My negative DCL experience

[Gelatoni]

Originally Posted by Bellasmummy

Dreadful service, I too would be reluctant to book again if I were you but then you miss out which is also unfair.

I’d be tempted to post to their social media, not initially with the whole story, but saying that you’re not getting a response. Post that in the comments each time they post and you should get a prompt response. Companies hate for others to see the negative comments.

Dh resorted to that with BA a few years ago when we were not getting a response to an official complaint. Every time they tweeted an advert he was the first comment stating that his complaint was not being addressed. Within a few days they’d phoned asking him to stop and dealt with the complaint.

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To be honest I got so drained chasing them before I just gave up, as the stress wasn't worth it anymore. I couldn't even get a decent response from them, so I felt like I was chasing my tail to no end.

That's a good tactic to get noticed though 😊

[2point]

That's a really poor experience, I would be livid.

[Gelatoni]

Originally Posted by 2point

That's a really poor experience, I would be livid.

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I was! Been through all the anger about it, now i'm just indifferent. Was just waiting for a magical email or phonecall or something to make me feel better but it never happened.

Permanent little chink in my opinion of DCL, I regret to say. At least I had a wonderful time on board.

[Elodie]

Originally Posted by Gelatoni

That's interesting. I had assumed these companies wouldn't be interested in why the payment bounced - perhaps wrongly. Worth me looking into again.

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It’s definitely worth asking the bank about this. We had a similar issue many years ago when our landlady accidentally took our rent twice, on the same date that most of our bills were due. We couldn’t meet all of our bills and should have had bank charges, but I went into the branch and explained, along with a letter of explanation from the landlady. We got the rent money back and the bank waived their charges for us.

[DonnaD]

How frustrating! It definitely shouldn't have been so difficult to sort out. As you mention bills bouncing and bank charges, I assume you used a debit card for your onboard account? I believe a credit card would have prevented the effect on your bank account and possibly been easier to dispute the extra charges. I certainly won't be leaving a debit card as a deposit on our future cruise.

[Gelatoni]

Originally Posted by DonnaD

How frustrating! It definitely shouldn't have been so difficult to sort out. As you mention bills bouncing and bank charges, I assume you used a debit card for your onboard account? I believe a credit card would have prevented the effect on your bank account and possibly been easier to dispute the extra charges. I certainly won't be leaving a debit card as a deposit on our future cruise.

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Yes, it was my debit card linked to my usual bank account, always used it for holidays and never had a problem. I'll be paying on a cash basis (rather than lodging a card) using a credit card next time on DCL - if there is a next time.

What i'm wondering is what happens if they overcharge on a credit card over the agreed card limit. If it's pending would that still incur fees? If not definitely a credit card is less risky.

[DonnaD]

Originally Posted by Gelatoni

Yes, it was my debit card linked to my usual bank account, always used it for holidays and never had a problem. I'll be paying on a cash basis (rather than lodging a card) using a credit card next time on DCL - if there is a next time.

What i'm wondering is what happens if they overcharge on a credit card over the agreed card limit. If it's pending would that still incur fees? If not definitely a credit card is less risky.

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I believe either your card company would reject any charges over your limit or they might let them go through and then the only fees would be interest after the interest free period had passed. In reality you would have been able to dispute the charges and avoid any fees or interest. With a credit card the merchant has no direct access to your money so can't mess up your bank account. I personally would never travel without a credit card for things like deposits and holds as well as emergencies.

[gismo1554]

Unfortunately this was a common issue on the UK Staycations. Mainly it was due to using debit cards and for some reason DCL system took a pending charge before the final charge. It was definitely not the service you expect or should have had! I feel like customer service definitely has got lax due to COVID. I'm still waiting a response on a very simple query (checking if my transfers are correct on my cruise) and have been now for over a month. I feel like their email system is a mess and no one is taking any responsibility for it. This whole issue with the double charging is definitely not isolated but I've never known before either. Hopefully you can get the charges sorted.

[Gill H]

Originally Posted by Gelatoni

Yes, it was my debit card linked to my usual bank account, always used it for holidays and never had a problem. I'll be paying on a cash basis (rather than lodging a card) using a credit card next time on DCL - if there is a next time.

What i'm wondering is what happens if they overcharge on a credit card over the agreed card limit. If it's pending would that still incur fees? If not definitely a credit card is less risky.

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I believe it is not a problem as the credit card company can see that it is a different kind of charge.

I have read so much about this happening in hotels and restaurants in the US a couple of years ago, particularly with prepaid cards like Fairfx. A credit card is definitely the way to go, even if you then use a different method to actually pay off your balance.

So sorry this was such a huge problem for you. I am surprised they dealt with it so badly as they have had many UK customers over the years so it must have come up before now.

[BevS97]

We also had this issue although we were fortunate in that the amount involved didn’t affect any other bills. We also had it on our 2019 p&o cruise.

I have seen these shadow charges on my credit card before but the CC company seem to deal with them better and the holds don’t seem to affect your overall balance.