SA Airways and Booking.com nightmare

Booked a flight through booking.com .

Filled all the online information in. Arrived at Airport did the online seat booking the previous day . On arrival at the airport i wanted to book my luggage in and things changed.

The lady at SAA first took my ID and then between me and her mom that phoned in the time i stood there , i was informed that the booking was done incorrectly.

Apparently you must type in all your full names . I did not know this.

I was sent to a supervisor who looks infront of her when she talks to you and was informed to go to check in.

Went to check in was informed they can only type in 3 letters . And if it needs to be rectified 8 working days. iI must buy a new ticket.

She then put me through to a contact centre. I asked them for a copy or refusal to board by them and the policy on full names.

I was told sorry cannot provide. This All happened today at Cape Town airport.Flight SA 322 CT to O.R Tambo. I explained i did the booking through a third part Booking.com. I told them the Airline did not correspond or blocked the online process or had an asterisk indicating full names in the online platform nor did the airline indicated that the initials would be a challenge through the whole process until arrival at Cape Town Airport.

When i made contact with Booking.com i gave up they stated no refund. Some tax refund if any from Airline BUT because i was a marked as a no show they will also not change my name on the return ticket . Well i lost both flights due to my name not typed out . The Surname etc is regarded as irrelevant. Booking.com Hi LA,

Thank you for contacting us. As agreed, we have cancelled your booking ***.

After reviewing your case, we must confirm that, according to the airline's policies, passengers are not eligible for a refund in case of cancellation.

We will apply to the airline on your behalf for the refund of some taxes.

However, please consider that, in accordance with the airline's regulations, not all taxes can be reimbursed.

Once approved, we will return the funds to your original payment method.

Our current average handling time for refunds after receiving the amount from the airline is 6 days. We promptly submit all claims to carriers upon receiving requests. However, kindly note that we are unable to process the refund before receiving it from the airline.

While most airlines process refunds is under 5 business days, the entire process can take 10-15 business days from the time you confirm cancellation until we process the payout.

Please note that we have no control over the processing time by your payment provider or bank after refunding your account.

We will notify you via email when your refund has been processed. Please wait for our communication before reaching out to us.

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Khang N Gotogate in partnership with Booking.com