ComplaintsforBookOnline.com LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  $210.21 was billed to my credit card upon the date of reservation on July 3rd. The detail on my statement indicated that the check-in date was July 3rd. This was actually a reservation for an end of July stay. The reservation was cancelled well in advance of the required time. After two calls from the customer service employees, both stating that a refund was issued, I am filing this complaint for a refund.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Hello *****,

  We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and processed a full refund of $228.08. You should see the refunded amount reflected in your account shortly.

  If there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

  Kindly,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On Nov 29, 2023, we believed we were on the ********************** web site and reserved 2 nights for our Aug 2024 ****** tour. The next day, we discovered that the hotel was changed and tried to cancel our hotel reservations. That was when we discovered that our booking was with a third-party and not directly with the hotel. Since then we have made 4 unsuccessful attempts to cancel our reservation: by phone and 3 times via the Protecht online site. The Jun 2024 attempt was abandoned due to severe security warnings for their site. We have also tried to cancel directly with the hotel but were unsuccessful because it was a 3rd-party booking.We were spoofed by the fraudulent and misleading BookOnline site. I can support my claim with screen shots. The room selection displayed Free Cancellation, they asked for our Hiton Honors # to again make us believe we were dealing with the hotel site. In extremely tiny, greyed typeface BookOnline added an exorbitant Tax and Recovery fee of $581.52 USD and an unrequested and unaccepted Refund Protection Fee of $129.40 USD; for an overall total of $1,522.38 USD ($2,067.94 CDN) for a 2- night reservation! In very teeny font it displayed Hotels Cancellation Policy and in very teeny greyed-out font was ******************************** cancellation policy is fully refundable up to 24 hours!At the end of the booking process it states: We have an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau . This is a total LIE. They have an F rating with BBB and an extraordinary and rapidly increasing number of complaints! We will not by staying at the ****** on August 23 and 24. BookOnline misrepresented the booking information and added on unapproved charges. We are requesting a total refund of all charges and credited back to our credit card. The entire BookOnline process appears to be dishonest, fraudulent and disreputable. No legitimate company would attempt to defraud their customers in this manner.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Hello ******, 

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Best Regards,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

  Customer response

  08/06/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:  They have only told me that they are looking at the complaint but have not dealt with our reimbursement request.  

  Today I responded to a separate email request from them and provided additional information. 

   

  Customer response

  08/12/2024

  We are still not satisfied with their response.   They spoof a legitimate website and get you to make a booking through trickery.  They do NOT indicate that the room is nonrefundable when you are looking at the rooms, display a nonrefundable in the fine print (and it is really small print), add exorbitant fees and charges for insurance that is totally useless.    Then when they email the conformation, and it is too late to make any changes, they specify NONREFUNDABLE in large type.  With the exact time, date and IP address that you used to make the booking!  I have never seen a confirmation from a legitimate company that includes your IP Address!   They use the term agreed to but we were tricked - there was no mutual agreement. 

  Customer response

  08/12/2024

  I spoke with staff at the ********************** today and asked about cancelling our reservation.  I was told that I could easily cancel my reservation with no charge because all hotel bookings are free cancellation until the day of stay and no payments are taken until the day of arrival.   
  The problem is that BookOnline.com (and their affiliates Protecht and FanShield) charged the $2,067.94 Canadian to our Credit Card on Nov 30, 2023 using the identity HILTONANCH LODGING SUPPOAP.    BookOnline has not been charged anything yet and they will not transfer any funds to the ************ until after we have checked in (which we will not be doing!)  If we did check in, the maximum they will transfer to the Hilton is $478.90 US per night.  However, the current hotel price for a King room is only $329 US per night and with our Hilton Honors card which BookOnline requested would reduce that to $322 per night for 2 nights so I am sure that  is all they would pay the hotel.   
  If we cancelled today, BookOnline would keep the entire $2,067.94 and have NO expenses to pay.  I find that highway robbery and criminal!
  I have attached the confirmation from BookOnline as I neglected to do that initially.     FYI,the Hotel Reservation number H7676152 is a BookOnline number and is not recognized by Hilton Anchorage. 

  Business response

  08/21/2024

  Hello ******,

  We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and processed a full refund of $1,520.66. You should see the refunded amount reflected in your account shortly.

