Venting :(

[cfr70]

So my tug of war with Carnival rages on regarding the Faster to the Fun I purchased that's not showing up on my sailing. I'm truly going bonkers over this and ready to pull my hair out....or my PVP's.

After supplying Carnival with a screen image of my bank statement showing the $59.95 FTTF charge debited from my account in July, plus the e mail confirmation of my purchase forwarded to them for proof, along with my debit card numbers as well.....after reviewing ALL that 100% solid absolute proof of my FTTF purchase, what do they say?

 

"Accounting still cannot find that charge anywhere in Carnival's system. After further review, we will agree to comp you FTTF while on board the ship as a courtesy."

WHAT?!....You want to COMP me something I already PAID for as a "courtesy" to me?! And getting it while on board negates the whole reason for buying it in the first place....early boarding and cabin access.

My God, am I being unreasonable for feeling completely insulted by Carnival?! This is their error yet they're condescendingly telling me "we'll give FTTF to you anyway while you're on the ship even though we don't believe you actually bought it." I'm truly disgusted right now and my PVP doesn't seem to care either. Vent over. (I feel a tiny bit better.)

[bingomamma19]

So my tug of war with Carnival rages on regarding the Faster to the Fun I purchased that's not showing up on my sailing. I'm truly going bonkers over this and ready to pull my hair out....or my PVP's.

After supplying Carnival with a screen image of my bank statement showing the $59.95 FTTF charge debited from my account in July, plus the e mail confirmation of my purchase forwarded to them for proof, along with my debit card numbers as well.....after reviewing ALL that 100% solid absolute proof of my FTTF purchase, what do they say?

 

"Accounting still cannot find that charge anywhere in Carnival's system. After further review, we will agree to comp you FTTF while on board the ship as a courtesy."

WHAT?!....You want to COMP me something I already PAID for as a "courtesy" to me?! And getting it while on board negates the whole reason for buying it in the first place....early boarding and cabin access.

My God, am I being unreasonable for feeling completely insulted by Carnival?! This is their error yet they're condescendingly telling me "we'll give FTTF to you anyway while you're on the ship even though we don't believe you actually bought it." I'm truly disgusted right now and my PVP doesn't seem to care either. Vent over. (I feel a tiny bit better.)

 

That is truly bizarre....I would dispute it with your credit card company then. Might as well get your money back since they are going to "comp" it.

[cfr70]

That is truly bizarre....I would dispute it with your credit card company then. Might as well get your money back since they are going to "comp" it.

 

I didn't think of that. Can you still dispute a debit charge? It was made with Chase Visa debit.

[mdsgu]

I didn't think of that. Can you still dispute a debit charge? It was made with Chase Visa debit.

 

Yes, absolutely. Although, if the charge is from July.........I don't know how long they give you to open a dispute.

[hapytobehr]

I didn't think of that. Can you still dispute a debit charge? It was made with Chase Visa debit.

 

Yes..you can dispute a charge made on your debit card. Just tell the bank you did not receive the service.

[cfr70]

Yes, absolutely. Although, if the charge is from July.........I don't know how long they give you to open a dispute.

 

 

Thanks. I'll contact the bank and find out. Still can't believe Carnival is treating me this way. They either truly believe i'm trying to put one over on them for free FTTF or refuse to admit they have absolutely no idea where my $59.95 went on their end. Disgusting.

[cfr70]

Yes..you can dispute a charge made on your debit card. Just tell the bank you did not receive the service.

 

 

Thanks. I'm visiting my bank first thing in the morning.

[winddawn]

Be aware disputing a debit charge is very different from disputing a credit charge. You might want to google it to educate yourself before you proceed. Credit charges have far more legal protections than debit charges do, and that is a good reason to use a credit card instead of a debit card for anything other than everyday close-to-home purchases.

 

I hope you get this straightened out to your satisfaction.

[joepeka]

Just a thought: if they are comping you FTTF, maybe that will happen such that it will appear on your boarding pass and luggage tags prior to embarkation. If so, you can use it for early check-in and cabin access. I'm thinking maybe their "comping your FTTF while on board" was kind of a loose statement and it may be on your booking prior. Something to check out I suppose. ;)

 

I realize they aren't "comping" you FTTF since you did pay for it and agree that will all the documentation your provided, their response was kind of tacky.

