Trouble getting refund. Any suggestions?

[Choochala]

I would demand a full refund never mind losing 18% on something which was never delivered. I would also go through my cc company. If you can't get in touch with someone who can help resolve the situation you have every right to call that fraud.

[Crusin6]

What exactly is this 18%?

 

Since when does ncl charge 18% on excursions?

 

And then not refund it?

 

 

Fwiw the op must be talking about something else because who pays 18% on a cancelled excursion. Lol

 

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

What exactly is this 18%?

 

Since when does ncl charge 18% on excursions?

 

And then not refund it?

 

 

Fwiw the op must be talking about something else because who pays 18% on a cancelled excursion. Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The 18% is the OP's DSC which was deducted from the money they were credited on their onboard account from the canceled excursion.

 

Bill

[abbyar]

I'd post to NCL's FB page and provide details (frankly I'd leave out the deduction and simply give the dates & reason for cancellation). I've had luck with getting a response that way.

[abbyar]

And if you don't get a response you can stil dispute with the cc company, whether you've paid them already or not.

[pokerpro5]

As an expert on using credit cards and extracting the maximum value out of them, I can tell you that this is a perfect spot for a chargeback.

 

A merchant is required to give you a refund in a timely fashion.

 

12 weeks is not timely, unless you agreed to the 12 week period beforehand. I haven't checked the fine print, but I doubt any of NCL's documentation states that the passenger agrees to wait 12 weeks for any refund due.

 

I once had this exact issue with Air Canada. They owed me $120. They directed me to their website, where I filled out a form and got an e-mail response that they would take 10-12 weeks to refund my money! When I called into customer service, I was told that they were "behind" on processing refunds and were understaffed, and that was the reason for the 12 week wait.

 

I called my CC company and complained. The CC company agreed that 12 weeks was unacceptable and processed a refund of the $120. It is possible that the CC company just ate the $120 (they do this sometimes, just for expediency, which I hate), but there was no way for me to tell.

 

Since this is an amount of around $3000, the CC company will take the chargeback more seriously. They will contact NCL and demand an answer, and NCL will have 30 days to respond. If NCL doesn't answer (which is likely), you will automatically win the chargeback. Even if NCL does answer, they will still lose if they admit that you are owed the money but they just can't process it fast enough.

 

Your credit score will not take a hit for any of this.

 

Go ahead and charge back. But call NCL one more time, get the proper department on the phone, and indicate you will be charging back if they do not refund you immediately.

[luvtheships]

As an expert on using credit cards and extracting the maximum value out of them, I can tell you that this is a perfect spot for a chargeback.

 

 

 

A merchant is required to give you a refund in a timely fashion.

 

 

 

12 weeks is not timely, unless you agreed to the 12 week period beforehand. I haven't checked the fine print, but I doubt any of NCL's documentation states that the passenger agrees to wait 12 weeks for any refund due.

 

 

 

I once had this exact issue with Air Canada. They owed me $120. They directed me to their website, where I filled out a form and got an e-mail response that they would take 10-12 weeks to refund my money! When I called into customer service, I was told that they were "behind" on processing refunds and were understaffed, and that was the reason for the 12 week wait.

 

 

 

I called my CC company and complained. The CC company agreed that 12 weeks was unacceptable and processed a refund of the $120. It is possible that the CC company just ate the $120 (they do this sometimes, just for expediency, which I hate), but there was no way for me to tell.

 

 

 

Since this is an amount of around $3000, the CC company will take the chargeback more seriously. They will contact NCL and demand an answer, and NCL will have 30 days to respond. If NCL doesn't answer (which is likely), you will automatically win the chargeback. Even if NCL does answer, they will still lose if they admit that you are owed the money but they just can't process it fast enough.

 

 

 

Your credit score will not take a hit for any of this.

 

 

 

Go ahead and charge back. But call NCL one more time, get the proper department on the phone, and indicate you will be charging back if they do not refund you immediately.

