Priceline.com

After checking out rates of hotels in Erie, PA with various travel websites (including Priceline standard booking site), I chose to use the "Name Your Own Price" option (which is prominently thrust in your face at every turn on Priceline.com). When prompted for the "# of Adults", I entered "2" since I have 2 adults and 2 children in our family. After submitting a bid for a hotel room for our vacation, I saw that my bid was accepted and a reservation was made at a hotel chain THAT ONLY HAS 1 BED PER ROOM.

I immediately verified this on the hotel website and called Priceline Customer DisService. They explained that the reservation could not be changed. I would have to check with the hotel to see if they could accommodate my reservation and if not, I was to call Priceline back for a change.

I called the hotel. They had just received the reservation electronically (took about 20 minutes). They confirmed that they did not have any rooms in the hotel that could accommodate my family. They told me they could not cancel the reservation. Priceline would have to do it. So I called Priceline back (as previously instructed).

Imagine my surprise and disappointment to learn that I was now stuck with a 1 bed hotel room for my family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children). I asked, pleaded, etc. with both Customer DisService and a Customer Relations "Specialist" neither of who could assist me. I was given a case # and directed to file a complaint on their website. I filed a complaint with their VP of Customer DisService.

The next day, I received a call back from "Ryan", an "executive officer" of Priceline. He proceeded to explain to me that they could not change their policy. It was a "contract" that could not be changed (even though the hotel room had not yet been occupied; my vacation was still 4 days away). After arguing my case (even offering to spend more money with them to take a reservation in another Priceline-serviced hotel)and explaining how dissatisfied I was with their "customer service", I told them that they had lost a customer for life. I also told them I would warn as many others as I can to NEVER USE PRICELINE.COM.

Be Forewarned - their practices border on deceitful and their "customer service" is NON-EXISTENT.

RUN AWAY AS QUICK AS YOU CAN FROM THESE CROOKS.

Priceline "upgraded" us to Inlet Tower Hotel in Anchorage, which is supposed to be a 3 stars- in the class of Sheraton or Hilton according to their rating system. They (priceline) misrepresented the quality and amenities of this smelly, dirty, poorly renovated flop house. They advertise on their website that there is a pool, there is not (see link at bottom). Nor was there room service, secure parking, any unfrayed upholsery in the lobby or room, nor sanitary conditions present. I have pictures, lots of them! I would like someone to explain to me what the Priceline's criteria is for a 3 star hotel. I've asked them in writing, and on the phone. I've received an autorespsonse to my email, but no one has followed up. Apparently Priceline's 3 star rating does not concur with any known travel guide.
I contacted priceline immediately after they had booked us. I let the representative know about the gross misrepresentation of services and about our physical disabilities that made staying at that hotel a problem. After more than an hour they said there was nothing they- or I- could do about it. The representative was smug, and he was laughing at us. In my experience thus far- no one at priceline really cares whether the room is any good, if the rating really fits, if your disabilities are accomodated, or if their customers are happy.
Pictures don't lie.

There was ice built up inside the windows and drafts strong enough to blow out a candle(we froze our butts off), mildew and missing tiles in the bathroom, frayed wires, whit-ish mystery stains of probable biologic origin dribbled and smeared on every flat surface (it looked like someone dribbled donut glaze and smeared it around), frayed wires, stains, dirt, cigarette burns, mildew, pungent smells, and poor renovation with missing molding and tile throughout. The only open electrical outlet was up high on a wall with no table, or in the bathroom.
Construction next door began around 7:30 AM. I had a magnificent view of the construction porto-potties, though the Priceline Inlet Suites Hotel ad said that all rooms had a beautiful view. We sat on towels and were afraid to take our socks off. The tub was beyond disgusting, with a soap ### ring and mildew aroud the handles, but we couldn't have used the oversized tub anyway because of our physical disabilities (the sides came up to my butt). We are physically unable to perform the type of gymnastics necessary to use that sort of tub without injury, as there was no step or seat in the tub. Both my wife and I are on antibiotics now because the frosty conditions in the room made us ill.
The front desk clerk was friendly and sympathetic to our issues, but was unable to switch us rooms. He (Scott) stated that they are chronically understaffed by management unless the owner was coming in. He said that there were only 3 desk clerks rotating 24/7, and that he wished it were different and he could do something for us. He encouraged me to fill out a complaint card, which no one has yet responded to.
If Priceline or the hotel management cared whatsoever for the comfort of guests, they would take heed-as would priceline- to priceline's own review page on this Hotel located here:
http://travela.priceline.com/hotel/hotelReviewsGuide.do?key=g3qag2ph&propID=4862805&jsk=1f03010a2203010a200912272043459E3c11296033&plf=PCLH&static=Y
Many people who stayed there in December were as unhappy as I was, and posted similar complaints. priceline is obviously aware that this hotel is not up to standards, and does not care. What they don't realize is that their reputation is suffering because o their lack of humanity. In the end, they'll go under, because being the customer, we always have the choice to use someone else. I hope they take this opportunity to correct these deficits in their rating system.

