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Help I'm In Croatia And Being Forcibly Deprived Of My Passport


jackpot06

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HOLA441
Guest theboltonfury
Wouldn't happen in "Shithole Britain" that many of you posters cannot wait to escape from.

Yes it would.

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HOLA442
Wouldn't happen in "Shithole Britain" that many of you posters cannot wait to escape from.

Happens plenty, just not as blatant. We had a petrol station just outside where I live that was cloning cards and half the town got taken to the cleaners including my wife.

A guy I work with went out for a curry a few nights ago and had 1500 quid swiped from his account, said it was the most expensive Rogan Josh he's ever bought.

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HOLA443
Looks standard to me, all hotels will charge if you leave early, usually with a couple of weeks notice they will do it for free

but changing your mind at the last minute means they had to refuse other customers that room, and you say it was fully

booked.

Not at all.

Booked in to a Hilton in Preston a few weeks back for a one night stay: suite nice place.

Had to cancel owing to illness.

However since my wife had telephoned to cancel in good time, they refunded 100%.

Advice: pay up; provide written evidence that you had tried to cancel.

Enter a formal complaint with your CC operator in UK on return since CCA still applies as you booked this stay (I hope) from the UK.

And furthermore, in most cases even though you commit to a contract of supply in an overseas jurisdiction, CCA still applies since your contract with the CC operator is based in UK: and the CC Operator is a joint and several party to any contract of sale of goods and or services which you pay for with a CC.

For any commitment above £100.01, then CCA still applies

At the current ruling Euro - Pound Rate of Exchange, you are safely above the £100.01 threshold.

The simple legal reality is that you the consumer have received no consideration for the seventh day: thus an adjustment is due, such as a 50% cancellation fee.

Worst case the British Embassy must provide temporary alternative travel documents if the hotel don't/won't return your passports.

So get your ass over there ASAP.

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HOLA444
Guest theboltonfury
Not at all.

Booked in to a Hilton in Preston a few weeks back for a one night stay: suite nice place.

Had to cancel owing to illness.

However since my wife had telephoned to cancel in good time, they refunded 100%.

Advice: pay up; provide written evidence that you had tried to cancel.

Enter a formal complaint with your CC operator in UK on return since CCA still applies as you booked this stay (I hope) from the UK.

And furthermore, in most cases even though you commit to a contract of supply in an overseas jurisdiction, CCA still applies since your contract with the CC operator is based in UK: and the CC Operator is a joint and several party to any contract of sale of goods and or services which you pay for with a CC.

For any commitment above £100.01, then CCA still applies

At the current ruling Euro - Pound Rate of Exchange, you are safely above the £100.01 threshold.

The simple legal reality is that you the consumer have received no consideration for the seventh day: thus an adjustment is due, such as a 50% cancellation fee.

Worst case the British Embassy must provide temporary alternative travel documents if the hotel don't/won't return your passports.

So get your ass over there ASAP.

You are a mine of useful information.

Worth knowing.

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HOLA445
he is very trigger happy and unpredicable -he has been arbitrary and random in his responses and threatened to 'up ' the price from 140 to 191 per night for no reason -says I must apologise for calling his country 'rubbish ' when I didn't say anything of the kind .he is frightening and unstable .

Is his name Basil Fawlty by any chance? :huh:

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HOLA446
I have had this before, and I did give them my passport. Its insurance for the hotel that you will at least give them some cash.

In my case I knew what were going to be charged and I stayed the full alotted time, so no problems.

In my experience this really only happens in backward (ish) countries, where they don't trust you foreigners to do a bunk! ;)

Doubt that is the reason, as I was there this summer and the hotel wanted our passports even though the holiday was booked and paid for through Thomson. More likely that there is some bureaucratic need to record the passport details for immigration control or something like that.

We got them back on our second day there when I asked for them no problem. Perhaps the OP should have asked for his back first and only informed them of the cancellation later. Easy to be wise after the fact though.

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HOLA447
Not at all.

Booked in to a Hilton in Preston a few weeks back for a one night stay: suite nice place.

Had to cancel owing to illness.

However since my wife had telephoned to cancel in good time, they refunded 100%.

That's completely different, you cancelled a booking in advance and the Hilton didn't charge you for it.

The simple legal reality is that you the consumer have received no consideration for the seventh day: thus an adjustment is due, such as a 50% cancellation fee.

That just doesn't sound right, the Hilton for example say

"If you cancel for any reason, attempt to modify this reservation, or do not arrive on your specified check-in date, your payment is non-refundable."

"At check in, the front desk will verify your check-out date. Rates quoted are based on check-in date and length of stay. Should you choose to depart early, price is subject to change."

https://secure.hilton.co.uk/HiWayWeb/appman..._reservationPag

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HOLA448
That's completely different, you cancelled a booking in advance and the Hilton didn't charge you for it.

Only just the day before.

That just doesn't sound right, the Hilton for example say

"If you cancel for any reason, attempt to modify this reservation, or do not arrive on your specified check-in date, your payment is non-refundable."

