Worst nightmare ever, scamming to the next level

[cheeseclan]

If you booked with a TA have them get involved.  They may have pull if they book a lot with Princess.

 

Ours does!

[land lover]

2 hours ago, oscar6220 said:

One thing I learnt from making large purchases is to always use my credit card. Protection is important:)

 Why didn't you have your credit card company handle it as a dispute last year? Just curious, you actually paid off the balance when you knew you were due credit? 

 

 

[Daniel A]

4 hours ago, oscar6220 said:

I didn’t say I’m expecting a cheque tho, the issue is that they couldn’t refund the card correctly

Have your bank do a chargeback then.  Isn't that why you used a credit card in the first place?  Let your bank sort it out with Princess.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, land lover said:

 Why didn't you have your credit card company handle it as a dispute last year? Just curious, you actually paid off the balance when you knew you were due credit?

I don't think Oscar can challenge the charge to his credit card (assuming it was paid by CC) because this was a legitimate charge. His complaint is that the partial refund due was not calculated correctly. I don't think a credit card company or his bank would get involved.

[geocruiser]

Is it possible to get the refund in US dollars at this point?

[myfuzzy]

IF I am reading this right...the OP has a refund coming from Princess.  They originally paid in Canadian funds, that were converted to US dollars on the ship at ?? % exchange rate on such and such a day.  So, being that the exchange rates fluctuates often US and Canadian dollars are usually never at "Par".  So if you bought US dollars with Canadian, you would never get the same rate when you convert the US dollars BACK to Canadian.  When my customers wanted to pay with Canadian, I had to use the conversion button, then use a rounded up dollar for them to pay, then give them US change back.  So with Princess being a US company, I don't know how they could issue a Canadian check to the OP.  They would have to issue the check amount in US dollars and the OP would have to take it to their bank and let the bank do the conversion there.  Of course the bank doesn't give the best exchange, but that is what happens when you change currencies, no matter what you are changing to what.  

[ukbecky]

13 hours ago, myfuzzy said:

IF I am reading this right...the OP has a refund coming from Princess.  They originally paid in Canadian funds, that were converted to US dollars on the ship at ?? % exchange rate on such and such a day.  So, being that the exchange rates fluctuates often US and Canadian dollars are usually never at "Par".  So if you bought US dollars with Canadian, you would never get the same rate when you convert the US dollars BACK to Canadian.  When my customers wanted to pay with Canadian, I had to use the conversion button, then use a rounded up dollar for them to pay, then give them US change back.  So with Princess being a US company, I don't know how they could issue a Canadian check to the OP.  They would have to issue the check amount in US dollars and the OP would have to take it to their bank and let the bank do the conversion there.  Of course the bank doesn't give the best exchange, but that is what happens when you change currencies, no matter what you are changing to what.  

 

It seems that this is not about currency fluctuation. This is a failure to convert from USD to CAD (which should result in more CAD).

 

Instead, Princess did the reverse - resulting in far far fewer CAD for the amount that was showing in USD.

$57000 US would give much more than that number in CAD, never less.

 

At least, that's how I read the OP's problem. 

[Daniel A]

On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 7:23 PM, Aus Traveller said:

I don't think Oscar can challenge the charge to his credit card (assuming it was paid by CC) because this was a legitimate charge. His complaint is that the partial refund due was not calculated correctly. I don't think a credit card company or his bank would get involved.

The way I see it, if a full refund of unspent OBC was a part of what Princess was offering and Princess failed to issue a full refund, then OP didn't get all of what he bought with the credit card and he should be able to get his bank involved.  At any rate, it can't hurt to contact the bank and ask.  I don't think OP cares how Princess calculates the refund, as long as the refund is for the full amount due OP as originally promised.  OP should check the fine print and make sure there isn't a penalty or a service fee for processing a refund.

[Casey12]

I hope Princess is watching this thread so that they can learn how to do conversions properly.

[tvlgoddess]

Why is your refund of your OBC not in USD to begin with?  I understand you purchased the OBC in Cdn at the exchange rate of 1.25.  I have asked Princess and was told that any unused refundable OBC will be sent back in USD by check.  Is that not the case now?

[sfaaa]

You paid C$71k OBC and received US$57k refund from Princess. US$57k x 1.25 = C$71k. Straight and simple Grade 5 math. What exactly is the problem? 

[oscar6220]

1 minute ago, sfaaa said:

You paid C$71k OBC and received US$57k refund from Princess. US$57k x 1.25 = C$71k. Straight and simple Grade 5 math. What exactly is the problem? 

oh ya, when you look at the bottom right corner. you see some grade 1 math there

[sfaaa]

Since you and Princess are clearly not on the same page and no longer communicating, I don't know why you are wasting any more of your time on this. Get a lawyer to sought this out for you.

