Is this normal?
Hey y’all. This involves Capital One but starts at Airbnb, stay with me!
So, I had an issue with an Airbnb where the instructions were unclear about check in time. It said “Check-in after 5” but allll the way at the bottom under house rules, it said “check-in between 5pm and 7pm.” I had booked the bnb 3 months in advance and on the day of, I showed up at 7:18pm and was denied access. I had read through the listing multiple times prior to my check in date and I had even spoken to the host on the phone 3 days prior but never saw or was told about the 5-7 check in time. Ultimately, I was denied a stay, Airbnb gave me a $150 voucher and told me if I wanted my money back I’d have to dispute it with my bank.
I called capital one and gave them the details above, they filed the claim and that’s that. One week later, they gave me a “temporary credit” for the amount I had spent on Airbnb. They then told me that I’d have to wait 3-4 months for the investigation to be complete before I knew whether or not I’d be able to keep the money or if they’d decide to take it back.
I have never had a bank do this. They usually either deny the claim or refund you your money and close it out. I have called multiple times and expressed that this leaves the customer in limbo and is inconvenient. They keep saying either, “don’t spend it and wait” or “we’ll give you a week in advance notice before we take it back if that’s the decision.” Who on earth came up with this and why do they think this is helpful. As someone who likes to budget and is on a fixed income, having excess money that I *maybe* can keep is just for lack of a better word, annoying.
I don’t file claims often at all and I know now that I should have read the listing more thoroughly, I’ll take accountability for that 100%. I do plan on just holding it in my savings. I’m just wondering if anyone has any insight on this process and knows whether or not it actually takes 3-4 months.