Agoda - How Can This Be Allowed?

prhino on 07/06/2023 - 20:22
Last edited 07/06/2023 - 20:51 by 1 other user

I'm organising some European flights, and was booking through Agoda.

I got to the payment step, and after entering my credit card details and waiting, I got a payment unsuccessful message. My credit card had plenty of credit. I figured I must have mistyped some details so tried again. Same result. Rinse and repeat a couple of times with the same card and I figured it must be a combination of issues with the card and the merchant, as occasionally happens. I tried my other credit card, which also had plenty of credit, with the same result. So I tried again with the same card a few more times, without success. At this point I figured I'd try with my debit card, so transferred some money to my transaction account and tried to pay. Same result.

By now I was pretty fed up, and checked my email to see 9 emails indicating booking had failed due to unsuccessful payment. At this stage I opened the app for credit card 1, and noticed that I had $0 credit available due to two pending transactions from Agoda. I opened the app for the second credit card and noticed that it also had two pending transactions from Agoda. And I opened my banking app and saw a pending transaction from Agoda.

So, despite indicating that payment has been unsuccessful, they've managed to successfully pre-approve nearly $11,000 across 3 cards. I spoke to all 3 financial institutions and they've indicated that there was no issue with the transactions.

I don't have sufficient credit on my cards, or funds in my account, to purchase elsewhere. And in the meantime, the air fare has gone up by 40%. And it could take up to 45 days for my $11,000 to be returned.

How can Agoda tell me payment was unsuccessful when they managed to pre-approve all these charges?

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frondono on 07/06/2023 - 20:39

+7

Probably better off just using google flights next time to find the flight and then booking through the airline.

https://www.going.com/guides/how-to-use-google-flights
- prhino on 07/06/2023 - 21:30
  
  Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
  
  Agoda prices were actually cheaper than the airline, and I had used them before without issue.
  - Nillionaire on 07/06/2023 - 23:22
    
    +6
    
    In my opinion; unless it's a really good deal, it's generally better to book with the airline even if they're more expensive than third parties. Less parties = less complications if something goes wrong = worth it for the peace of mind.
soan papdi on 07/06/2023 - 21:08

+2

https://www.chargebackgurus.com/blog/credit-card-authorizati…

Sounds USA centric but worth calling your banks to put a stop to that authorisation, effectively freeing up your funds in the credit card. Might take a few days though
- prhino on 07/06/2023 - 21:29
  
  +1
  
  I have. Will take up to 45 days.
  - soan papdi on 07/06/2023 - 21:39
    
    That's harsh. Merchants can release holds immediately apparently. Tried calling Agoda?
    - prhino on 07/06/2023 - 21:41
      
      Yes. No help, just buck passing
      - soan papdi on 07/06/2023 - 22:18
        
        @prhino: that’s shit. Can you bank increase your credit limit for a while?
        
        prhino on 08/06/2023 - 05:55
        
        @soan papdi: I put a stop on credit card checks due to the Optus breach
JIMB0 on 07/06/2023 - 21:23

+3

Give it another go with a different card.
- prhino on 07/06/2023 - 21:29
  
  +1
  
  Like I said, "they've managed to successfully pre-approve nearly $11,000 across 3 cards". As in, I tried 3 different cards.
  - JIMB0 on 07/06/2023 - 22:21
    
    +2
    
    Enjoy your 2 rows of seats.
  - All Blacks NZ on 12/06/2023 - 19:57
    
    Yeah but you won't know for sure until you have tried atleast 2-3 more cards. Ask your partner or your family members? More the better.
foxmulder on 07/06/2023 - 21:44

+3

I personally will stop and check the credit card to see if they take money for pending after unsuccessful payment. If they do, I'll stop.
- prhino on 07/06/2023 - 21:45
  
  I did after a couple of transactions, but they hadn't shown up yet
  - foxmulder on 07/06/2023 - 22:37
    
    +1
    
    I read that the charge is most likely temporary and hopefully get back to you as available balance in 24 hours.
    - prhino on 08/06/2023 - 05:56
      
      Yeah, that's best case. Too bad fares have sky-rocketed since I tried to book
    - prhino on 09/06/2023 - 08:10
      
      44 hours later and still no money
      - foxmulder on 09/06/2023 - 08:26
        
        @prhino: That pending transaction is still pending?
        
        prhino on 09/06/2023 - 09:15
        
        @foxmulder: All 5 pending transactions are still pending, yes
Sinnerator on 08/06/2023 - 09:09

+3

PSA
ALWAYS BOOK DIRECTLY FROM THE AIRLINE.
The few (even lots) dollars you save going 3rd party is not worth the nightmare.
<there may be a risk/reward - crazy/hotness - scale where it is worth it, buyer beware>
- prhino on 08/06/2023 - 09:58
  
  I would say "yes, lesson learned", except I'm just remembering that I had issues (different issues) with a trip I booked through another third party site last year.
seanbaussie on 10/06/2023 - 23:21

+1

This is crap, sorry to hear about it. No pearls of wisdom or reprimand from me…
prhino on 13/06/2023 - 10:17

Update

The charges have disappeared from one card.
The pre-auth against one of the other cards has been 'renewed' (ie it's now appearing with today's date).
- nwa on 15/06/2023 - 13:37
  
  I was going to say to you the wrong info it usually takes 7 days for pending charges to disappear not 45 days. I'm sure all longtime cc users have experienced this issue. Whenever I have typed in my cc details in and pressed enter to to be given an error message, first thing I do is check my pending transactions, before giving it another go.
  - prhino on 16/06/2023 - 12:37
    
    9 days so far

Agoda - How Can This Be Allowed?

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