Traveller says Regina hotel wrongly charged her $800 for alleged damage to room
Carly Folden had a quiet December weekend in Regina with her 13-year-old son, who was competing in a local hockey tournament. Then she was hit with an $800 charge for damage to a hotel room she says she didn't cause.
She and her son stayed at Residence Inn Regina, a Marriott hotel within walking distance of the rink where he was playing. On Dec. 13, three days after checking out, she received an email informing her she was being charged for damage to the lock of her room. Folden denies she caused the damage.
"It felt like a bit of a gut punch," said Folden.
CBC contacted the Residence Inn by Marriott and Marriott International multiple times for comment for this story. The hotel acknowledged the request, but has not provided a response.
CBC has reviewed emails Folden received from the hotel.
The email informing her of the charge, signed by Residence Inn Regina general manager Cari Lemieux, says a room inspection after Folden's check-out found the lock had been damaged "beyond repair."
Another email included an image of a door jam, with arrows and circles pointing to chipping along the door.
"It looked like a crowbar had been pried on the lock. I mean, it's not like I carry a crowbar in my purse or anything like that," Folden said.
"[It] clearly showed damage to a lock, but it didn't show the room number or anything like that."
The Residence Inn sent this photo to Carly Folden to illustrate the damage it says she caused and was charged for. (Supplied by Carly Folden)
Folden said she tried several methods of getting her money back: a lawyer, the Better Business Bureau and Marriott corporate. She said Marriott offered her points or a $100 Marriott gift card, but she didn't consider those offers sufficient.
She also disputed the charge with her credit card company. About a month and a half later, she was informed that her dispute claim was resolved and her credit card company returned the money to her.
"I'll sure never stay there again and I'll see to it that all of my people that I know through sports and the business world know this story, because it's not fair," she said.
WATCH | Woman alleges Regina hotel added $800 bogus charge to credit card:
Dawn Minnaar, a senior recovery analyst at MyChargeBack, works with people disputing transactions.
She said the hotel is not allowed to charge a customer a new transaction without their permission, meaning it has to inform them it wants to charge for damage and ask if they accept, rather than informing them that they have already been charged.
If the customer declines, then it can escalate to a court case.
Minnaar said parties in the dispute process, like a legal case, need to bring forward proof.
Allegations about wrongful charges happen more often than people would think, Minnaar said, though some people do not know they can dispute the charge, or just don't have the energy.
Folden is not the only person who alleges Residence Inn Regina wrongly accused them of damage they not cause.
Dawson Barlage, a volunteer assistant coach for a U13 hockey team, said he stayed at the hotel in January for a tournament.
He said he turned on the television on his first morning at the hotel and noticed it was cracked and had green and purple bars across the screen. He said he reported to the front desk, who alleged he had broken it and told him he would have to pay $800 for it.
"If I break something I own up to it," he said.
He said his team manager handled the issue and he didn't have to pay the charge he was quoted.
