Afternoon. Kindly assist me with the following:
On 7th July 2020, through my junior at work we made a booking with a hotel for 12 people to stay from 9th to 12th July 2020 for P38,130. On the 8th July 2020, we made a cancellation of our booking. Now the hotel is demanding 100% payment sighting that it is within their cancellation policy. Is this procedural and lawful??
I know it must be frustrating given that you only booked the accommodation two days before you were all due to check in so the first two cancellation periods never applied to you because your booking was already within one week of your planned stay. However, it’s certainly normal practice in hotels to charge a customer a cancellation fee. It’s possible that the hotel might have turned away other customers once you’d reserved the rooms.
I’ve heard of similar situations where the hotel was able to rebook the rooms and then they’ve refunded the original customer but that was more due to kindness than any obligation they might have had.
Remember that this hotel didn’t take your money under any false pretences, they didn’t deceive you and they weren’t the ones who cancelled the booking. I know it’s frustrating but the lesson is never to agree to any commitment if you’re not 100% certain you can adhere to it.
Meanwhile, there’s something you didn’t tell me. Did you actually pay them yet? Did you sign a booking form? Your answers to those questions might change things slightly!
Can I get a refund too?
Good day sir. I have a quick question, but first here's my story: On Sunday 24th May 2020, I purchased a water purifier for P1,500 from someone on Facebook, and he came and installed it. That Wednesday 27 May, I woke up to find my house full of water, the filtration system was leaking. I contacted him and he came on the 7th June. He fiddled a bit with the device and said it was OK, it had just needed a little tightening. That same night, it started leaking again. It seemed to me that the device was probably defective and I requested a replacement, which he agreed to but never did. He stopped taking my calls. On 28th June, he answered and said he'd find me a replacement filter. I told him I'd rather get a refund as I wasn't interested in this gadget anymore. Once again he agreed and said he'd talk to me on the 2nd July. He hasn't communicated since. His partner also doesn't take my calls. My question is, where do I go for help? Secondly, they advertise these things on Facebook. How do I help the next person not to go through this headache?
I think this supplier needs a lesson about the new Consumer Protection Act. It’s something that ALL suppliers need to understand. Section 15 (1) of the Act says that goods must be “of good quality, in good working order and free of defects”. Section 16 (1) says that “the producer or importer, the distributor and the retailer each warrant that the goods comply” with that requirement. Read that last bit again. Everyone in the supply chain is now forced to promise that the goods are adequate. No longer can they play the blame game, saying it’s someone else’s responsibility to fix things. Sections 16 (2) and (3) then say that if the goods fail to satisfy these requirements the consumer can return them for either a repair, replacement or refund but it’s up to the suppler to decide which they offer. However, the best bit comes next. Section 16 (4) says that if the same problem occurs again within three months the consumer can now demand either a replacement or refund. There’s no second chance to repair something.
I think we should both tell this guy what the law says, don’t you? Maybe a little education on consumer rights would help him to honour his obligations. In fact, maybe all suppliers need to learn this?
As for your last question, how you can help other people not to experience the same disappointment, let’s see how well he responds. Then maybe Facebook can do what it’s best at!
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