HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — It’s the message that gave Warren Noorlag a shock on Thursday.
“I was really surprised that they responded so quickly, that it was like instantaneous,” said Noorlag, who lives in Hudsonville.
In an interview with FOX 17, Noorlag explained that earlier in the day, he received an email from Priceline. It said he would finally get back a $731 refund.
“I called them, I think four times, and each time I called them, they said, ‘We're gonna raise it to a higher executive level,’” said Noorlag. “You guys called, and boom, the next day, they said they're going to send me the refund.”
Noorlag contacted the Problem Solvers earlier this month after he unsuccessfully tried to get the money back himself.
It started in February when he booked a rental car ahead of a trip to Phoenix with his wife. They paid $582 for it.
However, the price was inflated due to events at the time of booking, like the Super Bowl, and after those occurred and their March visit approached, Noorlag noticed a significantly cheaper price for the car on a competitor’s website.
He contacted Priceline to make a new deal.
“I wrote Priceline, and I said, ‘I think I need a refund, you have the price guarantee,’ and they agreed,” said Noorlag. “They looked at the same website I was looking at for the lower price and they said, ‘Yes, we're gonna give you the refund.’”
However, the money never came, so FOX 17 reached out.
In an email, a Priceline spokesperson said the company refunds up to 200 percent of the price difference on some reservations.
In the Noorlag’s case, it exceeded the original cost, which caused a “technical glitch” and delayed the payment.
“We were able to confirm that the Noorlag's Best Price Guarantee claim was approved and sent for processing, but due to a technical glitch, the refund did not go through because it exceeded the original purchase price,” wrote the spokesperson. “We have re-processed the refund and split it into two payments to avoid this error from happening again. This has also been communicated to Mr. Noorlag and he should expect to see the refund hit his original payment method in 3-10 days.”
Noorlag says it’s a message he likes to hear.
“I mean, [it] really helped us out with that big refund,” said Noorlag.