  If there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

  Kindly,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

  Customer response

  08/21/2024

  I have reviewed the business response and accept this resolution as long as the payment is applied to our credit card as promised. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  PREDATORY FAKE COMPANY - I booked a Hilton hotel room through their website (on my phone). Or so I thought it was! This company pretends to be a direct hotel booking and has pre-paid non-refundable charges.I contacted what I thought was ****** 2 weeks prior to my trip due to a work appointment that prevented me from attending a business conference.They told me over the phone the rates were non-refundable. But after talking with someone, they were able to get me a cancellation and refund. This is where I realized ****** is not managing the reservations directly but through a third party (as in all reservations, this is the assigned company that Hilton uses). A week or so later, I mentioned I still didn't get the refund. There's even a link to submit for a refund request on the email confirmation. They said the hotel denied it. I told them I was confirmed over the phone and that's why I agreed to it.Then twice more I contacted them by email and once by phone. Where they were very separated from the hotel. Then I called corporate yesterday and it's when I realized my reservation was never with ******. And they had my reservation under Expedia, my credit card charge is another name (Hotel Lodging) and the email comes from Reservation Support. So they're using Expedia to make these non-refundable reservations (probably really cheap) while they have the same rates and look as the actual hotel.It's a predatory company that should not be indexed by ****** or supported by any credit card companies. As most hotels have a pretty flexible rescheduling/cancellation policy and I wasn't using a promotional rate, I fell for this fake website and lots more people have had the same experience.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Greetings *******,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Best Regards,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

  Customer response

  08/06/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   they've been pretending to be the hotel and acting on their behalf. They made a reservation through a third party (Expedia) and this format of fishing for hotel reservations that are non-refundable (when the hotel itself doesn't have that policy) is outrageous and should not be allowed as a business.

  They told me over the phone when they accepted my cancellation that they had discussed it with the reservation department and would accept my cancellation with refund. So I gave them the go ahead with the cancellation.

   

  I followed up before my check-in date and they still didn't disclose they had nothing to do with the hotel. 

  Business response

  08/09/2024

  Hello,

  Thank you for your response and allowing us the opportunity to review this for you. We were able to locate your reservation in our system and we show that you have disputed the charge for your reservation, and once a reservation is disputed we are locked out of the account or "charge" for ****** days. If you have a letter from your bank/credit card holder stating the dispute is withdrawn, we can make the request for the dispute review to be closed early.
  This is what needs to be included in the dispute closed letter and emailed to **********************.
  
  1.       MUST be a screenshot of a message in the banks online messaging portal or a photo of a letter on bank letterhead (Cannot be a forwarded email from a bank rep)
  2.       MUST state cardholder dropped or withdrew the dispute
  3.       MUST include the following info, which must match the charge info:
          Cardholder name
          Last four digits of card
          Amount of dispute
  
  If you can present this documentation, we can work to have your dispute closed earlier, but we cannot promise approval. We can work to have your dispute closed earlier but it will be based on the decision of the credit provider that created the dispute on your behalf. We will contact you with a status update as soon as we hear back from the merchant of record for this booking.
  
  Thank you for your patience through this process.

  Best regards,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  While receiving chemotherapy, I made online hotel reservations at the ******************************* via bookonline.com. The problem is that this is the wrong hotel I need to be at for my treatments. I tried to immediately cancel upon receiving the email confirmation and have been getting the run around from Protecht. This is all a scam. I want a full refund of $937.60.

  Customer response

  08/06/2024

  I am a cancer patient at ******************* in *******. I was trying to make a reservation at ****************** which is located within the medical complex. From there I can easily get to my treatment appointments via walking or an indoors shuttle. What bookonline.com did is to carefully disguise a switch to a hotel outside the complex. Travel arrangements to the medical appointments are more difficult from here, requiring shuttles which are time consuming and not totally reliable.  It looks like bookonline.com wants to charge me for an insurance policy which would allow their reservation to be refundable, but that policy is useless due to their refusal to allow any refunds for a valid reason.  So they have booked me in the wrong hotel and will not allow me to cancel and rebook in the proper hotel. They also want to charge me for a policy which would allow a refundable cancellation but will not honor that.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Hello *******,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Kindly,

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I, unfortunately, have had the same exact issue as many with this company. There is no page to review your order. The fees were totalled and presented to me AFTER I accepted the nightly rate ($173.82) My card was billed IMMEDIATELY before changes could be made. I called the hotel immediately and they cancelled the reservation and immediately credited the funds back to this company. I also was charged for a protection fee that was never an option to remove while making the reservation from my phone. A bill that should have been around $350 ended up being $639.48 Absolutely lied to me in terms of taxes, fees and protection plans without my knowledge. I was $241.74 in tax recovery and fees. Terrible business practices and I will never use their site again. Buyers must absolutely be on guard against this sham of a company. Called numerous times and no attempt to refund. Kept offering Voucher but this has been rejected every time.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Dear ********,

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have taken immediate action to address your complaint. 

