Can’t get my Princess future cruise credit back

[Enjoy4Fun]

I finally got contacted by Princess.

 

They will send a check which takes 4 to 6 weeks to get here. I contacted by bank because I was sure they do not accept a check. They don't, but still provide the option for those who do want it and this is what they charge.

 

0.1% of the amount with a minimum of € 7, - and a maximum of € 70, -

+ € 35, - + € 9, - postage + € 25, -correspondent cost and 6% inquiry commission and 2% exchange rate fees if they send it in USD.

 

200 euro will be 88 to 92 euro costs because Princess uses a method using paper and mail rather and doing it electronically, which would have been free!

 

I read here that the company sending the checks also takes 4 USD.

 

Our 200 euro deposit will result in only getting half of what we paid!

[Marisawrite]

Would you also believe that not only can I log into my Princess account and Cruise Personaliser from both the UK and France

 

I can too. Also, although I agree cheques have disappeared in many countries, I can assure you that American companies don't care two hoots.

 

I do commission selling for Amazon.com. Unbelievably for an internet company, they do not do electronic payments to overseas banks! They pay me by cheque. In US dollars, what's more, which means my bank takes a hefty fee for banking it.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Marisawrite

[Corfe Mixture]

I finally got contacted by Princess.

 

They will send a check which takes 4 to 6 weeks to get here. I contacted by bank because I was sure they do not accept a check. They don't, but still provide the option for those who do want it and this is what they charge.

 

0.1% of the amount with a minimum of € 7, - and a maximum of € 70, -

+ € 35, - + € 9, - postage + € 25, -correspondent cost and 6% inquiry commission and 2% exchange rate fees if they send it in USD.

 

200 euro will be 88 to 92 euro costs because Princess uses a method using paper and mail rather and doing it electronically, which would have been free!

 

I read here that the company sending the checks also takes 4 USD.

 

Our 200 euro deposit will result in only getting half of what we paid!

 

You still have not told us which European country it is whose banking system is causing you all these problems. Most of us Europeans are really struggling to understand why you are having all these problems.

 

With respect, if it is a country in the Eurozone that you are talking about, then, as a person who clearly travels regularly - which one would presume includes travel in Europe, why not simply switch your accounts to a more customer friendly bank in either Germany or France. Apart from the ability to walk into your local branch, it will not affect any aspects of your euro banking arrangements.

 

Indeed, thinking about it, why don't you just keep hold of the cheque and use it, the next time you go to either France or Germany, as the initial deposit required to open a new account. You could even do that, transfer all the balance to your home country account, free of charge, and then close the new account.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Corfe Mixture

[thinfool]

You still have not told us which European country whose banking system is causing you all these problems. Most of us Europeans are really struggling to understand why you are having these problems

 

With respect, if it is a country in the Eurozone that you are talking about, then why not simply switch your accounts to a more customer friendly bank in either Germany or France.

 

I agree...there is a piece of this puzzle missing. Maybe more than one.

[hawkeyetlse]

The OP has already said that their bank will accept the check, if they ever receive it. But most banks in Europe will charge hefty fees for depositing a check in USD drawn on an American bank. The OP can shop around for another bank that will charge less, but the full $200 is not going to end up back in their pocket, no matter what they do.

 

OP, if you are planning to visit the US within the next year or so, you might consider bringing the check along and taking it to a check cashing service. You will still pay a fee, but nowhere near what you said your bank will charge you.

 

It is disappointing that Princess does not provide other options for this refund. For non-US customers this is an extra incentive to actually use the FCD instead of letting it expire.

[German Giant]

..., why not simply switch your accounts to a more customer friendly bank in either Germany or France.

As I wrote, EVERY bank in Germany has to accept cheques by law, but charges between 30 and 50 Euros for a 100-Dollar-cheque from outside EU are usual in Germany! (and it was also expensiv 20 years ago, when cheques were still very popular)

 

This means, if Princess give the refund only per cheque, you get only 50% of your deposit back in the EU!

 

I will not accept a US-cheque from Princess, when my deposits are running out in a few months! They charged the deposit in Euro from my German creditcard (all EU-citizens are charged with a 100 Euro deposit instead of 100 USD) and promised me a full refund if would not use it in the next 2 years, it would be a fraud, if I get only 50% back, because they send me a US-cheque!

[thinfool]

The OP has already said that their bank will accept the check, if they ever receive it. But most banks in Europe will charge hefty fees for depositing a check in USD drawn on an American bank. The OP can shop around for another bank that will charge less, but the full $200 is not going to end up back in their pocket, no matter what they do.

 

OP, if you are planning to visit the US within the next year or so, you might consider bringing the check along and taking it to a check cashing service. You will still pay a fee, but nowhere near what you said your bank will charge you.

