Auckgeddon - Ranfurly - Review

By Freddie. 14/07/09, 10:10 am

If you are staying there, or are looking at it, you may want to read this~

Reviewer wrote:: I have never written a review before-as I have never felt moved enough to do so, but from the get-go our stay at the Ranfurly motel defied belief. Firstly, all prospective customers of the Ranfurly should be aware that the cancellation policy on the motels website is, according to the manager, able to be changed at his discretion without amending the one being displayed on their online booking site or, anywhere else on their website. Not only that, but Francis (the manager/owner), informed us that they are not obliged to verbally instruct potential customers of changes either.

Secondly, for some reason the room bill was charged before we had checked out. The owner took the liberty to charge the credit card number we had given him (as you do) for security! I want to make it clear that this had never been discussed, and no preapproval had been given for him to do this. To make things worse, for some reason he had overcharged us for our stay by $105. To amend his mistake he preceded to issue us a cheque as reimbursement for the amount. When we asked if he could put it back on the credit card instead as we did not want to walk around with a cheque for the rest of our holiday (a cheque made out in my name that would take five days to clear), it became obvious that he did not know how to do this. (Although this was not admitted and no apology was given).

Finally, to add insult to injury, when we were checking out, we were told to stand outside the motel room so that the owner could inspect the motel for any damages etc... (of course there were none). We found this to be very strange behaviour that made you feel like you were taking part in a prison or military inspection, rather than checking-out of a motel as a paying customer. It is a very strange place, and in hindsight if you want to experience a truly unique motel with its own set of practices that are sure to make you laugh (when they aren't making you extremely frustrated and confused then the Ranfurly evergreen motel might be the place for you. Currently, we are talking to our bank about the unauthorised charges that were made, and also with the NZ motel association to see if something can be done to stop these practices from carrying on at the Ranfurly Evergreen motel.

EDIT BY MOD:

Manager of the Ranfurly wrote:: Please accept my apology for the delayed reply. I have extensively investigated on this particular issue, searching back all of our related archives, because it happened in January last year. We would not just sit back and watch this, because the review seriously misleads and damages our name not only on the Cosplay but also on other travel sites as well. Let me briefly explain what happened:
They made a booking for 3 people (2 ladies and a gentleman) staying for 3 nights (16, 17 and 18 Jan 2008), and I placed them to a family unit with the full tariff of $150.00 (1 queen and 2 singles for 1 couple and 2 extra persons). Reservation confirmation had been sent with a cancellation policy clearly stating 3 day’s prior cancellation without penalty but no cancellation acceptable after that time frame. We were inundated with booking requests for that particular period because of a concert in Mt. Smart Stadium. All of our units had been fully booked for 4 nights (16-20 Jan) in a row at that time as of the 12th Jan.
Only in the morning of their scheduled check-in day (16 Jan), a lady wanted to cancel their booking, saying that one of her friends also booked another accommodation. I reminded her that the booking had been firmly confirmed and the full charge would incur no matter whether they stay or not. I do not believe we hade been notified well in advance enough for us to allow to let the room to the general public. She had decided to cancel the booking anyway, in spite of the warning from us, and I consequently charged $405 (3 nights @$135 for 3 people) the credit card for the booking cancellation. After this, I also made a couple of phone calls to who were on the waiting list (Charlotte and Andrea), however, they both already had found their accommodations elsewhere.
On the 17th, one of our regular clients from Wellington arrived at our motel looking for 1 nights accommodation, and we were able to rent the room again, after getting the confirmation from one of the said 2 ladies that they are not coming back to us for the night but would be needing the room the next night ie 18th. We’d been paid the base tariff of $120 the next morning (the 18th) from Marilyn for her stay.
On the 18th they came to our motel and checked in as had been arranged on the previous night.
The next morning (the 19th), one of the ladies came to our office for check out and returned the key. As a routine practice, I wanted to check the room and proceeded to the unit they stayed, however, I found that the rest of the 2 people were not ready for vacating the room, and I just waited outside the unit for a couple of minutes for them to get ready to check out. Then, I decided to come back to my office because they were not quite ready to vacate the room for check out.
Approximately 10 minutes or so have passed, and all 3 of them came down to our office for ‘real’ check out. I said that everything had been paid up already (because it had been charged against the credit card 3 days ago when they canceled the booking), and one of the ladies whose credit card had been charged started complaining about the charge. But the cancellation charge had been agreed upon in two instances- from the reservation confirmation and when the lady made booking cancellation on the date of their scheduled arrival. Their preferred payment method might have not been the credit card, but the only available option for us to get payment when the booking was cancelled was the credit card.
I also gave them refund of $105 that was the difference of total credit amount of $255(credit card charge of 135 +120 from our client Marilyn) less the full room tariff of $150. I had already sufficiently explained how the refund amount came up with. Then I tried to refund the amount back on her credit card, but it did not work from our end for some reason, which I later found that my family member was on the phone at the same time. I DID apologize for the inconvenience and issued a cheque instead. I am not sure if this is such a big deal to be so fussy about.
To sum up, they made a booking and our cancellation policy had been notified both when they made booking through our 0800 reservation line and when the reservation confirmation had been emailed. They cancelled the booking only on the morning of their scheduled check in date; credit card had been charged according to the cancellation policy stated clearly on the reservation confirmation. Actually we did not have to hold the room for them to come back until the 19th, once a booking is officially cancelled. I even refunded money that had been resold to one of our regular clients, but technically speaking, I do not believe that that’s not something they have due right to claim for. They said that they would argue on the credit card charge to their bank, but we have not been contacted by anyone of their corresponding bank because the charge do not constitute as either an unauthorized charge or a fraudulent charge. We have not been contacted from the motel association either, because they know that we have not done anything wrong to them. The association might have even reinforced the fundamental position of the terms of contract to the complainants. The complaints could have contacted other various official channels such as consumer’s advisory bureau as well if they really believe that they had been ripped off and they have not been in breach of the agreement.
We really think that we need to clear our name from any willful and malicious attack, even if this is just an isolated incident. The false and misleading review should be put a stop to one way or the other, including a legal action.
I believe we have been communicating in a courteous and truthful manner to you during our email correspondences for the last few months; however, if you do not feel comfortable or not happy about anything, please just feel free to let us know including the booking cancellations. We just hope you to look objectively at the issues from both perspectives, ignoring the inflammatory comments.
Thank you very much for your time to read, and hope this helps you understand what the real issue was about.
Kind regards,
Francis Baek
Ranfurly Evergreen Motel

By Mandie_Chan. 14/07/09, 10:13 am

O.O

so hope this isn't where im staying >_<

*runs off to chat with riven_*

By kyokyogirl. 14/07/09, 01:25 pm

I would be interested to know if this is an isolated incident or if situations like this have occurred several times.
This is where I will be staying, but if this is just the one complaint then I am not concerned.

By Icarus. 14/07/09, 04:11 pm

Oh snap! I hope this won't be happening to us *goes check out website*

Wtf, the sites down? How convenient... <______<

By kyokyogirl. 15/07/09, 10:11 am

Yeah I went to look at the site too...odd o.O

By Blooberry. 15/07/09, 12:33 pm

I'm glad ACB showgrounds is only like, a 15 min walk from my house. Razz

UNLESS OF COURSE MY PARENTS DECIDE TO GO TO RAROTONGA OVER LABOUR WEEKEND IN WHICH CASE I MAY HAVE TO STAY THERE. D:
It's right next to school too, hmph~ If only I could stay in the school overnight. Or sneak into the boarders house xP

By Highlander. 22/07/09, 02:55 pm

This is the alternative that me and Fred have decided on, PM me if interested.

Abella Court Motel, Greenlane Road, just opposite the Asb/Geddon site! 24 hour reception for those who don't end up with the keys. If we get five people per room at $150 a room, then it's $30/room/night. A little more than a backpackers, but no bus fare each day to the venue. Also any time you need to repair a costume, change, stow your purchases, sleep off a migraine or what ever it is just across the road. Plenty of room to change. If we get enough people we will segregate the rooms so we don't have to wait for somewhere to change. And full kitchen, so we can buy food, no crap tasting unhealthy $6 a small pottle of chips. And since it is so close you can take smaller bags to geddon. We will have our own rooms so gear will be secure, no need for lockers during the day. Also very convenient stumbling distance after the ball.

