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🇦🇺🇺🇸 Australia & USCan I get my accommodation money back?
A platform cancelled on you, or the place wasn’t what was advertised. Here’s what you can actually demand — and, just as importantly, which route gets your money back fastest.
If you are in the United States, the most important thing to understand is that your strongest lever is usually your card, not the platform. There is no US federal service guarantee to invoke against a hotel or a booking site. There is, however, a federal statute governing credit card billing disputes: the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from the statement to dispute a charge in writing, obliges your issuer to acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles, and stops them reporting the amount delinquent while it is investigated.
That is a different and stronger thing than "doing a chargeback", and the difference matters. A chargeback is the card network’s own contractual process, usually with a longer window and covering debit cards too. If you are inside the 60-day FCBA window, use the statutory route — a lot of people are talked into a phone note instead and give up the better right without knowing it.
Alongside the card, a misdescribed listing or a promised-but-unpaid refund falls within your state’s unfair and deceptive practices law, which is what your state attorney general enforces and which in many states carries multiple damages.
In Australia the spine is different: accommodation is a service covered by the Australian Consumer Law’s guarantees, with the ACCC and state fair trading bodies behind it. Pick your country below and the tool applies the right rulebook.
One thing holds in both countries: the property’s cancellation policy governs a change-of-mind cancellation, and no consumer statute overrides it. Read the exact policy on your confirmation before you spend effort arguing about it.
Only relevant if you cancelled and were charged. Check your confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
US: what is the difference between an FCBA dispute and a chargeback?
The Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal statute. It applies to credit cards, you have 60 days from the statement showing the charge, the dispute has to be in writing, and once you file it your issuer must acknowledge within 30 days, resolve within two billing cycles, and cannot report the amount delinquent meanwhile. A chargeback is the card network’s own process — usually a longer window, covers debit cards, but it is a contractual remedy rather than a statutory right. If you are inside 60 days, use the FCBA route in writing; do not let anyone convert it into a phone call.
US: I paid with a debit card. Do I have the same protection?
Not the same, and it is worth knowing before you choose how to pay for travel. The FCBA covers credit cards. Debit card disputes run under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the card network rules, which are generally less protective — with a debit card the money has already left your account, so you are asking for it back rather than withholding payment. For accommodation, a credit card is meaningfully safer.
US: the hotel added resort fees I never agreed to. Anything I can do?
Yes, and this is an active enforcement area rather than a grey one. Mandatory fees that were not included in the advertised price can be a deceptive practice under state consumer protection law, and both the FTC and several state attorneys general have pursued hotels and booking platforms over exactly this. Dispute the undisclosed portion with your card issuer and file with your state attorney general.
US: who do I complain to about a booking platform?
Your state attorney general’s consumer protection office is the one that can actually act on your individual complaint, because state unfair and deceptive practices statutes are what platform conduct falls under. Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov as well — that will not resolve your case, since the FTC does not act on individual disputes, but it is how patterns of conduct get built into enforcement.
US: does it help to complain while I am still there?
Considerably, for a misdescription claim. A complaint raised while you are on site, with photos taken at the time, is far more persuasive to a card issuer than one made after you checked out and went home — because the obvious question is why you stayed. Screenshot the listing before you complain, too: listings get edited.
Booking.com says the property’s policy is final. Is that true?
The property’s cancellation policy governs a change-of-mind cancellation, and that part sits outside the Australian Consumer Law. But it is not the whole story: if the property or platform cancelled on you, the listing was materially misdescribed, or you were charged against the terms you booked under, those are separate issues where you have real rights, regardless of what the policy says.
Should I do a chargeback or complain first?
Often both, in parallel. A written complaint to the platform puts your claim on the record and most banks want to see you tried the merchant first. A chargeback is the faster path to your money where a charge breached the terms you booked under or was for a service not provided. Chargebacks are time-limited, so do not wait too long.
The room was nothing like the photos. What can I do?
A material misdescription can be both a failure of the service guarantees and misleading conduct about what you were sold. Screenshot the original listing before it changes, gather evidence of what you actually got, and ask for a refund or partial refund reflecting the difference. If refused, a chargeback and a complaint to the ACCC or your state fair trading body are your next steps.
Does this apply if I booked from outside Australia?
This tool is built on Australian Consumer Law, so it is most useful if you booked as an Australian consumer or the dispute has an Australian connection. If your booking is governed by another country’s law, the specific rights differ, but a chargeback through your own bank and a written complaint still generally apply wherever you are.
Do I have to accept a credit or voucher?
Not automatically. Where you paid for accommodation you did not receive, you can generally ask for a refund to your original payment method rather than a credit you have to re-spend with the same platform. A credit is the platform’s preferred outcome, not necessarily your only option.
What if the platform just stops responding?
Send one clear written request with a deadline so you have a record you tried, then escalate past them: a chargeback with your bank for the service not provided, and a complaint about the platform’s conduct to the ACCC or your state or territory fair trading body.
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screwtheman.com is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This tool gives general information on consumer rights and dispute pathways based on public guidance. For complex legal matters, consult a qualified lawyer or the relevant regulator.