[jessMN74]

We just went through a similar nightmare with carnival a few months ago! We were charged twice for the FTTF. Carnival kept saying they were not seeing the double charge on there end. We sent them bank statements clearly showing the double charge. It took forever to get it taken care of. Finally after talking to the accounting department again they credited us the money. The next day I was looking at our Carnival account and here they canceled our the FTTF as well as refunding us the money in our bank. So yes we got all the money back but of course there was no more FTTF available and there was nothing Carnival could do about it. It was frustrating because we didn't do anything wrong, it was a error on there end but yet we were out the FTTF now too. We are over it, doesn't do anything dwelling on something we can't change. Now our focus is going on our cruise!

 

Sorry for all the trouble you are dealing with as well. Hope they figure it all out soon!

[cfr70]

Just a thought: if they are comping you FTTF, maybe that will happen such that it will appear on your boarding pass and luggage tags prior to embarkation. If so, you can use it for early check-in and cabin access. I'm thinking maybe their "comping your FTTF while on board" was kind of a loose statement and it may be on your booking prior. Something to check out I suppose. ;)

 

I realize they aren't "comping" you FTTF since you did pay for it and agree that will all the documentation your provided, their response was kind of tacky.

 

Actually, the whole thing that started this was because my Boarding Pass and luggage tags were never updated. Only after I read here that they should show on those things, did I look and contact Carnival to question it.

FTTF DOES show in my booking under the "My Activities" tab. So it's there in part. Just not on the tags and boarding pass.

Even Carnival sees it yet STILL claims they have no record of the transaction of my purchasing it. It's already been a month of me requesting they update my documents and only after 4 weeks of this, did I just say F it....just give me a refund because if it's not on the Boarding Pass or luggage tags on Embarkation Day, then it's worthless.

So at this point, i'm so exasperated with all the back and forth, and Carnival basically calling me a liar that i'll just try the bank tomorrow.

Hopefully Chase offers debit protections but if not, it seems a losing battle at this point. That $59.95 fell down Carnival's rabbit hole and will probably never be found...so i'll take the "comp" they so nicely offered me....but I have a very long memory and will remember this next time I want to take a cruise.

[cfr70]

We just went through a similar nightmare with carnival a few months ago! We were charged twice for the FTTF. Carnival kept saying they were not seeing the double charge on there end. We sent them bank statements clearly showing the double charge. It took forever to get it taken care of. Finally after talking to the accounting department again they credited us the money. The next day I was looking at our Carnival account and here they canceled our the FTTF as well as refunding us the money in our bank. So yes we got all the money back but of course there was no more FTTF available and there was nothing Carnival could do about it. It was frustrating because we didn't do anything wrong, it was a error on there end but yet we were out the FTTF now too. We are over it, doesn't do anything dwelling on something we can't change. Now our focus is going on our cruise!

 

I'm so sorry that happened to you....but I also have to say that your post makes me feel so much better though because i'm not the only one going through that hell LOL. Thank you for sharing because it really makes me feel better now. :)

They had the utter gall to tell me "Well FTTF is now sold out on your sailing, so we'll give it to you as a "courtesy" while on board."

It seems they will do anything BUT admit an error on their part and to me, that is extremely poor customer service. :(

[joepeka]

Actually, the whole thing that started this was because my Boarding Pass and luggage tags were never updated. Only after I read here that they should show on those things, did I look and contact Carnival to question it.

FTTF DOES show in my booking under the "My Activities" tab. So it's there in part. Just not on the tags and boarding pass.

Even Carnival sees it yet STILL claims they have no record of the transaction of my purchasing it. It's already been a month of me requesting they update my documents and only after 4 weeks of this, did I just say F it....just give me a refund because if it's not on the Boarding Pass or luggage tags on Embarkation Day, then it's worthless.

So at this point, i'm so exasperated with all the back and forth, and Carnival basically calling me a liar that i'll just try the bank tomorrow.

Hopefully Chase offers debit protections but if not, it seems a losing battle at this point. That $59.95 fell down Carnival's rabbit hole and will probably never be found...so i'll take the "comp" they so nicely offered me....but I have a very long memory and will remember this next time I want to take a cruise.

