lP
luke P
1 reviews | Active since Jul 2011
05 Mar 2021, 12:10
Absolutely shocking service when trying to make a simple date change!
When trying to change a booking date I was sent a quote for the fees and charged a booking fee for each passenger instead of once for the whole booking. This made the transaction too high so I decided against it but now have received an email saying the there will be a fee to re-instate my original booking! I haven’t been able to reach Travelstart on a phone as they only do an automated WhatsApp service and all their emails to me come from a no-reply address.
How can a booking company be so rigid in their systems and not have a human on the other side that can explain everything and do so without need of generic replies like: we’ll get back to you in 48 hours.. that is simply too long in the travel business.
I am all for improved technology but at some point a human needs to explain to me and give me my options without incurring extra fees so I can make the right decision.
This service has been the complete opposite to how easy it is to book with them.
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Replies (1)
Travelstart's replyOfficial
05 Mar 2021, 18:14Hi Luke,
Thanks for reaching out and taking the time to share your concerns. We do apologise for the frustration caused in trying to reach us. Due to Covid 19 reaching its second wave we are receiving high volumes of booking queries. We have all agents assisting and responding to our customers as quickly as efficiently as possible.
Regarding the quotes emailed, each airline has their own policy with regards to changes. As Travelstart acts as an agent for the airline we are bound the airlines rules and need to quote according to their directives which they have provided us. As the airline sits with the funds of the ticket we are governed by their rules and I'm afraid we are not able to overrule or waiver any airlines policies.
Regarding the amendment quote e-mailed we quote according to the seat and fare availability on the requested dates the passenger has provided. Fare displays depend entirely on the airline seat availability per booking class(fare class) at the time that a search/request is done.
Our Amendments team recalculates the fare difference according to the availability and the fare restrictions regarding applicable change fees and upgrades, where required.
Should there be any difference in taxes this is also calculated into quote. We are governed by the airlines change policy / regulations. As these funds go directly to the airline we are not permitted to wavier any airline policies.
When our Amendments team e-mail a quote the following is mentioned:
""Please be advised that once a change of reservation has been made we cannot change it back to the original flight without any booking penalties.""
We later received a confirmation email from the passenger accepting the quote and requesting the invoice.
They proceeded to cancel out the old flights and book in the new flights requested and emailed the payment link for the change.
As we have now let the old seats go should the passenger wish to rebook those the airline will charge.
If one is flexible with their dates of travel is does sometimes help in finding a cheaper fare.
One of our amendments agents will contact you on the number provided to assist with the change query over the phone.
Kind Regards,
Marcelle
Thanks for reaching out and taking the time to share your concerns. We do apologise for the frustration caused in trying to reach us. Due to Covid 19 reaching its second wave we are receiving high volumes of booking queries. We have all agents assisting and responding to our customers as quickly as efficiently as possible.
Regarding the quotes emailed, each airline has their own policy with regards to changes. As Travelstart acts as an agent for the airline we are bound the airlines rules and need to quote according to their directives which they have provided us. As the airline sits with the funds of the ticket we are governed by their rules and I'm afraid we are not able to overrule or waiver any airlines policies.
Regarding the amendment quote e-mailed we quote according to the seat and fare availability on the requested dates the passenger has provided. Fare displays depend entirely on the airline seat availability per booking class(fare class) at the time that a search/request is done.
Our Amendments team recalculates the fare difference according to the availability and the fare restrictions regarding applicable change fees and upgrades, where required.
Should there be any difference in taxes this is also calculated into quote. We are governed by the airlines change policy / regulations. As these funds go directly to the airline we are not permitted to wavier any airline policies.
When our Amendments team e-mail a quote the following is mentioned:
""Please be advised that once a change of reservation has been made we cannot change it back to the original flight without any booking penalties.""
We later received a confirmation email from the passenger accepting the quote and requesting the invoice.
They proceeded to cancel out the old flights and book in the new flights requested and emailed the payment link for the change.
As we have now let the old seats go should the passenger wish to rebook those the airline will charge.
If one is flexible with their dates of travel is does sometimes help in finding a cheaper fare.
One of our amendments agents will contact you on the number provided to assist with the change query over the phone.
Kind Regards,
Marcelle
Travelstart's reply05 Mar 2021, 18:14
Official
Hi Luke,
Thanks for reaching out and taking the time to share your concerns. We do apologise for the frustration caused in trying to reach us. Due to Covid 19 reaching its second wave we are receiving high volumes of booking queries. We have all agents assisting and responding to our customers as quickly as efficiently as possible.
Regarding the quotes emailed, each airline has their own policy with regards to changes. As Travelstart acts as an agent for the airline we are bound the airlines rules and need to quote according to their directives which they have provided us. As the airline sits with the funds of the ticket we are governed by their rules and I'm afraid we are not able to overrule or waiver any airlines policies.
Regarding the amendment quote e-mailed we quote according to the seat and fare availability on the requested dates the passenger has provided. Fare displays depend entirely on the airline seat availability per booking class(fare class) at the time that a search/request is done.
Our Amendments team recalculates the fare difference according to the availability and the fare restrictions regarding applicable change fees and upgrades, where required.
Should there be any difference in taxes this is also calculated into quote. We are governed by the airlines change policy / regulations. As these funds go directly to the airline we are not permitted to wavier any airline policies.
When our Amendments team e-mail a quote the following is mentioned:
""Please be advised that once a change of reservation has been made we cannot change it back to the original flight without any booking penalties.""
We later received a confirmation email from the passenger accepting the quote and requesting the invoice.
They proceeded to cancel out the old flights and book in the new flights requested and emailed the payment link for the change.
As we have now let the old seats go should the passenger wish to rebook those the airline will charge.
If one is flexible with their dates of travel is does sometimes help in finding a cheaper fare.
One of our amendments agents will contact you on the number provided to assist with the change query over the phone.
Kind Regards,
Marcelle
Thanks for reaching out and taking the time to share your concerns. We do apologise for the frustration caused in trying to reach us. Due to Covid 19 reaching its second wave we are receiving high volumes of booking queries. We have all agents assisting and responding to our customers as quickly as efficiently as possible.
Regarding the quotes emailed, each airline has their own policy with regards to changes. As Travelstart acts as an agent for the airline we are bound the airlines rules and need to quote according to their directives which they have provided us. As the airline sits with the funds of the ticket we are governed by their rules and I'm afraid we are not able to overrule or waiver any airlines policies.
Regarding the amendment quote e-mailed we quote according to the seat and fare availability on the requested dates the passenger has provided. Fare displays depend entirely on the airline seat availability per booking class(fare class) at the time that a search/request is done.
Our Amendments team recalculates the fare difference according to the availability and the fare restrictions regarding applicable change fees and upgrades, where required.
Should there be any difference in taxes this is also calculated into quote. We are governed by the airlines change policy / regulations. As these funds go directly to the airline we are not permitted to wavier any airline policies.
When our Amendments team e-mail a quote the following is mentioned:
""Please be advised that once a change of reservation has been made we cannot change it back to the original flight without any booking penalties.""
We later received a confirmation email from the passenger accepting the quote and requesting the invoice.
They proceeded to cancel out the old flights and book in the new flights requested and emailed the payment link for the change.
As we have now let the old seats go should the passenger wish to rebook those the airline will charge.
If one is flexible with their dates of travel is does sometimes help in finding a cheaper fare.
One of our amendments agents will contact you on the number provided to assist with the change query over the phone.
Kind Regards,
Marcelle