Traveler claims Regina hotel wrongly charged her $800 for alleged room damage

Carly Folden spent a quiet December weekend in Regina with her 13-year-old son, who was participating in a local hockey tournament. She then had to pay $800 for damage to a hotel room that she claims she did not cause.

She and her son stayed at the Residence Inn Regina, a Marriott hotel located just steps from the rink where he played. On December 13, three days after she left, she received an email informing her that she was accused of damaging her room lock. Folden denies causing the damage.

“It was like a punch in the gut,” Folden said.

CBC has contacted Residence Inn by Marriott and Marriott International multiple times for comment on this story. The hotel acknowledged receipt of the request, but did not provide a response.

CBC reviewed emails Folden received from the hotel.

The email informing him of the accusation, signed by Residence Inn Regina general manager Cari Lemieux, said an inspection of the room after Folden's departure revealed the lock had been damaged “beyond all reason.” repair “.

Another email included a picture of a door jam, with arrows and circles pointing to scales along the door.

“It looked like a crowbar had been forced on the lock. I mean, it's not like I carried a crowbar in my purse or something,” Folden said.

“(It) clearly showed damage to a lock, but it didn’t show the room number or anything like that.”

The Residence Inn sent this photo to Carly Folden to illustrate the damage she claims she caused and was charged for. (Provided by Carly Folden)

Folden said she tried several methods to get her money back: a lawyer, the Better Business Bureau and the Marriott company. She said Marriott offered her points or a $100 Marriott gift card, but she didn't consider those offers sufficient.

She also disputed the charges with her credit card company. About a month and a half later, she was informed that her dispute had been resolved and that her credit card company had returned the money.

“I will certainly never go back there and I will make sure that everyone close to me, who I know in the sports and business world, knows this story, because it is not fair,” she said .

WATCH | Woman alleges Regina hotel added fake $800 charge to her credit card:

Dawn Minnaar, senior collections analyst at MyChargeBack, works with people disputing transactions.

She said the hotel is not allowed to charge a guest for a new transaction without their permission, which means they must inform them that they want to charge for the damage and ask if they agree, rather than inform him that he has already been billed.

If the customer refuses, this could degenerate into legal proceedings.

Minnaar said parties in the litigation process, like in a legal case, must present evidence.

Allegations of wrongful accusations happen more often than people think, Minnaar said, even though some people don't know they can contest the accusation, or simply don't have the energy.

Folden isn't the only person to say the Residence Inn Regina wrongly accused them of damages they didn't cause.

Dawson Barlage, a volunteer assistant coach for a U13 hockey team, said he stayed at the hotel in January for a tournament.

He said he turned on the television his first morning at the hotel and noticed it was cracked and there were green and purple bars on the screen. He said he showed up at the front desk, who claimed they broke it and told him he would have to pay $800 for it.

“If I break something, I take responsibility for it,” he said.

He said his team leader fixed the problem and he did not have to pay the fee he was offered.