Incorrect booking and Awful Customer Service - will never use again

I can understand why you're frustrated. Paying extra for a specific room type for a 9-night stay, only to receive the exact room you deliberately chose not to book, is unacceptable, especially when your husband's health requirements were a key reason for the upgrade.

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Incorrect Room Allocation and Poor Customer Service

Dear Agoda Customer Service,

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding a recent booking made through Agoda for a 9-night stay in Istanbul.

When making our reservation, Agoda offered two room options: a Basic Room and a Ba*****t Room. The Basic Room was significantly more expensive, costing approximately R3,000 more than the Ba*****t Room. Despite the higher cost, we deliberately chose and paid for the Basic Room because we required a room with a window and proper ventilation. My husband suffers from severe allergies, making adequate airflow and a suitable room environment particularly important for his health and comfort.

However, upon arrival at the hotel, we were informed that Agoda had booked us into a Ba*****t Room, which was the exact room type we had intentionally avoided when making the reservation. When we queried this with the hotel, they confirmed that the information they received from Agoda showed a Ba*****t Room booking and advised us that the issue would need to be resolved directly with Agoda.

This experience was extremely disappointing and frustrating. We paid a premium price specifically to avoid being allocated a ba*****t room, yet we did not receive the accommodation we booked and paid for.

What made matters worse was the poor customer service experience when attempting to resolve the issue. We were directed to communicate through the Agoda app, which repeatedly timed out and made the process unnecessarily difficult. We were asked to provide photographs and videos as evidence, but the app's upload restrictions made this a frustrating and time-consuming exercise. Despite providing the requested information and making every effort to cooperate, we have still received no meaningful resolution.

We also attempted to contact customer support by telephone, but were unable to get through to anyone who could assist us, making an already stressful situation even more frustrating.

As customers, we fulfilled our obligations by selecting and paying for a specific room type. Agoda failed to provide the accommodation that was booked and paid for. We therefore believe it is only fair that we receive appropriate compensation, including a refund of the difference in value for the room downgrade, and consideration for the inconvenience, stress, and time spent trying to resolve an issue that should never have occurred.

We request that this matter be investigated urgently and that Agoda provide a fair resolution without further delay.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Kind regards,

Tasneem Abdullah ***