Downside (vs backpackers) is that we need five per room to keep the cost down. Max of 20 people at that price so we can't host all of CNZ!

You can state interest, but I need 100% confirmed bookings please.

Bonus you get the lovely FRED to entertain you with a 24hr non stop juggling show!

(Legal disclaimer, parts of the above statement may not be 100% true.)

I think we up to eight now?

http://www.wises.co.nz/rb/6p5y6,92x18/0,28c82/k/Abella+court+motel/#c/2rx1v/70d0z/0/

www.abellacourtmotel.com

By Olli. 22/07/09, 02:59 pm

We could force Fred to juggle.....

I'll help you look after her saturday, sunday and monday ^^

By Highlander. 22/07/09, 03:02 pm

Well she is not due in until later on Fri, so ...

By Olli. 22/07/09, 03:04 pm

That's not too bad. I just wanna drink a bit on friday
(to celebrate my freedom ^^)

By kinga111. 07/08/09, 01:56 am

The people that wrote this review are complety lieing. I have spoken to the manager of the motel and what he says makes alot more sense then what fred is saying. When they got charged it was because they cancelled on the day they were supposed to stay and it clearly states that in their cancellation policy. they then stayed on the 2nd and 3rd night they were supposed to and when they checked out on the leaving day the manager was waiting out side of their room waiting for them to leave so he could check the room not the other way around. There is apsolutly nothing wrong with this hotel so i think FRED and Highlander should stop trying to steal guests away from a hotel that is obviously better then their own.

By MissEevee. 07/08/09, 02:59 am

wow.
hotel wars, ready...FIGHT!

- buttonmashes like mad -

Razz

By kinga111. 07/08/09, 05:18 am

what i want to know is what ties do highlander and Fred have to this other hotel.

By MissEevee. 07/08/09, 05:20 am

and i'm sure they want to know what ties you have to the Ranfurly.
but hey, it doesn't really matter.

i'm sure both places will get enough business.

nodnod

By **JVCA**. 07/08/09, 05:53 am

kinga, what I want to know is what business you have coming on here expressly for the purpose of accusing FRED and Highlander of wrong doing when all they've done is look out for their fellow cosplayers by cross posting a review they found on another website - for those interested, it is available here - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255106-d950648-r12860589-Ranfurly_Evergreen_Motel-Auckland_North_Island.html

For the sake of facts, I will state that this is the ONLY review (good or bad) that I have been able to find of this Motel, and it was posted in January 2008 - there is a possibility things have changed, although the cynic in me says that if there are no positive reviews, then clearly the motel is not terribly stellar, given that it does not give rise to enough of a positive emotive response for people to want to post a review. I will also note that there are several positive one line reviews on the motel website, but one would assume that the website would carry some degree bias in this respect.

Now:

It is apparent to me that the only reason you've joined this forum is to post in this thread - given that you only have two posts and they are both in here.

"There is apsolutly nothing wrong with this hotel so i think FRED and Highlander should stop trying to steal guests away from a hotel that is obviously better then their own."

FRED and Highlander live in Wellington and Christchurch, kinga. They have nothing to do with the other hotel other than that they are staying there - it is not "their own", and by this comment you have quite clearly issued to us that Ranfurly is YOUR own.

I have little tolerance for commercial entities on a community forum, so how about you man up and post a professional explanation with professional spelling and grammar that does not involve badmouthing our members, before I boot your ass off these forums.

We IP ban advertisers here - you are treading that very fine line.

If you would like to POLITELY explain what happened, be my guest. If you are going to make bigoted assumptions about the people on here, who were only trying to protect each other, then get the hell out. It takes a lot to get me angry: many members on here know this. I am very angry, and you are not doing a good job as a professional to save face for your business.

By kinga111. 07/08/09, 07:20 am

No the motel does not belong to me. I was not trying to make you angry that was not my intention, i just wanted the motel to have a fair chance to defend themselves which i did for them. I apologize that i misinterpreted what they said as it sounded to me as they were trying to steal customers from ranfurly but clearly that wasnt the case. This is not the only reason i joined this forum i will be going to other topics and posting on them at some point during the near future.

