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Mysterious Charges After Cruise


Selbourne
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Bit of an odd one this, but the following has happened to us after our last 3 or 4 P&O cruises and I’m interested to know if this is a widespread problem.

 

We returned from a cruise on Arcadia on Sunday. My credit card was charged with the correct on board account balance, as per my closing statement, but then a day or so later a random additional charge was made.

 

On this occasion it was £3.20 but on our last few cruises it has been even less than that. In all cases, the charge has been an error, as I religiously keep all receipts and check off against the on board account and all spend has always been shown on the closing account. We never buy anything on the last morning and we never touch anything in the mini bar throughout the entire cruise.

 

Because the amounts have always been small, I haven’t bothered to pursue them, as I have figured that the cost of the call would be as much or more than the erroneous charge, but this is now happening like clockwork and, if this is happening to lots of other passengers, this is resulting in a tidy sum of money for P&O (or the staff member, if it is a fraud).

 

Has anyone else experienced this?

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Bit of an odd one this, but the following has happened to us after our last 3 or 4 P&O cruises and I’m interested to know if this is a widespread problem.

 

We returned from a cruise on Arcadia on Sunday. My credit card was charged with the correct on board account balance, as per my closing statement, but then a day or so later a random additional charge was made.

 

On this occasion it was £3.20 but on our last few cruises it has been even less than that. In all cases, the charge has been an error, as I religiously keep all receipts and check off against the on board account and all spend has always been shown on the closing account. We never buy anything on the last morning and we never touch anything in the mini bar throughout the entire cruise.

 

Because the amounts have always been small, I haven’t bothered to pursue them, as I have figured that the cost of the call would be as much or more than the erroneous charge, but this is now happening like clockwork and, if this is happening to lots of other passengers, this is resulting in a tidy sum of money for P&O (or the staff member, if it is a fraud).

 

Has anyone else experienced this?

I experienced this once, when I called them to question the payment they said it was relating to a missing item from the mini bar. Obviously I stood my ground and had the sum credited.

During one cruise we also had a few mini bar items added to the on-board account - obviously when having a drinks package we hadn't taken from the MB and was always sorted out immediately.

Asking the room attendant to clear out the bar on the first day is always the best thing to do.

Maureen x

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Forums mobile app

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I experienced this once, when I called them to question the payment they said it was relating to a missing item from the mini bar. Obviously I stood my ground and had the sum credited.

During one cruise we also had a few mini bar items added to the on-board account - obviously when having a drinks package we hadn't taken from the MB and was always sorted out immediately.

Asking the room attendant to clear out the bar on the first day is always the best thing to do.

Maureen x

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Forums mobile app

 

Hmmm. I did wonder about the mini bar as that would be the most logical explanation BUT, as I stated, we never use anything from it. I might have to stop tipping cabin Stewards so generously if they are going to keep charging us for things we haven’t used!

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We had an extra £3 or £4 charged to us a few days after returning home and checked our receipts and it turned out to be a hand written receipt by the steward for water we had asked for. The total was correct as it's always been. We always ask for the minibar stock to be removed.

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We had an extra £3 or £4 charged to us a few days after returning home and checked our receipts and it turned out to be a hand written receipt by the steward for water we had asked for. The total was correct as it's always been. We always ask for the minibar stock to be removed.

 

I’m talking about charges for things that people haven’t had. We have asked for mini bar items to be removed before but the steward has just stored them within the cabin (in a box under the bed) yet we have still had these small charges after we have returned.

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Bit of an odd one this, but the following has happened to us after our last 3 or 4 P&O cruises and I’m interested to know if this is a widespread problem.

 

We returned from a cruise on Arcadia on Sunday. My credit card was charged with the correct on board account balance, as per my closing statement, but then a day or so later a random additional charge was made.

 

On this occasion it was £3.20 but on our last few cruises it has been even less than that. In all cases, the charge has been an error, as I religiously keep all receipts and check off against the on board account and all spend has always been shown on the closing account. We never buy anything on the last morning and we never touch anything in the mini bar throughout the entire cruise.

