Royal owes me $1K..says it's issued back to CC but it's not

[abisha]

I am not really sure what to do. I cancelled my cruise (before final payment) and due back to my card $1K for my despot (booked 2 cabins). I cancelled two months ago. After a week of not seeing my refund hit my card, I called Royal, they said the refund was rejected (they tried 3 times). I realized it was a card that no longer exists as the bank switched to a different type of card and issued me a new one. They said refunds should still hit the new card #.

 

Anyway, Royal said they would return it in form of a check. After waiting a few weeks, no check came. I called Royal again. I was told they saw no evidence of a check to be sent. They escalated to a different department. That person researched it and emailed me stating refunds are showing successful on their end. What they were actually seeing were the refunds giving me back my final payment (which I used a different card for). I am still out the $1K deposit, so I called again and spoke to a supervisor. She said she needed to get me the actual transaction #s but might take a week. A week goes by...no phone call as promised to me, so I called and asked to speak w/her. She wasn't in, but rep saw notes stating they couldn't provide transactions codes but refund went through.

 

Ok, really? they are telling me refund went through but have no proof of it or anything in their system that I can use to work with my credit card company.

 

I told her that was unacceptable and that I have absolutely nothing to go by but their word? I asked why wasn't someone from Royal contacting my card company to find out why it's not showing up.

 

I am at witt's end. I'm opened to suggestions from my fellow cruise critic community. Should I escalate to corporate and if so, to whom? Might open a case with Better Business Bureau.

 

 

 

thanks

[Merion_Mom]

Contact Laly at

 

ayera-rodriguez@rccl.com

[abisha]

Contact Laly at

 

ayera-rodriguez@rccl.com

 

Thanks but who is she? What department is she in?

[JoyMouse]

How frustrating. Have you spoken to your bank to see if they are seeing any transactions on their side?

 

 

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[hapster85]

For $1000 I'd escalate it as far as it takes to get results. After two months, my patience would be long gone.

[Kmcspoon]

I am not really sure what to do. I cancelled my cruise (before final payment) and due back to my card $1K for my despot (booked 2 cabins). I cancelled two months ago. After a week of not seeing my refund hit my card, I called Royal, they said the refund was rejected (they tried 3 times). I realized it was a card that no longer exists as the bank switched to a different type of card and issued me a new one. They said refunds should still hit the new card #.

 

Anyway, Royal said they would return it in form of a check. After waiting a few weeks, no check came. I called Royal again. I was told they saw no evidence of a check to be sent. They escalated to a different department. That person researched it and emailed me stating refunds are showing successful on their end. What they were actually seeing were the refunds giving me back my final payment (which I used a different card for). I am still out the $1K deposit, so I called again and spoke to a supervisor. She said she needed to get me the actual transaction #s but might take a week. A week goes by...no phone call as promised to me, so I called and asked to speak w/her. She wasn't in, but rep saw notes stating they couldn't provide transactions codes but refund went through.

 

Ok, really? they are telling me refund went through but have no proof of it or anything in their system that I can use to work with my credit card company.

 

I told her that was unacceptable and that I have absolutely nothing to go by but their word? I asked why wasn't someone from Royal contacting my card company to find out why it's not showing up.

 

I am at witt's end. I'm opened to suggestions from my fellow cruise critic community. Should I escalate to corporate and if so, to whom? Might open a case with Better Business Bureau

 

 

 

thanks

 

I had a cruise canceled right before sailing. The cruise line refunded the money to a credit card that we had closed a month or so earlier. The bank that issued the credit card sent a check to us since we no longer used their credit services. However, it did take awhile to get the check.

 

I'd try again with the credit card company. I am sorry you have to go through this.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Kmcspoon

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks but who is she? What department is she in?

 

She is a top-level "fixer".

[amscene1]

A good lesson to be had here. Never use a credit card that will expire before your cruise.

 

All merchant can not refund money on to a card that was not used for an original transaction.

 

 

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[Half Pint]

A good lesson to be had here. Never use a credit card that will expire before your cruise.