 

It is disappointing that Princess does not provide other options for this refund. For non-US customers this is an extra incentive to actually use the FCD instead of letting it expire.

 

This is interesting....however I am having difficulty with an international corporation like Princess having something like this in place that costs the customer 50% of his refund.

 

As others have said, a Captains Circle account can be accessed all over Europe. The OP has had trouble doing so....something is amiss. This needs to be corrected and he needs to then contact the Captains Circle people and find out how refunds are made to European clients.

 

Point of fact: If Princess customers were losing 50% of their refunds in the manner suggested, it would be all over Cruise Critic. AFAIK, this is a one-off experience and likely has a much better solution than what has happened so far.

Edited June 10, 2016 by thinfool

[Corfe Mixture]

 

I will not accept a US-cheque from Princess, when my deposits are running out in a few months! They charged the deposit in Euro from my German creditcard (all EU-citizens are charged with a 100 Euro deposit instead of 100 USD) and promised me a full refund if would not use it in the next 2 years, it would be a fraud, if I get only 50% back, because they send me a US-cheque!

 

I totally agree,

 

I had to cancel a FCD on Seabourn (same parent company). Seabourn ships use the dollar as their onboard currency, but I paid for my FCD in Sterling and the refund came in Sterling to the same credit card. In the intervening period I had received a new card on the account and queried whether or not Seabourn needed toi new number. I was told 'No' the credit card company can credit a refund to the account using the old card number and, sure enough, the refund arrived as promised.

 

If the OP paid their FCD in euros, on their credit card, then the refund should (will?) come in euros on the same credit card.

All FCDs are charged in the currency the client used to book the cruise on which the FCD was purchased so unless the OP used a US address, perhaps to get access to US TA deals/prices when booking the cruise on which they purchased the FCDs, any refund should be in their home currency rather than $US.

 

CORRECTION - OPs first post said it was 100Euros and not $100. Not sure why therefore the refund is not coming in the form of a cheque for 200Euros which is where I thought this discussion was when it first started - how did we get onto it being in dollars?

 

One thing which does strike me is that, reading through the thread, there are noticeable gaps and obvious omissions in the information provided by the OP.

 

Methinks that we are not hearing ALL of the facts.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Corfe Mixture

[Enjoy4Fun]

Let me clear some things up.

 

I had trouble with the Captain Circle access because Princess had locked me out of it due to a technical error. I have now been able to manually create an account. Which I did and provide not additional benefit for this problem.

 

My country is The Netherlands. Checks and to some extend credit cards have never been popular here. They are used by international businesses but because it takes manual labor and if for businesses banks charge a big fee. For 200 euro it is about 90 euro, that is 45%. If I was an big international business and had a 100.000 euro check, the cost would have been 175 euro which is just 1.75% and a normal fee for transactions.

 

I am in my 30s and have never seen anyone use a check, business or private and have never seen a check. The only reason I got a credit card because its easier when traveling in the US. Bank transfers have been the norm here and I can send money to anyone in Europe by my phone and they get it on their accounts within minutes up to 24 hours, but not on the weekends and a few special holidays. And its free. If I want to send money outside of the country is 5 euro per transaction, receiving money from around the world is free.

Why would I have to travel to France, open up an account, just so Princess can pay me what is mine? The travel costs and banks costs would be more than the 90 euro.

 

What I find the most disturbing is that I have to email, call, tweet and message several people to get my own money back. I have a dozen read conformations from Princess, but no one replies to the email they read!

 

An international company like Carnival Corporation & plc should not operate in a way that it is doing now. They have offices in the UK, Austria, Germany and Italy and should have the possibility to send the money by bank and not rely on a check that takes 4 to 6 weeks to get here.

 

When I booked the future cruise I was told that I would get a refund after 2 years with no problems. I specifically asked them what would happen if my credit card number would expire, which would expire within 2 years for the future credit payment. I was told it would be no problem.

 

Now after ignoring my emails and only after someone from the UK contacted them, I am told that the refund is rejected because my credit card has expired and they will send me a check which takes 4 to 6 weeks to reach me. After that they started ignoring my messages again, despite that I get mail delivery and mail read confirmations.

[German Giant]

They have offices in the UK, Austria, Germany and Italy ...

No, they haven't, they only want you to believe that!

 

The official German Princess Website including all phone-numbers, mail- and email-adresses lead you to a German TA!

Whatever you want from Princess except booking a new cruise, they refer you to Princess-US!

 

(This is what they explained me 2 years ago, as I had a question to my booked cruise, remember, booked by a official german TA in Germany as a German with a German residence!)

