I missed the details-I really need to subscribe- but I infer that a hotel clerk stole your CC info.
Yes, that's what happened, and the stupid bastardette had pizza delivered to her house four times with my card.
Several years ago I had a similar experience.
I was in Baltimore to work at a comic-book convention
and my boss made a 3-day reservation for me at the Holiday Inn
near the convention center. When I arrived, the
clerk couldn't find my reservation. His supervisor eventually did, but
informed
me that I also needed to provide I.D. and a CC
in case of "amenities surcharges".
I didn't want any porn movies or personal calls
showing up on my boss' card (he's married and one of my best friends, ever)
so I naively complied. They "swiped" my card
through a reader. I needed a drink by this point, but the lounge
had given last orders.
The (white) bartender told me there was a club
open round the corner, but "I wouldn't go there if I were you".( I am white)
It turned out to be a hip-hop (read: all-black)
hotspot. They cheerfully allowed me to start a tab, no-one threatened me,
the only
white person in a two-storied club. Eventually
I was sharing a tobacco cigarette in the alley with some new pals.
All was good .
When it came time to pay my tab things went awry.
My card got declined. I figured I was dead, but one of my new buddies said
something to the bartender and I received
a series of high-dexterity hand shakes and the words, "you good to go,
man". A subtext:
Sharing tobacco is an extremely powerful
tool when conducting social diplomacy on a tete-a tete level.
After many hung-over hours of 1-800 frustration
,it was finally discovered that both my Boss and myself had been double-billed
for my weekend stay. It was enough to clear out
my pathetic debit card, rendering me penniless.
Despite having another tobacco cigarette
I flipped out and went downstairs and raged until they waved some
ammonia under
the manager's nose. Despite my tobacco
and whiskey- enhanced plea for justice, he said it was a computer glitch
and would take
several weeks to correct. Until then I was on
my own. I called my bank-amazingly they were able to confirm my story with
an
email to Holiday Inn. But it would not be corrected
until after 2 p.m. Monday. I made the call from the desk-phone, with speaker
selected. The "manager" was rebuked while his
staff listened .
To Holiday Inn's credit they gave me an unlimited
comp pass for meals and such for the duration of my stay.
I called on old pals in the area and invited
them and their new kids to share a meal and a drink.
Only adults could attend, but we took advantage
of our drinking-age status by drinking for the ages.
The Surf 'n' Turf dinners were mediocre, but
free; and far superior to sitting in an empty hotel room watching porn
and dining on chipped ice.
When presented with the "huuueeegggeee"
bill I flashed the pass. This caused a bit of dismay, but was honored after
some
hush-hush consultations. They even refunded
the reservation fees.
Gather facts, have your case ready and be
prepared to win. With integrity and humour.
If the other side screws you, screw back! That's
my take on Bart philosophy.
Sometimes you offend folks, but you stand by your
work and take the heat directly and with conviction.
That's rare.
In an odd way, I'm glad you had a horrible stay,
for it reminded of a crappy situation that turned into a
happy intoxication, which led me to deliver this
rant.
Best wishes to Bartists everywhere
Allan