The worse customer service I have ever experienced regarding a £1400 refund

[Fiona814]

Firstly 99% of the call handlers have been patient, calm and have tried to help but they are not trained to deal with some issues and I have been chasing £1400 for nearly 2 months. Unfortunately, the host cancelled, bit odd as he said his wife needed urgent surgery so he could not manage his house next June, funnily enough you can book any week next year just not the week he cancelled.  If the surgery is urgent why is the surgery next June, anyway, it's his house he can do what he wants just a shame it left me in a massive pickle. The card we used to pay it has since closed ie John Lewis changed their card provider so it has caused a massive issue. The worse thing is after weeks of chasing and going round and round and talking to more than 30 different people! they sent it to the closed account AGAIN, I mean how totally incompetent can one be? Seems there is no ombudsman or anyone to help, they can do what ever they like so it seems. One call handler today said" I am so sorry I am going to sort this out for you now you are going to get your money today" oh my god what an absolute lie, he puts me through to a guy who starts with "how can I help you what is your issue?" I had to say it ALL AGAIN. I have been told so many lies and then when it first started a lady said "your bank are lying" HSBC will have an audit trail for money how can they lie, I am lost for words and losing the will to live.

[Fred13]

@Fiona814  'and losing the will to live.'  You had me laughing with that one. 😄

They need a second tier of bright, quick-minded decision makers who addresses issues that the first tier do not know how or can't handle.  It  appears that their present structure causes cases to be passed back & forth between people of the same limited power. 

[Fiona814]

Absolutely you hit the nail on the head there Fred, I feel bad for the call handlers. They have such a hard job. These poor mites are thrown crumbs from the poor man's table as we say, when call centres are in India, Portugal etc, paid peanuts whilst Chesky sits drinking tea with Barack and Michelle Obama. Chesky's parents were social workers so how come he is not in touch with his staff and looking after them? Makes my blood boil does this company. I will not be using them again when the last place booked is passed. I have emailed him many times and Tara Bunch next is to put pen to paper and pay for a stamp for USA it will probably be quicker than getting hold of anyone on the chat!

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Fiona814 There was a similar issue with John Lewis cards and, if memory serves me correctly, the money was sat in the bank so Airbnb may be correct. See the Guardian article below

I’ve been going around in circles for a month with my insurer and John Lewis Finance. I was due a refund on the remainder of my home insurance policy after selling my house in March. My insurer paid the £72.80 it owed to my John Lewis Mastercard, with which I had originally paid the premium. The problem is, the card no longer exists, as John Lewis Finance changed its lender and I did not wish to switch to the new provider. John Lewis says that, because the account is closed, it cannot see the refund and that it has probably sent the money back to the insurer. But the insurer says it has not received it. Each says there is nothing it can do and keep playing “ping pong” with my money.
RS, Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire

HH of Ledbury, Herefordshire is whirling in the same circle. She is due an £80 ticket refund after a concert was cancelled and, like you, paid on her now defunct John Lewis Mastercard. “The ticket seller says it will only refund to the card used to purchase them,” she writes. “HSBC, which issued the old card, says it won’t process the refund and it has to be refunded in a different way.”

There must be many others in the same predicament. Mastercard’s transaction processing rules require merchants to issue refunds to the card used for the payment, or a reissued card from the same lender. If the card issuer is able to access a defunct account, it should alert the customer and ask them to nominate an account into which the money can be paid. If it can’t, funds should be returned and the merchant must pay by transfer or cheque. You were both caught between singularly unhelpful organisations.

John Lewis Finance roused itself when I got in touch. It discovered HH had been misinformed. Her refund had been received but not processed. It will now be paid along with a £25 apology. RS’s refund was also lying dormant and is being processed along with £25. It says: “We are sorry to hear that RS and HH had difficulties processing a refund. We escalated this immediately to HSBC – which manages the historic partnership card accounts on our behalf – and refunds have been returned.”

Others in this situation need to raise a dispute direct with HSBC. It says it applies refunds as a credit if an account is still on the system and customers can arrange a transfer to an active account of their choice. However, accounts are typically closed after 120 days of zero balance, in which case the funds will be returned to the merchant.

If a bank fails to resolve a complaint, customers can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions

[Fiona814]

Thank you so much this is exactly it, my refund went to the closed J Lewis card, so not their fault at first. I did not take the old card off the payment page on my air b n b as I booked it in June 2022 and it was for a house for June 2024. Not used it again and forgot it was on there.

I cannot be the only one who has an old JL card on a payment log with a company plus I was shocked the host cancelled as a superhost they do not normally do this, but he did and the refund was automatic so I could not stop it.

The worse thing is since 11th April and all the complaining and back and forwards they said last week they refunded it again, wait for it, this is the best bit, TO THE SAME ACCOUNT, THE CLOSED ONE, I mean how incompetent can one be! So now I am back to the beginning but this time it is ABNB fault as they have been told many times it is closed yet they sent it to the wrong one, the new card was on their system. I did not take the old card off because of the case going on. I have now so they can never do it again. 

One of the other issues was 2 days ago they said we need proof from your bank that is is not with them. I sent them a screenshot as you cannot get an email address for air b nb and they said, wait for it.....that anyone could have written it and it was not proof WHAT??? I was just speechless. 

Yesterday a guy called promising me that I will be "getting my money today, does that sound good, are you happy about this" and I said "yes of course I am, thank you", guess what, he puts me through to someone who then says, "hello how can I help you what is your issue today" oh my god I wanted to scream, I had to say it all again and still he could not help so the first person lied, totally lied, How awful, why, what is the point in lying. Back round again, "I will escalate this" it has been escalated 5 times now I think and I get nowhere.

I feel John Lewis should have had something set up for this as their HSBC team is overwhelmed with issues like mine with many different companies. Imagine how many John Lewis customers, as you say, are in this situation. Many must have purchased things to be refunded and the fact the cards were all closed Oct 2022 makes it so hard.

The HSBC department said yesterday the funds are definitely not with them and it is now out of their hands now. I think they mean because it was refunded again, I again have to wait for the process for it to be returned to them to go to the next phase which is ?? I am not sure as I am so confused and exhausted with it all. 

John Lewis gave me £50 to say sorry but £24 a month is the interest I am paying on a new purchase of a new property for next summer.

so YES I am now going to go to the Ombudsman, I have done a screen shot of every single message in case they delete it and have logs of all calls to air b b b and emails from HSBC. It is a shame we cannot take air b n b to court or to some ombudsman but they are in the States and i am unable to find out how to get this to the top. I will continue to email the CEO, tweet him, etc every single day!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Fiona814 Contact the Guardian. In the instance published it was HSBCs fault NOT the retailer

[Fiona814]

Thank you I have today  and the observer 

[Fiona814]

I STILL have not had my refund, since 11th April been trying to receive it.  I have gone to the ombudsman for HSBC as they SHOULD have had something in place for this issue. Imagine all those out there who have purchased flights, holidays etc on the old card ie over a year in advance. This is a disgrace.