Sail 'n' Sign - Holds on my Account!!

[GoinCruisin]

This doesn't have anything to do with international travel, but yes, I know to call the bank before leaving the country, I've traveled extensively abroad. This was just a cruise-to-nowhere. And I do have two cards, I just chose to use this one for my SNS.

 

Again, I've used debit cards with three banks over the last decade+, and I've never had this happen before. And my bank is very good. Sigh. It may have "always been like this", but it's not "always like this"---if that distinction makes any sense?

 

Carnival says they're sorry, Carnival said THEY hold funds for "up to 72 hours", and that the holds SHOULD have dropped already (and they didn't), Carnival has to notify my bank to release those funds.....as mom2 said, it seems to me like this is on Carnival's end, not my bank's. If Carnival didn't release the authorization codes they should have, isn't that their fault? My bank told me their standard practice is to remove ALL holds after 5 days. I'm just trying to get it done THIS week, not next. That's what's making me confused.

 

Carnival does this 10's of thousands of times over and over again... there could be a delay with your bank due to holidays, or any number of things. This doesn't seem to be on Carnival's end, not sure how you could tell, but I can tell you this happens with banks MANY times... a bank cannot tell you how long the release will take, that varies. A lot of businesses place these holds, but they are usually smaller and you never notice, but some of them can take more than a week to fall off, even after the authorization is released. Most people, never even notice these holds... unless you check your balance each day on the cruise, etc. I would say you should see it roll off pretty soon... you may just want to use another method of payment next time... good luck.

[Mikew0805]

OK, CC smart kids, someone explain to me who's responsible for this. I just hopped off the Victory on Monday morning, with XXXX amount charging to my Sail 'n' Sign account.

 

I got home, checked my bank account, and lo and behold, I have "holds" on my account totaling XXXX amount. Kosher, no problem there. On Tuesday, Carnival charged me XXXX amount, which posted to my account. The problem? SOME of the holds dropped off, but others stayed around, so my bank account is MUCH lower than it really is. Carnival said yesterday that the holds would be off by midnight last night, but they're still here.

 

Carnival is "working on it", and blames my bank for keeping the holds around, and that they'll fax them something to make 'em release those funds (which is a decent amount, almost the same as my Sail 'n' Sign total!!!). My bank says it's Carnival that is causing the holds to stay there, and they can't do anything until Carnival says so.

 

Generally speaking, I understand holds. But I've NEVER had a company deduct the full amount AND leave the holds in place. I certainly didn't authorize Carnival to take almost twice what I owe them!! It doesn't matter if the money's not really "gone"---I can't use it. They've done the same to my roommate and her account is technically overdrafted until they put the money back---she can't even buy gas or food right now.

 

Who's responsible for this? I'm getting the run-around. :mad: If this is ultra-common, and I've just never run into it before, feel free to tell me I'm being silly. Hehe.

 

It's your bank. Each bank has a timeframe for certain types of merchant transactions to be completed before releasing the hold.

[figs]

It's your bank. Each bank has a timeframe for certain types of merchant transactions to be completed before releasing the hold.

 

I know, my last post stated it: 5 business days without confirmation from the company. So, as of next week, my bank will automatically be removing these charges.

 

What I'm questioning is why Carnival told me that the holds would drop after 72 hours (implying they have something to do with it), not 5 days. If, as some of the other posters have said, Carnival forgot to send the charge to those particular authorizations, and instead ran a new charge, leaving those holds on my account, that seems like it would make them responsible, no?

 

And, btw, this is all an academic exercise---I'm not gonna sue or call and yell or anything. I'm just trying to understand why two companies are telling me different things, and why all of YOU guys are doing the same. ;) No consensus anywhere! Heheh.

[debster11]

OK, CC smart kids, someone explain to me who's responsible for this. I just hopped off the Victory on Monday morning, with XXXX amount charging to my Sail 'n' Sign account.

 

I got home, checked my bank account, and lo and behold, I have "holds" on my account totaling XXXX amount. Kosher, no problem there. On Tuesday, Carnival charged me XXXX amount, which posted to my account. The problem? SOME of the holds dropped off, but others stayed around, so my bank account is MUCH lower than it really is. Carnival said yesterday that the holds would be off by midnight last night, but they're still here.

 

Carnival is "working on it", and blames my bank for keeping the holds around, and that they'll fax them something to make 'em release those funds (which is a decent amount, almost the same as my Sail 'n' Sign total!!!). My bank says it's Carnival that is causing the holds to stay there, and they can't do anything until Carnival says so.

