Company keeping 95% of my payment after their official AI chatbot provided false guarantee. Best course of action?
Hello everyone. I need some advice regarding EU consumer rights and misleading commercial practices.
Here are the facts of the dispute:
The Booking: On July 1st, I booked a camper van with Indie Campers for a trip on July 12-18.
The Misrepresentation: Before paying, I asked their official website AI chatbot if I could travel to Montenegro. The bot explicitly guaranteed that it is allowed. Relying on this, I paid in full.
The Delay: One hour later, I emailed human support to double-check, intending to cancel immediately if the AI was wrong. Support ignored my email for over 48 hours.
The Dispute: When support finally replied, they stated that their T&Cs strictly forbid travel to Montenegro. I requested an immediate cancellation and a full refund since I was misled by their platform.
The Penalty: The company stated they "take no responsibility for AI answers." They eventually processed the cancellation but applied their standard late-cancellation penalty, offering me only a 5% refund and keeping 95% of my money.
I have already initiated a credit card chargeback dispute through my bank for misrepresentation/services not as described.
My questions are:
- Under EU law, is a company legally bound by or liable for false information provided by their own customer-facing AI chatbot?
- Are there any specific EU directives or terms I should quote to my bank to strengthen my chargeback claim?
- I am preparing to file a complaint with the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net). In your experience, how effective are they in cases involving AI misinformation?
Any legal insights or advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.