Reservation Counter review: scam 105

Similar story for me. I thought I was working with Marriott reservations. I gave them all of my information, credit card, mailing address, email, the works. I became suspicious after I asked why they didn't just take my rewards number because that has my Marriott profile, they said their desk doesn't take rewards numbers. I know some company's operate with divisions isolated from each others information, so I continued despite my suspicions. After the call, I looked more closely at the web page and realized it was Reservation Counter, not Marriott Reservations. So I quickly dialed them back and cancelled. Fortunately it was only 13 minutes. You must listen closely because the woman who I spoke with had a heavy accent and spoke quickly. As I discovered, the cancellation window was only 2 hours. But I was able to get an email confirming the cancellation. They did charge my credit card but gave a refund in 5 days. Whew! close call, lesson learned. Be careful on the Net!

It is impossible to believe how difficult it is to get a refund when the hotel clearly stated they would give me a refund but I had to go back through our booking agent I have been working with them since July 16 and here it is September 15, and I still have not received one penny and I keep getting the runaround. I'm 70 years old. I don't have time to be screwing around on the phone.

Absolutely a scam company. I booked a reservation at the Hilton Gardens Inn and printed my receipt and it said Motel 6 Airport. **WTF.** I called Reservation Counter to confirm my Hilton Reservation and she confirmed I was correct. I said I printed my receipt and it said Motel 6 Airport. She said ooooohhhh, uuummmm, it does look like your reservation you booked is at Motel 6 Airport.. **WTF.** If I had not printed my receipt I would have shown up at Hilton thinking all is fine. I have copies of the screen shot from the initial reservation with nothing about Motel 6. I am going to report them and contact my lawyer

My own story is so familiar that I basically just plagiarized another post from this board, and adjusted the details.
I Google searched for Marriott Courtyard in Stockton, CA. Then linked from the search results to what appeared to be a marriott.com reservation page. After making the reservation then needing to cancel it found out that it was made through Expedia! When I finally got through to Expedia they said it had been made through reservationcounter.com and they couldn't cancel it. I called Marriott, who said they couldn't cancel the reservation and
suggested I call the hotel directly. When I called the Marriott Courtyard in Stockton, CA they said they couldn't cancel it since it had been billed. When I tried to call [protected] for ReservationCounter (for the 4th time to try to cancel) I could never get through to a person. Then I went to the website. When I entered my reservation information the response was "We are sorry. Our service is temporary unavailable". I have opened a dispute with my bank, and have high hopes that there will be no actual loss, but I would strongly recommend triple checking that you're speaking to the right place.

I too have had a similar experience with these people at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I called the hotel to confirm my reservation and was told that the room I had booked was not with the hotel and that it was not a suite but just two double beds so I cancelled the reservation. I have a cancellation number and email confirming my cancellation but was billed for the room. When I called the hotel they said it was a booking through Expedia (which it was not) so I called ReservationCounter.com customer service. They told me that I had to deal with the hotel directly. Still haven't been able to resolve this.

Absolutley, reservationscounter.com is a SCAM. Does anyone know how to get their address so that I can sue them. They are doing business in California without being registered with the State of California. I am reporting them to the District Attorney's office.

I just experienced the very same issue. They misrepresented themselves and tacked on a $45 fee to each room. I'm taking this to the State Attorney General and pursuing legal action. They are very deceptive. I encourage other victims to do the same!

Total scam. I thought I was calling Marriott asked if they wanted my marriott number. "no thanks, you can show us when you get here." Ended up reserving 2 rooms instead of one. I called to cancel one and they ended up confirming the two instead. Luckily I noticed and cancelled both. It took an hour but I have it in writing now. I called the Marriott directly after that. They said it will take ten days to show the $600 credit on my credit card. BS if you ask me. We will see.