By **JVCA**. 07/08/09, 07:27 am

In future (speaking from the point of view of an employee of a large company), if you wish to allow a company to have their fair say, then refer the issue to them and let them handle it: often times you can just make things worse. I know it's in my contract that I'm not allowed to speak for the company I work for about company issues, and whether or not you're an employee for this motel or not, you should have let them handle it. I do agree with everyone being allowed to have their fair say, but it should have been THEIR fair say, rather than a bystander's say. :)

Believe me, if I believed that FRED and highlander were trying to steal customers, I would have given them the same treatment - commercial entities are not permitted on these forums without moderator permission, as stated before.

In any case - I'm glad the misconception has been cleared up. :) If you're going to start posting around here, you may want to pop over to the introductions forum and write an introduction for youself. nodnod

By kinga111. 07/08/09, 07:34 am

No i do not work there but i do no how it feels to be falsely accused of something it is not nice. I just urge people in future reference to get the full story of both parties before you make a final decision.

By **JVCA**. 07/08/09, 07:42 am

I agree with this, but the majority of people on these forums are not so hot headed that they would not do so anyway - I think Kyoykogirl's post alone indicates as much:

Quote :: I would be interested to know if this is an isolated incident or if situations like this have occurred several times.
This is where I will be staying, but if this is just the one complaint then I am not concerned.

Highlander and FRED's accomodation was decided long before FRED found the review in question as well, so their accommodation choice wasn't a result of this review either. :)

By Highlander. 07/08/09, 11:58 am

To set the record straight there was talk of some people staying at the Ranfurly a while ago. But nothing seemed to be organised. Then after a while the CHCH people started trying to organise themselves. That's when I think three of us decided we may be able to stay together. I was looking at either the Ranfurly if numbers allowed, or a backpackers in town and busing to ASB, like others were doing.

Fred suggested the Abella, and showed me the review of the Ranfurly. On double checking the Abella it seemed the room rate was the same, and the location even closer. (Bearing in mind half the people have never been to Auck and think they will get lost. Also cosplay=repairs during the day, so close=good.) So once I knew we had the number I started booking, and started a thread to allow others to come. I believe in making things easy for people.

Anyway I did suggest that Fred post the review scince other people were thinking of booking there, for whatever that may mean to them. I was not aware she would start it's own thread. Of course it did get noticed, and won't get lost as posts get added. People are quite capable of making up their own minds. And I can't find other reviews.

I think you will find that the Ranfurly will fill up fine without us, it being a holiday weekend, and close to ASB/Geddon. And the Abella is getting full now so you may still find cosplayers in the Ranfurly yet.

I can't worry about what other people are doing. But as I see it I can stay were I want, with who I want. (Or failing that with Jess.)

And Kinga this is a public forum. The review was put here for every bodies information. If you have more information then feel free to share it, just don't call us liers. Thats what the thread is here for. I am sure people would have been happy to hear from anybody who had actually stayed there.

By kinga111. 08/08/09, 03:59 pm

This is the reply i got from the hotel when i asked them about it this will be my last post on this topic.