  The voucher has been canceled, and a full refund has been issued to you.

  If there is anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

  Best regards,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I searched hotels near an area that I needed to travel to for one night. What seemed to be a recgonizable hotel name popped up and I clicked on make a reservation. Which ultimately brought me to "bookonine" I did not realize it was a third party vendor site. I chose my dates 8/2 check in and 8/3 check out. (One night) I did not click on option for the "refund protection". However, it charged me for it anyway. Which come to find out clearly does not protect me anyway had I even wanted it. At this point I suppose due to poor customer service I am stuck paying for two nights for now and only need one night, which is what I selected when making the reservation. I should have only been charged approx. $200 for a one night stay without the "refund protection" that seems to offer no protection anyway and again I did not order it. I have already called the hotel (last ngiht at or around 12:03AM and they are aware that I will not arrive until later this evening, as we are traveling after a long day of work today and driving 5 hours. And I will be checking out Saturday 8/3/24 around 11AM the latest. They are aware that I only need room for one night, not both nights. They told me any correction needed to the reservation was out of their hands beause bookonline is a third party vendor. To be honest this is the worst customer experiance I have ever received in my almost 53 years of life. This service provider should be ashammed of themselves and better training should be provided to your employees. When I reviewed my reservation it reflected $155.80 for the night, I expected some taxes a fees, however, upon entering my payment information it was not until the next screen it stated that my card was debited/charged $477.66. To my surpise your site booked me for 2 nights. When I had only selected check in for August 2 and check out for August 3. I DEMAND a refund for the second night that I did NOT select for my reservation.

  Business response

  08/06/2024

  Hello, 

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Best Regards,

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  Good Afternoon ****, 

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention! I am pleased to inform you that we have have issued a refund of $163.88 back onto your card, please allow 2-10 business days for this refund to be visible to you. 

  Thank you for your understanding and patience. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future.

  Kindly,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/31/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was booking a hotel reservation online at the ***************** in ************************. I thought I was on the actual hotel website. It was the first sight that appeared under the request for the Candlewood reservations. Everything about the web page appeared to be the hotel website. After being shown the price of the room was $85, I proceeded to book the room. After I gave them the credit card number, the $84 room was costing me $142.81. An itemized list of charges indicated fees and taxes of $47.81 plus an $11.19 charge for a refund protection plan..that I did not even see during the booking. I was given the option to refuse it..which I did then was told a refund for the $11.19 would be sent to me. I booked a another room on another date..this time I got the ********* web page. The same room was only room was only $99.78. All attempts to cancel this reservation failed. One computer response said I elected to not cancel this reservation so a refund would not be given. I could not ever talk to a human. I used a web page address on the reservation that said cancel a reservation and that led me to see your BBB page about all the complaints about this company...saying the same thing that has happened to me. The company has not made any effort to change. This company is a scam. I have filed a dispute with my ******** express card but the actual charge has not yet been posted so they cannot begin a dispute procedure. However, they indicated they may not be able to do anything because of the hotel's "non cancellation policy". I spoke to the hotel directly but they cannot do anything because it is a third party reservation. It did warn them about this company, and the clerk looked at their web page and will be notifying their headquarters. Please e-mail all information you have on this Bookonline company..all complaints etc. so I can give this info to ******** express. this company is a scam..misleads customers and charges more than advertised.

  Business response

  08/05/2024

  Hello ******,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Kindly, 

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

  Customer response

  08/08/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:    This response does not address my complaint. I was scammed and overcharged for this hotel reservation and not allowed to cancel it just minutes after making it and discovering how I was misled. Telling me they are working on my reservation does not tell me anything. I want my payment made on my amex card returned and the reservation cancelled by bookonline asap. I have another reservation..same room..same day...lower price...directly with the hotel. I cannot show up with two reservations on the same day. I will be charged for the reservation made directly with the hotel if I do not cancel it 24 hours before the reservation date August 19th. This should be easy to do. Just cancel the bookonline reservation and refund my money!!!

