adoga lied and claimed the hotel refused to cancel the order
I needed to travel from mainland China to Hong Kong for business, so I booked a hotel on the Agoda app. The hotel's page prominently displayed "Free Cancellation," so I clicked on it and placed the order. I didn't notice the smaller "Non-Refundable" label and booked two nights 10 days from now. After paying, I noticed the words "No Refund" on the order details page and realized something was wrong. Six minutes after payment, I immediately contacted Agoda's online customer service. The online customer service representative said that free cancellation required the hotel's consent. I agreed to try. However, they then said the accommodation refused a refund. While I felt the app's interface was misleading, I figured it was just my own mistake, so I didn't argue. But I still tried to contact the hotel myself, since my order was still 10 days away. When I called, I discovered the problem. The hotel said Agoda hadn't contacted them, they hadn't received any cancellation requests, and they didn't have my order number. It seemed a third-party supplier might have refused. I was very angry. I contacted Agoda again, and this time they admitted that the third-party supplier had refused the cancellation. I still couldn't get a refund; Agoda's response simply changed from "the hotel" to "a partner," indicating they didn't agree to free cancellation. At this point, the situation became clear: Agoda, as the platform, knew the true state of the order but concealed this from me. Agoda claimed free cancellation required hotel approval, but in reality, they never contacted the hotel. Instead, they used a third-party supplier's response to impersonate the hotel's, misleading me into believing Agoda had contacted the hotel and that the hotel was the reason for the non-free cancellation. I can't determine if this is Agoda's usual tactic or if more consumers have been deceived. I believe that international online platforms, when providing services to consumers in any country, should formulate service terms that comply with consumer laws. Their actions should adhere to the spirit of consumer protection laws and the business ethics of honesty and integrity. Deceiving consumers is wrong in any country. I didn't read the small print carefully, and I accept the consequences. I can still book the hotel as usual, but I will file a complaint with the regulatory authorities, demanding an investigation and legal action against Agoda's deceptive behavior, urging them to stop their fraudulent tactics, and not allowing international online platforms to evade regulation through complex corporate structures.