Yeah, I'm familiar with your saga and commented about it a few times in the past. I fully understand and appreciate your frustration at this point and don't blame you for feeling that way at all. However, by some miracle once the comp'd FTTF is in their system, you may see the FTTF on your docs and be able use it to it's fullest extent. If not, then attempting the credit back from your bank is the best course and take their "on-board" FTTF benefits (for what they're worth). :(

[cfr70]

Yeah, I'm familiar with your saga and commented about it a few times in the past. I fully understand and appreciate your frustration at this point and don't blame you for feeling that way at all. However, by some miracle once the comp'd FTTF is in their system, you may see the FTTF on your docs and be able use it to it's fullest extent. If not, then attempting the credit back from your bank is the best course and take their "on-board" FTTF benefits (for what they're worth). :(

 

Worst case is if I don't get my $59.95 back it's no big deal. I'll just make a point to go up to the Steakhouse and order a bunch of those $40 champagne drinks with my Cheers package. That'll show em. :D

[Pellaz]

Just a thought: if they are comping you FTTF, maybe that will happen such that it will appear on your boarding pass and luggage tags prior to embarkation. If so, you can use it for early check-in and cabin access. I'm thinking maybe their "comping your FTTF while on board" was kind of a loose statement and it may be on your booking prior. Something to check out I suppose. ;)

 

I interpreted Carnival's email to mean that -- from their standpoint -- they will be "comping" the FTTF on their books since they couldn't find where it was paid.

Thus, I'd expect the FTTF benefits to extend to early boarding and cabin readiness, etc. just as it normally would.

 

OP should bring a copy of the resolution (email) to the port for embarkation.

[cfr70]

I interpreted Carnival's email to mean that -- from their standpoint -- they will be "comping" the FTTF on their books since they couldn't find where it was paid.

Thus, I'd expect the FTTF benefits to extend to early boarding and cabin readiness, etc. just as it normally would.

 

OP should bring a copy of the resolution (email) to the port for embarkation.

 

Good idea. I printed out the email and will bring to the port. Thanks.

[kidlessatsea]

FYI, you may have used a debit card but it's a VISA debit card. So unless you entered your PIN for the transaction (which I assume you did not) you are protected under VISA as a credit charge (it just happened to come from your bank account). Hope that helps. Disputing should be easy although I do not know what the time limit is.

[cfr70]

FYI, you may have used a debit card but it's a VISA debit card. So unless you entered your PIN for the transaction (which I assume you did not) you are protected under VISA as a credit charge (it just happened to come from your bank account). Hope that helps. Disputing should be easy although I do not know what the time limit is.

 

Thanks. Yes it's a Chase Visa and is listed as "debit card transaction" on my checking account. I wasn't aware of a time limit for disputes as i've never filed one...it charged on 7/17 so that's over 2 months now.

I'll see what Chase says tomorrow. At this point, i'm too exasperated to continue fighting Carnival this and will just take the loss if Chase can't reimburse me. I want to look forward to my cruise and this is putting a negative effect on it.

Lesson learned though....pay with CREDIT card in the future just to ensure more protection from situations like this.

And another lesson learned....and this is only from MY personal experience, but I feel PVP's are worthless and I never want to deal with them again. They may be wonderful for others, but not me.

[Doggielover68]

I understand your frustration but it's not entirely the fault of customer service. Technology is not flawless and glitches can and do happen. A few months after we bought our house, our mortgage lender withdrew our mortgage payment twice "by accident" and overdrew our account. It took a month to clear it up, get the overdraft fees reversed, etc. Mistakes happen everywhere. If you have FTTF listed on your booking, take a screenshot of it and post it on the carnival FB page. They respond more quickly once you make a public post.

 

 

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[peajay84]

If you have FTTF listed on your booking, take a screenshot of it and post it on the carnival FB page. They respond more quickly once you make a public post.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Tweet on their Twitter account as well. I've found that with some companies "Tweets" get faster results for some reason.