 

All merchant can not refund money on to a card that was not used for an original transaction.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

The card wasn't expired. They were issued a new card by the bank. New credit and debit cards are issued all the time for different reasons (theft, etc).

[abisha]

How frustrating. Have you spoken to your bank to see if they are seeing any transactions on their side?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

yes..multiple phone calls, and they are seeing nothing and keep telling me it's on Royal's end. Royal keeps telling me to contact credit card company as the money is sitting there on their end ... it's a vicious circle, and I've made one call too many with Royal.

[abisha]

For $1000 I'd escalate it as far as it takes to get results. After two months, my patience would be long gone.

 

My patience is long gone too at this point. It's Royal responsibility to find out why it's not showing up. My credit card company cannot do anything as they cannot find anywhere where this money is sitting, and I have nothing to tell them other than "Royal Caribbean said they refunded the money". Royal needs to either produce proof, or work with the credit card company to find out where the issue lies, or refund me the $1K in form of a check. But neither is happening.

[Langley Cruisers]

Contact Laly at ayera-rodriguez@rccl.com

 

She is a top-level "fixer".

 

OP, did you do this yet? Merion_Mom knows the right people to get the job done. I assume you will e-mail Laly ASAP, if not already. :)

.

[leisuretraveler223]

A good lesson to be had here. Never use a credit card that will expire before your cruise.

 

Ridiculous! Credit cards get reissued all the time for a myriad of reasons.

 

If RCI claims they issued the refund, I'd take it up with the credit card company.

[abisha]

The card wasn't expired. They were issued a new card by the bank. New credit and debit cards are issued all the time for different reasons (theft, etc).

 

correct...this card was cancelled by the credit card company. It was a Walmart credit card through Discover. I booked the cruise 2 years ago when Royal ran their BOGO sale at low prices and I jumped in on it. About a year later, Walmart sent me a notice stating they are no longer using Discover and switched to MasterCard and sent me a new Mastercard and new account#. So, when I cancelled the cruise this past Feb, I told Royal just that, but they insisted they had to credit funds back to same card that was used. I called Walmart/Mastercard and they said that shouldn't be an issue cuz the refund will still be re-routed to the new card #. They have researched to see if that has happened and they are not seeing a darn thing from Royal.

 

Royal did say at first it got rejected more than once and was supposed to issue a check but they never did cuz they changed their tune saying the funds got issued back to the card...again, a vicious circle.

[abisha]

OP, did you do this yet? Merion_Mom knows the right people to get the job done. I assume you will e-mail Laly ASAP, if not already. :)

.

 

I'm going to do this today and will post back how I made out.

[Kmcspoon]

correct...this card was cancelled by the credit card company. It was a Walmart credit card through Discover. I booked the cruise 2 years ago when Royal ran their BOGO sale at low prices and I jumped in on it. About a year later, Walmart sent me a notice stating they are no longer using Discover and switched to MasterCard and sent me a new Mastercard and new account#. So, when I cancelled the cruise this past Feb, I told Royal just that, but they insisted they had to credit funds back to same card that was used. I called Walmart/Mastercard and they said that shouldn't be an issue cuz the refund will still be re-routed to the new card #. They have researched to see if that has happened and they are not seeing a darn thing from Royal.

 

Royal did say at first it got rejected more than once and was supposed to issue a check but they never did cuz they changed their tune saying the funds got issued back to the card...again, a vicious circle.

 

I wouldn't chime in again, but this is so similar to my experience, I thought I'd try. I was at your frustration point when the cruise line kept telling me they refunded to the original card.

 

In your case, this would be the Discover bank that Walmart used before they switched to MasterCard.

 

If you have your old Discover credit card or account number, you may want to call Discover and see if they have received the funds. Even if you DO NOT have the account anymore, they can still receive funds on your behalf and refund you with a check.

 

I argued with the cruise line for awhile, because I thought they couldn't refund to an account that had been closed, but apparently they can.

 

Just trying to be of help, as obviously your situation is a different cruise line and a different sailing.

