Credit Card Fraud by Mandarin Oriental in Miami

Bay view from Mandarin Oriental at midnight on Christmas 2015.

The last thing a guest expects when checking into a hotel is that she will experience credit card fraud by Mandarin Oriental in Miami, yet that is precisely what seems to have transpired. If it wasn’t bad enough the hotel was completely unwilling to work with us on canceling our reservation after United Airlines changed our flights to Miami from Sacramento, putting us at the hotel around midnight (instead of 4 PM) when we had to check out for our charter flight to Cuba at 3 AM, but the Mandarin Oriental also, for some unknown reason, charged another guest’s room to my credit card. A person I do not know. And that guest’s charges amounted to more than $2,000.

I had originally made my reservation in June at the Mandarin Oriental for a Christmas Day arrival. I paid $339 in advance, which was the full room charge less $44 taxes, for a deluxe bay view room with a king bed on a high floor. Upon check-in, the hotel insisted upon handling my Chase Sapphire VISA and verifying my driver’s license, even though the room was basically paid for in full. My husband and I were exhausted from our long trip that began when our plane left Sacramento at  5:30 AM, with a huge delay in Denver. Before retiring, I shot that photo above from the balcony. We then grabbed 3 hours of sleep, dragged ourselves up at 3 AM, paid our balance of $44 in taxes upon checkout, and left for Miami International Airport, for our two-week trip in Cuba.

When I came home, I checked my Chase Sapphire online. An unknown $2,000+ charge popped up as a result of evidently credit card fraud by Mandarin Oriental. Immediately I called the hotel and was advised I had no such charge on my credit card, my bill was paid in full, and the hotel sent me a Folio showing a zero balance. I thought it was perhaps a system glitch and would vanish, but no, when I received my credit card statement, the $2,000+ charge through credit card fraud by Mandarin Oriental appeared.

This time I called Chase Sapphire and contested the fraudulent billing, and Chase reversed the charge. I thought it was over, but no.

Yesterday, Rhian from Chase called to say the Mandarin Oriental bank refused to reverse the fraudulent charge. The bank for Mandarin Oriental told Rhian the charge was credited for a guest, Allan Taffet, an unknown person to me. Rhian offered to cancel my Sapphire card and issue a new card. That was the Chase solution. That was not my solution, though, especially since I automatically pay dozens of creditors monthly, and to notify each of a new number is a nightmare. I did not create this horror story.

As a victim of credit card fraud by Mandarin Oriental, I should not be further penalized for criminal activity I did not participate in nor authorize. This should be easy to fix, I figured, but I was naive. Chase placed a conference call to the Mandarin Oriental billing department. A fellow named Raoul claimed we had no proof that I did not authorize the charge and he refused to reverse the fraudulent charge. He claimed I was trying to steal money from the hotel when the reverse was true. We were placed on hold and disconnected. We called back. This time we insisted on speaking to a manager. The manager claimed the Mandarin Oriental had “lost” its case and lost its money and I had won. Yet that is not what its bank claimed.

Plus, let’s just say I did not feel like a “winner.” This is fraud and I am a victim.

Chase still won’t put this to bed until I receive an email from the Mandarin Oriental reversing its claim. The manager promised to send an email, but I have not yet received it. I don’t want Chase to issue me a new credit card. I expect the the credit card fraud by Mandarin Oriental to be lifted in its entirety and for the Mandarin Oriental to credit my card, but given the behavior thus far, I don’t imagine that will happen without a lot more screaming.