MC
Mpendulo C
1 reviews | Active since Feb 2016
14 Jul 2020, 14:35
Not helping at all
I booked a flight from travelstart, the flight got canceled. They are saying there are no available flights (but there are flights I have booked directly another airline) and they are not processing refund now (no idea as to when they will).
How is that there is a company that can take your money, makes no effort to get another flight, and refuse to refund you? I don't see the need for booking via travelstart at all since you can book directly with an airline and have issues resolved smoothly.
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Replies (1)
Travelstart's replyOfficial
14 Jul 2020, 16:38 Good day Mpendulo,
Thank you for your feedback about your recent experience with Travelstart. I am sorry to hear you are not pleased with the level of assistance you have received and I completely understand the frustration this has caused.
We are currently unable to book international flights into or out of South Africa as the travel ban has not yet been lifted. The only international or regional flights that are currently flying in and out of the country are repatriation flights which are being booked directly through the airlines.
For more information on repatriation flights, you can also contact the department of international relations and corporation (DIRCO) . They have a 24 hour command center in South Africa and 2 e-mail address's, please visit their site for contact details http://www.dirco.gov.za/
They've set up an operation / command center and they will have it is staffed 24 hours. They will direct any inquiry they receive from any part of the world to the appropriate mission. Their mission is to support SA citizens stranded and they are available at the Embassy and ready to help.
The credit that you have on your ticket can only be used to rebook on Turkish airways and they are not operating any flights into or out of South Africa at the moment and we can only rebook when they resume operations.
With regards to processing a refund on your booking for the unused portion, we as your travel agent pay the money to the airline when your ticket is confirmed and when you request for a refund, we submit a refund application to the airline for them to refund the money back. This process usually takes 6 - 8 weeks but the processing time frame from airlines has changed to 10 - 12 weeks and in some cases even longer. Other airlines have suspended processing refunds indefinetely and they are offering date changes or vouchers.
Our refunds team emailed you a refund qoutation this afternoon advising you of the refundable amount that is due to you for the unused portion of your ticket. Once you accept this qoute, we will then submit the refund application to the airline for processing. In your case, Turkish airlines has suspended processing refunds and will start processing refunds when they resume operating flights in South Africa and that is why we cannot tell when you will receive your refund.
We realize it’s frustrating to wait for your money and we are putting as much pressure as we can on the airlines to review their policies and to process these refunds as quickly as possible.
We do apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope that you will find the above explanation useful.
Kind Regards,
The Travelstart Team
Thank you for your feedback about your recent experience with Travelstart. I am sorry to hear you are not pleased with the level of assistance you have received and I completely understand the frustration this has caused.
We are currently unable to book international flights into or out of South Africa as the travel ban has not yet been lifted. The only international or regional flights that are currently flying in and out of the country are repatriation flights which are being booked directly through the airlines.
For more information on repatriation flights, you can also contact the department of international relations and corporation (DIRCO) . They have a 24 hour command center in South Africa and 2 e-mail address's, please visit their site for contact details http://www.dirco.gov.za/
They've set up an operation / command center and they will have it is staffed 24 hours. They will direct any inquiry they receive from any part of the world to the appropriate mission. Their mission is to support SA citizens stranded and they are available at the Embassy and ready to help.
The credit that you have on your ticket can only be used to rebook on Turkish airways and they are not operating any flights into or out of South Africa at the moment and we can only rebook when they resume operations.
With regards to processing a refund on your booking for the unused portion, we as your travel agent pay the money to the airline when your ticket is confirmed and when you request for a refund, we submit a refund application to the airline for them to refund the money back. This process usually takes 6 - 8 weeks but the processing time frame from airlines has changed to 10 - 12 weeks and in some cases even longer. Other airlines have suspended processing refunds indefinetely and they are offering date changes or vouchers.
Our refunds team emailed you a refund qoutation this afternoon advising you of the refundable amount that is due to you for the unused portion of your ticket. Once you accept this qoute, we will then submit the refund application to the airline for processing. In your case, Turkish airlines has suspended processing refunds and will start processing refunds when they resume operating flights in South Africa and that is why we cannot tell when you will receive your refund.
