Hotel charge shows up, six months later

In March, stand-up comedian Kelechi (K-Jay) Jaavaid of Maple Grove auditioned in Los Angeles for NBC's "Last Comic Standing." He was funny, but he wasn't "punchy" enough to make the cut. Last month, Jaavaid wasn't laughing when he saw a $27.90 debit card charge from the hotel he stayed in, the Crowne Plaza LAX.

So why did the charge come six months after his stay? The hotel blamed an online travel agency, which had booked the room and belatedly told the hotel that Jaavaid's charges for Internet services and parking weren't covered, said manager Moussa Ndiaye.

Ndiaye said he can't recall ever before charging a guest so long after the fact. "I do apologize for charging him late," Ndiaye told me. "Whenever he's coming back, we're going to take care of him."

No law apparently prevents such a long-delayed charge. That strikes Jaavaid as unfair. He thinks he already paid for the services but the receipts to prove it are long gone.

"I don't think the average consumer knows how long they can hang onto your credit card number," he said.

"It makes me not even want to have a debit card. It's just screwy."

Have you ever noticed extremely tardy charges on your credit card bill?