Unable to get satisfaction or anything from Customer Relations

[trtog7]

I guess I will finally have to give up on the refund from Holland America and let them win and keep my $29.99

I cruised with them in August and my husband got Covid. In order to make arrangements for going home the head of Guest Relations on the boat said he would give me WIFI for free. All I had to do was pay for it and he would reimburse me. Made 2 calls while on the boat but they never took it off my account.

Since coming home have made multiple calls and spent multiple hours on hold.

Finally got a case number Sept 21.

Then to make matters worse, my crediThis is  card was compromised and I had to get a new one. Called to give them n the new number but told no they would send a check. Today found out I needed to fill out a form to get check. They were supposed to send me an email but has not come.

Another time was told they only needed last 4 numbers of new credit card to send me credit. Also found out today it was sent to my old credit card.

This is my horror story

 

[Andi Land]

If it was sent to the old card you should be able to call the credit card issuer and have them send you a check for the credit. I’ve had to do that before. 

[tupper10]

If Holland sent the credit to the card on file you need to call your credit card company not Holland America.  This happens all the time, your CC company should have forwarded the refund to your new card number.  

[consmarci]

You can dispute the charge and let credit card company help.

[Crazy For Cats]

@trtog7 I’ve had credit cards that have been compromised with HAL charges.  When refunds came HAL used the old number and the bank applied the credit to my account.  It might take an extra day or two depending on your bank.

[VacationCharlene]

This is my horror story....SERIOUSLY?   All over $29?  Sometimes it isnt worth your time and effort and madness.  Move on and chock it up to experience.  Hope your cruise was decent 🙂

[KAKcruiser]

Sometimes it's the principle of the thing.  And, there is a certain satisfaction in getting things resolved.  I would call the old credit card company.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

Sometimes it's the principle of the thing.  And, there is a certain satisfaction in getting things resolved.  I would call the old credit card company.

It's probably the same credit card company just issuing a card with a new number after the original was compromised, so contact them should be uncomplicated. Fixing it by them if it was sent to the original card number should be easy.

[trtog7]

First of all, thank you for the information about contacting credit card company. You learn something every day.

I just now talked to the card company.

No refund has been applied for that amount to either the old card or new catd.

Why do these people lie???

[ontheweb]

26 minutes ago, trtog7 said:

First of all, thank you for the information about contacting credit card company. You learn something every day.

I just now talked to the card company.

No refund has been applied for that amount to either the old card or new catd.

Why do these people lie???

Why do they lie???---probably they figure it's the easiest way to get you off the phone. Now you should start a dispute about the charge with your credit card company. They are usually pretty good about those. Good luck, and I agree with you that it is about a principle, even if the amount seems trivial to some.

[BobbiSox]

Sorry you have to deal with this. My experience of almost three decades of dealing with HAL is this: they lie. And I don't think they care if they lose one disgruntled customer; there are millions of others. I have been lied to, sometimes starting with the booking, and in general,  lies continue going all the way through to the disembark. It is my observatio that HAL employees are not allowed to say "I don't know", so they make something up. Sometimes they fib, and sometimes they  tell whoppers. I have learned to let the little things slide, but like you, I always want the thing resolved. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, right?  

[BubbeCruises]

Definitely dispute the charge with your credit card.  In my experience, they will credit you for the charge and fight it out with HAL.  And in my experience, the credit card company always wins.

It may only be $29.99 but that's not the point.  I would dispute it if it were $1 🙂

Also, it's very disheartening to hear that HAL is not just doing the right thing here.  After all, it's only $29.99.  They should immediately credit you the amount for such a small amount. Customer relations are so important in this industry.

[trtog7]

Problem is it was only one item on a larger bill. Credit card does not have the information of all the items on the bil. I call Media relations yesterday and left a message. Got a call back today so will leave it for a fe.w days and see if that does anything

[StLouisCruisers]

You can dispute only that portion of the charge that pertains to your dissatisfaction, the WiFi bill.  Just explain that the rest of the charges were fine, but this one charge was incorrect and why.

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 1/16/2023 at 12:55 PM, trtog7 said:

I guess I will finally have to give up on the refund from Holland America and let them win and keep my $29.99

I cruised with them in August and my husband got Covid. In order to make arrangements for going home the head of Guest Relations on the boat said he would give me WIFI for free. All I had to do was pay for it and he would reimburse me. Made 2 calls while on the boat but they never took it off my account.

Since coming home have made multiple calls and spent multiple hours on hold.