I used Priceline to book a three-star hotel for a one night stay in Appleton, WI, for 12/24/09. You must enter your credit card information before seeing the specific hotel Priceline booked for you, and the cost is non-refundable. I have no issue with this premise, since it is understood that one is sacrificing the certainty of a specific hotel in exchange for a reduced price. I entered an offer for $52 including all applicable taxes and fees.

The problem is that Priceline booked a hotel in the WRONG CITY, not the city I specified when I made my offer. I had an issue with this and contacted Priceline immediately, expecting them to either refund my money or book the hotel in the city indicated. They refused to do either.

According to Priceline, the city in which they booked the hotel is considered "in the city area" because "it is in our shaded city area on our map". The city, Neenah, WI is 22 miles and two cities away from where I'm visiting family in Appleton, WI. Had I wanted a hotel in Neenah, I'd have made an offer for a hotel in Neenah. Nowhere on the Priceline site does Priceline make any full and fair disclosure of a map indicating a "zone" that they, and only they, deem acceptable.

Priceline insists there is nothing they can do for me. I have appealed to them on every angle, but the bottom line is they billed my credit card (bank debit card) and they offer no recourse. I have decided to fight them on my own terms by contacting local media and the state consumer protection agency.

Any advice on how to handle this unconscionable company would be greatly appreciated.

Priceline has very bad service. When it comes to name your own price, what you are not told is that they actually pick the times for you. I did not know before wasting $300.00 that you do not have a chance to select morning or evening flights. As I waited for the screen to change, my credit card was processed.

Since this was my first time, I thought that I could call and just get the times changed. No one in customer service was wiling to work with me. The first gentleman that I talked to offered me to pay $100.00 to change the time. I advised him that I did not have the extra money. He replied "Mam.. I am so sorry, the disclosure tells you that you cannot make changes. But I replied that the disclosure does not tell you that you will not get a chance to select morning or afternoon. I understood that the exact time would not be given, but if you have the chance to select late afternoon or early morning.. you can work with the schedule given.

Long story short .. I lost $300, Customer service nor any of the other departments wanted to work with me. "Keep in mind my friends... I never once asked for my money back"! When I asked to speak to a manager the customer service rep also told me that they do not have managers. What kind of operation is that!

My friends " Never Utilize Priceline" It is a big rip off !

While I've had satisfactory results from using Priceline.com in general, it wasn't the case when I opted for their "Name Your Own Price" deal when I recently booked a hotel room for a one-night stay. I clearly stated that I needed two beds in the room as I was not travelling alone to a football game out of town. At the time I booked, I wasn't sure if it would be my daughter or a friend travelling with me. On my second attempt, I got the price I requested (which was actually what I had been seeing in the ads). It was $45, but taxes, etc., brought the cost of the room to $61, plus I paid a $5 insurance fee. You cannot imagine my horror when I got to the hotel and found that the room had only one king-size bed! I was with a friend, but even if it had been my daughter, we would not have wanted to share a bed. It was embarrassing and the hotel had no other rooms available! I called Priceline and they told me the small print on the contract stated I could end up with any bed accomodation from singles to a king. Obviously, had I known this, I would have gladly paid another $20 or $30 to get what I wanted. It was very awkward as I didn't know if my friend thought I was trying to hit on her! LOL -- two senior females!
I thought Priceline should have been more straightforward in what their offer included. If you're travelling alone, this would work, but it sure didn't work for me! I ended up on a very uncomfortable cot for the night!