I love how the reviews you find for this hotel booking website are all either 5 star and sound like the same person wrote them or are 1 star from real people telling their true, unfortunate experiences. I booked a room through this website un-intentionally. I thought I was on the actual hotel website (my error, I had a lapse in brain function). I never received a confirmation email and started to worry. When I tried to look my itinerary # up on reservationcounter.com, it said that there was "no record" of that reservation. I tried to call, and after 30 minutes on hold, their phone hung up on me. I called the ACTUAL local hotel - they've NEVER heard of the website and had no reservation record. Funny however that they had no problem charging my credit card. What a joke. I am now struggling with my bank to try and resolve this

I was supposed to be dealing with the hotel directly and instead got a confirmation through reservationcounter.com. I had to cancel a reservation because the hotel didnt allow any pets. Every time I called, the rep would say " They couldn't hear anyone on the line and would have to end the call". One girl even laughed as she was saying it. I went through 6 different operators before I got one that "could hear" me on the phone. I ended up having to go online to their site to cancel...This is ridiculous. I am awaiting my refund... BEWARE!

I thought I booked a room through Marriott Gaylord Palms in Orlando but it was Reservation Counter. Gaylord has a lower rate for pre paid reservations or a higher rate if you pay at check in. I reserved "pay at check in" & when I saw the confirmation it was from Reservation Counter and they charged my Mastercard for the entire stay. I immediately cancelled but the charge has not been refunded. Can't seem to get anyone on their phone numbers. I'm hoping with the thousands of complaints of fraud my bank will cancel the charge.
STAY AWAY FROM THESE CON ARTISTS AT ALL COSTS!

I wish I had seen all of these remarks before getting scammed by ReservationCounter.com. I also thought I was making reservations directly through the Hilton Biltmore for my boss but it was through this company. Not only did he not have a reservation when he showed up, but they put him in the Best Western and still charged him $209 for a $82 hotel bill. I even have the receipt from the Best Western on the amount charged and ReservationCounter refuses to give us credit back (they told him they would credit the full amount due to this error, but they sent him a credit for $.01). I will be disputing this charge with the credit card company and never use this service again.

Went to a website that listed itself as a "Courtyard by Marriott" booked and paid in advance for my stay. Got my confirmation that stated that it was Courtyard by Marriott and after my stay I got my receipt that stated "Courtyard by Marriott". However, when I tried to get my Marriott points for my stay I was told that I had booked and paid for my room through Expedia. No Points, and probably paid too much for the room based on what I am reading here.
I learned long ago that you can get better rates by going directly to the motel/hotel you wish to stay with. Apparently Expedia discovered this also, so they created SCAM websites that mimic the real deal. Avoid Expedia, Reservation Counter, etc., they are all SCAMS.
Next time I will double check the header on my computer to be sure of where the sites have lead me to and back out if it does not look legit. Lesson learned.

Well -they got me too! I too thought I was booking with the hotel. I never received an email with the confirmation number so I called back to see what was going on. They didn't have a reservation at all for me and yet I was charged. Their customer service rep- Valaquin-he's a real gem too. He's since lied and told me I never even booked with their company and has since ignored my emails. I've opened up a case with the BBB and my credit card company. Someone needs to stop this from happening!

My fiance and I made a reservation through, what we thought was the actual hotels website but it really was reservation counter. They got the reservation date wrong and instead of using my card number for that purpose they charged me for the room ! I called to correct the date and I got the runaround and they would not correct the date or reverse the charges that shouldn't have been put on there in the first place! I'm going to dispute the charges I will update on how that goes. Beware of these SCAM artists !

I wish I would have read these reviews earlier. I was mislead to believe that I was booking through the Tropicana website. Wrong! I booked a Club Suite and was given a standard room. Tropicana would not honor my printed Itinerary because they said I had booked through Reservation Counter who placed a standard room in the system. Tropicana said that I would have to try to get a refund from Reservation Counter. After speaking to Reservation Counter on three occasions, they said I would have to dispute it with Tropicana. No one is taking responsibility and I paid twice as much to stay in a sub-par room. I re- ported Reservation Counter to the BBB and will try to have the charges removed from my credit card.Worst company I have ever dealt with! Oh, and good luck understanding the representatives when you call.