 

Generally speaking, I understand holds. But I've NEVER had a company deduct the full amount AND leave the holds in place. I certainly didn't authorize Carnival to take almost twice what I owe them!! It doesn't matter if the money's not really "gone"---I can't use it. They've done the same to my roommate and her account is technically overdrafted until they put the money back---she can't even buy gas or food right now.

 

Who's responsible for this? I'm getting the run-around. :mad: If this is ultra-common, and I've just never run into it before, feel free to tell me I'm being silly. Hehe.

 

Most holds will drop off after a week. I work with MC/Visa daily and this is generally the case. I just got off the Destiny and my hold is gone as of this morning. I disembarked yesterday. Good luck. If they are not off your acct by tomorrow I would call the bank and raise h*ll! The bank ultimately is the culprit if Carnival did what they said they would by faxing a release to your bank. I used a debit card too and will use cash in the future.

[denisey]

What I'm questioning is why Carnival told me that the holds would drop after 72 hours (implying they have something to do with it), not 5 days. If, as some of the other posters have said, Carnival forgot to send the charge to those particular authorizations, and instead ran a new charge, leaving those holds on my account, that seems like it would make them responsible, no?

 

Because the vendor (Carnival) can request a date for the hold to be released, but the bank can use their own internal policies for when they release holds.

 

I suspect we will see more and more of this, as the credit crunch goes on and banks and vendors want to cover their butts!

[JENNIEROEBUCK]

Can I ask what bank the OP uses? Uh, I just don't want this to happen to me or anyone I know ;) I've cruised on RCCL last couple of time and had no problem with my debit card, but who knows Carnival could be totally different!

[jetskier]

From what I have read noone has not mentioned that there are middlemen involved also. When Carnival submits your pre-auth or final charge, it gets processed by their CC processor. From there it goes to a clearinghouse. From there to your bank. Sometimes it is out of their hands as to when things get removed.

 

Dave

[IllinoisFish]

Monday Oct 13 was a "bank holiday" ... meaning that the Federal Reserve was closed. For all US banks, that means no electronic transactions took place through the wire or ACH networks (not sure of credit card networks). I wonder if that delayed anything by 24 hours?

[deborahjo]

In 2003 we used our debit card the first and last time. That is exactly what happened to us. It took Carnival over a week after the cruise to get all the charges put thru and holds off of my account. I hated it. Cost me because it overdrew my account. Finally holds were off and ODs were reversed.

 

Will never use debit card again.

[ccc321]

That happened to me about 2 years ago with airline tickets. I learned to use my cc instead of debit. But it is not only the banks that have a hold. The companies that you purchase your goods and services do too. Last Agust I had my purse stolen. When I went to the bank to close my account, I couldn't because I had purchased gas 3 days earlier using my debit card and the gas company still had a$1. hold on my account. We had to transfer all but $1 into my new account and I was able to close it a few days later when the hold was released.

[figs]

In 2003 we used our debit card the first and last time. That is exactly what happened to us. It took Carnival over a week after the cruise to get all the charges put thru and holds off of my account. I hated it. Cost me because it overdrew my account. Finally holds were off and ODs were reversed.

 

Will never use debit card again.

 

Lord, do I feel for you!! I used this same debit card last year for a trip on the Miracle, and there were no problems. Maybe it is the economy! But the bank said they couldn't released the funds w/o authorization from Carnival (and Carnival said the same thing), so it seems like they aren't free to release the money until Carnival tells them to, or it's been 5 days. That's why I was "blaming" Carnival for this. I don't want to out my bank quite yet, 'cause really, the sense I'm getting from the situation is this is a Carnival screw-up, not my bank's. If that changes, you guys will be the *second* to know!!

 

Hearing these horror stories, I'm using my Visa next time. Actually, my debit card IS a Visa, too---I always process things as "credit", so it didn't even occur to me that this would be an issue. Bleh! :)

 

Thanks, all!!

[Sarae]

Carnival states 72 hours because that is what time frame they have - however your bank has a 60 hour time frame. Have Carnival fax a release letter..that should release within 2-5 hours.

 

I had my insurance company mess up - billed me for 3 payments, 2 showed as holds. the bank stated 30 days before drop off. ..insurance company faxed release form 2 hours later no holds.

[farler05]

This happened to us on our last cruise, two weeks ago. There were holds for individual purchases & then one big charge for the entire balance. The holds dropped off over 3 days.

