Do not book with Travelstart!!!!!

I booked a flight with ABSA Travel and they used Travelstart as a third party. We booked a flight from JHB to Amsterdam, there was a connecting flight in London with a one hour layover time.

When we arrived at the airport we were informed that we couldn't get on the plain as we did not have a transit VISA for London. We were confused as we have the correct VISA for the Netherlands where we're traveling to.

This was never said to us when we booked the tickets. British Airways and myself tried to contact Travelstart in order for them to assist us however no one answered the phone. They do not even have an emergency number for us to call.

British Airways informed me that I should try to cancel my flight in order for me to get a refund. I tried to do so on the link that was provided through Travelstart however I couldn't cancel my flight.

I called the number the next day and was informed that I will receive an email with a refund quotation. The quotation they tried to give me was R574.00 for the both tickets I booked which was priced at R20 000.00.

When I again called them they informed me that they can't refund the rest of the money and that it is not their responsibility to inform customers of VISA requirements when they booked a ticket and a agent dropped the line while I was waiting for someone to help me.

So basically what they are saying is book the tickets and if something is wrong they will still keep their money you will not receive a refund in order to book other tickets.