"Hostelworld Scum!
On behalf of me and my husband, I turn to you in a matter of a misleading and lack of transparency performed by an online travel agency operating at the U.K. #hostelworld #hostelbookers #hostels dot com , #bedandbreakfatworld , #backpackeronline #scout24 owned by #WebReservationInternational
This agency,#hostelbookers (HB) denies our legal and moral right to get a refund of a payment they charged us after we cancelled a reservation at a B&B. in Amsterdam. The cancellation took place after we found out that we were misled about the services supplied via the B&B. and learn, to our sorrow, about the booking cancellation dishonest policy of HB.
On April 2014,looking for a room in Amsterdam via an Hebrew written website called Travelist we found the hostel Cribs B.B. . Both me and my husband saw that the deal at the Cribs includes breakfast. We decided to book the room for seven nights starting on May 20th (over a month in advance). Travelist directed us to complete the deal with Hostelbookers. We were asked by HB to supply our credit card details, and only after giving our bank the order to charge us on the amount of 171 Euros (25% of the deal) ,we got by email the confirmation of the deal.
Two days latter, On 12 April 2014 I read the details of the room and found out, to my surprise, that the confirmation we received does not include the detail about breakfast. Though it was promised at the original site which directed us to Hostelbookers, and though it’s called B&B. I decided to ask the costumer service of HB if the deal includes breakfast. They turned me to the Cribs declaring that we can cancel the deal, but the 25% they charged from our account is not refundable.
We decided to cancel the deal. The cancellation took place on April 18th.
From that moment on, I wrote to HB several emails explaining my demand for a refund of 171 Euros they charged from our bank account . They kept on ignoring my arguments and repeating two sentences: “no refunds” and “breakfast not included in the deal”. I wrote to them that I believe the commitment for breakfast was an honest mistake, but we don’t have to pay for it.
My main argument, completely ignored by HB (who did not bother to answer my last appeal) are these:
1. We were misled about the services we are going to get at the Cribs.
2. As a result of the misleading, we cancelled our reservation
within 48 hours.
3. The cancellation took place on April 18th: over a month before
the due hosting, on May 20th.
4. opposed to British law , we learned about HB’s cancellation policy (no refund on 25% of the deal) by email, only after we booked the room and gave HB the details of our credit card- which means they already instructed the bank to
charge us, without letting us know by email about their strict and
unfair policy.
There is also a misleading in the way the website of HB announces, in very big letters NO BOOKING FEES.
We shall be very grateful if you can order Hostelbookers to follow the law and basic decency , and order them to make a refund to our bank account. Avoid Hostelworld/#Hostelbookerd/#Hostels dot com#
#WebReservationInternational are non-compliant with EU Consumer Law.!
The main problems:
1.A lack of mandatory information on the TRADER'S IDENTITY in particular: the name of the owner, their email address, phone number, depriving consumers from an effective contact channel.
2.A lack of clear instructions on How To Complain
3. Optional price supplements , such as: Baggage Fee, Booking Fee, Insurance Fee, priority boarding...
4. The total price of the service is not indicated upfront when the main elements of the booking are first displayed.
EU Laws protects you against this:
What if that small print says :,, the deposit you just paid is non-refundable"???

What if it says:,,You cannot cancel your booking"/ contract unless you pay the company an extortionate amount in compensation???

According EUConsumers law : These types of Unfair Contract terms are PROHIBITED! EU Laws protects you from these sorts of abuses. EU Consumer Laws allows you to cancel your Booking"