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  Hello ******,

  We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and processed a full refund of $142.81 You should see the refunded amount reflected in your account shortly.

  If there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

  Kindly,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I made a reservation through bookingonline.com thinking I was making a reservation with the hotel. There was a charge for cancellation insurance, but I already knew that the hotel had no fee for cancellations. When the total amount came through there was $104 dollars worth of fees. I was bothered so I called the *********** in ****** only to find that the reservation had been made through Expedia. When I called expedia they had no record of any reservation. I was able to get the reservation cancelled and partially refunded, but not without bookingonline keeping over $77. And although the charges and refunds are pending so I don't know if the company will actually make the charges or the refunds. This is definitely a scam. My husband booked through the hotel by phone, and the cost was $203.17 so bookingonline is definitely a scam.

  Business response

  08/01/2024

  Dear *****,

  We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and processed the remainder of your refund, for a total refund of $335.62. You should see the refunded amount reflected in your account shortly.

  If there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called what I thought was ************** reservation line they assisted me with hotel reservation. Took all my information CC to hold the room booked the rooms and then I saw the charge already went through so I called Marriott and they had no reservation.

  Business response

  08/05/2024

  Hello Joy,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Best Regards,

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

  
  

  Business response

  08/08/2024

  Hello, 

  Thank you for your response and allowing us the opportunity to review this for you. We were able to locate your reservation in our system and we show that you have disputed the charge for your reservation, and once a reservation is disputed we are locked out of the account or "charge" for ****** days. If you have a letter from your bank/credit card holder stating the dispute is withdrawn, we can make the request for the dispute review to be closed early.
  This is what needs to be included in the dispute closed letter and emailed to **********************.
  
  1.       MUST be a screenshot of a message in the banks online messaging portal or a photo of a letter on bank letterhead (Cannot be a forwarded email from a bank rep)
  2.       MUST state cardholder dropped or withdrew the dispute
  3.       MUST include the following info, which must match the charge info:
                        Cardholder name
                        Last four digits of card
                        Amount of dispute
  
  If you can present this documentation, we can work to have your dispute closed earlier, but we cannot promise approval. We can work to have your dispute closed earlier but it will be based on the decision of the credit provider that created the dispute on your behalf. We will contact you with a status update as soon as we hear back from the merchant of record for this booking.
  
  Thank you for your patience through this process.

  Kindly, 

  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hello, I was looking to get a hotel room and trying to go on the hotel website. I clicked on this company who represented themselves like the real company. But they are not, and they are a 3rd party reseller. They the had the room listed for $399 of which I agreed and put in my credit card. Without any notification they sent me a paid bill for $694.01 of which I never agreed to. I tried to contact this company but they have no phone number listed. This made me nervous that this was a fake company. They noted I could only write them a message, which I did. I immediately knew at this point I was in the process of getting scammed. I did not get a response that day. I immediately told them I did not approve this purchase and I wanted a refund right away. I messaged them and told them Im not going to use the room. This all happened within minutes of them acting in this fraudulent manner. I Attempted to file this as fraud with my credit card company because I did not authorize this charge. But was rejected because I had entered in my credit card info so now I am writing a letter to my credit card company to dispute the charges. This company is rated F by the better business bureau and currently has 307 complaints in the last 3 years. This company has a history recorded here of how they deceive people and steal their money.

  Business response

  07/31/2024

  Dear ******,

  Thank you for reaching out to us. We wanted to let you know that we are currently working on your reservation!

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

  Best regards,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************
  

  
  

  Customer response

  08/01/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  This is still in dispute and I don't have my money back. I never agreed to this and never received their service. 

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  Dear ******,

  We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and processed a refund of $694.01. You should see the refunded amount reflected in your account shortly.

  If there's anything else we can assist you with, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

  Kindly,
  *********************************
  Brand Ambassador
  **********************

  
  

  Customer response

  08/19/2024

  I have reviewed the business response and accept this resolution. 

  I was dragged through the mud with this unethical company and needed to dispute the charges with my credit card company. This "business" just takes advantage of people and needs to be shut down. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