 

Because the amounts have always been small, I haven’t bothered to pursue them, as I have figured that the cost of the call would be as much or more than the erroneous charge, but this is now happening like clockwork and, if this is happening to lots of other passengers, this is resulting in a tidy sum of money for P&O (or the staff member, if it is a fraud).

 

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

Hi....yes I have....on our last cruise in April.

 

As you say a very small amount...possibly £3 ish. Our final statement before disembarking was all correct. A day or so later this " extra" charge appeared on my credit card. Now I know it is a very small amount but I phoned P&O....on a free phone number"...to query it. They immediately accepted " the mistake" and added extra OBC on an up and coming cruise. But it does make you wonder if it is happening frequently how much is being added to P&O's coffers.

 

Until everyone brings it to their attention....and a a lot won't because it is such a small amount....they may not be aware of the problem or they do know about the extra charge and are choosing to ignore it because it is to their advantage.

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I, too, had this small amount added a few days after my return. I put it down to an erroneous charge for mini-bar items. I didn't question it with P&O because it was such a small amount I never used any items from the mini-bar and had asked the steward to remove the items - however, he only removed then from the fridge and not the cabin. I intend to insist on them being removed form the cabin on my next cruise in September.

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According to other cruise chat websites it seems to be quite a common problem and when P and O have been contacted they have said something has been used from the minibar.They nearly always refund the charges and although it might not seem worth it for the small amount,perhaps if everyone contacted them about it they might do something to ensure it didn t keep happening! There is a freephone number 08000523840

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Clearly I am not alone!

 

Interesting update. I have just called P&O and spoken to a very helpful young lady who, much to my surprise, admitted that this happens 'very regularly' and that it is always for 'cabin services' (i.e. mini bar) and the passengers are (like me) always adamant that they do not touch the mini-bar, so they always refund them. They have assured me that it is nothing 'sinister' (i.e. fraud) but how they can be entirely sure, when it happens with such regularity, I do not know. Incidentally, and much to my surprise, they freely admitted all of this, even though I told them that I had posted the question on Cruise Critic and others were reporting the same problem!

 

Many thanks janny444 for sharing that additional OBC was added to their next cruise when they complained. I mentioned this to the young lady who has kindly done the same thing, in addition to processing the refund.

 

Assuming that this isn't some sort of con and a genuine error, I think I shall make the point of stressing to all our future cabin stewards (as I hand them their tip) that we never touch the mini bar and therefore don't expect to see any charges.

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Hi Selbourne....glad to hear that you have had a satisfactory outcome to this problem.

 

Not quite sure about the response from P&O....they know it happens " very regularly" and that it is mini bar connected....do they not wonder why it is happening? Are they happy to leave it as the "status quo" and be acceptable of the extra income they are getting because of their customers not querying the extra charge. The very fact that it appears to be the same small amount £3.20 seems rather odd if they are putting it down to mini bar charges....everyone choosing the same item in P&O's mind....are they really....exactly the same price!!!....mmmm.

 

On arrival into our cabin upon meeting our steward for the first time we always request the fridge to be cleared....surely at the start of the cruise that must go back and be accounted for....the £3.20 charge doesn't go onto our account then. Not until you have disembarked and been home a day or so does the charge go onto your credit card.

 

If this happens with 50% of the cabins then the £3.20 charge each cruise could mount up to a considerable amount at the end of the year.

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Think everyone should be checking card statements very thoroughly after this. If they took £3.20 from every cabin on Ventura (app. 1400) on the remaining sailings (21) this year it would amount to quite a pretty penny - £94,040... gets you thinking. X

 

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Hi....exactly my point in my earlier posts....a lot of people will not bother about the very small amount and just accept it but when added together...mmmm....

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Hi....exactly my point in my earlier posts....a lot of people will not bother about the very small amount and just accept it but when added together...mmmm....

 

Which is what we have always been guilty of. As I said, this has happened on all of our last 3 or 4 cruises. Perhaps if everyone did call them and, as well as getting the refund, requested some OBC for their inconvenience, P&O would then have the incentive that they need to get this problem resolved?

