Marriott Sued Over Hidden Fees
Marriott has been sued by the District of Columbia on Tuesday over allegedly deceptive pricing practices. The chain is accused of adding hidden fees to hotel bills.
The complaint says that Marriott has failed for a decade or more to disclose certain fees when it advertises prices for hotel rooms. These hidden fees sometimes add up to $95 per day, drastically increasing advertised prices. They allegedly applied to listings on Marriott’s own website and travel websites such as Expedia.
The fees were sometimes grouped as “taxes and fees” and not presented until after customers had already entered their credit card information. In other cases, the fees were advertised as covering amenities, such as parking, that were either complimentary or that guests had to pay for when they got to the hotel even after paying a resort fee.
The lawsuit comes after an investigation into the hotel industry by all 50 states, CNBC reports. The court order is seeking force Marriott to advertise the full price of a stay as well as pay financial penalties and restitution to affected guests.
Here’s what Attorney General Racine said about the lawsuit”
Marriott reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profit by deceiving consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms. Bait-and-switch advertising and deceptive pricing practices are illegal. With this lawsuit, we are seeking monetary relief for tens of thousands of District consumers who paid hidden resort fees and to force Marriott to be fully transparent about their prices so consumers can make informed decisions when booking hotel rooms.
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Thank you for the insite. It did start sounding a little fishy which is why I reached out. I already spent a total of 4 hrs on the phone to answer the paralegal & laywers questions plus about 1-2 hrs trying to dig up any and all paperwork I had proving my overseas stays with Marriot. I was told at end of the class action they always ask for “rewards” for the representative time which would be divided among the members.
During the questions they even asked me if I’m willing to release my phone & computer for inspection. I denied them access as it makes no sense, why they would need acces to my devices as they are not the same devices I had during the data breach.
I was told my name would be listed in the complaint and during the discovery phase I may need to answer surveys and there is a possibly they may need to call to ask a few questions, and very rare but they could offer me travel which is great since I live in Hawaii I would love a free flight.
They mentioned the disposition but did not talk much about it as that was for the judgement. I said I was will as it seams it will not require much of my time but now you have me second guessing. I was not expecting or want to have my life drilled in to and I for sure do not have many hours to deal with it not to mention the drastic time zone shift from HI to east coast.
Soinds like I need to ask more detailed questions to the paralegal tomorrow about their so called “rewards”, required hours and if i need to accept calls during court hours on east coast which is 3-4 AM Hawaii time. I’m also concerned with my name is listed if Marriot could flag or harass my account. I’m sitting on lots of points + 4 free nights certificate within my Marriot account.
Has anyone ever been a Class Action representative? I have been asked and cleared to be a CA representative for the Marriot Data breach. It seems to be risk free and I only need to dedicate some of my time to answer questions and could reap additional rewards when the Class Action closes. Im just wondering if there is any reason not to be a CA representative?
Yes, and it isn’t that simple and no, you do not get any additional reward. If the class action lawyers even implied as much then run, as it tells you what kind of operation they run. Very specifically you are representing the class and only receive the same award as each class member, which is typically around 1/3 of injury. The rest goes to the law firm, ~1/3 as costs ~1/3 as award.
Plus the discovery and deposition part is not a walk in the park. The opposing council have the right to trawl through your life in an attempt to disqualify you as a class representative, and then they get to grill you for what may be many many hours to do the same.
It is an interesting experience and standing up against bad corporate behavior can be a reward in itself.