Amoma administration refund help

[D2019]

Hi,
About three weeks ago we made a booking through Amoma.com, via Trivago, for three nights accommodation in France. This was a total of £370 in a single transaction. The payment was made via an UK visa debit card.
We received the booking confirmation via email immediately after making the booking.
We thought no more of it and neither did we hear or see anything to be alarmed to anything.

Today we arrived at our hotel only to be told that our reservation had been cancelled and that hotel was not paid for our booking, and won't be paid. So we found ourselves in a foreign country with no where to stay. Luckily we found alternative accommodation for £500 for three nights. So that is more than we has booked through Amoma.com, but it is different accomodation.

I'm disgusted by Amoma's actions. They take our money, provide booking confirmation and then leave us to find our that we have no accomodation when get to the hotel. No phone call, no email, not even a circular email. We heard nothing of Amoma's problems.

So to my question. Can I claim the £370 back and what is the best way on achieving this? Or has the money gone and non retrievable?

To me it feels like theft. It is ruining our trip away.
Thanks in advance.

[ostell]

Try to get your bank to reverse the transaction as the goods paid for had not been supplied

[D2019]

Thanks for your response.

You mention 'try' to get my bank to reverse the transaction.IMO, this case is very black and white. Why would I need to try? Why would it not be a straight forward reversal process?

With Amoma going into administration would this cause problems for me getting my money back or shouldn't that be a concern?

Thanks.

[D2019]

Bump. I would really like to know where I stand on this matter please.
I understand that as I paid via a Debit card the best I can do is apply for a chargeback. As this case is pretty black and white, meaning I booked and paid for a hotel but the travel company cancelled the reservation as they've gone into administration, then surely I should get my money back. I find it hard to believe that Amoma can keep my money when they haven't provided the service that I entered the contract with them. To me it's theft.

Is my Debit card company (Santander) obliged to reverse the transaction so I get my money back?
Can santander refuse to reverse the transaction? Is there any reason why they would refuse to reverse the transaction?
Is there any other avenue I can follow to ensure I get my money back?
Does it make any difference to my standing that Amoma has gone into administration? Do it make it harder for the transaction to be reversed?

All advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[R0b]

A charge back is probably your best chance of getting your money back though it isn't guaranteed because your bank (Santander) will make a request to the Amona's bank to request the funds be returned. It is possible that if a challenge is made to your charge back request, you may not get anything back.

It is not a legal right, but part of Visa's, Mastercard's or Amex's scheme rules which member banks have to abide by.

All you can do is try and see what happens.

[D2019]

Thanks for your reply.
I'm puzzled to why/how Amoma's bank can challenge my bank's chargeback request. Surely, Amoma and even Amoma's bank have no grounding in this matter.

So it sounds like Santander is obliged to reverse the money (I hope) if they follow the guidelines. Are there any telltale signs of Santander are not fighting my case very well? Would the suggestion of leaving them and taking my money elsewhere prompt them in a beneficial way for me?

If there is the chargeback process available then I have no idea how I would not be successful. I paid for something that the provider hasn't provided. I have all the proof.

This is a lot of money to me and it's quite upsetting.
Thanks again.

[R0b]

Well to give you a very simple example, the administrators could say that the charge back would mean you yourself are in breach of contract by not paying the money. There could be terms and conditions that limit Amona's liability in these circumstances or it could be a term of the contract that you must follow a complaints process or that there is just no money in the account to refund.

I'm not saying any of the above would prohibit you from recovering your money but are something that could be thrown up as a challenge to the charge back.

Also, Santander are not legally obliged to reverse the money. The process is that you request a charge back from your bank on the basis that the company has ceased trading after paying for your hotel and therefore are in breach of contract.

Santander then makes a request to Amona's bank to refund the money (assuming the money is available) and the bank would then notify Amona that a charge back request has been made and unless any challenge is made (which would be investigated) then the refund would be granted.

You normally ha e 120 days to request the charge back but in a scenario like this, you want to get onto it straight away and get in touch with Santander, preferably today if you haven't already.

Just to reiterate, the charge back process is not a law unlike a s.75 credit card claim which holds your card provider jointly liable.

[Amethyst]

Some info how to claim from Santander

https://www.santander.co.uk/assets/s...ansactions.pdf

[D2019]

Okay, I phoned Santander and raised a chargeback process. Apparently it's all done by paperwork so they will need to send that out to me. The chap I spoke to says I should get my money back but couldn't guarantee it - when I asked the finer details he couldn't answer them, so I'm dubious to how accurate he was.
I wonder if the process would be quicker if I raised it directly at a branch of my bank.

It's sickening that these things go on. How there isn't insurance for things like this. If the company wants to operate in the UK then they must protect their customers. They can't just take the money and not provide the service.

[D2019]

...and thanks again for your responses/links.
If you know of some additional steps to help reclaim my money then please let me know. Quite frankly, I don't want Amoma to get away with this and I would like my money back.

[Amethyst]

Normally I'd say put a claim in to the Administators as well, as an unsecured creditor, however this company seems to be registered in Switzerland - if at all - so it's unlikely to get you anywhere. Chargeback is really your only option so I would get on to Santander as soon as you can and get your claim in progress.

[Amethyst]

Okay, I phoned Santander and raised a chargeback process. Apparently it's all done by paperwork so they will need to send that out to me. The chap I spoke to says I should get my money back but couldn't guarantee it - when I asked the finer details he couldn't answer them, so I'm dubious to how accurate he was.
I wonder if the process would be quicker if I raised it directly at a branch of my bank.

It's sickening that these things go on. How there isn't insurance for things like this. If the company wants to operate in the UK then they must protect their customers. They can't just take the money and not provide the service.

Ahh missed this - good that's normal so complete the forms with as much detail as you possibly can, include copies of the booking confirmation emails and your receipts for the replacement accommodation. I'd also print out the notice on Amomas website to confirm the status of the company. An email from the hotel you had booked at originally confirming that the room was cancelled due to Amoma going under would be useful too if you can.

If you go into branch you are likely to have to complete the same forms that are being sent out to you and it will still be sent off to the chargeback dept.

[R0b]

Just to add to Ame's comments on the evidence, it might also be helpful to take a printout of their homepage www.amoma.com because it currently has a statement confirming that they have ceased trading and that should serve as sufficient evidence to make your claim.

I can understand how you might feel especially if you have paid them a substantial amount of money, however, it is always recommended that payments over £100 should be made by credit card either partially e.g. a deposit or in full. That way, you have the added protection under s.75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which holds your credit card company jointly liable as I mentioned in an earlier post. That process will be much easier and probably quicker than going through the charge back process.

There's always going to be a risk paying on debit card when large sums are involved. Another option is to look at getting travel insurance coverage for situations like these where you have to cancel your trip prior to departure - I believe some travel insurers cover bankruptcy of the company or if they cease trading though you would need to read the policy to see if those scenarios are covered.

[D2019]

Just a post to thanks for your responses.
I guess I'll just have to hope the chargeback works. I have a very strong case so if it isn't successful then I would like to know why and then will be seeking the next step(s).