On 7/11 I called to make a reservtion for the august metro DE. The fellow on the other end of the phone was busy with a guy working on a swimming pool. He told me he didnt think he had room for me but would take info down and have his wife call me back.

On 7/13 having not heard from them I made a reservation at the Inn at Iron Masters. I got a confirmation fax a few minutes later confirming.

moments later on 7/13 I called the Sharon Motor Lodge and cancelled my unconfirmed reservation. the same person that took the information took my cancellation.

I got my credit card bill, and wouldnt you know I was charged $110 by the Sharon Motor Lodge.

I started the dispute process with my credit card company, and they wanted to know if i tried to work it out with the merchant.

I called the Sharon Motor Lodge and the same person answered the phone. he would NOT tell me his name and then put a woman on the phone. she said i never cancelled. BIG LIE. She refused to give me her name and hung up on me.

I called back again and told her i cancelled and stayed at the Iron masters. she said that wasnt her problem and that there was no cross out of my name so i must not have cancelled!! she hung up on me again when I asked her to return my money.

Caveat Emptor. I will spend more than 110 of time to dispute the 110 charge and can only hope fellow PCA and Rennlisters dont get caught up with these people.

My next step is to ask the powers that be at MetroNYPCA take the Sharon Motor Lodge's name off their lodging list.

 

Let's all say this together....

"T-R-A-I-L-E-R... T-R-A-S-H." I assume you never really HAD a room confirmed, so what was there to cancel??

Sharon Motor Lodge is on the BLACKLIST.. keep it there.

 

Whenever I make a reservation or cancel one, I document time, date, name of person I spoke with, etc. so that I can state with absolute precision the conversation I had with that person. Usually, the other party is taken aback that I took the time to record so much info. CYA, baby.

On another note, Gary R., is the hood of your 911 ajar?

 

I've stayed at Sharon before it was under new management and after. (Most recently, I stayed there in early April) I had no problems. Actually, I found the new owner to be quite accomodating.

Just another view.
-Z.

PS: How was the DE, Tom?

 

Tom, why not send them a nice letter discussion legal action?

 

As a guy who's in the travel business, the advice we give everybody is always get a cancellation number & hold on to it until you have confirmed your CC bill. The CC Co. will reverse the charges with a valid cancellation number. Hope these idiots realize that the $ 110.00 they stole from you probably will cost them 10 times that much or more in the long run.

 

Lime Rock is tough b/c there aren't any "chain hotels" and you deal with these Mom and Pop places. Yes, most of the time its fine but you do run into this BS. We always call early and get into the Interlaken, but I hate the Sharon the 1 time we stayed there. JW is right, I always get a cancellation number... but with the small "Inns" I'm not even sure they give them. Like the lady on the phone said, you weren't "crossed off the list!"

 

Go easy now fellas .... the Sharon is paying $110.00 for all this great advertising!

 

There was no reservation number and no cancellation. the other lodge (iron masters) faxed me a confirmation within minutes of the reservation. The call to cancel was a courtesy because he said i was essentially being wait listed.

I hope it costs them more than the 110 they are stealing from me.

Z
The DE was most excellent dude.

 

Welcome to the addiction!

Regarding Sharon Motor Lodge - give them another call - speak with the owner. Explain your situation, your affiliation with the Porsche Club, and hopefully he can refund your $110. Like I said before, in my dealings with him, he seemed to be a very accomodating man.

-Z.

 

Or maybe we could all call.

 

did he have an accent? the fellow i spoke to had an accent as did the woman he transferred me to who refused to give me his or her name and hung up on me when i asked for her boss.

 

IIRC, the fellow was of an Indian decent.

-Z.

 

Can you check your phone records to check what days you "made reservations" and "then cancelled"?

 

Rather than call which for me at least just gets me too worked up I would suggest.
Write a demand letter nicely outlining the story and sequence of events. Send it certified mail return receipt. Send CC’s to the Sharon board of Selectman or Town Administrator, the local Chief of Police, and the closest Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau.
This is not a police issue, “civil matter” but peer pressure and word of mouth around small NE towns can be wonderful thing. I went through a similar deal near Sebring when I tried to cancel at a remote location TEN DAYS in advance I was told they had a 2 week policy and I had to pay for the entire 5 day stay (2 rooms) it took four months but I finally only got charged for the 1st night.

Or a less civilized approach I have a occasional crew member who specializes in dispute/collections resolution.
Meet Greg, he speaks very softly !!