 

 

Just wondering....your CC gave you back the $120 right?

 

Did the company that also owed you the money finally give you the $120 also ?

 

Did you get $240 in total?

 

Or are you saying the company that owed you never gave you the refund?

 

What should have happened was that the CC company gives you the $120 chargeback as a temporary chargeback in your account but then reverses it when the company that owes you finally gives you the credit

 

If you did indeed get a total of $240 back well that's certainly an operational mistake

 

If you just got the $120 CC chargeback and it eventually remained permanent at least you were made whole

 

But

 

The company that owed you the $120 had to eventually credit someone

 

My guess is the cc company did get the $120 from that company but you didn't see it on your account because the credit card company turned your temporary $120 chargeback into a permanent chargeback so you were made whole and so was your cc company

 

 

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[luvtheships]

Also just to put this thread in perspective

 

It has only been approximately 7 weeks since the op finished this cruise

 

Not sure where posters are coming up with 12 weeks waiting for a refund is coming from

 

 

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[pokerpro5]

Just wondering....your CC gave you back the $120 right?

 

Did the company that also owed you the money finally give you the $120 also ?

 

Did you get $240 in total?

 

Or are you saying the company that owed you never gave you the refund?

 

What should have happened was that the CC company gives you the $120 chargeback as a temporary chargeback in your account but then reverses it when the company that owes you finally gives you the credit

 

If you did indeed get a total of $240 back well that's certainly an operational mistake

 

If you just got the $120 CC chargeback and it eventually remained permanent at least you were made whole

 

But

 

The company that owed you the $120 had to eventually credit someone

 

My guess is the cc company did get the $120 from that company but you didn't see it on your account because the credit card company turned your temporary $120 chargeback into a permanent chargeback so you were made whole and so was your cc company

 

 

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Not really relevant here, but yes, I got $240 back for the $120 they owed me, for the reasons you stated.

 

Air Canada didn't see that I charged back (or the CC company just ate it), so I also got my regular $120 processed after 12 weeks.

 

I did not call up Air Canada begging for them to take the money back.

 

This "double dip" was their fault. They didn't staff properly, and were holding my money hostage for 3 months. I didn't set out to double dip, but I felt they didn't deserve for me to chase them down to return it once I got it twice as a result of having to charge back due to their unethical refund practices.

 

And 7 weeks or 12 weeks doesn't really matter. Anything more than 2 weeks is unacceptable for a refund for unused services, especially an amount like $3000.

 

NCL will not let you pay 7 weeks late, so they should refund money owed to you in a timely fashion.

[luvtheships]

Not really relevant here, but yes, I got $240 back for the $120 they owed me, for the reasons you stated.

 

 

 

Air Canada didn't see that I charged back (or the CC company just ate it), so I also got my regular $120 processed after 12 weeks.

 

 

 

I did not call up Air Canada begging for them to take the money back.

 

 

 

This "double dip" was their fault. They didn't staff properly, and were holding my money hostage for 3 months. I didn't set out to double dip, but I felt they didn't deserve for me to chase them down to return it once I got it twice as a result of having to charge back due to their unethical refund practices.

 

 

 

And 7 weeks or 12 weeks doesn't really matter. Anything more than 2 weeks is unacceptable for a refund for unused services, especially an amount like $3000.

 

 

 

NCL will not let you pay 7 weeks late, so they should refund money owed to you in a timely fashion.

 

 

My point was that you said 12 weeks but it hasn't been that long based on cruise date and based on what we know about Ncl refunds waiting 7 weeks is actually not a big deal regardless of wanting it in 2 weeks we all know Ncl doesn't operate that way due to many reasons....

 

Poor management

Cash flow issues

Reduced staffing

 

Are the things that immediately come to mind

 

Not sure where you got 12 weeks from except for dramatic effect as it is a made up number of weeks and totally inaccurate and misleading

 

I would think in a case like the op that arbitrarily adding 5 weeks is a big deal so for you to say it doesn't matter is foolish.