We realize it’s frustrating to wait for your money and we are putting as much pressure as we can on the airlines to review their policies and to process these refunds as quickly as possible.
We do apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope that you will find the above explanation useful.
Kind Regards,
The Travelstart Team
Travelstart's reply14 Jul 2020, 16:38
Official
Good day Mpendulo,
Thank you for your feedback about your recent experience with Travelstart. I am sorry to hear you are not pleased with the level of assistance you have received and I completely understand the frustration this has caused.
We are currently unable to book international flights into or out of South Africa as the travel ban has not yet been lifted. The only international or regional flights that are currently flying in and out of the country are repatriation flights which are being booked directly through the airlines.
For more information on repatriation flights, you can also contact the department of international relations and corporation (DIRCO) . They have a 24 hour command center in South Africa and 2 e-mail address's, please visit their site for contact details http://www.dirco.gov.za/
They've set up an operation / command center and they will have it is staffed 24 hours. They will direct any inquiry they receive from any part of the world to the appropriate mission. Their mission is to support SA citizens stranded and they are available at the Embassy and ready to help.
The credit that you have on your ticket can only be used to rebook on Turkish airways and they are not operating any flights into or out of South Africa at the moment and we can only rebook when they resume operations.
With regards to processing a refund on your booking for the unused portion, we as your travel agent pay the money to the airline when your ticket is confirmed and when you request for a refund, we submit a refund application to the airline for them to refund the money back. This process usually takes 6 - 8 weeks but the processing time frame from airlines has changed to 10 - 12 weeks and in some cases even longer. Other airlines have suspended processing refunds indefinetely and they are offering date changes or vouchers.
Our refunds team emailed you a refund qoutation this afternoon advising you of the refundable amount that is due to you for the unused portion of your ticket. Once you accept this qoute, we will then submit the refund application to the airline for processing. In your case, Turkish airlines has suspended processing refunds and will start processing refunds when they resume operating flights in South Africa and that is why we cannot tell when you will receive your refund.
We realize it’s frustrating to wait for your money and we are putting as much pressure as we can on the airlines to review their policies and to process these refunds as quickly as possible.
We do apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope that you will find the above explanation useful.
Kind Regards,
The Travelstart Team
Thank you for your feedback about your recent experience with Travelstart. I am sorry to hear you are not pleased with the level of assistance you have received and I completely understand the frustration this has caused.
We are currently unable to book international flights into or out of South Africa as the travel ban has not yet been lifted. The only international or regional flights that are currently flying in and out of the country are repatriation flights which are being booked directly through the airlines.
For more information on repatriation flights, you can also contact the department of international relations and corporation (DIRCO) . They have a 24 hour command center in South Africa and 2 e-mail address's, please visit their site for contact details http://www.dirco.gov.za/
They've set up an operation / command center and they will have it is staffed 24 hours. They will direct any inquiry they receive from any part of the world to the appropriate mission. Their mission is to support SA citizens stranded and they are available at the Embassy and ready to help.
The credit that you have on your ticket can only be used to rebook on Turkish airways and they are not operating any flights into or out of South Africa at the moment and we can only rebook when they resume operations.
With regards to processing a refund on your booking for the unused portion, we as your travel agent pay the money to the airline when your ticket is confirmed and when you request for a refund, we submit a refund application to the airline for them to refund the money back. This process usually takes 6 - 8 weeks but the processing time frame from airlines has changed to 10 - 12 weeks and in some cases even longer. Other airlines have suspended processing refunds indefinetely and they are offering date changes or vouchers.
Our refunds team emailed you a refund qoutation this afternoon advising you of the refundable amount that is due to you for the unused portion of your ticket. Once you accept this qoute, we will then submit the refund application to the airline for processing. In your case, Turkish airlines has suspended processing refunds and will start processing refunds when they resume operating flights in South Africa and that is why we cannot tell when you will receive your refund.
We realize it’s frustrating to wait for your money and we are putting as much pressure as we can on the airlines to review their policies and to process these refunds as quickly as possible.
We do apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope that you will find the above explanation useful.
Kind Regards,
The Travelstart Team