Duck Brand Inn

Review: My husband and I made reservations for a room at the Duck Brand Inn on the evening of May 23,2013 but had to cancel because of unexpected issues. We called first thing on the morning of the 24th to cancel. The clerk told us at that time if would be fine and we wouldn't be charged. Their policy was a 48 hr. notice cancellation but that was impossible because we had only made the reservation the evening before. After being told we wouldn't be charged they charged our credit card for $116.11 which was not even the price we were quoted which was $85. When I discovered we had been charged I contacted the Manger and he refused to refund any of our money. He told me that our reservation had not been pulled so they didn't rent the room. I explained to him that was not our fault and his employee was responsible for that. He also said he had a waiting list but because they didn't pull the reservation after we canceled they didn't rent the room. We want a full refund since it was impossible to give 48 hrs. since the reservation was only made a few hours before we canceled. We decided not to go because we realized we had other unexpected responsibilities for the money and then we ended up loosing more money without staying in there facility. The manager was very rude to me and refused to refund money but said he would let us stay in a room if we were in the area. The problem is we rarely go to that area plus the charge was more that what the room cost. The manager said it was because of Memorial Day weekend but when the reservation was made they quoted the price of $85 which is the regular rate. They have a web site and can be found by searching for Duck Brand Inn in Winthrop, WA Thank You.Desired Settlement: A full refund of the $116.11 because we didn't use the room and was quoted the cost of $85. The cancellation policy could not apply to us because of the short time frame.

Business

Response:

Customers were told at the time of booking a room our cancellation policy and booked a room. They called and canceled the day of arrival for personal reasons and demanding a refund. Because of the hostility of the customer, the owner offered to honor a room for another time of stay, but no refund was going to be issued. The customer refused.

Please visit https://www.centralreservations.net/lodging/duckbrand?referral=true

Payment and Cancellation Policies:

PAYMENT

No advance deposit is required, but the full balance of your

reservation is due 7 days prior to your arrival date. The credit card

you used in making your reservation will be automatically charged the

balance due on that date unless other arrangements have been made in

advance.

If you are making your reservation within 7 days of arrival, the full

amount is due immediately and your credit card will be billed within

one business day.

CANCELLATION AND CHANGES

You may cancel your reservation or make changes up to 7 days prior to

your arrival date without penalty. After that time, no refunds can be

given for changed or canceled reservations. There is no refund for any

unused portion of your stay, nor for any reduction in guests.

If your reservation was made within 7 days of the arrival date, no

refunds can be given if you change or cancel your reservation.

If you cancel within 7 days of arrival, although we cannot refund

your money, we will, at your request, open up the room for re-booking.

We will refund to you 85% of any money we receive for each date that is

re-booked. No refund will be given for dates that we are unable to

re-book. You will not be able to use any remaining portion of the stay

that we are unable to rebook unless that portion meets the minimum

number of nights required to stay in the room over that time period.

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Winthrop, WA. 98862

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9573692, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]

The Manger has misspoken and was misinformed from his employee. The reservation was not made until the night before and the desk clerk said nothing about there cancellation policy. That evening the clerk quoted the price of $85.00 for the room and we were charged over $116.00. Because of an illness the next morning we were not able to make our trip and called the Duck Brand very early that morning to cancel. We ask specifically if we would be charged for the room and the clerk said NO. We tried talking to the manager about the charges when we realized they had not only charged us after saying they wouldn't but they also charge more than they quoted. After realizing the charges we contacted the manger and he said he would get back with us after checking into the situation. After waiting several days for his return, I finally called him back. He then told me that he would not refund our money. It is true that he offered to comp a room at a later date but I refused that because we had no plans to travel that way again.

The policies that the manager of Duck Band wrote in his response is not the same cancellation policy that I read when looking on their web page before this complaint. He also told me that he charged us for the room because it didn't get rented that night but also said he had a waiting list so couldn't understand why he couldn't rent the room. When I ask him that question he then said that our reservation had never been pulled. I told him that was not our responsibility but the clerks that took our cancellation call. We feel that this place of business has not only lied to us but now have changed their cancellation policy since we filed this complaint. Unfortunately they never sent us any written conformation and there was no contract or services provided.

I also ask the Manager why we were quoted charges of $85 for the room and then after saying we would not be charged at all they billed over $116. He said it was because it was Memorial Day weekend so they raised the prices. That information was not on their website nor was it communicated to us when making the reservation. Because of the illness that occurred that money they charged to our account was to go for a doctor bill.

This business unprofessional behavior is something I hope other customers do not have to experience. He manager made comment about my attitude when speaking with him. After talking to him and him telling me all the above I was frustrated. He basically told me that we were changed because his employee didn't pull our reservation after we canceled. If you make a reservation one day before you travel most hotels only charge you if you don't arrive before 6 p.m. I ask him how could a person give 7 days cancellation notice if the reservation was only made the night before and his response was "I can't do anything for you and you aren't getting your money refunded.

My main complaint is that the employee told us we would not be charged and then we were charged even more than we were quoted. The manager was not extremely friendly himself.

Regards,

Business

Response:

As stated in prior response . . . Our refund policy stands. No refund will be issued.