 

But have to say, this was not a real problem for me, because people can't speak english fluently should not book a Princess-cruise! For me, the only thing is, that as a business-consultant, I would be able to conversate in german language in a completely other way if there would be a real problem! (You know, the unspoken words between the spoken words :D )

Edited June 10, 2016 by German Giant

[hawkeyetlse]

It sounds like Princess does try to refund to the original credit card and only resorts to a check if the transaction doesn't go through. And if it's a check in dollars sent to a US customer, that's fine. If you consider that most Princess customers are Americans, and most people who buy future cruise deposits use them before the expiration date, and of the people who let their deposits expire, most of them are still able to receive a refund via their original credit card (even if it has expired or been replaced in the meantime, the credit card company is often able to process refunds sent to the old number). This leaves a very small number of people who end up in the OP's situation. I know it's a huge hassle for the OP, and I sympathize, but I also understand if it's not a high priority for a big international business like Princess to accommodate this relatively minor group of clients.

 

Still, it seems like it should be easy enough to make these customers call in with a new credit card number and refund the money that way. If I were in the OP's situation, I certainly would not accept a refund in the form of a check. Even if it is in euros, my bank in France would charge fees for depositing a foreign check.

[thinfool]

OK...here is another route that might help....

 

go to elliott.org and tell them your tale of woe. They specialize in solving situations like yours. Even have not-well-known email addresses of corporate people that would likely be able to take care of this. If you get no results they will take up your case and find a solution.

[geoherb]

At least Princess eventually sends you the money back. Carnival Cruises doesn't. I had a future cruise voucher expire with Carnival. I was anticipating it would be refunded automatically like Princess does. Unfortunately for me, Carnival's policy was to keep my money. I eventually got a a customer service rep to say that we could use the value of the voucher ($100) on our next Carnival cruise. We won't get any OBC for it since it has expired.

[German Giant]

If you consider that most Princess customers are Americans, ....[/Quote]

Can't believe that, all Princess-cruises I did, there were much more Aussies onboard than US-People, at least it felt like! :D

 

...and most people who buy future cruise deposits use them before the expiration date, ...

 

But you still know, that meanwhile it valids only 2 years?

We hardly intended to make a cruise in the following year and we did, but with HAL, which is very similar to Princess and the same company!

Now it is just the second year and we hardly intend to make a cruise too and clearly prefer Princess, but because the date of our holidays is still not fix (not everybody is retired) we can't book in front. So it seems that it will be still 2 years that we cruise with Princes again, but 2 years and a very few months!

So if you are not able to book long time in front and the cruise you did the FCD was in the early summertime, the real validation of the FCD for you is just a little more than one year, won't believe that almost all people use their FCD under this conditions!

 

Exactly that's the thing belonging to this thread: Under such personal conditions you'll make the FCD anyway, if they promise you fully refund!

Edited June 10, 2016 by German Giant

[WpgCruise]

I don't understand how you would consider this fraud. In this example Princess is refunding the full amount of the deposit, so it isn't fraud by Princess. The bank is charging a service charge/fee, which as long as it is disclosed in advance, certainly isn't fraud. The bank's service charge or fee may well be a large % of the refund, but by no means would I consider a fraud to have been committed.

 

 

As I wrote, EVERY bank in Germany has to accept cheques by law, but charges between 30 and 50 Euros for a 100-Dollar-cheque from outside EU are usual in Germany! (and it was also expensiv 20 years ago, when cheques were still very popular)

 

This means, if Princess give the refund only per cheque, you get only 50% of your deposit back in the EU!

 

I will not accept a US-cheque from Princess, when my deposits are running out in a few months! They charged the deposit in Euro from my German creditcard (all EU-citizens are charged with a 100 Euro deposit instead of 100 USD) and promised me a full refund if would not use it in the next 2 years, it would be a fraud, if I get only 50% back, because they send me a US-cheque!

[GUT2407]

What do you mean by Personalizer?

 

 

Refunds in an envelope? Do companies really send money in an envelope?

 

It's called a cheque.

[caribill]

When I booked the future cruise I was told that I would get a refund after 2 years with no problems. I specifically asked them what would happen if my credit card number would expire, which would expire within 2 years for the future credit payment. I was told it would be no problem.

 

Now after ignoring my emails and only after someone from the UK contacted them, I am told that the refund is rejected because my credit card has expired and they will send me a check which takes 4 to 6 weeks to reach me.

 

Did your credit card get renewed? If so, then the fact it had expired should not have prevented a refund going to your current credit card, even if the bank had given it a different number.

 

Now if you no longer have that credit card account at all, then Princess will issue the refund as a check.

[kenexx]

We had a couple of FCC s that I had forgotten about expire. Didn't know until the 2 checks/cheques tuned up in the mail from Santa Clarita. Back charged AUD15 per check but because the AUD to USD had dropped we didn't come out all that bad in the end.

[Enjoy4Fun]

Did your credit card get renewed? If so, then the fact it had expired should not have prevented a refund going to your current credit card, even if the bank had given it a different number.

 

Now if you no longer have that credit card account at all, then Princess will issue the refund as a check.

