Final Bill Warning

[momof3cruisers]

I just got off the Carnival Miracle and received my final bill on the last day, i checked my bank account the next day and was charged more than what was written on what is called my FINAL bill. I contacted carnival to get a explanation and was told there was a after midnight purchase so i thought no biggie except the amounts still did not add up, so after a looong argument i was told i was adding wrong, then finally told by the rep that my FINAL bill was wrong....WRONG! really. So the bill i have in my hand that CARNIVAL gave me on the final day is wrong, even though the rep read every single charge on her pc and everyone was on my bill except the after midnight charge, but the bill still didnt add up to amount to be charged and thats when she said my bill was wrong. I contacted Carnival again and they sent me a copy of their bill and now i'm going to send them a copy of hmmmmm the FINAL bill that they gave me! So basically the carnival rep said Carnivals PC miscalculated the numbers, so i now wonder how many other mistakes/miscalculations were on previous cruise bills that i didn't catch, i mean who sits there with a calculator and adds up every charge themselves, guess i'm gonna start doing that since my final bill was wrong/miscalculated according to the rep .....so great job carnival rep i'm now questioning your billing system and after the horrible customer service will probably not be back

That is the part that would frustrate me the most. There simply isn't any logic which makes it impossible to argue your point. I had a very similar conversation with our insurance company the other day about a family deductible vs an individual deductible. It was insane and I literally had a headache when I got off the phone. Sorry you had this experience! And thanks much for the warning. I will be more alert about this in the future.

[gmros]

Thank you for the warning! I've been reading a lot of "glitches" on the Carnival system here on the boards. I'll make sure to check every little detail now.

[oldguysandgalls]

We are in the habit of checking our bill several times during the cruise. We stop by the front desk, ask for a print out of our bill and we match the bill to our receipts. If there's a charge we don't recognize, a quick trip back to the front desk usually resolves the issue.

 

Another good thing to do is to keep all your receipts (after the cruise) in the event there's a charge on your final bill that's not yours, and you need to contact the cruise line after you receive your final bill.

[jetskier]

I am another one who was charged $20 more on my credit card than what the amount on my FINAL S&S account indicated. We just cruised Sept 5th on the Triumph. I havent called yet to see the reason why.

Dave

[Ramrac]

Yet another reason to put down CASH on your S&S.

I sign up using my credit card but pay it off with cash at the end of the cruise so nothing gets charged to the card. I use to use my card for the final payment but had two problems where the "final bill" did not match what was taken out of my account and I never made any purchases after midnight.

[QTPieRye]

Yet another reason to put down CASH on your S&S.

 

I have had issues with the final billing amount too, not to mention a hold that lasted 2 weeks after I got back!!! We now use cash and funship dollars :)

[QTPieRye]

I sign up using my credit card but pay it off with cash at the end of the cruise so nothing gets charged to the card. I use to use my card for the final payment but had two problems where the "final bill" did not match what was taken out of my account and I never made any purchases after midnight.

 

the only problem with that, in particular if you are using a debit card, is the authorizatons have already put a hold on your account..... so potentially you've given them cash and still may not have funds available in your account from the hold..... my last one lasted almost 10 days!!!!!

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

i mean who sits there with a calculator and adds up every charge themselves,

 

I do. Before going to bed, I take all my receipts from the day, verify that they (and only they) are accounted for on the TV screen. I write the total on the front, paperclip them together and put them in the safe. Everyday is the same. When I get my final bill, I add all the days together and balance against the bill. The only person going to look out for you is you.

[QTPieRye]

The only person going to look out for you is you.

 

Agreed!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I do. Before going to bed, I take all my receipts from the day, verify that they (and only they) are accounted for on the TV screen. I write the total on the front, paperclip them together and put them in the safe. Everyday is the same. When I get my final bill, I add all the days together and balance against the bill. The only person going to look out for you is you.

 

even doing all that it doesnt stop them from adding additional charges after you are off the ship.

 

Off course you have all the proof right there but now you have to get on the phone and prove it.

 

Bill

[S.S. Cruisers]

even doing all that it doesnt stop them from adding additional charges after you are off the ship.

 

Off course you have all the proof right there but now you have to get on the phone and prove it.

 

Bill

BINGO, we have a winner! My point exactly and our amount wasn't worth the headaches that have been described above. We usually have a bottle of wine at dinner. Sometimes one of the bottles doesn't end up being charged for several days. It is just a pain. It's like having to balance my checkbook every day on vacation! :eek:

Interesting that we have more and more people "jumping on the bandwagon." I guess it isn't such an isolated case.

[okwriter]

I have had issues with the final billing amount too, not to mention a hold that lasted 2 weeks after I got back!!! We now use cash and funship dollars :)

 

I don't use a debit card on cruises, but it seems others have posted that the length of time the "hold" is there depends on the financial institution (read: your bank) rather than the company requesting the hold.

[happy cruzin]

how did you wind up getting charged twice if he signed someone elses receipt?

 

Wouldn't the persons account which he signed be charged and not yours?

