Crisis mode- Need advise please

Old Aug 17th, 2009, 10:34 AM
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Crisis mode- Need advise please

Looking to the kindness of fellow Fodorites for advice. We are not thinking as clearly as normal at the moment.

My daughter and her boyfriend had booked a package for a September trip to Costa Rica through Priceline. They used her Discover Card to pay for the trip that included airfare and rooms at a Hilton resort. They did not purchase trip insurance.

On Friday her boyfriend suffered a severe trauma and is in ICU. He will be in the hopital for weeks at least so there is no way possible that they will be able to go on the trip. The medical bills will be enormous and they can ill-afford to lose this money at this point in time. Is there any recourse or do they need to forfeit their money?

I have offered to find out what I can so that she does not have to add this additional stress to her life right now. I was thinking that Discover Card may be our first line of inquiry.

Any help that you can offer is most appriciated.

Thank you so much.
mdwest is offline  
Old Aug 17th, 2009, 10:38 AM
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I have no experience with this, but first, real sorry to learn about this. That is tough.

I would do this, but again, no experience:
1. Call Discover
2. Call Priceline and ask for a supervisor
3. Call the hotel directly and ask for the manager
4. Call the airlien and ask for a supervisor
5. Worse case dispute the charge on the Discover card

I'd say this, feel free to say no, i'd understand but (explain severe trauma in ICU, how easy would it be to issue a refund? Stop Listen. Then ask, who in the organization would have power to do this? listen, if they say they do say, of course, you do, what would it take for you to issue a refund.

DO NOT BRING UP THE TRIP INSURANCE.
STAY CALM.

Good luck.
amandaamanda is offline  
Old Aug 17th, 2009, 10:40 AM
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I agree with the above advice, there really is no other trick or method. Call all involved and throw yourself on their mercy.

It should be possible to negotiate a credit toward future travel, because of the difficult circumstances. A complete refund seems unlikely to me.
NewbE is offline  
Old Aug 17th, 2009, 10:49 AM
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In addition to the above, I would get a hospital's note, maybe they do something certified? Good luck to the young man, and complete recovery!
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:04 AM
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What are the possibilities of reselling the trip on Craigslist or something? I am not sure if you can do this with Priceline, or any trip that involves specific reservations with names etc. but just a thought.

Deb
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:17 AM
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I have not used Priceline, but I have had to cancel a trip fairly last minute when my dad became ill with cancer. The hotel I had reserved with was understanding and let me out of my reservation. I would do the same things mentioned above - call Priceline, Discover, and the hotel and explain the circumstances. If you're a certain number of days away from your trip, they may refund your money. Sorry you guys are going through this. Most importantly, I hope her boyfriend will be okay.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:19 AM
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What are the possibilities of reselling the trip on Craigslist or something?

slim to none and the first guy left town....


Priceline may be talked into credit for future travel but that's as far as it may go. With some luck they may, just may, refund the money after doctor/hospital papers are mailed. Do not demand and be calm during your conversations. They really don't have to do anything so you're at their mercy.

I would not dispute the charge. On what grounds? Disputing charges is for the times when something was not delivered as promised, not because of other circumstances. Every time you dispute a charge, a mark goes on your credit report so you have to use it wisely. In this case, it would be very unwise.

Trip insurance is always a good idea. For some reason Europeans understand that much more than we do here in the US. In your case there is no trip insurance so it's pointless to even talk about it but for one reason only. For anybody that reads this and is considering a pre-paid, non-refundable trip, regardless of their age and health status, trip insurance may be worth it. It's usually not that expensive so at $100 or so extra you would have saved yourself a great deal of frustration and probably most of the money. Something to think about for others.

Good luck and wishing speedy recovery to the young man.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:32 AM
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A few months ago, I booked a few nights at a hotel for someone using Priceline. Within an hour or so, the person's oral surgeon said he couldn't travel. I immediately got on the phone with Priceline (an actual person) and, after either faxing a note from the dr or a phone call from the dr.'s office ( I really don't recall) they reversed the charges, less a $50 processing fee. I'd like to add that they were really nice and helpful about the whole thing.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:33 AM
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I am very sorry to hear of the boyfriend's problem, and hope he fully recovers!

Unfortunately, I don't think they have any rights, so you have no choice but to approach this the way NewbE suggests, i.e. to throw yourself on their mercy.

Disputing the Discover charge won't do you a bit of good if you're not legally entitled to cancel/get a refund. The ability to dispute a credit card charge is meant to transfer to the credit card company the "investigation" into whether a charge is appropriate or not, and if it's not, it doesn't get paid, but if it is, then it does get paid. It's not a mechanism for you to refuse to pay what you rightly owe.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:34 AM
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everyone has given you excellent advice and I would just add that if she can get a credit to PL and when her sweetheart is out of ICU and ready for travel again, they both can go on the vacation that they had planned but just a little bit later..

wishing all the best to him and his speedy recovery too!
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 11:45 AM
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Having been in a similar situation, proof from the hospital/doctors is crucial. Since the young man is not a family member, his family members will likely need to acquire this for your daughter. This documentation should then be offered to whomever you/your daughter are speaking with (Discover, Priceline, etc., etc.). Best of luck.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 12:12 PM
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Michelle beat me to it...your daughter is not likely viewed as next-of-kin by the hospital and they, by law must be very strict about this sort of thing. You will need his family's involvement to get the paperwork signed.

Here's to a complete recovery!
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 12:16 PM
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Priceline advertises that they are not at all flexible and that everything is completely non-refundable, but I've found recently that they will allow you to cancel if the situation is really dire. They do have a policy that governs this and they require rather extensive documentation. They might only give you a credit for a future trip, but I was offered a complete refund if I could provide all the required documentation (I chose not to for personal reasons, but at least it's a possibility, if a limited one).

Be nice, cry, ask for pity, ask first if they can postpone the trip. But don't be demanding, and the people at customer service are actually pretty nice if you can approach the problem in a delicate way.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 12:18 PM
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I might add that having this documentation in order straight away will help your/her case tremendously. The longer you/she wait, the more difficult it will become to recoup any losses.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 01:01 PM
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Thank you all so much for your encouraging words.

I will get all of the necessary information together and then get on the phone to see what we can work out. This issue is certainly not on the top of their list of priorities but it is about the only thing I can do right now to help out.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 08:33 PM
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Be sure to come back here to let us know how it turns out. Good luck to you.
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Old Aug 17th, 2009, 09:08 PM
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Good Luck mdwest and I hope your daughter's boyfriend recovers quickly and completely.
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Old Aug 24th, 2009, 03:11 AM
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Doug and all,

I thank you for your words of support and I wanted to let you know the outcome of the travel portion of this nightmare.

We are very thankful to Priceline and Continental Airlines for issuing refunds for the trip. We certainly were afraid the money would be lost at a time when it will very much be needed.

Nothing has changed here. Still in ICU. Still praying.
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Old Aug 24th, 2009, 08:01 AM
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Well, I'm surprised and very happy for you that both Priceline and Continental Airlines were so accommodating (I was one who thought for sure they would not be).

But more importantly, still in ICU? It's been a solid week!! That sounds awful, so I still offer best wishes for an excellent outcome.
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Old Aug 24th, 2009, 08:57 AM
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Great to hear all was resolved mdwest. I hope recovery is on the way for the young man.
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