hard to get money back for canceled trip

[2excitedkids]

Well, unfortunately we had to cancel our upcoming disney trip in sept. due to lack of funds. i called sunday and spent almost an hour trying to get my money back (almost $500). disney sure doesn't like it when you cancel spending money there. i hadn't made a payment on the trip in almost a month knowing that we might have to cancel, so i call disney up and ask them to cut me back a check for the money i have placed on the trip. no, they can't do that, they can only credit my last card used, well there is 1 problem, that card has a very low credit limit (i try to keep them low where i won't be in debt too much anyway). i told them that they probably can't credit that card the entire amount because that card doens't have that much of a credit limit on it. i wanted it to go back to my debit card, but he said since i have used several different cards they just credit back the last one. after arguing and debating for 30 minutes he said that he would put in a request to have my visa credited! great! i only used 3 different visa cards! well, he said within 72 hours i would have my money back. i know it is a holiday but i expect to have seen my money back today on one card or another but yet to see nothing. so i keep checking 4 different cards every day to see if the money is there and nothing yet. if nothing tomorrow i am calling again.

beware if you cancel a trip, not to get the nice cm's that we are all used to talking to!

 

[mousermerf]

Who told you 72 hours?!?

It takes a few weeks for Disney toe credit money back. They hand type and do stuff and it takes forever. They say you'll "probably" see it on your next statement.

 

[Champion]

It makes sense that they can only access the 'active' card that you have. Its a bit of a security issue to let them see every card on the reservation.

 

[2excitedkids]

the person i was speaking to on the phone with the disney travel agency told me 72 hours! he wasn't very pleasant at all. i canceled early thinking it could take about 2 weeks. he was able to name every card i used (not the account number though, just the type, visa, mastercard etc..). i worked in retail before and i know back then on average it could take a week or more to show up. you know i felt bad enough about not being able to take the kids to disney again this year, but this man made it even more difficult!

 

[disneytopdog]

It makes sense that they can only access the 'active' card that you have. Its a bit of a security issue to let them see every card on the reservation.

You are correct, most booking software only keeps one credit card number in a secured section of its data base. This area can only been seen by two people in my business. So when it comes to processing a refund it will go to the last card used. This is done for your security(the company does not have all these active credit card numbers in case of a compromise). As well as to protect the business from people that make reservations with stolen cards then ask for a refund in the form of a check.

 

[LoriMistress]

Sorry to hear about your cancel trip. That's why I try to get vacation insurance in case something like that happens...so I don't have to deal with the headache of getting a refund.

 

[New2WDW]

Yeah, sorry to hear about your cancelation. We are also in the same boat each year but so far have been able to make trips come about. I get the base minimum trip and save up and pay for it as the 45 days comes about and then save up again to make upgrades once at the Resort.

We missed the Free Dining this year and that usually allows us to go, so we will see.....

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

MouserMerf is correct. Any refunds on credit cards will show up on your next statement. Disney cannot guarantee when your credit card company will accept the refund, they can only guarantee the window of time in which they will process your refund.

And the couple of posters who said they only had access to the last card you used are also correct. Due to privacy laws and security issues, refunds are only made to the last credit card you used in almost all situations (I do not know the OFFICIAL policy Disney has in this situation). Also, employees will not be able to see a full credit card number for every past transaction unless it is a credit card they issed (ie: at Macy's they would have your entire Macy's number for previous purchases). They will have a list of past payment information including the payment date, the type of payment, the amount of payment, and if a credit card, the last four digits of the account number for verification purposes.

 

[JPVonDrake]

To clarify...

Whenever a refund is processed your funds will be credited back to the same credit card(s) you used to pay Disney. If you used multiple cards, you will get a credit of the exact amount you used on each card. If the card has since been cancelled, Disney will still return the funds to your original credit card company. You will then need to contact them to return your funds back to you.

Disney will credit your card within 72 hours (3 business days,) however a credit refund can take 10 to 14 business days to be processed by your credit card company. Credit Card refunds will take 1 to 2 billing cycles to show back up to the credit card after the refund has been processed.

Only if you paid Disney by check can a refund be returned by check. Refund check will be made payable to name and address on reservation or travel agency (if travel agency booking) and should arrive in 4-6 weeks.

Note, we at the Disney Reservation Center cannot see the full credit card numbers used to make payments, however this information is still encrypted in our software, so refunds can be processed back to the original cards.

These policies are in compliance with our contract with the major credit card companies.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

:wave::wave: Thanks JP - as always!!

 

[Kadee]

I've had to cancel a trip before and had paid over $2000 on it. I didn't have any problem at all. My money was back in my account (I used my debit card) in 2 days. Hopefully your problem will work out just fine.

 

[CleveRocks]

Sorry to hear about your cancel trip. That's why I try to get vacation insurance in case something like that happens...so I don't have to deal with the headache of getting a refund.

Keep in mind that vacatin insurance doesn't cover canceling the trip because you can't pay for it, or canceling because you don't feel like going, etc. Each policy has very specific criteria for making a claim, and I've never heard of any policy that pays claims due to poverty or ennui.

 

[Monty]

I know this is a bit OT, but...