 

I still have the credit card account, but according to the email Princess send; because the credit card has expired a check refund is send and it does not matter if you still have the same credit card account.

 

It should work like you said and maybe this does work like that with US cards. But Princess is not doing that in my case.

 

I wish they would call back, email back, message back, but they choose to ignore client question and complaints, just like they did when we were unhappy with the cruise itself.

 

I have called the 1-800 number in the US several times and no one is willing to help because I did not book directly, which I could not do because they have contracts with local travel agents.

 

For a company in the hospitality industry in my experience they sure have no clue what the definition of hospitality of after-sales is.

[German Giant]

I don't understand how you would consider this fraud. In this example Princess is refunding the full amount of the deposit, so it isn't fraud by Princess. The bank is charging a service charge/fee, which as long as it is disclosed in advance, certainly isn't fraud. The bank's service charge or fee may well be a large % of the refund, but by no means would I consider a fraud to have been committed.

 

It's just simple:

It's generally not a fraud to refund money by cheque, BUT, when they charge the deposit in Euro from a German creditcard AND promise a German-customer with german adress in the FCD a FULL refund, without telling you that the refund will be as a US-cheque, THEN it WOULD be a fraud! It's no excuse that the charges are from the bank, because it is generally and since 30 years very expensive in Germany!

[hawkeyetlse]

It's generally not a fraud to refund money by cheque, BUT, when they charge the deposit in Euro from a German creditcard AND promise a German-customer with german adress in the FCD a FULL refund, without telling you that the refund will be as a US-cheque, THEN it WOULD be a fraud! It's no excuse that the charges are from the bank, because it is generally and since 30 years very expensive in Germany!

The terms of the FCD state the following: "The FCD will be automatically refunded if not applied to a new booking created within two years from the date of purchase." It doesn't specify the form of the refund, and as you said yourself, a check is a valid form of payment. They don't promise to refund you in the way that is the most convenient for you.

 

I am sure Princess is aware that US checks are inconvenient for non-US customers, and I think they don't really care. Considering that relatively few customers are affected by this, and they are by definition not the best customers (otherwise they would have used the FCD to book a cruise). It's not nice of them to treat these customers (or ex-customers) like that, but it's not a crime.

[German Giant]

It's not nice of them to treat these customers like that, but it's not a crime.

You're completely right! If they promise you a fully refund without telling you, that the refund will be as a US-cheque, allthoug they know that you're a European and will be charged with 30-50 Euro by your bank, it's not a fraud, but just the same if they would charge you with 500 bugs extra on the end of your cruise for bed linen, electrical consumption and water consumption, because there is nowhere written, that bed linen, electrical consumption and water consumption is complementary!

 

I don't know much about the US-law, but in Europe it can also be a fraud, if you promise something and keep quiet the negative or expensive circumstances to let the purchaser aquire in good faith. The crucial thing is, that no EU-citizen would suppose a refund by cheque, specially when he pay with creditcard. (exactly the same, why you would never ask if bed linen, electrical and water consumption is included in the cruise fare)

 

But this discussion makes no sense, before we know if Princess insists in refunding per US-cheque or is also willing to book it to your creditcard if you ask for and point to the excessive charges for non-EU-cheques in the EU!

 

I will let you know in 2 months!

Edited June 11, 2016 by German Giant

[Enjoy4Fun]

More than a week later and an update

 

• 8 mail delivery and mail read conformations and not one person has replied to my email
  
• 3 phone calls with promises that that will can back with more information and no one has called me back
  
• Several attempts to contact them by Twitter and Facebook have been fully ignored by Princess
  

 

I still have not received my money and according to my credit card company a refund should not be a problem. My credit card number has changed, but not the bank account that its linked to. Princess should have no problem refunding me.

 

After months of trying, I have very little hope that I will ever get my future cruise credit back.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Enjoy4Fun

[thinfool]

Have you exhausted all of these resources? http://elliott.org/company-contacts/princess/

[SadieN]

I finally got contacted by Princess.

 

 

 

They will send a check which takes 4 to 6 weeks to get here. I contacted by bank because I was sure they do not accept a check. They don't, but still provide the option for those who do want it and this is what they charge.

 

 

 

0.1% of the amount with a minimum of € 7, - and a maximum of € 70, -

 

+ € 35, - + € 9, - postage + € 25, -correspondent cost and 6% inquiry commission and 2% exchange rate fees if they send it in USD.

 

 

 

200 euro will be 88 to 92 euro costs because Princess uses a method using paper and mail rather and doing it electronically, which would have been free!

 

 

 

I read here that the company sending the checks also takes 4 USD.

 

 

 

Our 200 euro deposit will result in only getting half of what we paid!

 

 

Princess isn't scr*wing you over, your banking system is.

Edited June 19, 2016 by SadieN