[AnonomissX]

Usually, you have 90 days from the statement it appeared on, or from the date of transaction, to dispute a charge with your bank. (This would have been a "visa" or "mastercard" transaction...who these days processes a "PIN" transaction to a cruise line???) OP may have to call their bank ASAP to protect their rights to dispute as time may be running out. Also, once a bank disputes a charge, it seems to magically cause the merchant to find the service or item for which they billed the customer :)

Edited September 28, 2017 by AnonomissX
Because grammar and spelling count!

[cfr70]

I understand your frustration but it's not entirely the fault of customer service. Technology is not flawless and glitches can and do happen. A few months after we bought our house, our mortgage lender withdrew our mortgage payment twice "by accident" and overdrew our account. It took a month to clear it up, get the overdraft fees reversed, etc. Mistakes happen everywhere. If you have FTTF listed on your booking, take a screenshot of it and post it on the carnival FB page. They respond more quickly once you make a public post.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

You are absolutely correct that glitches are a part of our lives with all the technology and just something we have to accept. I do get that and it's really not the glitch that's irked me but how Carnival has handled it.

Not once in all the back and forth with my PVP have I been offered one apology on behalf of Carnival. Believe me, something as small as a simple apology goes a long way. At least with me it does.

And also, I brought this up to my PVP over a month ago and was continually brushed aside with "they're working on it" or "give it a couple more days".

It was only after a month of appeasement when I requested the refund that they suddenly sprang into action claiming there's no record of the transaction. If so, then WHY wasn't this relayed to me during the 4 weeks before?!

I know. It's because NOTHING was being done until I requested that refund. That's what irks me. That my queries were cast aside until I needed something that required immediate action on their part.

And even after they were provided rock solid 100% ironclad proof of the purchase, STILL refuses to acknowledge it by saying "Well, we'll still comp it for you anyway as a "courtesy" from us."

No, it's NOT a courtesy, it's something I PAID actual dollars for! That's what irks me too. They refuse to admit fault in their error. It's almost diabolical! Sorry for sounding on the edge of insanity, but this has just drove me batty.

I understand what you're saying, but this has gone far past just the "glitch". It's extrmely poor customer service. In fact, it's out right appalling.

[cfr70]

Usually, you have 90 days from the statement it appeared on, or from the date of transaction, to dispute a charge with your bank. (This would have been a "visa" or "mastercard" transaction...who these days processes a "PIN" transaction to a cruise line???) OP may have to call their bank ASAP to protect their rights to dispute as time may be running out. Also, once a bank disputes a charge, it seems to magically cause the merchant to find the service or item for which they billed the customer :)

 

Thank you. If it's 90 days, i'm still good and i'm going over to the bank first thing tomorrow. No PIN was used and it was Visa Debit, so hopefully Chase can be able to reverse it. Surely the charge couldn't have just vanished into another dimension like Carnival is claiming. It has to be somewhere.

I even checked and made sure it wasn't reversed back to my account wondering if that was possibly the case....nope, the funds were taken by Carnival....maybe a towel animal ate it. Who knows....at this point i'll believe anything.

[wap0003]

I hate when stuff like this happens. Vacation should be stress free. I had to battle for OBC after getting on board one time..... it takes away some of the fun. I hope this gets resolved before your vacation starts. I would be flipping out and emailing John Heald and anyone else I could find. Good luck.

 

 

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[cfr70]

I hate when stuff like this happens. Vacation should be stress free. I had to battle for OBC after getting on board one time..... it takes away some of the fun. I hope this gets resolved before your vacation starts. I would be flipping out and emailing John Heald and anyone else I could find. Good luck.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thank you and you're right....vacations and the planning stages are supposed to be an escape from the stress! That's why I came here to vent. Even just doing that releases lots of the built up stress caused and is good therapy so I encourage everyone else to vent! :)

After the bank visit tomorrow, i'm going to just let it go. Carnival gave their backhanded FTTF offer, as insincere as it was so i'm just going to accept it and just try to look forward to the cruise worry free. Good advice on contacting John Heald, but i'm sure he's a very busy man as it is and don't want to throw more onto his plate.

I was going to buy a 12pk of water for my stateroom and the Value internet package, but no way in heck i'm purchasing anything else from their website now for fear of this happening again. I'll just wait till i'm on board to buy anything now. Burn me once, shame on you...do it twice, shame on me!