 

 

If the op had said their cruise was early June Or May versus July that is serious but early July is actually too soon to expect a refund from the current Ncl management operations. Lol

 

Your cc company is at fault for not making your initial chargeback a temporary 30 day chargeback that automatically reversed when the actual credit came through

 

 

I don't pay cc interest of course and do get free 18 month 0% deals all the time....but based on the incompetence of your cc company giving you $120 you weren't entitled to is it any wonder that others pay 18% interest? Lol

 

Your cc company and its incompetent IT programmers should have known to program simple debit and credit adjusting and reversing entries into their computer system

 

Chances are though that the initial untrained clerk input your chargeback as permanent rather than temporary that is why you got to double dip

 

Smh at the high levels of incompetence and lack of knowledge in the workplace

 

And yes I too would have kept the $240

 

The cc company deserves to lose the $120 due to their incompetence

 

 

 

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Edited August 31, 2016 by luvtheships

[dexddd]

Also just to put this thread in perspective

 

It has only been approximately 7 weeks since the op finished this cruise

 

Not sure where posters are coming up with 12 weeks waiting for a refund is coming from

 

 

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The 12 weeks is coming from a bunch of us on POA who waited roughly that long or longer. Plus there was the poster above who waited 10 weeks. In our case, it was 16 weeks if IIRC and there were a couple others who waited even longer. Granted, there was probably a larger group all at once in our situation but not acceptable response time.

 

I'd agree with your earlier statement for the reasons and possibly add one more. The checks started to really flow after the end of the quarter so my guess is they hold checks for a long time before the end of the quarter.

[rhblake]

I have not read anywhere whether this was a prepaid (before the cruise) excursion or one purchased on board. If purchased on board the charge and the credit should both be on the final bill. If prepaid it may be to late to go back to the credit card company, as there are time limits in which you can file a claim. Also, if prepaid then NCL should be refunding in a reasonable amount of time, which it sounds like they are not doing.

[NLH Arizona]

Poor management

Cash flow issues

Reduced staffing

 

Are the things that immediately come to mind

 

Or maybe the ship did not do the proper paperwork and they are waiting on that. On one of my cruises, I paid for a dinner at the Teppanyaki restaurant and then the Casino comped me a meal, along with a few friends. When I told them that I had already purchase the meal, they said they would cancel it for me and I would get my money back. When I arrived at the restaurant, the hostess advised me that my paid reservation was cancelled and I would get that money back. Since this was at the start of me cruising with NCL, I wasn't away of how I would get it back, so I asked at the dining reservation desk and she said I would get OBC for the amount. After I got my bill the last morning, there was no credit and Guest Services said the casino was closed, so I would have to call Miami. Upon my return home, I called NCL and they said they had to contact the ship and then I would get a credit to my Visa. It took weeks and weeks and weeks and when I would call, they said that they hadn't heard back from the ship. I finally got the credit, but it took a long, long time.

[jamminlion]

Here's what happens: they write you a check because the cost of paper, and envelope and a stamp are FAR cheaper than the charge to NCL to refund your money back to your card. They don't want to pay that 3% transaction fee - the $90 that VISA/MC keep for using a card. Then, they take their sweet time refunding it because they can!

 

I would totally call my credit card company, explain you have had your money held for 7 weeks, and a chunk of money at that - and that you would like to dispute the transaction because you have been hoodwinked into believing what someone on a ship who will never see you again said would happen. Classically passing the buck until you disembark the ship and then that crew member doesn't have to deal with you again.

 

That along with lighting up social media and the trip advising site and posting a review on ncl website ought to be a good start to getting your money back faster.

 

12 weeks is a ridiculous and outrageous amount of time, when they charge you the nanosecond you give them the 3 digit code on the back of your card to complete the transaction.

