HockingValley.com

help. Is this legal?!?

So four of my friends and myself, stayed in these cabins in hocking hills. I paid with a debit card. We had a lot of fun and all, but one of my friends broke a storm window that was in a closet. So without my authorization, or knowledge, the owner of the cabins, withdrew 107 dollars from my accound with my debit, and made my account negative. Before we left, we left a note explaining that it was an accident, and she is willing to pay for it, but to please not use my account. She left her phone number and he never called until he took it out of my account. Now i suddenly can't get through on the phone, and keep getting voicemail! Can he legally do that?! what should i do? oh yeah, I didn't sign anything, it was all over the phone....He didnt say anything about if anything was to happen.... She spoke on the phone with him, right before he ran the debit and told him to not use the debit, and he told her, basicly too bad, he was going to do it any way.

Public Comments

1. You used the debit card to secure the room. The owner is within his rights. Sorry.



2. To pay for things like a broken window is exactly WHY they take a credit / debit card number in the first place.

   The owner was under no obligation to wait for his money. You'd given him the card number, and he had the right to charge it.

   Richard




3. This is one of those depends answers. It depends on the terms of the contract you signed when you rented the cabin and the Statute of Frauds for your area. If the terms state, either expressly or implied, they can deduct money for damage then regardless of your instructions to them or what you tell them they can withdraw money to pay for it.

   In regard to your question regarding signing in all honesty that is irrelevant provided it is not covered by the Statute of Frauds. Statute of Frauds states what contracts in essence states what contracts must be in writing. Usually contracts that deal with land or are long term (e.g. more than 1 year) are the only ones that need to be in writing. I would suspect since this is not land or long-term then it does not need to be in writing. Since you paid for the cabin over the phone that was sufficient to form a contract.




4. Actually there may some validity to this case.

   She never signed in as a guest. The debit card was authorized for a payment of the room, nothing else. Did he tell you when you paid for your room that it was used as a deposit?

   Sometimes inns and car rental companies will run a hold amount of say $200 for the possibility of damages. If he didn't do that then he took on the risk that you would not have the money to do so.

   At a minimum dispute the charges with your bank as unauthorized charges.

   This is in Ohio, right?




5. I was talking to my bank yesterday, and he advised me to use the CREDIT side of my card instead of the Debit! You can do something about unauthorized charges with the CREDIT side, but DEBIT is just like cash! But something puzzles me, did you give him your 4 digit "pass code" when paying for the room? That's a NO NO! NEVER NEVER GIVE THAT TO ANYONE! Lesson learned, but PLEASE get that four digit number changed ASAP!

   Now back to the window, when it was broken, you guys should have gone directly to him fessed up and paid for the damage with some other means instead of your Debit card! I really don't think he had the right to take the money out of your account - that's like identity theft, even if it was for a broken window on his property! He should have given you a chance to pay for it some other way!! I would STILL report the incident, cos if he has done it to you, it's possible he could have done it to other people!