 

For everyone who likes to go on about how this is why you should use a credit card, there are those of us who do not believe in using credit cards & do not have any. I follow Dave Ramsey's philosophies towards debt free living & haven't had any credit cards for a few years. It's cash or debit card only. I just make sure I have enough money in the account to get me through any holds on the account.

[fpslim]

I can't tell you definitively in this case, but I'm a retail manager, and if a customer returns an item and we put it back on their CC, my company posts all transactions at close of business that day. The bank or CC company determine how soon the customer sees it. It can be anywhere between 3-7 days :eek:

Good luck!!!

 

Bob

[mjl1960]

This is normal with banks...it is usually a bank issue.

[rusty27811]

when the cruise line pulls money from a debit card it can take up to 72 hours after the transaction posts where you can see it for it to clear your bank and end up in the cruise lines account. The reason the hold is still on is because while the funds have left your account, they havent made it to the cruise lines account yet...this is true of all ach transactions. This can also be slowed down if you are using a small credit union or regional bank, rather than a large national bank they tend to operate faster especially on weekend days

[jae1969]

It all depends on the Bank. My Credit Union removes holds within 2 days after the release of funds. Online I can check my balance and it gives me the account balance and available balance.

 

You would be surprised how many thing you buy in this world that put a hold on your account. I use my Visa/debit card on our cruises and the holds are removed before we get home.

 

I had asked the Credit Union about why some people have longer waits on holds then we do at the credit union. They told me it is the bank who decide how long a hold is in place before it drops off. Meaning how long after a release is sent is the charge removed. In fact the Credit Union told me that a certain bank in town has a 7 - 10 day wait on all holds. Yet another reason I love my credit union. It's your money, you should be able to use it. But even so I still have a 2 day wait on all holds.

 

I am sorry you had to go thru this but if you had ever rented a car or a hotel room you would have know there would be a hold and a charge on your account. Anyway I am sure you will get your money soon.

[wegiekat]

I work for a national hotel chain and I can tell you that, we the hotel, have absolutely no control over when a bank releases these holds. We have a sign at our front desk detailing debit card holds. If I check a guest in, I advice them to hold the room on a regular cc, then pay with their debit card when they check out, that way, there are no additional holds.

[BKnTX]

Ok...here is a little tip for you that I use...

 

I have a Paypal debit card that is linked to my bank account. It works like a regular debit card but the paypal debit card will only take money out of my bank account for authorized purchases. Paypal will not put a hold on the money in my bank account for pre-authorizations it just keeps that pre-authorization on the Paypal card itself until the hold is released. If you prefer not to use credit cards but don't want to jack with the money in your bank account being held for a week or longer, this is the way to go.

[pba20493]

Ok, I didnt read all the way throughthe thread, so forgive me if this has been said.

 

The holds will fall off your account in as little as 3 days or as much as 10 days ( business days that is ). That seems to be the problem with the debit/check card thingys. Personally, we use cash, its the same thing as using your debit card only NO HOLDS.

 

While using credit cards is usually the prefered method, we dont have one, and even if we did, wouldnt use it ( see wall street for the credit problem we now have ).

 

But, dont worry, they will fall off. I will say that CCL has no idea exactly when the holds will drop, as they are not your bank. I get this problem at the hotel I work at all the time. I have gone to printing up cards and handing them out to the guests that check in using a debit card so they wont freak out and yell at me.

 

Tim

[Cooper333]

The holds should have an automatic expiration on them. Unfortunately, with this being the weekend, you may be out of luck. What Carnival is offering to do, fax your bank, is the only way you will get your bookkeeping dept to remove them prior to them falling off. It happens, and it is unfortunate, but that is part of bankcards.

 

I suggest you go ahead and have Carnival fax them, then you follow up with your bookkeeping dept personally.

 

Good luck!

[Carolyn1950]

Some folks seem to think the holds only happen with debit cards.. It is credit cards too.. When I returned home from my last cruise, I had the debit pending for my sign and sail final amount and the daily charges pending.. The daily charges fell off in 4 days but it still threw my credit card over my balance amount.. Which means I couldn't use my credit card til the daily charges fell off.

 

I have one credit card just for cruising. It has a 500.00 limit and that way I don't have problems after my cruise..

[jennlee]

hmmm well I guess 've just been lucky in the past. Yes I know that they put the hold on there, but it always falls off within a business day or two. I try to avoid using credit cards, and always use my debit card. However, from looking at this thread I'm glad I decided to go ahead and use my paypal debit card...my freelance writing money goes there any way (AKA my cruise money), and I can transfer over $$ to that account if I want more in there before I leave that will keep my bank account from getting locked up!