Ramada Inn, off 1-20, Madison, GA - charged $ 15 fee for returning eyeglasses left at hotel - package sent COD

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on October 9, 2002:

From:

RE: Ramada Inn, off 1-20, Madison, GA - charged $ 15 fee for returning eyeglasses left at hotel - package sent COD

We stayed at the Ramada Inn off I-20 in Madison, Georgia on July 18,2002.I left my eye glasses there. Upon returning home, I contacted the manager and they said they had them, and I told them I would send them a check for shipping them to me. I said it should not be more than seven dollars, at the most. They waited another week, and I called again.

They said they had shipped them and I should receive them soon. In a few days, we went to the Post Office and they were there....had been sent COD, at a cost of $23.00. The shipping was less than eight dollars, and they had charged me a fifteen dollar handling fee for a small used box with newspapers for wrapping the glasses in. I called the manager, and complained about the extra charge for the glasses, and he informed me he would return a check to me for the fifteen dollar handling charge when he received the confirmation from the post office. I waited two more weeks, and called.

He would not talk to me on the phone. I advised the front desk operator that I was going to contact corporate about the problem. In a few days I received a letter from the Ramada Inn, Madison, Georgia, general manager, Sharif stating that he had informed me prior to shipping about the cost. I then contacted Customer service and explained the lie he had written about the matter.

They sympathized with the situation and said they would see what could be done. Everyone in Customer Service told me that Sharif was wrong to charge me for handling. A couple of years ago, my sister stayed in the Marriott in Aruba and left some items there (including money) and they sent everything to her as a courtesy.

No charge at all!!! And these Ramada folks had the nerve to charge me a handling fee? Give me a break! I intend to contact every available source and report this incident. I even tried to talk with Paul Hanley, and was told that he was not available.

I did receive a letter yesterday from a Mary Jobes telling me that each Ramada is individually operated, and the management made the decisions concerning guests and problems. Well, let me tell you something! If they lied about me, then they are lying to Ramada too.

I hope everyone that stays at Ramada will be aware of their policies, and management responsibilities. It's not so much the fifteen dollars that bothers me, it's the principle of the issue. Thanks for allowing customers to have a place to vent their aggravations with situations such as this.

Best regards,

J. Beasley