Money · Payments

The hotel never returned your deposit: where 'back in three days' is normal, where it is theft — and how to recover your £100-300

A classic story: on top of the room rate they take a deposit at check-in, promise at checkout that it will be 'back on your card in three days' — and the money never arrives. Sometimes it is an ordinary bank hold that never went anywhere. Sometimes it is your money being kept — and there are remedies: a written complaint, a chargeback within 120 days, Section 75 for credit cards, and the small claims court. Here is how to tell one from the other, step by step.

Published 28 September 2026, 19:02 5 min read Editorial

A giant globe sculpture on a pedestrian street among buildings in central London — A globe on a London street. Every trip starts with a booking — and at almost every hotel, with a deposit at check-in Photo: ONLYWAY NEWS

A security deposit at check-in is normal practice: the hotel insures itself against room damage, the minibar and smoking. What is not always normal is what happens to it next. The calculation of a dishonest front desk is simple: the guest has flown home, nobody chases £150 from another country, and 'three days' quietly becomes never. It works especially well when reception speaks your language: trust in 'one of us' switches off caution, nothing gets put in writing, and later there is nothing to argue with. We have been through it ourselves: a deposit, a firm 'we'll pay it back later' at the desk — then silence. The good news: even after you fly out, you are not powerless — card money has a long reach.

First, work out: a hold or a charge?

This is the key question, and the answer is in your banking app. If the hotel made a pre-authorisation (hold), the money shows as a pending transaction: it never left the bank, the hotel never received it, and there is nothing for the hotel to 'refund' — the hold is released by your bank, usually within a few working days of checkout. If the sum is still stuck a week later — call the bank, not the hotel, and ask it to drop the stale authorisation. But if the transaction went through as a completed charge, the hotel really took your money — and 'back in three days' becomes a legal obligation it can be held to.

Charged and not returned: step 1 — a written complaint

Write to the hotel's official email (not to a receptionist in a messenger): dates of stay, deposit amount, checkout date, 'no damage was recorded, I require a refund within 7 days', with the receipt or payment confirmation attached. A written trail is a precondition for every next step: both the bank and the court will first ask whether you tried to resolve it with the trader directly. Silence or brush-offs — move to step 2; do not wait for months.

Step 2 — chargeback: 120 days, and it works for debit cards

Chargeback is a dispute procedure under Visa, Mastercard and Amex scheme rules: your bank pulls the money back from the hotel's bank. It works for debit as well as credit cards. The time limit is 120 days from the transaction (or from when the service was due) — so 'three more days, then three more' is a classic stalling tactic; do not fall for it. You file with your bank, attaching all correspondence: the clearer it is that there was no damage and a promised refund never came, the better the odds. The hotel can contest it — then the bank decides on the documents, and your written complaint from step 1 becomes the trump card.

Step 3 — Section 75, if you paid by credit card

If a deposit of £100 to £30,000 was charged to a credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act kicks in: the card issuer is jointly liable for the breach of contract alongside the hotel, and you can claim directly from the bank — in writing, with the same evidence. A typical hotel deposit of £100-300 fits squarely in that range. Hence the traveller's iron rule: deposits go on a credit card. Not cash, and ideally not a debit card, where protection is weaker.

What if you paid cash?

The worst option — but not hopeless. An unreturned cash deposit is a debt the hotel owes you: a written complaint, then an online money claim in the small claims court — for sums under £10,000 the procedure is simple, designed for people without lawyers, with a modest fee recovered from the loser. Without a receipt your chances drop to almost nil, which is why a cash deposit without a stamped document naming the sum is a gift to the hotel. How the small claims court works — in our guide.

How not to get caught: three minutes at check-in

Ask BEFORE paying: is the deposit a hold or a charge, how much, when and how does it come back. Ask for the terms in writing — a line on the registration form or an email is enough. Photograph the room at checkout and ask reception to confirm there are no claims — two sentences by email will do. Book through platforms with their own support service: their arbitration is one more lever. And above all: 'we'll sort it out between ourselves' is not a term of contract. A verbal agreement in your own language is worth exactly the paper it is written on. On refunds for cancelled flights — here; on credit history and cards — here.

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