Midland woman claims hotel was sneaking charges after her stay

MIDLAND, N.C. — A Midland woman who keeps a close eye on her coins is now warning others to do the same.

Asha Folks said a hotel was making extra charges to her card after she left, so investigative reporter Madison Carter went straight to the hotel for answers.

“People are thinking you won’t miss $3 here or $2 there,” she said.

Folks was attending a conference at a Doubletree hotel outside Atlanta last month. She said all she bought was a pack of gummy bears for $5. Then two days later, back at her Cabarrus County home, she did a routine check of her bank statements.

“I check my account three times a day,” Folks said.

That’s when she saw a charge for $3.24.

“Did the thought ever cross your mind that, ‘oh, maybe I bought something else?’” Carter asked.

“No, I knew I didn’t,” Folks replied.

She said she called the hotel and spoke to a claims manager who explained what happened.

“What happened was someone came in and made a charge right after you. And so he didn’t take your information out the system. It was just an honest mistake,” she described.

Her bank statement shows the money was refunded the same day she called, but a day later, on the 26th, it was charged again.

“It’s not just $3.24,” Folks said. “It’s the inconvenience that you caused me as a result of $3.24.”

She got the money back, and that’s when she reached out to Channel 9. Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke says she had reason to worry.

Sometimes when you see these very small charges, it could actually be a bad guy testing your card to see if it’s still active and to see if you challenge it, Stoogenke says. He says once they see that you haven’t challenged it, they know they can use the card to go make even bigger purchases.

In this case, the hotel said an internal investigation found this was a training error. “We determined there was an error made by one of our newest team members in conducting the transaction which resulted in the charge,” their statement reads in part.

“What do you mean, it’s a training incident?” Folks asked. “I mean, why would my information still be stored in a system?”

A spokesperson for the hotel said the error was committed by a new employee, and said the transaction was not closed before the next guest came in. The manager said they are going to re-work their training program in light of this.

Folks ended up shutting down her account.

Stoogenke shared the following advice if you’re in a similar situation:

1. Always keep a close eye on your accounts
2. Challenge things you don’t recognize right away.
3. Know you can put alerts on your card so you get a notification every time it’s used.

(WATCH BELOW: Hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as ‘outstanding ambassador’)

Hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as ‘outstanding ambassador’

©2023 Cox Media Group