Beware of bonus cash from Priceline... I chose Priceline over other sites at first because they offered 2 nights of hotel voucher. However, you need to be very careful because the instructions are not included when you book your hotel. I expected the bonus cash discount to be taken off the Name Your Own Price total, but NO... that's not how it works. I wish they had instructions on the booking page, but they don't. I called customer service to explain the situation, how I ended up paying more then I would have if I had booked from the hotel directly even AFTER using the voucher. To my surprise, they are not doing anything about it... the website stole my voucher and I end up having to pay more because of all the service fees that they charge... SCAM

So I just went to book a car rental on Priceline.com. I was quoted a price of 101.68, which I was fine with and agreed to. I clicked "confirm" and was led to the second page, which said, sorry, but it's 260.39. When I called them to try to fix it, their answer was this: "Well, we just didn't make the reservation at all, so it's ok." I didn't get an e-mail telling me that the reservation didn't go through, or anything. So why bother giving an confirmation number, etc. This gave the impression that not only did they complete the reservation, but they did so at more than twice the originally quoted cost. I asked them to simply match the orginal cost, and they refused. I talk to their initial customer service representative, Victor, and then finally to apparently "the highest court" representative, Ellen, who still refused to do anything.

Me and my husband we were trying to buy tickets for family vacation.
We dont know what happened, just in one second, "The price was accepted" that was poped up!
My hus said he was writing a big money in the blank box for fun.
But he didnt push "buy my ticket now" button at all!(why he would click it!)
That was too much for us. We couldnt afford it. We were so sad to pay that amount money.
They already took the money from account. (Such a quick job)
So we called customer service, but that didnt help at all. Pretty much they kept saying, "In this case, We cant give any refund" OMG!
After several big argument, he crumbled the paper to meke rough sound and hung up!
What the! I couldnt belive what they did to us. And we talked to other person, he said there is a humble discount for cancellation! I guess he doesnt know what 'humble' means!
whatever that costs 100$ per ticket! so we paid 400$ for the trip even we didnt go!
If somebody wanna book a flight ticket from this company, I wanna tell them dont make stupid decision
like us!

I made a hotel reservation at 10:30 a.m. PST. On the web page it clearly stated that there was no cancellation fees or charges. I called at 2:30 p.m. PST to just change the hotel and was told that I had to do it the day before or I was going to be charged for the rate. I don't knwo how you cancel a reservation teh day before you made it. After talking to two "customer service " repressentatives, I received no satisfaction whatsoever. They never disputed the web site at all. The last representative told me to write their customer service department which I did. I received an auto reply saying that I was being charged. All this when all I wanted to do was change hotels. Now I would never recommend or use this company again. This is deceptive advertsising at it's best.

I booked a room on priceline.com. After getting what I thought was a good rate, I called the hotel directly and learned that parking overnight would be $27 on top of the priceline rate. I called priceline and attempted to cancel the reservation but priceline informed me that no refunds would be issued under any circumstances. It appears to be impossible to reverse any reservation made through priceline. Even my credit card company claims they can not dispute fees with priceline.

Moral of the story- Do not use priceline.com for hotels/motels without first checking with the actual motel for possible hidden fees not negotiated with Priceline. Do not change your plans, or become ill after using priceline. This company has instructed its employees to give NO leeway under any circumstances.

Priceline.com has charged my credit card for over $3000 in disputed, I would argue fraudulent, charges. On June 27, 2009, my credit card company alerted me to the fact that instead of 3 tickets (for a trip I made abroad with my family), I had been charged for 6. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that Priceline.com had charged my credit card accounts for 3 plane tickets connected with Flight Request #[protected]. The funny thing is, I never made this Request, and I never received any notification e-mail from Priceline.com of having made such a request!

In the past, I had submitted three other Flight Requests through Priceline.com to purchase tickets on-line. They were not accepted, and they were listed as unaccepted (as shown via the "MyTrips" page in the attached photo). As the attached photo shows, there is no showing of Request #[protected]! Also, as the photo indicates, the Requests actually made, on the "same date" as Priceline.com claims, are drastically different. Given the fact that these Request Numbers progress chronologically, Priceline.com's claim that the Request was made on the same day makes absolutely no sense.

