AIRLINE BOOKING SCAM
Complaint
CHRISTINA
Country: United States
CHEAPOAIR.COM is definitely a very poor company and I strongly urge ANYONE reading this to NOT use there "service".
On July 9th I went to CheapOair.com to purchase a ticket and was provided with a Reservation ID and a booking number. Now, I also went directly to the airline's website to verify the prices, and they were accurate, BUT Cheapoair was offering a $10 instant coupon so I figured I would purchase the ticket through them and not directly with the airline itself.
A few hours go by and I did not receive my ticket so I called them. I was on hold for 15 minutes and then was "disconnected". I then called back and after another 30 minutes was told by a representative that they were "processing' it and I should have a ticket shortly. A few hours later I call back. I waited 30 minutes on hold and once the representative asked me "do you really need a morning flight"? At this point, I'm thinking something is obviously wrong. Apparently, they were unable to offer me the ticket that I had purchased and booked. I requested to speak to a manager and was transferred to SHAW. He would not provide a last name. He basically kept giving the run around and tried to continuously blame the airlines. I told him that if I had NOT used the CheapOAir service and directly booked with the airline that I would have had a ticket so what reason do I have to use his service ever again if they can't provide what they advertise and promote? He did not have an answer. I made him give me a written confirmation that I would not be charged. I also requested the name of a superior. He declined to give me any names so that I could formally complain and told me to send a generic email to their feedback@cheapair.com. I gave him ample notice that I was going to post my story anywhere I could to warn other consumers that this website does not provide the services it charges to the customer!!!!!!
On July 9th I went to CheapOair.com to purchase a ticket and was provided with a Reservation ID and a booking number. Now, I also went directly to the airline's website to verify the prices, and they were accurate, BUT Cheapoair was offering a $10 instant coupon so I figured I would purchase the ticket through them and not directly with the airline itself.
A few hours go by and I did not receive my ticket so I called them. I was on hold for 15 minutes and then was "disconnected". I then called back and after another 30 minutes was told by a representative that they were "processing' it and I should have a ticket shortly. A few hours later I call back. I waited 30 minutes on hold and once the representative asked me "do you really need a morning flight"? At this point, I'm thinking something is obviously wrong. Apparently, they were unable to offer me the ticket that I had purchased and booked. I requested to speak to a manager and was transferred to SHAW. He would not provide a last name. He basically kept giving the run around and tried to continuously blame the airlines. I told him that if I had NOT used the CheapOAir service and directly booked with the airline that I would have had a ticket so what reason do I have to use his service ever again if they can't provide what they advertise and promote? He did not have an answer. I made him give me a written confirmation that I would not be charged. I also requested the name of a superior. He declined to give me any names so that I could formally complain and told me to send a generic email to their feedback@cheapair.com. I gave him ample notice that I was going to post my story anywhere I could to warn other consumers that this website does not provide the services it charges to the customer!!!!!!
Comments
I am considering booking a flight today.
Thanks, TP
For example, today I looked for a flight from Indianapolis (IND) to Belize City (BZE). CheapOAir had the fare at $367 (plus taxes). The taxes on this fare were $340!! On all of the other airlines sites, fares were over $550 and taxes were only $60-70. Official government website that posts airline tax information says that fare taxes shouldn't exceed 21% of your fare (which would be about $68 in this case). Obviously CheapOAir is either miscalculating the tax to charge, or are majorly violating tax laws.
When I called CheapOAir to find out if the taxes were quoted in error, the representative couldn't understand my question. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was refused. The representative eventually hung up on me.
After all of that, I filed a complaint with the FTC, FAA, and Attorney General's Office. Hopefully something will come of it, and CheapOAir will quit ripping people off.
randrews@cheapoair.com
We just got screwed too -- over $4,000 in flights. We will definitly take this further. Can someone please offer advice for what to do??
WE MUST GET THE WORD OUT TO SAVE OTHERS INTO FALLING INTO THEIR TRAP!!
Here is the entry the card statement
COA*CARTAXES&FEES 866-636-9088 NY 15.00
I called cheapoair and spent the entire day on hold and they said that it was the airline's fault and the ticket cannot be reinstated and told me to call the airline myself. When I called the airline they told me that the "space in the flight was cancelled by the service that booked it" AKA CheapoAir, so that means they were lying to me.
In the meantime my mom sat in the airport for 7hrs and finally left to go back home. I had to go online and book a flight for her for the next day from a totally different website for 1100$ becuase that was my only option.
Do NOT book anything from this website, because it is a scam - there is no other way to say it - it is not worth your time or energy. My suggestion is to book directly from an airline to avoid the 3rd parties which is what I had to do in the end.