 

Bill

 

 

Two seperate incidents - on the same cruise. ;)

 

Early in the week a waiter brought a slip to sign. DH was about to sign it and realized that slip was not for his charge. The waiter said "oops" - left and came back a few minutes later with the correct slip.

 

Later in the week was the incident where DH signed the correct slip, just as we were leaving the lounge. Things were crazy as the waiter tried to flag down everyone that needed to sign the slips before leaving. DH signed his slip not realizing he signed for a "double" - when he had ordered a regular drink.

Wasn't until we reviewed the Folio on the tv later that evening that it looked to us that we had been charged twice. Reality was he had signed the slip without reviewing it carefully. That's why I said lesson learned :cool:

[Angeladh1981]

I must have some type of OCD. I check my spending and receipts whether on vacation or shopping for groceries.

[larkz]

I'm skeptical of the suggestion that Carnival would have a corporate agenda to overcharge customers. The information would come out sooner or later, and it would be devastating to them. It's so easy nowadays to get memos, documents, and even secret video recordings if you're a disgruntled employee working for an unethical company -- eventually they would get caught.

 

It's more likely that employees who have an incentive to show big receipts are sometimes doing the dirty work. It's also likely that people who spend money like drunken sailors losing track of their own spending. And too many consumers (of anything) fail to perform due diligence to protect their own assets.

 

Simply put, keep your receipts and check them against the final tally. It's much easier to fix an error while you're on the cruise than afterwards, assuming the mistake is made before you've left the ship.

[DpTxQt31]

So basically the carnival rep said Carnivals PC miscalculated the numbers, so i now wonder how many other mistakes/miscalculations were on previous cruise bills that i didn't catch, i mean who sits there with a calculator and adds up every charge themselves, guess i'm gonna start doing that since my final bill was wrong/miscalculated according to the rep .....so great job carnival rep i'm now questioning your billing system and after the horrible customer service will probably not be back

 

We do. :rolleyes: Every cruise we go on we bring a small wallet (kinda like a chain purse type) and will keep a small calculator. Everytime we get a receipt it goes into the wallet and we calculate up the total the last night (because obviously we are not going to be buying stuff the morning of debarkation.) :cool:

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I'm skeptical of the suggestion that Carnival would have a corporate agenda to overcharge customers. The information would come out sooner or later, and it would be devastating to them. It's so easy nowadays to get memos, documents, and even secret video recordings if you're a disgruntled employee working for an unethical company -- eventually they would get caught.

 

It's more likely that employees who have an incentive to show big receipts are sometimes doing the dirty work. It's also likely that people who spend money like drunken sailors losing track of their own spending. And too many consumers (of anything) fail to perform due diligence to protect their own assets.

 

Simply put, keep your receipts and check them against the final tally. It's much easier to fix an error while you're on the cruise than afterwards, assuming the mistake is made before you've left the ship.

 

That is the crux of the problem for most who have discreancies in their bills.

 

The added amounts AFTER we are off the ship.

 

Like you said it is much easier to fix the problem on the ship but if you get the extra charges after you get home it's not so easy and I'm not spending my time on the phone trying to resolve a $30 discrepancy.

 

We went to bed early and didnt spend anything the next morning. we did drink 3 cans of soda out of the mini bar so that's about $7 of the $30.

 

Who knows where the other $23 came from.

 

I wonder if theirs a scenario where the cabin steward who didn't get tipped would add extra items onto your bill to get even.

 

We tipped and tipped extra so I'm not referring to me. Just wondering if there might come a time when a vindictive steward could do this.

 

Bill

[S.S. Cruisers]

WITHOUT APPEARING RUDE OR YELLING, THE FINAL BILL DID check out, it was the amount that they ACTUALLY CHARGED OUR CREDIT CARD THAT DID NOT MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS MORE!:eek:

[Cinderose]

I have been reading these boards for years and over and over I have heard about being charged after final bill for quote "things purchased after midnight, or being given someone elses bill to sign, +++" unquote. I just thought "oh these are honest mistakes" until my last 2 cruises when it happened to me!!! Now - I do look at every single receipt and keep them to compare to final bill. I never charge anything after 10:00 on the last day and never touch anything in the fridges or the soda in the room. I do purchase One large water on the first day and write my name on it with a sharpie so they dont take it when cleaning the room.

I feel its not Carnival adding these last charges but a few drink servers or such that pad their tip total for the last few dollars they can squeeze out of people. 30% of people wont remember if they ordered that last drink or not and wouldnt question it. Another 30% probably wont waste their time disputing $20 if the did notice it. And 30% probably never look at the final bill verses the final charge with their bank anyway. But the 10% that do catch a mistake will complain to high heaven. Out of the tens of thousands of charges done on the ships its probably very minor for all the paper they too have to keep charge of. I do think the complainers have a right - after all it is their hard earned money - and a dollar here & there - do add up. Until it happens to you dont put others down that it has happened to...

My credit card company took my side because the ship couldnt produce signed receipts for items charged after final billing. Just watch your spending and final total and you can cover your own back.