Yes, I agree that reservationcounter.com is a scam. I made a booking for a hotel, thinking I was dealing directly with the hotel, I sorted out that their 1 888 number was a "cover" over the hotel website. After going through the booking process, I was nervous and concerned over the reservation, I checked my credit card account to see that I was immediately billed for the RESEVATION. I cancelled within a few hours of making the reservation, and was notified that my credit card billing would be reversed. In those few hour's, I was billed at a US rate of $1.11, and the return rate was $1.05. They did not ever indicate they were a reservation company, and did not clarify that fact in the phone conversation with the booking. Be wary, and ask if you are dealing with the hotel reservation department, don't trust this company.

Booked reservation at Marriott Courtyard in Waldorf MD. In addition to room charge of $139 I was charged $839 . Booked thru Travres Rescounter called them only to find out they are located in Central America not Utah where they claim to be. I have reported them to my credit card company and they are currently disputing the charges. I will never book thru Expedia or Marriott website either. I've been advised to book with the hotel directly by phone. This is a nightmare and these people have to be stopped.

Very similar experience as all above. I am from British Columbia and they claimed to have needed to hear my info twice as they had a computer glitch and the first reservation didnt take. What they did was establish two reservations and billed me twice but had me in the wrong building and with out the amenities that I had requested. They claimed to represent the hotel but the hotel had no contract with this outfit and are pursuing matters from their end.
In short, stay the heck away form this group. THEY SUCK!

Reservationcounter.com is the worst. They are a third party admin for Expedia.com. My husband made a reservation for a hotel thinking they were actually on the hotels website, he cancelled the reservation no more than ten minutes later, then booked directly with the hotel. Reservationcounter.com took the cost of the hotel out of his checking immediately, He called a couple of days later to find out when he would be getting credit back on his debit card, they said it would be thirty days, and told him that we were being charged for one nights stay because of the hotels cancellation policy. We contacted the hotel, the hotel does not charge for a cancellation. So I called the company and requested a refund. They denied us the refund stating that is the hotels policy, after going back and fourth with the CS rep several times, I finally got the rep to admit that it was not the hotels policy, that it was reservationcounter.com's policy. We ended up having the hotel contact expedia.com (which is the parent company), we finally got the charges reversed after spending 3 hours on the phone with these clowns. They claim to have the lowest prices, that is not the case, which is why he cancelled the reservation in the first place. The CS reps are very hard to understand and are rude rude rude, even laughed at us when we are on the phone. When make reservations for a hotel, I would suggest going through the hotel directly. Be careful, when did a google search for a hotel, the landing page actually looked like it was for the actual hotel, but it was not! Tricky tactics.

I tried to make a reservation at a specific hotel that i had just stayed at two weeks prior for $40/night. Reservation counter quoted me 75 then said that they were sold out and tryed to get me into a more expensive hotel. I called the original hotel and not only did they have a room they gave me my original rate of $40/night.

There is definately some scamming going on here!

I can't believe I fell for it. I clicked on a search result I thought was for Red Lion Hotels but was actually reservationcounter.com. I called [protected], the number listed at the top of a webpage that looked as if it was the actual hotel website. I noticed at once that the woman who answered the phone did not indicate she worked for Red Lion and I immediately asked what was up. She said she handled reservations for them and other hotels, implying some type of agreement with the hotels. As I made the reservation I became more and more suspicious, searched the internet for the actual Red Lion reservation number and realized what had happened. Unfortunately I had already booked one of two rooms I needed, so I asked the woman on the phone to cancel the reservation, saying I would rather book directly through the hotel. I was transferred to another employee, who found the reservation and promised to cancel it and refund my credit card, which surprised me as there had been no previous indication that anything had been charged to my credit card to begin with.

