Tavelstart the Con artist

Having booked my flights through travel start months prior to the date that I was traveling, me being well organized arrived at the airport long before I was due to check in. Upon arriving at the counter I was told that the flights I had paid for and for which I had received a booking confirmation from, had not been booked by travelstart and so I actually had no tickets but had received the CPT-DUR and DUR-CPT flight details from travelstart. This was devastating news. I was not allowed on this flight.

I had planned to travel from my home in Cape Town to my best friends wedding in the Drakensburg. All my plans had been made far in advance and I was incredibly excited to be able to be part of my friends big day. I phoned my mother in tears not knowing what to do. She calmed me down and said I must just buy new tickets and seek to be refunded by Travelstart at a later stage. So I bought new tickets and went to my friends wedding. I had a wonderful time, and am grateful that I am in a position where I can buy a second set of tickets.

What, pray tell, would have happened if I was not in that position? What does happen to the people that this happens to and are not in that financial position?

I am shocked and disappointed. I will never in my life recommend or use travelstart. A complete disaster of a company.