Ctrip/Sea Star Club Scam! Made me pay for THEIR mistake!
Posted: September 18th, 2015, 12:50 am
I posted this review on Ctrip.com for the Sea Star Club hotel, which was WRONGLY listed in Kangding, Sichuan in the Ganzi region:
Complaint Review for Sea Star Club, Ganzi Region, Sichuan, China
I booked this hotel on ctrip while on the bus to Kangding. However, the bus arrived after 11pm late at night and then I found out that this hotel was NOT even in Kangding, but 90 minutes outside of the city! So I called the hotel and they refused to cancel or refund my booking. I explained that they are at fault for listing their hotel in Kangding on Ctrip, either that or Ctrip is at fault, but they would listen to reason. Apparently, China is not pro-consumer in that any mistake made by the business (such as in this case) will be paid for by the customer or guest, not the business. This is wrong and illogical, but of course, money is more important than logic and reason. This hotel has a bad attitude and does not listen to reason or logic. They claim that their address is on Ctrip but that's not true, because the ENGLISH version of Ctrip that I used does not show the address in China until AFTER the booking is complete. Furthermore, having never been to Kangding, I cannot look at the map of the hotel and know where the heck it is. I assumed that if the hotel was listed in Kangding, then it should be in Kangding, or at least nearby. I also explained this to Ctrip customer service many times by email, but they would not acknowledge fault or address my argument above. They simply ignored my case and told me that the hotel refused to cancel my booking and that's all. They would not listen to reason or acknowledge fault, whether theirs or the hotels, and decided that they would not take the loss and would make me pay for THEIR MISTAKE (or the hotels). This is stupid and illogical and unreasonable and unfair. So I am rating this hotel as low as I can, and disputing the charge with my credit card too. I will also post this complaint in my forum regarding Sea Star Club hotel to help give them a bad name online, which they justly deserve.
Update:
Upon investigation, it appears that this hotel is only wrongly listed in Kangding on Ctrip's mobile site and mobile app, not their desktop site. Moreover, the address of the hotel is NOT listed on the English version of Ctrip at all, so the hotel was wrong about that and refused to acknowledge it. Have a look at the URL below which goes to Ctrip's mobile English site search results for hotels in Kangding.
http://english.ctrip.com/m/hotels/list? ... ort=price0
As you can see, the Sea Star Club hotel is WRONGLY listed in Kangding when it is actually 90 minutes outside of Kangding. It's a clear mistake, but neither Ctrip nor the hotel wishes to acknowledge it or address it. That's bad customer service and unethical and lazy as well. Shame on you Ctrip. I'm going to forward this post to Ctrip and request that they have a manager look at it, and I mean someone who can read, think, analyze and address my arguments, not just some dumb customer service rep who sends form letters.
Complaint Review for Sea Star Club, Ganzi Region, Sichuan, China
I booked this hotel on ctrip while on the bus to Kangding. However, the bus arrived after 11pm late at night and then I found out that this hotel was NOT even in Kangding, but 90 minutes outside of the city! So I called the hotel and they refused to cancel or refund my booking. I explained that they are at fault for listing their hotel in Kangding on Ctrip, either that or Ctrip is at fault, but they would listen to reason. Apparently, China is not pro-consumer in that any mistake made by the business (such as in this case) will be paid for by the customer or guest, not the business. This is wrong and illogical, but of course, money is more important than logic and reason. This hotel has a bad attitude and does not listen to reason or logic. They claim that their address is on Ctrip but that's not true, because the ENGLISH version of Ctrip that I used does not show the address in China until AFTER the booking is complete. Furthermore, having never been to Kangding, I cannot look at the map of the hotel and know where the heck it is. I assumed that if the hotel was listed in Kangding, then it should be in Kangding, or at least nearby. I also explained this to Ctrip customer service many times by email, but they would not acknowledge fault or address my argument above. They simply ignored my case and told me that the hotel refused to cancel my booking and that's all. They would not listen to reason or acknowledge fault, whether theirs or the hotels, and decided that they would not take the loss and would make me pay for THEIR MISTAKE (or the hotels). This is stupid and illogical and unreasonable and unfair. So I am rating this hotel as low as I can, and disputing the charge with my credit card too. I will also post this complaint in my forum regarding Sea Star Club hotel to help give them a bad name online, which they justly deserve.
Update:
Upon investigation, it appears that this hotel is only wrongly listed in Kangding on Ctrip's mobile site and mobile app, not their desktop site. Moreover, the address of the hotel is NOT listed on the English version of Ctrip at all, so the hotel was wrong about that and refused to acknowledge it. Have a look at the URL below which goes to Ctrip's mobile English site search results for hotels in Kangding.
http://english.ctrip.com/m/hotels/list? ... ort=price0
As you can see, the Sea Star Club hotel is WRONGLY listed in Kangding when it is actually 90 minutes outside of Kangding. It's a clear mistake, but neither Ctrip nor the hotel wishes to acknowledge it or address it. That's bad customer service and unethical and lazy as well. Shame on you Ctrip. I'm going to forward this post to Ctrip and request that they have a manager look at it, and I mean someone who can read, think, analyze and address my arguments, not just some dumb customer service rep who sends form letters.