Finally got a case number Sept 21.

Then to make matters worse, my crediThis is  card was compromised and I had to get a new one. Called to give them n the new number but told no they would send a check. Today found out I needed to fill out a form to get check. They were supposed to send me an email but has not come.

Another time was told they only needed last 4 numbers of new credit card to send me credit. Also found out today it was sent to my old credit card.

This is my horror story

 

Agree with others.  $29.99 is not a horror story.  Understand the principle of the thing statement, but at some point not worth it.

Then the issue seems to be over you cancelling your card when freezing new charges would have done the job.  Your bank will transfer any credits to your new account after a statement cycle.  So about 30-45 days.

Relax.

[StLouisCruisers]

47 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Agree with others.  $29.99 is not a horror story.  Understand the principle of the thing statement, but at some point not worth it.

Then the issue seems to be over you cancelling your card when freezing new charges would have done the job.  Your bank will transfer any credits to your new account after a statement cycle.  So about 30-45 days.

Relax.

 

Perhaps you didn't read this part.  His credit card was compromised so they had to send him a new card.  He didn't just go cancelling his credit card for no reason.  I'm sure this must have happened to you at some point in time.  

[Oceansaway17]

11 hours ago, trtog7 said:

First of all, thank you for the information about contacting credit card company. You learn something every day.

I just now talked to the card company.

No refund has been applied for that amount to either the old card or new catd.

Why do these people lie???

I feel your pain and I have my issues as well in deposits and changes and vac protection.

i am walking away from HAL.  

[billbunger]

 

Oceansawsy17 said:

 

I feel your pain and I have my issues as well in deposits and changes and vac protection.

i am walking away from HAL.

👋

👋

 

 

[Boatdrill]

To the OP, I understand your frustration with HAL's "customer service" department. 

I've sent three emails since November to Guest Relations regarding a Cancellation Protection Plan reimbursement. The insurance company is requiring a specific document that can come only from HAL. 

 

For each request for assistance email I sent to Guest Relations, I received an email confirming they had received my email,  with a confirmation of receipt number.  And there it stays. No further response, no follow up, and certainly no requested document that's required for a $1000 reimbursement. 

 

I passed this on to a corporate manager with ties to HAL. She got a response from them right away: 'Please send a copy of the original request and the confirmation of receipt email".  We sent them, as asked, in mid December. Since then, no further communication from HAL. 

 

Their silence is deafening, yet speaks volumes about how they view their customers. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Boatdrill

[CruiserBruce]

On 1/16/2023 at 12:37 PM, Crazy For Cats said:

@trtog7 I’ve had credit cards that have been compromised with HAL charges.  When refunds came HAL used the old number and the bank applied the credit to my account.  It might take an extra day or two depending on your bank.

Curious how you know a credit card has been compromised due to HAL charges?

[Hobcat]

5 hours ago, trtog7 said:

Problem is it was only one item on a larger bill. Credit card does not have the information of all the items on the bil. I call Media relations yesterday and left a message. Got a call back today so will leave it for a fe.w days and see if that does anything

How long ago did you talk to HAL about the refund?  We had a similar situation with a credit back to a previous credit card, it may take several weeks for the credit to show up on your new card.  However, in our case it did show up.   Keep in mind that refund will have to be processed through HAL's accounting dept.  

[barbierahrah]

WOW!  I’ve never been on Holland before but have booked a cruise for August.  So far, all lies!!!  I cannot access my flight info for the last 10 days (they says there’s a schedule change), but it doesn’t take ten days for that!  I call and call, they put me on hold, hope I’ll hang up and then they cut me off.  They obviously have my phone # and email, but don’t contact me.   Obviously I’m not paying another cent til this is resolved.  Can’t find any way to contact them and complain.  Any ideas???

[Crazy For Cats]

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Curious how you know a credit card has been compromised due to HAL charges?

The card wasn’t compromised but HAL charges.  A card that I used for HAl was compromised and the refunds from HAL used the compromised card number and the credits were applied to the replacement card with no action needed by me.

[trtog7]

9 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Curious how you know a credit card has been compromised due to HAL charges?

Cancelled credit card had nothing to do with HAL

[trtog7]

6 hours ago, Hobcat said:

How long ago did you talk to HAL about the refund?  We had a similar situation with a credit back to a previous credit card, it may take several weeks for the credit to show up on your new card.  However, in our case it did show up.   Keep in mind that refund will have to be processed through HAL's accounting dept.  

Been attempting to contact HAL about every 2 to 3 weeks