Its Customer Relations Department contends that I made the request on the same day, 6/27/09 with other attempted requests. However, the request in question is not shown anywhere on my Online Profile alongside other, legitimately made Flight Requests. The number in question is #[protected]. As you can see, it does not appear on the MyTrips portion of my page. Nevertheless, Priceline.com has persisted in charging me over $3, 000 in conjunction with this purported Flight Request!

Moreover, the Customer Relation's staff does not seem to care about this complaint. So far, they have not responded in any meaningful way to my submitted complaint.

Priceline.com says that because a Flight Request, bearing this number, exists somewhere in its system, that is what counts. I am responsible for the charges, regardless of the fact that I never purchased, or even knew, about this Flight Request!

The matter remains in dispute. I sincerely hope that Priceline.com will remove this disputed charge from my account. But in the meantime, it is an uphill struggle with Priceline.com's Customer Relations Department.

This company is a complete sham. I purchased the basic service and after a sort while realized that it doesn't work and didn't help at all. After many calls from real-estate agents who thought I was interested in purchasing a home instead of renting (which they didn't handle) I tried to get a refund and they will only do so if you show proof of address change, even if you don't use their service to find a place. This company sucks and all buyers should be aware.

I booked a vacation package on priceline.com. The flight shown was cheap, direct with reasonable departure and arrival times. However, after actually "booking" the trip, my default flight arrangements were changed and one stop added in. We went from 21/2 hours direct to a 6 hours flight w/ one stop in the wrong direction and a layover. We actually get to our destination 4hours later.

Priceline would not change my flights. I challenged them to find the flight that I had received because it was not in the selection list the first time, or when I checked five minutes after booking. It was random out of no where. No luck and I've used priceline for years. Last time.

Never ever using Priceline again!

1st Problem - the first car was too small, so I upgraded. Driving to my hotel aprox 30 miles away, there was no leg room. The next morning driving it, started to hear noise coming from one of the tires, immediately took it back, and got yet another car, upgraded again.

2nd problem - I arrived at my airport at 4:30am (EST), wanting to avoid any boarding problems. At 8:00am I was in my seat on the plane, when my name was called to get off (it was very embarrassing). They over-booked the flight. I booked my flight one month before, plus getting their before anyone else, it was very disheartening. They put me on a later flight, arriving at the destination at 10pm (pst).

The reason for my trip was to attending my sisters wedding. I was scheduled to arrive at 3pm, when I finally arrived the celebration was over! Due to our father passing, I was to escort my sister during the ceremony and reception. This once in a lifetime event. It I knew this was going to happen, would of booked with someone else.

3rd problem - arriving at my hotel at 11pm Friday (22 hours after my wife dropped me off at the airport for my flight out). I checked out of the hotel Sunday morning. The clerk said to contact price-line for my refund owed to me. I emailed and received a standard answer - no refund.

I am one step away from backing out the charges to my credit card - because I did not get the service and satisfaction that was presented to me. You broke the contract. I want some type of restitution.

Lastly - the main reason for using priceline, was all the commercials of Willian S. (Capt Kirt). If you are reading this - "Shame on You" - you are not the man you use to be!

I won a name your price on a hotel thru priceline.com. After winning the bid, and recieving confirmation, I read the hotel description. It said I had beach Access. I called the hotel directly, to make a room request. I was informed that priceline.com guests are placed on the opposite end of the resort where there is no beach access. I asked how long of a walk it was to the beach. I was informed that guests who stay thru priceline.com, are NOT permitted on the beach because the rooms on the beachside of the hotel are alot more than the rooms on the other end (we had to cross a busy street to get from the "main mansion" to the "villa side". I offered to pay for beach access but was declined. I was told this is mentioned on the hotels webpage. I checked it out, and yes, it did state that guests on the mansion side were allowed beach access but gests on the villa side were not. BUT according to the description of the hotel on priceline.com, it stated that thier private beach awaits us.I called priceline.com. They simply didnt care.After we got back, I filed a complaint with the Better Buisiness Beaurea. My final reply from priceline was that they stand by their decision.I tried to continue, , , all I wanted was some sort of compensation for the false advertisement.They simply DO NOT CARE for their customers. I suggest to use other discount sites.stay away from priceline and thier false advertisments.By the way, the hotel description slill remains the sameeven after a month later.They haven't changed the lie!