Please accept my apology for the delayed reply. I have extensively investigated on this particular issue, searching back all of our related archives, because it happened in January last year. We would not just sit back and watch this, because the review seriously misleads and damages our name not only on the Cosplay but also on other travel sites as well. Let me briefly explain what happened:
They made a booking for 3 people (2 ladies and a gentleman) staying for 3 nights (16, 17 and 18 Jan 2008), and I placed them to a family unit with the full tariff of $150.00 (1 queen and 2 singles for 1 couple and 2 extra persons). Reservation confirmation had been sent with a cancellation policy clearly stating 3 day’s prior cancellation without penalty but no cancellation acceptable after that time frame. We were inundated with booking requests for that particular period because of a concert in Mt. Smart Stadium. All of our units had been fully booked for 4 nights (16-20 Jan) in a row at that time as of the 12^th Jan.
Only in the morning of their scheduled check-in day (16 Jan), a lady wanted to cancel their booking, saying that one of her friends also booked another accommodation. I reminded her that the booking had been firmly confirmed and the full charge would incur no matter whether they stay or not. I do not believe we hade been notified well in advance enough for us to allow to let the room to the general public. She had decided to cancel the booking anyway, in spite of the warning from us, and I consequently charged $405 (3 nights @$135 for 3 people) the credit card for the booking cancellation. After this, I also made a couple of phone calls to who were on the waiting list (Charlotte and Andrea), however, they both already had found their accommodations elsewhere.
On the 17^th, one of our regular clients from Wellington arrived at our motel looking for 1 nights accommodation, and we were able to rent the room again, after getting the confirmation from one of the said 2 ladies that they are not coming back to us for the night but would be needing the room the next night ie 18th. We’d been paid the base tariff of $120 the next morning (the 18^th) from Marilyn for her stay.
On the 18^th they came to our motel and checked in as had been arranged on the previous night.
The next morning (the 19^th), one of the ladies came to our office for check out and returned the key. As a routine practice, I wanted to check the room and proceeded to the unit they stayed, however, I found that the rest of the 2 people were not ready for vacating the room, and I just waited outside the unit for a couple of minutes for them to get ready to check out. Then, I decided to come back to my office because they were not quite ready to vacate the room for check out.
Approximately 10 minutes or so have passed, and all 3 of them came down to our office for ‘real’ check out. I said that everything had been paid up already (because it had been charged against the credit card 3 days ago when they canceled the booking), and one of the ladies whose credit card had been charged started complaining about the charge. But the cancellation charge had been agreed upon in two instances- from the reservation confirmation and when the lady made booking cancellation on the date of their scheduled arrival. Their preferred payment method might have not been the credit card, but the only available option for us to get payment when the booking was cancelled was the credit card.
I also gave them refund of $105 that was the difference of total credit amount of $255(credit card charge of 135 +120 from our client Marilyn) less the full room tariff of $150. I had already sufficiently explained how the refund amount came up with. Then I tried to refund the amount back on her credit card, but it did not work from our end for some reason, which I later found that my family member was on the phone at the same time. I DID apologize for the inconvenience and issued a cheque instead. I am not sure if this is such a big deal to be so fussy about.
To sum up, they made a booking and our cancellation policy had been notified both when they made booking through our 0800 reservation line and when the reservation confirmation had been emailed. They cancelled the booking only on the morning of their scheduled check in date; credit card had been charged according to the cancellation policy stated clearly on the reservation confirmation. Actually we did not have to hold the room for them to come back until the 19^th, once a booking is officially cancelled. I even refunded money that had been resold to one of our regular clients, but technically speaking, I do not believe that that’s not something they have due right to claim for. They said that they would argue on the credit card charge to their bank, but we have not been contacted by anyone of their corresponding bank because the charge do not constitute as either an unauthorized charge or a fraudulent charge. We have not been contacted from the motel association either, because they know that we have not done anything wrong to them. The association might have even reinforced the fundamental position of the terms of contract to the complainants. The complaints could have contacted other various official channels such as consumer’s advisory bureau as well if they really believe that they had been ripped off and they have not been in breach of the agreement.
We really think that we need to clear our name from any willful and malicious attack, even if this is just an isolated incident. The false and misleading review should be put a stop to one way or the other, including a legal action.
I believe we have been communicating in a courteous and truthful manner to you during our email correspondences for the last few months; however, if you do not feel comfortable or not happy about anything, please just feel free to let us know including the booking cancellations. We just hope you to look objectively at the issues from both perspectives, ignoring the inflammatory comments.
Thank you very much for your time to read, and hope this helps you understand what the real issue was about.
Kind regards,
Francis Baek
Ranfurly Evergreen Motel

By **JVCA**. 08/08/09, 04:11 pm

It's nice to get a full explanation - I hope they can manage to get the review taken down. Did you send them the link to the review?

By kinga111. 08/08/09, 05:15 pm

um to the review on here yes to the other place no i dont know where it is

By **JVCA**. 08/08/09, 05:17 pm

I googled and found the original review, which was found here - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255106-d950648-r12860589-Ranfurly_Evergreen_Motel-Auckland_North_Island.html

You should fwd the link to him, so he can talk to the website about getting it removed. :)

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