I keep trying ‘Pay Now’, AirBnB won’t let me.

[Mansoor7]

Hello,

I’ve submitted my request to ‘Pay Now’ for the remainder of my stay almost a dozen times already. After I click “Confirm & Pay’ I have been led to the next window which says “Thank You! You’ve successfully submitted your payment.”; yet my bank account has yet to be charged, I have received no withdrawal attempt from my bank account, no email confirmation from AirBnB, nor has my host received any notifications or emails about my payment submission. I really want to get the remainder of my payment out of the way right now and all of my other payments were successful. I’m very confused because of this situation. Has anyone else experienced this before and/or does anyone have any advice about how I can resolve this?

 

 

 

[Lawrene0]

Give Airbnb a call, @Mansoor7 . You don't want to find you have paid a dozen times (unlikely, but you never know), nor do you want to leave it unpaid. Only customer service can help you at this point.

[Lorna170]

@Mansoor7   I would suspect that the programming in the background is the problem.  You will probably be able to successfully "pay as scheduled" on March 4 (or maybe on March 1 or 2) but not more than a week earlier because your first month is not yet up. 

[Mansoor7]

Thanks  @Lorna170  for your response. Your advice seems quite logical, however, due to the fact that the initial bank account that I completed my first payment with is now inactive (due to several recent disputed transactions), I’m uneasy about waiting another week to find out whether or not my new bank account will be successful with my upcoming transaction. 

Thank you @Lawrene0 for your response as well, I followed your advice and called customer service. The conversation was pleasant, yet unsuccessful. The customer service representative (Jerome) tried his best to complete my transaction during our phone call, but told me to call my bank because my payment was declined. I then called my bank and they told me that they have not received any transaction attempts at all. (There is also currently enough funds in my bank account to cover this transaction.) Luckily, I was able to continue corresponding with Jerome via the AirBnB app. We agreed that I should update my payment information, (which I did) yet the transaction is still unsuccessful thus far.

Being that I only have one bank card at the moment, worst case scenario, I will attempt to transfer the funds from my bank account to my PayPal account (which I am very reluctant about), in order pay my upcoming reservation via PayPal.

Another option would be for me to perhaps invest in a ‘prepaid debit card’ to attempt to pay my upcoming transaction that way if necessary. I haven’t heard from Jerome yet since I informed him that I updated my payment information and resubmitted my payment request about an hour ago. This situation is very disheartening, but I sincerely appreciate your help @Lawrene0 and @Lorna170 . I have no other constructive choice now but to hope for the best & plan for the worst, but that’s life. I wish you both the best, your assistance has significantly restored my faith in community and humanity. 

Best, 

Mansoor 

[Mansoor7]

Update:

 My payment was finally successful, thanks to the assistance of Jerome (Customer Service Representative). Thanks again @Lawrene0 @Lorna170 @Sarah977 . May you have a great weekend, I’m headed to the beach.

Best,

Mansoor 

[Sarah977]

@Mansoor7  Host's don't get notified that a guest has made a payment. We don't know if a guest has chosen to pay for the whole reservation when they book, or chosen the option to pay half up front, so your host won't get any email or message notice of your payment, they will just receive the payment when it is due. 

[Mansoor7]

Thank you @Sarah977 . That explains precisely why my host didn’t receive any notifications about my request. The confusing thing is that I called Customer Service about an hour ago, and they told me to call my bank because my card was declined. I then called my bank and they told me that there are no transaction attempts on my account whatsoever. I also have enough funds in my bank account to complete this transaction. I was able to continue corresponding with the Customer Service Representative via the AirBNB app, we agreed that I should update my payment information & resubmit my payment. I still haven’t been charged for my reservation, and I still have enough funds in my account to cover my reservation. I also haven’t heard from the Customer Service Representative since I resubmitted my payment.

Worst case scenario, I will attempt to transfer the necessary funds into my PayPal account (which I’ve never done before) in order to pay my upcoming reservation, or invest into a prepaid debit card to pay for my reservation that way. I don’t know what else I can constructively do about this situation at this point. It could be much worse, but this is shaping up to be quite a long week for me.

Thanks again @Sarah977 , your insight is significantly reassuring, PERHAPS, my bank account will be successful in completing this transaction on March 4th, but I will not be able to completely rest assured until the conclusion of this situation. I hope you have a good day, I wish you the best. 

Best, 

Mansoor

[Sarah977]

@Mansoor7   Airbnb customer service has a reputation for always telling users, both hosts and guests, that payment and payout issues must be from the user's bank. It seems to be their way of brushing one off, not bothering to delve into the actual issue, or not wanting to admit their tech is screwed up. Because all reports here on the forum indicate that the user talked to their bank and the problem wasn't on the bank's end.

I'm sure it's really frustrating and time-consuming.

[Mansoor7]

@Sarah977 Wow, thanks for the heads up. I still haven’t received a response from Customer Service yet. He literally sent me a message that says “No worries, I got your back!” and then he stopped responding to my messages minutes later. I will call Customer Service again later on today, & I will keep you updated about how this situation unfolds. Thanks again for your insight.

Best, 
Mansoor