"At check in, the front desk will verify your check-out date. Rates quoted are based on check-in date and length of stay. Should you choose to depart early, price is subject to change."

https://secure.hilton.co.uk/HiWayWeb/appman..._reservationPag

ALL decent businesses, except idiots (And there are plenty of those!) have Terms and Conditions of Trading and Contract.

We develop same for many of our clients in conjunction with contract lawyers.

These spell out what they might seek to employ in worst case scenarios: it doesn't mean they will actually apply such terms.

US hotels and motels started the regime of demanding CC details against bookings, to counter what is called in the USA "No Shows"; i.e. those who booked and then didn't appear. This regime started in the early 1980s.

If you book and then advise per fax, telephone, email etc a change in plans then they do not charge: all provided you advise by a fixed and agreed time.

In the OP's case, he has provided clear notice he wishes to leave prior to the final day.

At which point the hotel will NOT have delivered consideration (e.g. legal contract term for reciprocal value).

Therefore ergo they cannot expect to be paid in full for the ultimate day's booking.

It is no different to say you contracting with a builder for a new roof: and then withdrawing.

Now the builder may well have within his terms and conditions of contract that any cancellation must be paid in full: legally however he could whistle Dixy: the law requires an injured party to demonstrate loss: actual not created.

Thus the fact that the builder had no work for the two weeks he had allocated for your roof has nothing to do with the case: in arriving at Quantum (Damages), the law requires any injured party to both mitigate (Control) their losses and prove absolutely such loss.

Indeed, any litigant can and should demand of their opponet what is called "Strict Proof Of Loss".

It would no good the builder stating he sat on his **** for that two weeks instead of working!

Same difference: since the CCA applies under English, not Croation law.

Happy now?

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HOLA449
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HOLA4410
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HOLA4411
Pay the full amount when you leave.

The moment you're out the door phone the credit card company and report your card stolen.

Shockingly poor advice. Putting yourself in the frame for potential fraud is never a great idea. Just explain to the CC company and be 100% honest. I recently got a serious wad back from my bank for a dodgy deal done on my card. This was not a CC card either - debit card.

As for the 'Never hand your passport over' comments on this thread. Clearly many people have not travelled much. There are certain countries where you have to hand it over or you won't be getting anywhere to stay.

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HOLA4412
For transactions transacted in Croatia? Really?

Is that correct all over the world or just bits of it?

"2004 the High Court said the protection afforded by Section 75 was only for domestic customers buying in the UK from UK firms. This has since been overturned by the Court of Appeal who have confirmed that the protection given to consumers by the Credit Act does apply to foreign transactions. This also includes buying goods for delivery to the UK from overseas by telephone, mail order or over the internet.

If you are having difficulty pursuing a claim against a credit card issuer, or they are telling you that you must first get a court judgment against the supplier, report it to the Financial Ombudsmen (www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk). They may even be able to award you compensation."

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/foreign-credit-c...new-protection/

Just one webref: there are many.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publ...ditcards-31.htm

The legal tenet that the appeal turned on (From memory), was that the cardholder signed their agreement with the CC operator IN THE UK: and since the CC operator is Jointly and Severally liable with the seller under CCA, the defence that foreign transactions were outside the scope of English law's jurisdiction, failed.

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HOLA4413
140 euros?, pay and take it up with the credit card company. Some years ago I had a dispute re some charge from a cab company in USA, the credit card co (visa) dealt with it. But in any event your safety is more important.

Exactamundo. Act like it's water off a duck's back.

Which it is unless you're the 'easily stressed/ make a huge fuss' type.

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HOLA4414
As for the 'Never hand your passport over' comments on this thread. Clearly many people have not travelled much. There are certain countries where you have to hand it over or you won't be getting anywhere to stay.

Traveled plenty, always refused to hand over passport. Sometimes you get aggro but 99% of the time they will change their mind to keep your business.

On the other hand, if you get the aggro after you have handed over your passport...

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HOLA4415
The legal tenet that the appeal turned on (From memory), was that the cardholder signed their agreement with the CC operator IN THE UK: and since the CC operator is Jointly and Severally liable with the seller under CCA, the defence that foreign transactions were outside the scope of English law's jurisdiction, failed.

Interesting.

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HOLA4416
Traveled plenty, always refused to hand over passport. Sometimes you get aggro but 99% of the time they will change their mind to keep your business.

On the other hand, if you get the aggro after you have handed over your passport...

I have always handed it over, never had any arguments and never had any issues. If some mentalists want your passport - they will just go into your room and take it if they want.

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HOLA4417

Well,I'm pleased to report that we are back and the passports were finally released after the British Embassy got involved.

The hotel also decided to only charge a small cancellation fee rather than the former arbitrary amounts.

The change in the hotel's tune after the British Consulate spoke to them was massive.

Avoid the Hotel Indijan on the Pelisjac peninsula in Croatia across the water from Korcula,

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HOLA4418

Losing your passport is not the end of the world.

I would have cancelled the credit card and secured the travel docs from the embassy before the hotel had a chance to charge you a penny. What they lost could have paid for your inconvenience.

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HOLA4419

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