On: My derelict pub still got TripAdvisor reviews

[DoubleGlazing]

I'm not saying it was a scam. What I am saying something odd was going on.

I booked and prepaid the hotel with my Visa debit card. When I arrived they wanted a deposit for £150, which they would only accept using a Mastercard. I have never encountered any business that only accepts Visa OR Mastercard.

I don't have a Mastercard, so I was told I had to pay the deposit in cash. That was just really odd.

[kingofpandora → DoubleGlazing]

> I have never encountered any business that only accepts Visa OR Mastercard.

Me neither ... except Costco, which - in Canada at least - only accepts Mastercard.

[Wistar → kingofpandora]

Same in the US. They used to only accept American Express.

[Avalaxy → DoubleGlazing]

Aha. When you wrote:

> This really set my alarm bells ringing

I interpreted this as "red flag", or "something fishy going on".

[hnal943 → Avalaxy]

Right, but it turns out it was just bad customer service, not fraud.