Can I sue a hotel if they took extra money out of my bank account?

Ok, I've worked in both the hotel industry and the banking industry so, here's how it works.

When you check into a hotel, they will do what is considered a pre-authorization to your credit/debit card. This basically means that they have put a hold on your account for the amount of your stay, sometimes including insurance for any phone calls and/or movies or damages. It ensures that the hotel will get their money. It can sometimes take 2 or 3 days for this pre-authorization to drop off your account, without actually charging you. Check online to see if the transaction for $143.17 says pre-auth. If so, that charge will drop off your account in a day or two and you will have access to spend that money.

The charge for $123.17 should be the actual amount you owe the hotel and they will actually get this money.

This is why you should never use a debit card attached to your primary checking account for hotel stays. It will happen at almost EVERY hotel, especially in the U.S. and the bigger chains will definitely do it.

You also need to remember that December 25th is a holiday (not to mention a Saturday) and is not a banking business day, at least in the U.S. So while you would normally have to wait 2 or 3 days for your account to return to normal, it may actually take 5 or 6 because of the holiday and weekend.

To actually answer you're question, no you cannot build a case against the hotel. If the charge for $143.17 does not drop off your account in a few days the only thing you can do is file unauthorized ACH paperwork with your bank. The bank will then send the charge back to the hotel, give you provisional credit for that amount, and wait for the hotel to either prove that the charge was in fact yours or drop it. Chances are the hotel would just drop it if it were your charge. And I in no way mean to say that you actually owe both amounts.

First off, the $20 extra is not uncommon--some hotels make those "insurance" charges much larger to ensure payment if you've damaged the room. It's also a holiday AND a weekend so the 48 hours mean working days, not the weekend or holiday days.

About the $123.17--call first thing in the morning and ask which charge is the actual charge for the stay. It's possible they had placed what is called a block on your credit card, reserving the money for the deposit and the cost of the room to be sure the card can be used for payment since most hotels require you have a credit card when you check in. If that's true, then that first charge should be gone within the same 48 hours as that $20 deposit that first got you looking at the charge list. That second $123.17 is probably your actual bill and is what will stand after any reserved amounts or deposits or blocks are removed.

Don't panic just yet, even with the second charge you found the 25th--the charges should straighten out Tuesday at the latest if they told you it would take 48 hours. Some hotels make this time much longer, up to 10 days, so this one is actually being more lenient.

The only reason you would have a case against the hotel is if these excess charges are not removed within the time they told you they would be gone. The hotel puts those blocks on your card to make sure they are paid for your stay and anything you use during the visit and some hotels even place an additional block on a card as a damage deposit, which is removed if there is no damage to your room when you check out, and it should take the same amount of time they gave you about the $20 "insurance".

Call the hotel first thing in the morning, especially since there are 2 charges there big enough to be for the whole stay, and one charge includes an additional amount. Even though that first charge is likely a block rather than an actual demand for payment, make sure that the charges you're asking about are the things I explained here.

The only reason you would have a case is if they actually keep ALL the money you see charged by the hotel. If you didn't order pay-per-view movies, room service or make any phone calls from the room, there's no reason to have to pay more than the original charge (don't forget to add in any local or county hotel taxes--most counties have an additional tax on hotel rooms on top of any sales tax in their county or state. If they do not remove all those charges, dispute the ones that shouldn't have to be paid by contacting your credit card company and explaining the situation.

I hope that answers the question. Good luck.

If you are using a credit card, then Serra is correct. The charges should straighten themselves out by the end of the billing cycle.

Anyway, you don't need to file a lawsuit for every little thing: the filing fees for the lawsuit will cost you more than its worth for such a small amount of money, and the case will need to be heard in a court located in the county where the hotel (or the hotel's headquarters) is located. Do you want to drive there? Besides, you can't begin a suit until you can prove that you have exhausted your other options.

Email the hotel customer service first, and explain that you were double charged. Give them your bill number. If the hotel does not respond, file a dispute with your bank. This doesn't mean that it was the bank's fault . . .(genius). Filing a dispute with the bank means that you dispute the charges with your bank by informing them that the charges were not authorized in that amount.

Legally, you must authorize every withdrawal from your bank account, and nobody can charge your bank account for a sum of money greater than you have authorized, regardless of how much you owe them. Suppose I owe you $1,000, and I give you a check for $200. You can't just help yourself to the rest of the money in my account. That's the real issue here: regardless of how much you do or do not owe the hotel, they were never authorized to access your account for more than $123.17 (though they might put a hold on a larger amount if it's a credit card, as Serra mentioned).

Most banks will require you contact the offending merchant and then wait a certain number of days (usually 30 days) before you file a dispute with the bank, so the sooner you contact the hotel customer service, the sooner you can get your money back.

HEY MORON.
THE FEDERAL FAIR CREDIT BILLING ACT SAYS YOU FILE THE DISPUTE WITH THE FRIKKIN BANK.

ONCE AGAIN.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS' WHEN YOU'RE FINANCIALLY ILLITERATE AND HAVE NO LIFE SKILLS.



once again.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUE EVERYONE FOR EVERY DAMN LITTLE THING.

YOU FILE A DISPUTE WITH THE BANK.

THIS IS WHY OUR SCHOOLS NEED TO TEACH FINANCIAL LITERACY AND LIFE SKILLS.