Extortion Attempt and Exchange Loss Dispute on Booking.com Oslob Whale Shark Tour

I purchased the "Oslob Whale Shark Swimming and Kawasan Falls" activity on Booking.com under reservation number 1445302441 for September 12, 2026. My reservation was confirmed, whereupon I traveled from Tokyo to Cebu and made all my travel plans around participating in this tour. According to the itinerary, I was scheduled to be picked up from my hotel at 2:00 AM.

Around 9:00 PM on the evening prior to the tour, I messaged the local operator to confirm that I was in Cebu and waiting for pickup. The local operator stated that in order to participate in the tour, I had to pay an additional 5,000 Pesos on top of the original 8,500 Pesos; otherwise, they would not pick me up. When I reminded them of my pre-payment and confirmation, they wrote back stating they wanted to cancel the reservation unilaterally. All of these chat records are fully preserved.

I escalated the situation to Booking during this process, but no resolution was offered. I was told "we will refund your money," but despite paying 6,052 TL, I received a refund of only 5,616 TL 4 days later—resulting in an unauthorized deduction of approximately 450 TL. (When selling the tour in TL, it is listed using a low exchange rate. However, when the bank collects the payment, it is charged at a higher rate. If that is the case, it should not be sold in TL, but rather in USD. This constitutes deceptive pricing.) Not only was no penalty imposed on the local operator who demanded extra money at the last minute, but a financial penalty was effectively inflicted on me as if I were the party at fault.

Furthermore, I observe that the exact same tour is still actively being sold on Booking.com, and I believe this same situation will likely happen to other users. The local partner demanding extra fees after my reservation was fully confirmed—and unilaterally canceling it when I refused—is a completely unfair and deceptive practice.

I demand that the full amount of my payment be refunded to me, that the exchange deduction be returned, that the local operator exhibiting this behavior be properly audited and sanctioned, and that this tour listing be reviewed so that other users are not victimized.