We are flying to Australia this month and decided to stay the night before at Heathrow, looking for the cheapest option within the Hoppa bus service.
I chose a Travelodge “saver” (£42.50 for a room without breakfast) and attempted to book online.
While my Visa credit card payment was being confirmed, my computer displayed the fact that a pop-up from the Visa site was blocked, but I could elect to “allow once”.
On agreeing to this the site reverted to the original application. I assumed the transaction had failed, and immediately re-booked. Once I had left the website I found I had two booking confirmations, with different numbers. I promptly cancelled one, and rang the Travelodge helpdesk and was assured they would pass on my concern.
I later received an email saying that under its terms and conditions – which applied once the confirmation number was created – my “saver” rate booking was non-refundable.
The amounts concerned are relatively small, but the total lack of understanding does nothing to invite future enthusiasm for this brand, and I am surprised they accepted and confirmed a booking before Visa confirmation.
I think Travelodge could have handled this so much better. BH, Westhorpe, Suffolk
We all know that the cheapest deals offered by these budget chains are locked into highly-restrictive cancellation terms (and all set out in lengthy terms and conditions). In your case, however, you made a genuine error in accidentally making a duplicate booking and – given that confirmation and payment were two entirely independent transactions – we agree that the hotel chain could have been more helpful.
Another option would have been to apply to your bank for “chargeback” – as the transaction was for less than £100 and erroneously duplicated. But we think Travelodge’s refusal to give you a refund was particularly unfair as, of course, the second room was still “free” for another booking, potentially for an even higher rate.
We contacted Travelodge, which put its hand up straight away and said: “On this occasion we did not provide the level of service that our customers would normally expect. Although it is an isolated incident, we take customer feedback very seriously and we are working with our teams to ensure that we get this right.” It has now contacted you directly to offer a full refund – which has been processed – and apologised. So the good news is that you can now treat yourself to breakfast the following morning.
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