[mcrcruiser]

Yes best to say it was a human error ;but We have found lower level employees are power  less  & can be really annoying because they don't have a clue . Save time & energy & get to the top 

[oscar6220]

44 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes best to say it was a human error ;but We have found lower level employees are power  less  & can be really annoying because they don't have a clue . Save time & energy & get to the top 

This latest reply from Princess was coming from a senior coordinator in holland America group. Doubt I could get any higher, as they are accusing me a scammer (that’s what I feel like at least)

Edited January 22, 2019 by oscar6220

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, sfaaa said:

You paid C$71k OBC and received US$57k refund from Princess. US$57k x 1.25 = C$71k. Straight and simple Grade 5 math. What exactly is the problem? 

The problem I see is that have converted US$57,267.51 to CAD using a conversion rate of 1.250.00 and ended up with CAD$45,814.01 when it should be $71,584.38. Princess has done the conversion as if the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US$, when the opposite is true.

 

Oscar - could you ask for a cheque in US$? Would you be able to bank that, even if you had to open an account in USA to do so.

[oscar6220]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The problem I see is that have converted US$57,267.51 to CAD using a conversion rate of 1.250.00 and ended up with CAD$45,814.01 when it should be $71,584.38. Princess has done the conversion as if the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US$, when the opposite is true.

 

Oscar - could you ask for a cheque in US$? Would you be able to bank that, even if you had to open an account in USA to do so.

I mean, everyone can see the issue except Princess. I can’t convince myself that they ain’t doing this intentionally tbh. On the email they said that they weren’t obligated to refund me in cheque. And ya, they just wanna keep the money for themselves lol. 

[Aus Traveller]

4 minutes ago, oscar6220 said:

I mean, everyone can see the issue except Princess. I can’t convince myself that they ain’t doing this intentionally tbh. On the email they said that they weren’t obligated to refund me in cheque. And ya, they just wanna keep the money for themselves lol. 

I have been telling my husband about this issue as it has unfolded and he has been shaking his head in bewilderment. He now suggests that you should send the Accounts Department a hand-held calculator with instructions in Primary School English as to its use. (Sorry this suggestion isn't really helpful.) Maybe the time has come for media publicity of your dilemma.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

You paid C$71k OBC and received US$57k refund from Princess. US$57k x 1.25 = C$71k. Straight and simple Grade 5 math. What exactly is the problem? 

To explain the problem simply - The Canadian dollar is worth less than the US$ as quoted. Therefore, to convert US$ to CAD you should multiply US$57,267.51 by 1.25. The result is $71.584.38. If you divide $57,267.51 by 1.25 (as if converting CAD to US$) you get $45,814.01.

[dickinson]

Please read a couple of posts on previous page about contacting Chris Elliott.  This is exactly the stuff he helps consumers with.  Much less expensive than a lawyer.

[oscar6220]

12 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Please read a couple of posts on previous page about contacting Chris Elliott.  This is exactly the stuff he helps consumers with.  Much less expensive than a lawyer.

I’ll give this a try, ty

[skynight]

I would again suggest you write to

California Department of Consumer Affairs

1625 N. Market St.

Sacramento, CA 95834, USA

 

and important send a copy to Princess Cruises Corporate Legal Department.

You probably will not receive a response from the Consumer Affairs Department, but the copy to the Princess Legal Department should create a positive response. This is what we did back some years ago and it worked. After insisting Princess did not own us any money and that we were trying to scam them their lawyer called us, said he reviewed our file and it was clear we were correct. We received our money plus some OBC for a future cruise.

 

Explain simply that Princess owes you a total of US$ 57,000 which is equivalent to CAN$71,000. Princess has insisted that they only owe  CAN$45,000. They have done their foreign exchange incorrectly and refuse to change their stance thus cheating me out of CAN$26,000. 

[oscar6220]

8 minutes ago, skynight said:

I would again suggest you write to

California Department of Consumer Affairs

1625 N. Market St.

Sacramento, CA 95834, USA

 

and important send a copy to Princess Cruises Corporate Legal Department.

You probably will not receive a response from the Consumer Affairs Department, but the copy to the Princess Legal Department should create a positive response. This is what we did back some years ago and it worked. After insisting Princess did not own us any money and that we were trying to scam them their lawyer called us, said he reviewed our file and it was clear we were correct. We received our money plus some OBC for a future cruise.

 

Explain simply that Princess owes you a total of US$ 57,000 which is equivalent to CAN$71,000. Princess has insisted that they only owe  CAN$45,000. They have done their foreign exchange incorrectly and refuse to change their stance thus cheating me out of CAN$26,000. 

Do you know if their legal department has email address that I can send it to perhaps? Appreciate 

[voljeep]

send all certified mail, return receipt requested ... build that paper trail ...

[Daniel A]

46 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Please read a couple of posts on previous page about contacting Chris Elliott.  This is exactly the stuff he helps consumers with.  Much less expensive than a lawyer.

Another very helpful option is to take your concerns to the 'troubleshooter' news reporter for the local television station.  This kind of impasse is right up their alley.  No company wants to be on the receiving end of a 'shame on you' story on the television.  The local news station here helped a neighbor of mine with a problem with another cruise line about10 years ago.  The reporters can get the right peoples' attention right away.