[Crusin6]

Or maybe the ship did not do the proper paperwork and they are waiting on that. On one of my cruises, I paid for a dinner at the Teppanyaki restaurant and then the Casino comped me a meal, along with a few friends. When I told them that I had already purchase the meal, they said they would cancel it for me and I would get my money back. When I arrived at the restaurant, the hostess advised me that my paid reservation was cancelled and I would get that money back. Since this was at the start of me cruising with NCL, I wasn't away of how I would get it back, so I asked at the dining reservation desk and she said I would get OBC for the amount. After I got my bill the last morning, there was no credit and Guest Services said the casino was closed, so I would have to call Miami. Upon my return home, I called NCL and they said they had to contact the ship and then I would get a credit to my Visa. It took weeks and weeks and weeks and when I would call, they said that they hadn't heard back from the ship. I finally got the credit, but it took a long, long time.

 

 

I prepaid online for my teppanyaki dinner at the time of reserving it. ( no udp btw) but of course even when I reminded teppanyaki that it was prepaid they still charged me $25 at the time per person. Teppanyaki waitress said she would refund it. Lol yeah right

 

 

Since I fully know how ncl operates I promptly went to guest services and had them immediately remove it

 

 

My situation did not need for me to wait any longer than right after the meal to rectify it

 

 

Has I not done so I'm sure I'd still be waiting. This was in 2013. Lol

 

 

Fwiw....never ever let the ball drop with ncl

 

Never ever believe that guest services is on the case

 

Get names and remind guest services that you expect them to call your cabin with the resolution and to feel free to leave a message

 

 

Then remind them you will follow up and ask the person who is handling your case when they are back on duty so you can speak directly to them again ......as they are aware of the specific problem

 

 

The only way to get them to do their job is to tell them they will keep seeing you until you are satisfied

 

 

Lol

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

12 weeks is a ridiculous and outrageous amount of time, when they charge you the nanosecond you give them the 3 digit code on the back of your card to complete the transaction.

I thought the OP said they had been waiting for 7 weeks, where did 12 weeks come from?

[pokerpro5]

Here's what happens: they write you a check because the cost of paper, and envelope and a stamp are FAR cheaper than the charge to NCL to refund your money back to your card. They don't want to pay that 3% transaction fee - the $90 that VISA/MC keep for using a card. Then, they take their sweet time refunding it because they can!

 

I would totally call my credit card company, explain you have had your money held for 7 weeks, and a chunk of money at that - and that you would like to dispute the transaction because you have been hoodwinked into believing what someone on a ship who will never see you again said would happen. Classically passing the buck until you disembark the ship and then that crew member doesn't have to deal with you again.

 

That along with lighting up social media and the trip advising site and posting a review on ncl website ought to be a good start to getting your money back faster.

 

12 weeks is a ridiculous and outrageous amount of time, when they charge you the nanosecond you give them the 3 digit code on the back of your card to complete the transaction.

 

NCL does not pay 3% on processing refunds. In fact, I doubt they pay 3% on your purchases with them (it's probably around 2.1%).

 

When they refund a purchase, they only pay a tiny flat transaction fee, which is something like 10 cents.

 

This is why merchants do not mind processing refunds back to credit cards, and in fact prefer doing so if your original form of payment was a credit card.

 

But yeah, to your second point, 12 weeks (or even 7 weeks) is an outrageous amount of time for NCL to be taking, especially for a large sum of money like $3000.

[Cruise a holic]

I always use AMEX and never had a problem getting a refund for a service that wasn't delivered or defective. Not sure what Credit card you use, but you should definitely appeal it. I have also had a situation using another credit card where I purchased jewelry at a port and it was fake- the Credit card company also made good on the offer as the vendor did not.

 

Make a case with your credit card company.

[ledaebel]

When I received the final bill they night before the end of the cruise, I went to the front desk to have some questions answered. They said the mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips and expenses was being taken from my excursion refund and the funds should be mailed 5 days after end of the cruise

 

I am not looking forward to the extremely long waits on hold trying to speak to a real human being.