Not taking any chances, I immediately called my bank and canceled the card, after seeing that the charge for the room and another charge for $1.00 were pending. The bank representative advised me that the account would be immediately frozen and that the charges may just drop off after a few days pending. I checked the account yesterday and the pending charges were gone. Upon checking the account today, I noticed the charges had reappeared as pending, although the business name appeared different. Please note that I did not ever authorize reservationcounter.com to charge my card, and the representative I spoke to did not ask to charge the card, only for a credit card "for the reservation."

Obviously, this outfit is using very deceptive practices and misrepresenting itself to consumers. The have embedded widgets from tripadvisor.com on their faux hotel web pages, as well as Facebook and Google maps. The faux Red Lion page did look legit. There is no tiny "Advertisement" disclaimer on the reservationcounter.com banner at the top of the page, as others have seen, and their phone number is the only one on the page. It is clearly designed to fool you into thinking it is the actual hotel webpage. Finally, when I did call Red Lion to make the reservation, I mentioned what had happened and asked them to check if a reservation had already been made in my name. There wasn't one.

Made a reservationn with what I thought was Hilton, turned out to be reservationcounter.com. They booked me at Hilton Garden Austin Convention Center, not Hilton Austin Convention Center. Asked to have reservation, which had to be paid in ful, l to be transferred to correct hotel. I am currently on phone waiting for a manager for the last 10 minutes because clerk on phone said no way, no how can they correct this. And now they hung up on me. I know when I was booked this reservation, I typed Hilton.com in address bar, how reservation counter.com got there I don't know...

I agree completely that this reservationcounter is a scam. Online I was attempting to make a reservation with Courtyard Marriott in Columbia, MO. I called the hotel right away to confirm, because I was surprised to have found an available room on a big college football weekend. They had no record of my reservation. Upon further inspection of my reservation confirmation email, I discovered the reservation was for the Courtyard Marriott in Columbia, MD. Maryland and not Missouri! I called the hotel in Maryland to cancel my reservation. The hotel kept stating that I made the reservation through Expedia. I most certainly did not knowingly make a reservation through Expedia. Sooo...back to my confirmation email...only to find the booking agency was "reservationcounter". Upon calling reservationcounter to cancel, I was transferred 3 times, kept being asked for my Itinerary number and email, and then transferred again with no resolution. I told them this is a scam, and immediately called my credit card company to report the charge. The transactions were still pending so I was able to unauthorize the charges. We'll see...the scammers already have my credit card number, so maybe they will try again. Beware!

A BUNCH OF LYING THIEVES. EVERYTHING YOU SEE HERE IS TRUE. PLEASE LISTEN TO THESE REVIEWS AND DON'T GET SCREWED OVER LIKE I DID.

For those who want to file a real complaint, the best place it with Utah. http://consumerprotection.utah.gov/complaints/manual.html I would recommend anyone having issue with the company you should file a formal complain the state of Utah.

Here is some information about this company they appear to be a UT company but their state registration has expired https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=7177186-0151 http://www.bizapedia.com/ut/RESERVATION-COUNTER-LLC.html People need to file complaints with the Utah AG officer since they have jurisdiction over this company

As everyone has commented this company is not on the legit side, they somehow have inserted themselves between the hotel chains and places like Expedia and yourself. They do in fact claim to work for the hotel chain and make you think you are speaking directly with the hotel you are making a reservation with. They are immediately charging your credit card so you make it extremely hard to cancel you the transaction. They you have to dispute the charge and depending on what happen like did you or did not actually stay at the hotel. Also as other have noted they charged use to be under Reseverationcounter.com and TSP Reservationcounter.com today they are now charging your card under ESCOUNTER.com. and this company can not be found on the internet it is just another company this company created since it old name is obviously getting a bad rap due to websites like this. My wife and I are both season travelers and usually book directly with hotel chains and this companies website came up as a Marriott actually website and they did a very good job of making it look like they were the actually Marriott location we were booking with, we even asked about out Marriott rewards and they said they had it and it was on the reservation. However, when at the hotel and asked if they had the reward card they said no and it could not be added since the reservation was not booked directly. Marriott just said the reservations was made by the third part. As others also found out if you did in fact book directly the cost of the room would have been far less this company is adding fees to your booking and as we learned the Hotels will not do anything for your nor will the recognize you as a frequent user so they can not extend you any benefits. The only thing people can do is file complains with their state's AG and any other agency who deal with this kind of fraud.

