Booking.com charges traveler for room, despite cancellation | Entertainment/Life

I booked a hotel in Wroclaw, Poland, through Booking.com. I canceled my reservation well within the free cancellation period. But then I discovered a charge on my card for the full amount of $742.

I reached out to Booking.com and a representative told me I would be refunded within 10 days. That didn’t happen. I called back and this time, a representative told me to wait one month, since the property made the charge and it is the hotel’s responsibility to process the refund.

I then escalated this to the property. I sent my bank account details. A hotel representative informed me it could not refund to an Indian account and that Booking.com would have to process it.

After making close to 30 calls to the hotel, I escalated my case to Booking.com. But it just reiterated its policy: It can’t issue refunds, since that’s the responsibility of the hotel.