Man angry Agoda cancelled his Malacca hotel booking at last minute due to 'irregular transaction'
A traveller is angry and "clueless" as to why Agoda cancelled his hotel reservation in Malaysia at the last minute.
Stomper Jayden called it a "very unpleasant, shocking experience".
On March 16, he booked a room at Holiday Inn Melaka in Malacca from July 5 to 7 using his DBS card.
Three days before his scheduled stay, the Stomper received an email from Agoda on July 2 at 1.40am informing him that his booking had been cancelled due to an "irregular transaction".
Jayden couldn't understand why as he had made numerous other successful bookings on Agoda in April and May with the same card.
"I found it ridiculous. All my previous Agoda bookings using the same valid and unexpired Singapore DBS card went through," said the Stomper.
"I have already stayed at some of the previous hotel bookings, no issue at all."
He contacted an Agoda agent to ask what had happened but received an unexpected reply.
The agent told him Agoda would no longer accept any new bookings from his account, and all his future bookings would be cancelled and refunded.
Jayden told Stomp: "She tagged the wrong October booking instead of my current Melaka booking. So unprofessional."
The Stomper then called his travel insurance company, which told him that the cancelled trip would not be covered.
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson from Agoda said: "As a matter of protocol, we are unable to comment on individual cases.
"However, we can confirm that the customer has been informed of the reason for the cancellation."
As of July 9, Jayden was still able to access his Agoda account, saying: "My existing non-refundable paid bookings are still there. To be safe, I would have to constantly email or even call the hotels to avoid Agoda canceling my booking at the last minute.
"I also have to make bookings from other online travel agencies with free cancellation, just in case Agoda cancels my booking again."
The Stomper added: "I am so clueless and angry about it.
"Agoda, without my notice or knowledge, consent or approval, automatically cancelled my bookings from their end. As the prices of many hotels have increased, who is going to bear the cost and responsibility?"
