The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Will they refund me?

A few months back I booked in a guest house not noticing it wasn't the one I intended to book therefore I did not use it. I followed it up for reimbursement the very same day within an hours time or so but they refused. Instead after a few days of going back and forth with the receptionist apparently she finally made an arrangement for me to communicate with the owner who came up with a resolution of me using the reservation or booking with 356 days of which I refused as it was never stipulated on the original terms.

How can I go about this matter?

This is complicated. Firstly, it's important to understand who made the mistake here and it wasn't the guest house. They accepted your booking in good faith and it's possible they turned away other guests who wanted to stay with them but couldn't because you'd booked a room.

However, I think it would be reasonable for them to check if this was the case. Did they really lose money because you wanted to cancel the booking? If they didn't, it would be reasonable and kind for them to refund you. They'd obviously be entitled to deduct any banking costs from the refund but I think a refund would be a kind thing to do.

I'm happy to contact them and suggest they take another look.

Will they refund me too?

On August 30th 2025 I wanted to buy jack hammer from a shop at Game City Mall. I was told they don't sell it but they can do special order for me if I pay 50% of the machine which was P5,600.

I deposited P1,200 but in September I saw the machine same brand from other shop with a lower price of P3,999. Then I consulted one the employees from the shop that I want to take my P1,200 because I found the machine with a more affordable price. Then he says they already ordered the machine though I didn't pay 50% like we agreed. Now I want to withdraw my P1,200 from them.

What outcomes should I expect since I was supposed to make payment so that they bring machine even though I didn't make their 50% payment.

Again, this seems to be a situation where the supplier hasn't actually done anything wrong. Other than being expensive.

Like the guesthouse in the other problem this week, they took money for this item in good faith. They thought you wanted to buy it and agreed a P5,600 deposit. Perhaps their mistake was to begin the ordering process before you'd paid them the agreed amount.

Again, this depends on how much work the store did to order the item. Did they actually do any work? Or maybe they did a lot of work and has the item already being shipped? We need to find out so we know what to expect from the store.

Then it will depend on the generosity of the store. Are they prepared to do the decent thing and refund you? Again, obviously they can deduct any costs they've incurred from the P1,200 but I think they need to do the right thing, don't you?

And next time? Like with any expensive purchase, we must all shop around before paying. It's amazing how much prices can vary and what bargains are available.