This company is a scam. They charged my credit card and I didn't make reservations. Now I have to file a dispute to get my money back. SCAM

I called the Holiday Inn in Orange Park, Florida to make reservations when I was unknowingly transferred to reservationcounter.com. The room rate I was quoted and the rate online was $87/night. I called Holiday Inn 10 days later to confirm my reservation prior to check in and was informed that my reservation was made through Expedia. I explained to Holiday that I did not use Expedia but in fact had called the chain directly. The representative stated they would not transfer a customer to a 3rd party. What appeared on my charge account was reservation counter and I was charged $97/night. This website/3rd party booking agency is a SCAM. I spoke to Pablo (a “manager”) with reservationcounter.com who stated he could not refund the increased charge and was extremely rude and unprofessional. This is a warning to all consumers DO NOT USE reservationcounter.com THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS!

I was the guy who booked the room in Medford. I disputed the claim with the check card company that I used to book the rooms. Unbelievably they refunded my money. I could not believe it. I could not dispute the charge for the room that I booked with reservation counter because I actually stayed in that room. But the original room that I booked with the actual hotel company was disputed and upheld because I never stayed there. If you want to get any money back try to dispute the charge with the credit card company.

It was very similar experience for me. I was referred to this firm by a hotel chain that had no rooms in my area of need, and thought that I was dealing with a second firm with a property nearby. It turned out to be these folks. I did have to prepay, and I got no confirming email. Later I made a 2d reservation for my son's family -- for the same type of room, same time slot -- at that 2d hotel. I got the same price, did not have to prepay. The hotel told me the booking came through Expedia. But Expedia denied this, could not get me an email confirmation, said I'd have to deal with the Expedia "affiliate network" involved, at another point called a "partner." It seems plausible that fees are being split several ways from the extra money this firm brings in with this quasi-legitimate business model. Only the actual hotel loses ... and the customer, who has to prepay, gets no award points, and can likely expect less favorable room location. This firm billed to our credit card as "TRAVRES*Rescounter.com [protected] WA, " but obviously flies numerous flags of convenience.

I booked a hotel room in Medford, Oregon through a legitimate hotel website. When I realized that the hotel did not have a pool I decided to cancel the reservation. I googled the hotel and came up with a phone number that appeared to be for the hotel. When I called to cancel the room the person took down my confirmation number and said he cancelled the room. He then proceeded to book me a new hotel room. Not until a day later did I find out that he had never canceled the original reservation and had no way of doing so because it had not been made through reservation counter.com. I would have never booked another room if I was not under the impression that my original reservation had been canceled. I was mislead to think that I was dealing with the hotel, but was actually dealing with a third party reservation booking company. I called reservation counter.com, but was eventually hung up on after asking to speak with another person. The woman said that she had never heard of anything like this before and it was very "rare". Pretty sure there is no way that I am going to get my money back for the hotel room that I never stayed in. Waiting to hear back from the original hotel to see if they will take pity on me. I could not dispute the charge for the hotel room that reservation counter.com booked because I actually stayed in that room. I could only dispute the charge for the original hotel room I booked even though it was not their fault because they never knew that I wanted to cancel. Beware of the phone numbers listed under the ad section in search engines because they are not always the numbers for the actual hotels.