1) You credit limit is the maximum you can borrow using the credit card in question. If I have a $500 credit limit, then I can only purchase goods and services of a total value of approximately $500 [there is usually a bit of leeway]. In no circumstance would that $500 credit limit stop me or anyone from crediting any amount onto the card. Conceivably [in my dreams perhaps], a company could credit my account with $1,000,000.00 and thereafter, I could charge $1,000,500.00 before reaching my credit limit.

2) There is no insurance company in existence that will pay you monies for which you are entitled to a refund by other means. If you book a package with Disney and cancel before your 45-day payment deadline or a room-only reservation and cancel before 5 days prior to check-in, you are entitled to a full refund. An insurance company will not exempt you from claiming that refund and pay you instead.

 

[The Mom]

Yes, I believe that Monty is absolutely correct.

In my younger days, when I had lower credit limits, I would often "overpay" my credit card a month or two before a big spending eveny, such as a trip or Christmas, so that I wouldn't accidently go over my limit.

And, as with all retailers, you can only be refunded in the same way as your payment, ie, check ONLY if you've paid in cash or check. There is no law which states that a retailer even HAS to give you a refund; many just give you a store credit, or future use credit. (such as many airlines)

I'm sorry that your circumstances required you to use a more complicated payment arrangement than the average guest, and that it's slowing down your reimbursal. But, you still may never get cash in hand; you will just have a credit on your credit card bill.

 

[slappy magoo]

OT, but just out of curiosity, anyone know what happens if you're dealing directly with a travel agent, be it someone like Liberty Travel or AAA, and you're in the agent's office, person to person, and pay by cash? Do you deal with the cancellation through the agent? Does WDW cut you a check or send it back to the agent, figuring the agent probably wired the money to WDW or cut a check themselves to send to WDW?

Oh, and to 2excitedkids, sorry about the trip. Hope things change for the better tout suite.

 

[Ms. Tinkerbell]

I'm sorry that you've had to cancel your vacation. I hope things look to the better real soon for you. I wouldn't worry about your refund though, at least in Disney's part. I've had to cancel 2 vacations that I had completely paid in full and they didn't hold up the refund at all. Even with one of them, I had paid the deposit with a check, I still received it much quicker than I would have thought. It does sometimes take your particular credit card company longer to process than it does Disney. Besides the check for the deposit, all of my other payments were on my debit card and I received it credited back in a matter of days. I was very impressed with how quick and courteously they handled the refund. It was much quicker than some experiences I've had just returning something to a local store.

 

[PrincessMagic]

OT, but just out of curiosity, anyone know what happens if you're dealing directly with a travel agent, be it someone like Liberty Travel or AAA, and you're in the agent's office, person to person, and pay by cash? Do you deal with the cancellation through the agent? Does WDW cut you a check or send it back to the agent, figuring the agent probably wired the money to WDW or cut a check themselves to send to WDW?

Oh, and to 2excitedkids, sorry about the trip. Hope things change for the better tout suite.

I just went through this. We booked through AAA, and didn't purchase travel insurance. We unfortunately had to cancel our trip due to unexpected medical issues regarding my daughter. We called our travel agent the day we were informed of our daughters situation. Which also happened to be 45 days prior to our trip. We were given mis-information from our travel agent (she was new this year, our previous agent retired), she told us that it was up to Disney's discretion what they refunded of our $200.00 deposit. My husband spoke with her, I was a little suspicious. To make a long story short, a week later I called AAA and spoke with another agent, who contacted Disney for me and said they had processed our cancellation and we would receive half of our deposit back. I had put our deposit on a debit card and we received our refund aboutr 7 days after cancellation. BTW, it was our full refund $200.00, not $100.00 which was a nice surprise.

 

[morgan22]

I'm a travel agent in the UK - presume it would work the same way in the US. The public pay us (cash c/c check etc) and we pay Disney. Disney would then refund us and we, in turn, refund the client (cash c/c check etc) whichever way they had made the original transaction. Occasionally, we may take a little cancellation charge ourselves as we can't work for nothing!!!!!! and obviously, we aren't entitled to any commission on a cancelled booking.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Keep in mind that vacatin insurance doesn't cover canceling the trip because you can't pay for it, or canceling because you don't feel like going, etc. Each policy has very specific criteria for making a claim, and I've never heard of any policy that pays claims due to poverty or ennui.

Not Disney's insurance, but yes there are insurance policies out there that allow the person to cancel for ANY reason!!! I know of at least one that I had been involved with and all money on the trip ( Air, land etc.) was refunded. And that trip was cancelled 3 days prior to the scheduled departure date!!! Belle

 

[Monty]

Not Disney's insurance, but yes there are insurance policies out there that allow the person to cancel for ANY reason!!! I know of at least one that I had been involved with and all money on the trip ( Air, land etc.) was refunded. And that trip was cancelled 3 days prior to the scheduled departure date!!! Belle

If you're willing to pay the premiums, insurance companies will insure anything. But even then, in the example I gave, they will not pay you money for something for which you are entitled to a refund from the vendor. Otherwise, I'd be booking and insuring Disney packages every month and canceling them before the 45-day final payment was due... It could be a very lucrative income generator! :lol:

Book Package... Pay in full... Cancel 50 days in advance... Claim full cost from insurance... Receive Disney full refund... repeat! :lookaroun