[qosmo8]

PA Dutchman: Not sure why you would make the above statement. There are 3 of us on this thread that said we had a problem. Doesn't seem like we are jumping on any bandwagon, just a fact. I do keep track of our spending by adding my own receipts and checking our balance. All was well and good. The final bill did not match what was charged on our card, period. The amount was not worth my time calling Carnival and getting in a situation like some have mentioned. By the way, we had no way of knowing the amount charged would be different from the final bill until we we were home and saw what Carnival had actually charged us. So I don't know how much more of the story you want me to print. I think I have bored everyone enough by explaining it to you.

 

your right its the fact that the amount is so small that makes you say its not worth my time, but is that what they want. And i keep my receipts also BUT the charge in dispute is not associated to anything so their is no receipt its just there thats why the dispute, they cant tell me what that money was spent on all they said was that i was adding wrong and then that my final bill was wrong. The rep said i made a 7.00 purchase after midnight at Frankenstein club, cool yup thats me i did it i'll pay np......SO whats the other money for because bill still doesnt add up....the rep then insultingly did the SLOOOOOOW talk u know the leeeeeeetttsss gooooooooo oovvvvveeeerrr yooouuurrrrr biiilllllll toooogggeeettthhhheeerrr So we did and every single charge on my bill and theirs matched up perfectly except that 1 for 7bucks(which i dont dispute is me) BUT the bill still doesnt add up....SO i asked what was the disputed money spent on since supposedly everything we buy on board is documented on our s & s what did i buy??.....SILENCE thats when i got well your adding wrong ...wait u told me what the 7bucks was spent on but cant tell me what the other money was spent on hhhmmmm.....thats when i got well your final bill is wrong ours is right you can dispute it but our system is correct....but i have a charge on my S&S thats associated to nothing! if the rep had said its a TAX or i went to the SPA(i'd still dispute that lol) or i bought 20 bingo tickets its something i could say yes i did or didnt do...but this money is just on my debit card and no one has yet to explain what it was used for...but it comes into play how much of this is soooooo not worth my time and effort, but is that what they want.....so all i did was post my story as a lil FYI for ppl and from what i'm reading(and ya this topic is talked about in other forums on CC so its not just 4 ppl here) i will not use a debit card again, because from what i read debit cards have a huge problem in ability to dispute charges (hmmmm)well anyway i will put down a certain amount of cash on s&s put rest in safe and pay as i go

[qosmo8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinjan View Post

That's what we did and had no problem. But it does bring up a question in my mind. Since they cut you a check for any remaining $$ on your account and put it in your cabin the last night, what do they do about those "after midnight" charges for cash accounts?

 

They charge it to the other guests that have a CC on their account,

 

We always use cash, and I start a worksheet on the computer at the start of the computer, and add the receipts each day to so to the computer, so we DO know what we have spent, and what to expect at the end of the week.

 

It took a few minutes to make the program, and a few minutes to add receipts as we go, but I find it is better than sitting on hold after the fact disputing the error.

 

 

LMAO sinjan were u on my cruise? if i bought u a night cap np we cool...lol

[Aplmac]

Yet another reason to put down CASH on your S&S.

Don't you know it!! :D

 

One hundred dollars at a time, baby!

 

.

[qosmo8]

even doing all that it doesnt stop them from adding additional charges after you are off the ship.

 

Off course you have all the proof right there but now you have to get on the phone and prove it.

 

Bill

 

 

Exactly

[qosmo8]

BINGO, we have a winner! My point exactly and our amount wasn't worth the headaches that have been described above. We usually have a bottle of wine at dinner. Sometimes one of the bottles doesn't end up being charged for several days. It is just a pain. It's like having to balance my checkbook every day on vacation! :eek:

 

Interesting that we have more and more people "jumping on the bandwagon." I guess it isn't such an isolated case.

 

my thoughts, exactly its not isolated i made thread after reading bout this in other places. ppl havent realized its not bout checking folio etc(well u still should) its about charges applied to your card after you get off the ship....because basically your final bill is considered not final so u can check folio calculate your receipts etc then get off ship and get extra charge now you have the burden to prove thats not your charge, you have to do the emails the phone calls the faxes....the headache is yours...is it worth it...is that what they want

[qosmo8]

That is the crux of the problem for most who have discreancies in their bills.

 

The added amounts AFTER we are off the ship.

 

Like you said it is much easier to fix the problem on the ship but if you get the extra charges after you get home it's not so easy and I'm not spending my time on the phone trying to resolve a $30 discrepancy.

 

We went to bed early and didnt spend anything the next morning. we did drink 3 cans of soda out of the mini bar so that's about $7 of the $30.

 

Who knows where the other $23 came from.

 

I wonder if theirs a scenario where the cabin steward who didn't get tipped would add extra items onto your bill to get even.

 

We tipped and tipped extra so I'm not referring to me. Just wondering if there might come a time when a vindictive steward could do this.

 

Bill

 

Exactly, i am not disputing my final bill given to me on the ship....its the charges added afterwards and yup its like 20 bucks so small that you really do go its no big deal not worth headache then i think is that what they want