This company is an absolute ripoff. I tried to get a confirmation to print on their web site and couldn't. Then I tried to cancel online within a half hour of the booking and nothing. I tried calling their phone numbers listed on the site and got nothing but voicemail with no option to speak with someone or leave a message. I even tried emailing from their site. My next call after trying all this - again within about an hour of booking - was to call my credit card company. Despite disputing with my credit card company twice and speaking directly with the hotel involved to verify that I had attempted to cancel the reservation (before the arrival date), this charge has now been put back on my card. Of course they have no record of my attempt to cancel - they have no way to do it once you have put in a reservation.
Someone needs to close these guys down!

The same thing happened to me. I made two reservations at a hotel where I regularly stay - and with whom I get great rates. I thought I was calling the hotel's number and when someone answered "Reservations" I gave them all of the information I needed for my stay. It was not until I got to the hotel that I realized that I had made a reservation through Expedia.
Then trying to cancel my NEXT reservation was a nightmare. They said that I could cancel through the e-mail that they sent me. They never did send me an e-mail confirming my reservation.
I cannot describe how much I detest this company!
They got an extra $36 of mine (difference between what I usually pay and what they charged me) but they never will again!
BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!

I agree that this company scams the consumer, and it sounds like they do the hotels no great service either! My complaint is that I received a charge from TSP*RESERVATIONCOUNTER on my Chase card for $112.57 as well as the bonafide charges from a Hampton Inn [Hilton ownded] in Naples, FL (August 2012) for the rooms I actually reserved and for which I paid $92.40 per room upon checkout. During this week of travel, I had consistently reserved either a 2-bedroom suite, or 2 hotel rooms. When I disputed the TSP charge with Chase--they actually sided with TSP! Apparently, they simply gave Chase some "itinerary number" for 1 room at the same Hampton in Naples--which somehow convinced this corporate giant that it was a valid charge and they re-billed me! So, even with my statement indicating I had paid Hampton for both rooms at checkout, I still had the TSP charge hanging there for one room? My statement had all the evidence of each hotel booking/payment for our vacation-- and I have the backup receipts indicating that we did not EVER book a single, standard hotel room during that time. Now it's the principle of the thing! Since I ALWAYS reserve with Hilton Honors, I am extrememly curious as to how TSP got this information in the first place? I'm still fighting with Chase on this frustrating turn of events.

Totally agree!. I had a similar experience. They booked me at Choice Comfort Inn in San Diego on the wrong date. When I arrived at the hotel, the manager told me that I had no reservation on that day but had one for a much later date. The hotel told me that I could cancel and book with them but Reservation counter never refunded me for the incorrect booking. Could never talk to a live person.
Avoid using Reservation Counter.

I had the same problem. They said they were taking a reservation, but that charge the card immediately as a pre-paid reservation. The number on the credit card associated with this service is wrong, and so you cannot reach them to cancel the "reservation." TSP is a fraudulent operation.

I just about fell for this, even though I am experienced at booking travel for work. Luckily, I did not give these scammers a credit card number! I asked for a government rate room and they said there were none available. The whole call sounded fishy. I found the real phone number for the hotel and got the rate I needed right away. I encourage everyone who has had a negative experience with this so-called company to file a consumer protection complaint with your state. These divisions are usually located in the Attorney General's Office. The more complaints a government agency gets about a particular company, the bigger the chance they will go after these people.

I was trying to look for online hotel booking options and suddenly noticed the Best Western Naperville Hotel number on this website. I made my booking after calling this tollfree number all the time assuming that this was Best Westerns website, only to realize later that this was www.reservationcounter.com website number. The person was infact acting as if she represented the hotel and not the website. The itinerary details which they send never work as stated by them on their URL:
http://www.reservationcounter.com/reservation/
The site gives a strange message that "this service is temporarily out of order".
Also please note that as claimed by them, the prices charged here are not the lowest. Infact the original hotels booking would have saved me a solid $25 per day for 15-days( around $375).
And finally during checkout, when I requested for a itemized bill(day-to-day) breakup, for submitting it for official purpose, the hotel directed me back to reservationcounter website. I have been trying to follow up with them from past month and have never heard back again.
Request everyone to be careful with this website as this seems to be a totally spurious and dubiously managed firm.