I had a bad experience with Priceline.com, also! In May 2009, I went to Priceline.com to rent a car for our trip to Hawaii in December 2009. My brother told me about their 'Name your Price' section of their website. When I did the request, the price was not accecpted for a midsize car. But, when I tried to do it again, the midsize option was not even there for me to request. I had to select another size car altogether. That seems like a 'bait and switch' tactic to me. The only way you can keep requesting the size car you want, with a different price, is to start all over again.

Two months after I got the rental for $25.00 per day for a compact car, I got one of those bulk emails stating that you could get a car for $13.00 per day in Hawaii. I called them to see if I could get that price, they told me NO. I couldn't even cancel the request and place it again to try to get a cheaper price, otherwise I would've lost my entire amount I spent on the first request.

I don't know how they can say "Best Price Guaranteed", if you DEFINITELY are not getting the best price!

I already contacted my Attorney General in Pennsylvania to have them find out if this practice is legal. I got a letter back from them today, and they said they will be in contact with me. It is just so unfair that you can't cancel ANYTHING you get from them, even if something unexpected happens to you! I feel they are ripping people off COMPLETELY!

DON'T USE PRICELINE.COM FOR ANYTHING! I LEARNED MY LESSON!

I thought I was excited to win a bid for a hotel on Priceline.com on the Riviera Maya in Mexico. My first 2 bids were rejected, though they were around the price that apple vacations was charging. That should have been a hint not to go forward. The hotel that was chosen for me was $2 less than from the hotel site. But this was not the kicker - the hotel was 3 miles from the beach on the other side of the highway and tripadvisor.com suggested I needed a rental car to get to the beach each day or pay for cabs.

I called customer service at priceline. This hotel was not acceptable. Before I bid - I actually looked at all the hotels in their database. This hotel was not listed. All their hotels sh0wed they were either on the beach or a few blocks. Customer Service said it was non refundable. His manager said I got what I chose for the savings. (3%savings) That in fine print - the hotel they give us is not necessarily one they when you do a search on their list of hotels. Misleading much. The description talks of sandy beaches before you bid - This hotel is on the other side of a highway...mmmmm

I was then told his manager does not speak to customers and he has more important things to do.

BEWARE OF PRICELINE!

On 5-7-09 I attempted to purchase 2 first class tickets thru priceline.com and I bid what was a reasonable price for first class tickets, I had to enter in the credit card info that they would charge for the tickets, the bid was accepted, I had to initial that I was going to pay for the tickets, etc. All this without their showing me what I was saying I would pay for. Then the screen pops up with 2 coach class tickets! I immediately tried to get Priceline to delete or void the transaction and they refused. I talked to a supervisor, she refused. I emailed the VP of customer relations and she referred the problem to another customer service rep. and she also refused. This transaction was a "bait & switch" scheme. I talked to the airline and they told me they couldn't help because Priceline purchases a "bulk" set of tickets and that Priceline still held the tickets, technically, so they couldn't change, cancel, etc. the tickets. I tried Priceline again and they said it didn't matter, I had basically promised to pay and they refused to cancel. I am talking to my credit card company right now to get the payment stopped because I am being charged for something I did not ask for and also I don't have the item, it was not used, etc. There has to be something that the FTC and other agencies could do about these things. I saw there are lots of other complaints against Priceline on this website. They truly use bait & switch tactics on the consumer. I think I should have been able to see what I was supposedly accepting before I agreed to pay. Stupid move on my part but I was trusting them to be a reputable company, they are large and they advertise all over the place. I even plan to complain to William Shatner. His voice is even on their hold message! I will also report them to the FTC, their state's attorney general, their state's BBB, to news media, and everywhere else I can think of to stop this and I want my money back, I want the tickets cancelled, and I will never use their services again!

In name your own price, you think you are getting a 4 star but in reality you could be getting a 2.5 or 3 star. Never, Never use name your own price. If you have a question, Customer Service has the same answer if you can understand their english, "Oh we are very sorry sir but we can't change anything (we have never been out of India but we do know where hotels are in Vegas). They will never admit they made a mistake and could care less if they lose a cutomer for life. I booked a 4 star hotel in Vegas and got a dump hotel - Westin. If you like dog pee, torn carpets, and walking past drunks on the way to the strip then it is a good hotel. Priceline is a disaster.