If you want to deal with real people who care, do not deal with TRAVELSTART!

Hi Aida, 

Thanks for reaching out and voicing your concerns. 

I have called twice on the number you provided and left 2 voice messages.

We submitted a refund in August 2021.  TAAG rejected all refund applications - as they closed their refund portal. 

Our team then resubmitted the refund applications again to the airline.

Refund application numbers are: *** and ***

TAAG have not been processing any refunds up until recently and significant delays should be expected.

Our refunds team assist the customer in doing the refund application to the airline, however as the airline sits with the funds of the ticket they need to process / finalize the refund from their side. 

I see we have responded on the 18th May advising the below. 

""Hi Aida, 

Thank you for the revert.

Please note that as previously advised:

Hi Aida,

Thank you for the feedback.

I have checked the booking and can see that we had app**** for a refund originally in August 2021 and the airline closed the refund portal shortly thereafter and advised that refund requests and applications had been suspended.  Once the airline opened the process, we sent them an email in October and then again in April.

As per our T&Cs https://www.travelstart.co.za/lp/terms-and-conditions


Nature of the services rendered by Travelstart

Travelstart renders the service of hosting an online search and booking portal, with its primary focus on the travel and accommodation industries (‘the Services’) pursuant to which the general public shall

have access to the portal,
be entitled to set certain travel, accommodation and/or other service criteria based on information gleaned from the internet,
request quotations and
be entitled to confirm bookings and place reservations relating to travel, accommodation and/or other service requirements

For the avoidance of doubt, the services do not include any advisory or consultancy services, unless you choose to speak to a Travelstart Live Agent.


The Client and Authority

Any person(s) wishing to utilise the services, indicates their acceptance of these Terms and Conditions by proceeding with the booking on the passenger information page, prior to the conclusion of any transaction with Travelstart. Upon doing so, such person is DEEMED TO HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND ACCEPTED these Terms and Conditions and to have the authority to do so on behalf of the person/Company person in whose name the ultimate reservation or booking is made (collectively referred to as ‘the Client(s)’).


Please be advised that unless requested otherwise upon making the reservation, Travelstart is authorised to engage with any Passenger listed in a booking, in as long as that Passenger is able to provide the reference number for the booking. Travelstart accepts no responsibility for any changes made by any of the listed Passengers in a booking.

Cancellation

In the event of the Client cancelling the Booking, Travelstart shall have the RIGHT TO EITHER CLAIM the amount of, or retain an amount of the Payment and claim reasonable damages suffered by Travelstart, provided that Travelstart shall not impose any cancellation fee or claim any damages in respect of a Booking or reservation if the Client is unable to honour the Booking or reservation due to the death or hospitalisation of the Client. The Principals may reserve the RIGHT TO CANCEL any services prior to departure, in which event the Payment (less Travelstart’s service fee) will be refunded by the Principal to the Client without any further obligation on the part of Travelstart. Travelstart will CHARGE A FEE for processing the request for refund. Clients should refer to the “Refunds” section of these Conditions, as well as the cancellation provisions contained in the Principal’s Conditions or the Sites. Principals may charge cancellation fees over and above the cancellation fees charged by Travelstart in terms of this Condition.


Please note that should you have booked a ticket with more than one flight (eg: CPT - JHB - MAU) you may only use your tickets in the sequence they were booked. If you do not check in for your first flight the Airline reserves the right to cancel all of the remaining flights on that ticket and your ticket will become invalid. You will not get any money refunded for parts of the tickets not used.


Unscheduled Change/Disruption

In the unlikely event of there being an unscheduled extension to the final itinerary caused by flight re-scheduling, flight delays, bad weather, strikes or any other cause which is beyond the control of Travelstart, its agents or the Principal, any EXPENSES RELATING TO SUCH UNSCHEDULED EXTENSIONS (HOTEL ACCOMMODATION ETC.) WILL BE FOR THE CLIENT’S ACCOUNT. The Client should confirm whether any of these expenses may be covered by travel insurance, should this be applicable. it is the Client’s responsibility to confirm the specific provisions of the travel insurance. In most instances the Principal/s will make the change/s/disruption/s known to Travelstart and in this instance, time permitting, Travelstart will make every effort to pass this information onto you using the contact details provided at the time of making the booking. Please note that it is the Principal’s duty to inform the person who made the booking of any changes to the booking, however there are times when this information is not timeously relayed so it is important to ensure that when travelling you have access to the email address used at the time of making the booking. It is also recommended that both 72 hours and 24 hours before flying you confirm your itinerary both when departing from your country of origin and when making your return journey. Once checked in you will be notified in the unlikely event of changes to your flight. Travelstart cannot be held liable for failing to advise you of any changes, even when these changes had been communicated by the Principal/s to us as there may be delays in relaying this information to you, due to operating hours or technical delays.

Refunds

NO REFUNDS will be considered in any circumstances whatsoever by Travelstart if the Client has not purchased the “Trip Cancellation and Refund Guarantee Product” at the time of making the booking. Refunds by the Principals will be subject to their respective terms and conditions. Travelstart will charge a fee for processing a request for refund. Principals may charge refund fees above those stated here. Some air tickets are completely non-refundable according to airline fare rules. Cancellations for any reason whatsoever, including medical reasons, death in the family, strikes, wars, weather, natural disasters, airline default or government travel warnings will not entitle you to any refund in the case of non-refundable tickets nor of waiving the cancellation penalties in the case that the tickets can be refunded. If tickets can be refunded, cancellation penalties are imposed by the airline. Trip cancellation and interruption insurance are therefore highly recommended. For the best coverage, travel insurance should be purchased at the same time as the airline tickets.


Once we have established the possible refund you are entitled to, we will request it with the airline or hotel on your behalf. For flight bookings the refund will be made by the airline directly to the account the booking was originally paid with. This can take as long as 6 (six) months to a year or longer to obtain from the airline. Standard processing time for refunds is 6 to 8 weeks depending on the airline. For hotel bookings, the supplier will refund Travelstart and we’ll refund the credit card you used when making your reservation. This usually takes approximately 4 weeks.

I have asked the relevant team for a follow up previously and they made contact with the airline to follow up on the conclusion of the refund. 

Pending refund applications *** and *** ( ZA***9 )

BSP ZA emailed @flytaag.com
a few seconds ago
 
from:@travelstart.com
Cc:@flytaag.co.za
Good day Julian

TRust you are well.

Kindly do all possible to expedite refund  applications *** and ***  resubmitted on 08Nov21. 

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

regards Rozanne
            

Please keep a lookout for our revert.

Kind Regards,
Melissa""