Airline tickets
Complaint
Kevin R
Country: United States
Cheap-o-Air is an incompetent and unprofessional company. On May 18, 2015 I purchased, on-line, six round trip tickets from Cheap-o-Air,which they booked with SAS. The flight was for August 21, 2015, with the return on September 6, 2015. The total cost of the booking was $6838.38. My wife upon printing the tickets on June 9, noticed the middle names of myself, two daughters, son , and daughter-in-law were absent. She immediately contacted Cheap-o-Air to check if this would be a problem. Cheap-o-Air could not assist her at the time and would call back.
The following day, June 10,2015, a Cheap-o-Air agent, who identified himself as Petro, called back. He stated to my wife that the absence of the middle names , which did not perfectly match our passports, is a problem. We wouldn't be allowed to fly. The agent, Petro, told my wife that she would have to cancel the booking and rebook the flights with the revised information. My wife asked him if we did this, would we be refunded for the booking that was cancelled upon his advise. Agent Petro could not assure my wife of this, but that he would get some refund.( What some refund is, I have no idea) My wife asked if there were any other course of action that could be taken to fix the discrepancies with the middle names. He aggressively insisted to her that this was the only way to fix the problem.
The following day, June 11 2015 I contacted SAS directly. They told me that I could have had amendments made to the tickets to fix the middle name discrepancies for a fee of $240. The SAS manager told me that cancelling and rebooking the flights was totally unnecessary, and could not understand why a travel agent( Cheap-o-Air) would advise us to do that.
Immediately, after finishing with SAS, I contacted Cheap-o-Air. I was connected with Cameron, and explained my situation. When I asked about the refund for the original booking, she told me I wasn't entitled to a refund because it was cancelled more than 24 hours after booking on May 18. I told Cameron that the original booking was cancelled at the insistance of her travel agent. That the cancellation and rebooking was totally unnecessary, because I could have amended the tickets for a fee as per SAS. Why didn't her agent know that? I asked if we could have the original booking back, and cancel the new booking( since we were within the 24 hour window for that). Cameron said no, because the original booking was gone(Resold?Rebooked to someone else?) I told her this was unacceptable and wanted to speak to her boss. Why should I pay twice for the same flight? and due to her agent's(Petro) gross negligence or incompetence. Cameron responded in a very rude and snippy manner, and put me on hold. I was on hold for one hour, 20 minutes before I was disconnected.
I called Cheap-o-Air, and cancelled the new booking made the day before. During this call they were still trying to charge me $900 for the cancellation even though it was within the 24 hour window. I asked the agent why?, he said it was for taxes "I wouldn't understand". I told him if he expects me to pay $900 he better give me an itemized list why? Subsequently, he changed the subject and refunded me everything from the new booking, including the $900.
After dealing with Cheap-o-Air, I contacted my financial insitution, Chase Card Services to dispute the original booking Cheap-o-Air expects me to pay.($6838.38). I also had to hire another travel agency to book and coordinate my trip, since Cheap-o-Air lost my trust due to their negligence, incompetence, and lack of professionalism.
Cheap-o-Air contested the dispute I filed with my financial institution. Chase Card Services dropped the dispute upon Cheap-Air's rebuttal due to a lack of backbone. Good job Chase, this customer of yours for the past 25
Years have found other banks worthy of my business. Currently, I filed complaints with the New York State Attorney General and Consumer Protection Board, which is still pending.
The following day, June 10,2015, a Cheap-o-Air agent, who identified himself as Petro, called back. He stated to my wife that the absence of the middle names , which did not perfectly match our passports, is a problem. We wouldn't be allowed to fly. The agent, Petro, told my wife that she would have to cancel the booking and rebook the flights with the revised information. My wife asked him if we did this, would we be refunded for the booking that was cancelled upon his advise. Agent Petro could not assure my wife of this, but that he would get some refund.( What some refund is, I have no idea) My wife asked if there were any other course of action that could be taken to fix the discrepancies with the middle names. He aggressively insisted to her that this was the only way to fix the problem.
The following day, June 11 2015 I contacted SAS directly. They told me that I could have had amendments made to the tickets to fix the middle name discrepancies for a fee of $240. The SAS manager told me that cancelling and rebooking the flights was totally unnecessary, and could not understand why a travel agent( Cheap-o-Air) would advise us to do that.
Immediately, after finishing with SAS, I contacted Cheap-o-Air. I was connected with Cameron, and explained my situation. When I asked about the refund for the original booking, she told me I wasn't entitled to a refund because it was cancelled more than 24 hours after booking on May 18. I told Cameron that the original booking was cancelled at the insistance of her travel agent. That the cancellation and rebooking was totally unnecessary, because I could have amended the tickets for a fee as per SAS. Why didn't her agent know that? I asked if we could have the original booking back, and cancel the new booking( since we were within the 24 hour window for that). Cameron said no, because the original booking was gone(Resold?Rebooked to someone else?) I told her this was unacceptable and wanted to speak to her boss. Why should I pay twice for the same flight? and due to her agent's(Petro) gross negligence or incompetence. Cameron responded in a very rude and snippy manner, and put me on hold. I was on hold for one hour, 20 minutes before I was disconnected.
I called Cheap-o-Air, and cancelled the new booking made the day before. During this call they were still trying to charge me $900 for the cancellation even though it was within the 24 hour window. I asked the agent why?, he said it was for taxes "I wouldn't understand". I told him if he expects me to pay $900 he better give me an itemized list why? Subsequently, he changed the subject and refunded me everything from the new booking, including the $900.
After dealing with Cheap-o-Air, I contacted my financial insitution, Chase Card Services to dispute the original booking Cheap-o-Air expects me to pay.($6838.38). I also had to hire another travel agency to book and coordinate my trip, since Cheap-o-Air lost my trust due to their negligence, incompetence, and lack of professionalism.
Cheap-o-Air contested the dispute I filed with my financial institution. Chase Card Services dropped the dispute upon Cheap-Air's rebuttal due to a lack of backbone. Good job Chase, this customer of yours for the past 25
Years have found other banks worthy of my business. Currently, I filed complaints with the New York State Attorney General and Consumer Protection Board, which is still pending.
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