Complaint Review: Bright Leaf Junction - Hot Springs North Carolina

After our forum back and forth on this website, I received an email from the Bright Leaf Junction saying they would refund our money, I just had to contact the credit card company. I wrote them back saying the transaction had taken place too long ago for the credit card company to even have it on their current records. Therefore there was nothing they could do. I notified the BLJ this via email and asked if they could just send me a check instead. I got a response "Please forward to me your address and we can get this done. Thanks, M" Notice there was no statement that they would actually send me a check. That email was sent on Nov 27 and I am yet to receive a check or any other correspondence.

Thanks for posting the info.

Dear Mary, Thank you for finally responding, albeit 7 months later. I apologize for providing hearsay information about the financial dealings of your business. With that being said, you did say you would refund our money. You admitted that to us on the telephone, and now in your rebuttal to this case. We only filed a dispute to the charge after we didn't hear back from you after several repeated attempts. In regards to the other poster Cory, who we have no idea what role they play in this, and are unsure we really owe them any justification, here are the facts: We arrived at the Bright Leaf Junction around 11:30 a.m. of the day in question. We checked the doors. They were locked. We called and left a message. We left and went to Asheville. I believe we called again when we got to Asheville. When we finished with our day in Asheville, which was around 6:30 p.m., we called again and left a message. We then drove 45 minutes back to the Bright Leaf Junction to see if anyone was there. We walked around the building and checked all the doors. We checked the Fire Station and the local pub to see if we were at the right place, and if they knew someone we could call to let us in. We were at the right place, but nobody we spoke with had a contact for the Bright Leaf Junction. Someone at the pub warned us that the Bright Leaf Junction has had several problems with customer service. We came back once more, tried again, called again, and then left. We probably gave up around 8:00 p.m. We decided to drive home. As we were driving home, Mary called. It was sometime after 10:00 p.m. It may have even been closer to 10:30 p.m. In regards to check in and check out hours, I do not believe that was posted on your website at the time we made our reservation. Regardless, Mary, you said you would refund our money, both on the telephone, and in your rebuttal. Please live up to your word. I would be happy to remove and retract all the negative feedback if you would just live up to your word and provide a refund. Thank you, Erin M

All things aside, nowhere does the OP actually post the acual times she was at the location. "When we arrived" When was that? "After spending the afternoon in Asheville, we tried calling back" When was that? "Later that night...". What time was that? Kind of difficult to make a judgement when the most important facts are left out.

To Whom it May Concern, On the date in question, the security cameras show that the door to the Hotel was open from 11:00am-7:00pm with employees and ourselves in and out all day. Check-in time is 4:00pm, as with most hotels. We allow early or late check-in by prior arrangement. We live on property and had only the one check-in on that day which is the consumer reporting to this site, Ms. M----. We had her arrival time down as Noon. When the party had not arrived by 4:00pm we assumed they were a "no-show". As we had other business to attend to out of town, we left one employee on property to take care of Ms.M---- if she happened to arrive. He locked the door at 7:00pm as evidenced by the cameras. On our return there was one message from Ms. M---. I called her back immediately. While at that point I could not figure out how we missed them, I did say that I would refund Ms.M--- her money. After reviewing the security tapes, I knew that the M---s had either come prior to 11:00am or mistakenly went to the bed and breakfast across the street. I only mention this as a possibility because in one of Ms.M---s communications she mentioned that when the arrived they "rang the bell and there was no answer" and "there was a sign up that the restaurant was closed for the season." We do not have a bell and no sign stating that we are closed, for any reason, as we serve guests year round. We think they may have gone to the bed and breakfast across the street, the Bridge Street (often confused with Bright Leaf) as they have a buzzer downstairs and their restaurant closes down in the off season and has a sign posted stating this. Regardless of the circumstances, I intended to refund the money within the time frame alloted. Our policy for cancellations and refunds is posted on the website, is listed on the web reservation form as a check box that it has to be read and agreed to and is read to all guests reserving by phone. It states that refunds will be processed within 30 days. We are struggling in this small town and do not always have the funds on demand once the cancellation period is past. I did not because Ms.M--- called and left a message that she would be disputing the charge with her credit card company. When a guest initiates a dispute we are forbidden by our credit card processor to perform any transactions with the card in question or refund any monies by check or cash. This is standard policy for all credit card processors. I recommend that Ms.M--- dispute the charge with her credit card company as she said she would. She will be credited immediately and I will not dispute the charge back. I do not understand why she has not done this after saying she would and after such a long period of time. I apologize to Ms. M--- for lack of communication on my part but due to health reasons, I no longer handle the day to day business of the hotel As far as the comments about other issues: we do not have outstanding bills for building supplies (we did not pay for the renovation of the building...the landlord did), we do not have outstanding mortgage payments (we do not own the building...we lease the buildings; and, we sold our home in 2005 to fund this project and live in the hotel for financial reasons.) We do not owe property taxes (again paid by the owner of the building...not us). Our kitchen equipment was paid for outright and was not financed. All employees have been paid. We had one outstanding lawsuit from a disgruntled employee who dropped the suit when evidence was given to the court of embezzlement and theft on a large scale on the part of that employee. We did not press charges so we are still owed by an employee...not the other way around. I am not saying that we have not struggled financially. This town has not been kind to us, on too many levels to discuss here, as we are "outsiders." We struggle everyday to stay afloat. These comments have been damaging as I am sure they were intended to be but I will do whatever necessary to resolve the situation including participating in this website's consumer advocacy/resolution program. Sincerely, Mary T. Seaman