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Hi Selbourne....

 

This happened to us on Oriana last year, so this time (on Arcadia in June) I took a photo of the mini bar as soon as we went in the room. We generally don't use the mini bar, but like to keep it as an option. Interestingly there were 2 bottles of Peroni missing right from the start.

 

On our last evening, 2 bottles of Peroni appeared in the mini bar. I mentioned this to our cabin steward and she confirmed that she had restocked it and put them there and also confirmed that there had been no Peroni in there for the whole of my cruise - and importantly for me, that she knew that we had not taken them. I explained to her what sometimes happened.

 

Have now been back for 4 weeks and all good.Nothing has appeared on the account.

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This thread has left me a little concerned. I only had my final statement up to two days before we left the ship on 1st. July. Is there any way I can now access my final account to check if it was correct?

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Previously I have e mailed P and O to suggest it might help if you were able to opt in or out of having a stocked mini bar on arrival on your cruise personaliser.It would help the cabin steward who wouldn t have to keep removing everything on one cruise to put it back on the next and hopefully people wouldn t be charged for items if they had clearly opted out.Perhaps if everyone who is overcharged contacts them and as someone else has recommed asks for a refund and OBC they might do something about it!

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This thread has left me a little concerned. I only had my final statement up to two days before we left the ship on 1st. July. Is there any way I can now access my final account to check if it was correct?

 

Hi....not sure if you can but the point is that this extra charge doesn't go onto your final statement anyway....it went straight onto my credit card a day or so after we arrived home so you can check your credit card statement carefully to see if this " added extra" has been put on

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Hi....not sure if you can but the point is that this extra charge doesn't go onto your final statement anyway....it went straight onto my credit card a day or so after we arrived home so you can check your credit card statement carefully to see if this " added extra" has been put on

 

I have only sailed on Celebrity but they lock the mini bar on the last night so you can't take anything even if you wanted to. Do P&O do this? Celebrity also allow you to keep track of your account on the interactive TV.

 

As I said, I've not sailed P&O (yet) but I'll be sure to bear this in mind.

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I have only sailed on Celebrity but they lock the mini bar on the last night so you can't take anything even if you wanted to. Do P&O do this? Celebrity also allow you to keep track of your account on the interactive TV.

 

As I said, I've not sailed P&O (yet) but I'll be sure to bear this in mind.

 

Hi....there is no need to lock ours as I get the steward to empty it as soon as board the ship on day one so we can't possibly have used anything.

 

P&O don't lock the mini bars on last night

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Very interesting! We have done many cruises over the last few years with multiple cruises lines, but this has only happened to me once........ on my only P&O cruise in April on Azura.

 

We had two small amounts charged after we checked out, just less than £3 for the ‘mini bar’ and £7 odd, which was a total puzzle. I took it up with them and they said my husband had spent this in the Spa. If they knew him they would know what a joke this was - toiletries from Lidl and supermarket own-brand shower gel 😄! We had never set foot in the Spa. Eventually they agreed to send me a cheque for the amounts.

 

What is going on at P&O that this is such a common occurrence? I didn’t want this hassle after a nice cruise.

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Seems like a good money spinner for P&O, on Celebrity you can check your bill on the tv, I don’t think this is the case on P&O?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

You can check your account on the TV on Ventura and Azura (but not Britannia for some odd reason) BUT that doesn’t resolve the problem being discussed on this thread. The issue isn’t the on board account (which I have always found to be correct), but spurious charges that are made to your credit card a few days after your cruise.

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Same thing happened to me a few weeks ago.

I was billed £3.50. Called to query and was told that this was 'cabin services'

I did not touch the minibar, disputed this amount and they did refund it easily enough.

 

At the start of the cruise, I did notice however that there were some items detailed on the mini bar price list but missing from the fridge....chocolate if I remember correctly.

It makes me wonder if the cabin steward did not accurately keep a record of the contents and that we were charged for these missing items.

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