 

Every one has great ideas but I rally like the Facebook comment.

 

We have been back home more than 6 weeks, 5 more than promised.

 

Why do people seem so pleased with NCL? But, I must admit we enjoyed ourselves with all the excursions and port visits, Grandchildren loved the teen club.

[pokerpro5]

When I received the final bill they night before the end of the cruise, I went to the front desk to have some questions answered. They said the mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips and expenses was being taken from my excursion refund and the funds should be mailed 5 days after end of the cruise

 

I am not looking forward to the extremely long waits on hold trying to speak to a real human being.

 

Every one has great ideas but I rally like the Facebook comment.

 

We have been back home more than 6 weeks, 5 more than promised.

 

Why do people seem so pleased with NCL? But, I must admit we enjoyed ourselves with all the excursions and port visits, Grandchildren loved the teen club.

 

No offense, but why do you keep avoiding the credit card chargeback route?

 

Several people here, myself included, have suggested it. That's your best course of action if NCL is dragging their feet on the refund.

[Sauer-kraut]

They said the mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips and expenses was being taken from my excursion refund and the funds should be mailed 5 days after end of the cruise

 

I'm not getting this 18% gratuity, because that is always lumped in with any spa treatment or bar bill or dining fee. That doesn't show up as 'extra' gratuity, you see the full price of the bill, i.e. $7.00 for a cocktail plus $1.26 for the 18% will show on your account as $8.26 maltings bar expense.

[dexddd]

When I received the final bill they night before the end of the cruise, I went to the front desk to have some questions answered. They said the mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips and expenses was being taken from my excursion refund and the funds should be mailed 5 days after end of the cruise

 

I am not looking forward to the extremely long waits on hold trying to speak to a real human being.

 

Every one has great ideas but I rally like the Facebook comment.

 

We have been back home more than 6 weeks, 5 more than promised.

 

Why do people seem so pleased with NCL? But, I must admit we enjoyed ourselves with all the excursions and port visits, Grandchildren loved the teen club.

 

I guess I'm not seeing people being pleased with NCL in this thread.

 

If you have a few minutes, you may want to read the following for some options:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2376113

Edited August 31, 2016 by dexddd

[NLH Arizona]

When I received the final bill they night before the end of the cruise, I went to the front desk to have some questions answered. They said the mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips and expenses was being taken from my excursion refund and the funds should be mailed 5 days after end of the cruise

 

When you say mandatory 18% gratuity for shipboard tips are you talking about the Daily Service Charge? The only time 18% is charge is when you make certain purchases (drinks, specialty dining, spa treatments) and they would be included in that purchase amount, not listed separately. The Daily Service Charge is not 18%, it is either $13.50 or $15.50 per person per day depending on if you were in a non-suite or a suite.

[ledaebel]

NHLArizona, I am going by what my TA explained I'm not an experienced traveler so may have terminology wrong. (that was what I understood.)

 

In any event I find it hard to reach responsible NCL employees. I speak with my credit card provider tomorrow. Maybe they can give me some guidance.

[fshagan]

NHLArizona' date=' I am going by what my TA explained I'm not an experienced traveler so may have terminology wrong. (that was what I understood.)

 

In any event I find it hard to reach responsible NCL employees. I speak with my credit card provider tomorrow. Maybe they can give me some guidance.[/quote']

 

That is probably the best route to take. NCL takes forever now to refund customers and it is inexcusable. Depending on when the charge was first put on your credit card, and the terms of the merchant account they have, they may not be able to credit back via the card. They should still cut you a check within 7 - 10 days if that's the case. There is no valid reason to take this long to refund you.

 

Unlike others, I don't think there's a sinister plan afoot here; they are simply incompetent in customer service (except when selling you something .... they have that down pretty well with good service on the front end).