[angelhelly]

I had the same issue with a deposit on a cruise. Was not 1k, but still, I wanted my money! I put the deposit on a card 2 1/2 year ago, and that card by then was closed.

 

After 4 months waiting (!!!!), my TA finally got hold of someone that could help me since the paper check was just not getting there... I was told that they had to write the check manually and that was why it took so much time.

 

We had a cruise during that time, and they refunded me the money on the credit card I used for incidentals on that cruise, since it was on file. But yeah, what a pain!

[dedosr]

What you have to do is contact the issuing bank for your credit card. This has happened to me in the past that a credit was issued to a card that had been replaced. It does go to the account, but does not automatically go to the new card number. When you talk to the customer service representative at the bank explain that a credit was issued to your previous card and you want the credit transferred to your new card. They will fill out a form, and it usually takes five business days or so but then the credit should appear on your new credit card account.

The last time this happened to me with a cruise line, it was for the purchase of a future cruise credit. I had to let that future cruise credit expire. The cruise line issued a refund to the card it was charged on. After I called the bank they transferred the credit to the new card. Although the bank says it it is an automatic transfer, I found in my experiences I had to call the bank and request the credit be transferred from the old card to the new card.

[Peeker28]

OP please report back once you send your email

[Paul65]

My patience is long gone too at this point. It's Royal responsibility to find out why it's not showing up. My credit card company cannot do anything as they cannot find anywhere where this money is sitting, and I have nothing to tell them other than "Royal Caribbean said they refunded the money". Royal needs to either produce proof, or work with the credit card company to find out where the issue lies, or refund me the $1K in form of a check. But neither is happening.

 

Not necessarily. It could be their issue, but from what you've posted so far, I'm suspecting it's an issue with the refund getting from Discover, who owned your old credit card account, to whatever bank is holding the current MasterCard.

 

Royal should be able to produce some sort of transaction code for you, though.

[Guest maddycat]

Below is the RCI contact person that Merion-Mom mentioned.

 

Aurora "Laly" Yera-Rodriguez

Director of Guest Relations

ayera-rodriguez@rccl.com

[abisha]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I am first going to call Discover (the Walmart credit card I used was through discover). Unfortunately, I no longer have that card as I cut it up back then. I only have the last four digits. I called Walmart credit card customer service and they wouldn't disclose the full credit card number to me...even though I verified everything on my account proving I am who I am :( :confused:. They said they would issue a statement to me by mail and takes 7 - 10 business days...ugh :mad:

 

Once again, as soon as I inquire, I'll report back. I may still try to work with Laly in the meantime.

[abisha]

Hi..I just wanted to report back. I have emailed Laly (ayera_rodriguez@rccl.com) but have not heard back. This was last Thursday, so I will give it another day or 2 just in case due to the weekend.

 

In response to everyone advising to contact my credit card company and telling them that this was supposed to be refunded to my prior card that no longer exists, etc. Yes, I've done that multiple times. They know the whole story. they see nothing coming back to that old card #. I have had supervisors there do research, but they are seeing nothing coming through. They need some type of transaction codes or identifying info, but Royal won't give that to me. Royal isn't giving me any type of proof. Only them saying that they've issued the refund and to work it out with credit card company. I have nothing to go by to give the card company.

 

Will report back if I hear from Laly.

[abisha]

I do have a "small" update....

 

A manager at my credit card company confirms my account does not show any attempts of any refunds on the dates Royal states they made them. He is filing a letter of "dispute of refunds being received". I should have that in about 3 or 4 days.

 

Laly at Royal never responded, but instead someone else in the Corporate office of guest relations. His name is Nelson. He was very nice and was able to provide info on the amounts and dates the refunds were sent through. I told him about the letter I am going to receive since those refunds do not show up on my account...anywhere. He said to send the letter directly to him once I have it.

 

The manager at my credit card company said they will do whatever they can to work with Royal to get that money back onto my card.

 

So that's really all I have for now. I will continue to send updates.

[Peeker28]

Sounds like you are making some progress. What a huge project this has become for you!