Booking.com Forced Me To Pay €406 Extra For Modern Apartment Perlova Reservation

On May 20, 2025, I booked Modern Apartment Perlova abroad through the Booking.com app. At the time of booking, I paid €45.69, and the remaining €395 was supposed to be paid upon arrival. However, on July 7, 2025, I suddenly received an email through the app claiming my reservation was “not confirmed” and that I had to immediately pay the remaining amount, or else the booking would be canceled.

Despite explaining multiple times that my agreement clearly stated payment on arrival, I was told the reservation would be canceled if I didn’t pay. Feeling pressured, I ended up paying €406 through the app and informed the property. Later, I was told that this extra payment should never have been made.

I immediately contacted my bank to stop the payment, but my request was denied. During the dispute process, I was abroad, and when the bank tried to call me, my phone was not receiving international calls from Turkey. They assumed I had refused the call, which was not true. I submitted another dispute request on July 30, 2025, but this was also rejected on August 6, 2025.

Throughout this ordeal, I have been left frustrated and financially harmed. Booking.com’s system error and lack of clear communication forced me to make a payment that I never should have been required to pay. To make matters worse, when I reached out to Booking.com customer service through Twitter, I only received generic template responses instead of real help.

I demand a full refund of the €406 extra payment and expect Booking.com to take responsibility for the financial and emotional stress this situation has caused. Customers should never be forced into unnecessary payments and then left without support.