The Award for MOST RIDICULOUS SERVICE goes to ...(drumbeat)... TRAVELSTART!!!!

I booked a ticket with Travelstart on 8th of November 2018. I used my credit card to pay and entered an important meeting. I got an e-mail from Travelstart confirming the booking. within a couple of minutes. About three hours later I received a text message from my bank informing me that a transaction (with Travelstart) had been declined due to insufficient funds. Realizing that I did not transfer money into my credit card from my main account, I transferred money and made the booking again. (I have a credit card with zero credit because I hate debt. I use it only to make bookings, etc.) I was so happy to get a spot on the same flight for the same price of R1257.00. Problem solved. To my utmost surprise I saw the next morning that another text message came from my bank informing me of a second deduction for the same amount. I then contacted my private banker who confirmed that I paid twice. That is where my trouble started escalating. I contacted Travelstart who at first said that they will cancel the second ticket with a R100.00 cancellation fee. This was after a lengthy argument about when a contract is entered into. Being in the legal field I explained that when the transaction was declined by my bank the "contract" as such actually never materialized. (The standard offer and acceptance legal principle) The extremely irate agent explained to me that I should have read their terms and that they are not at fault. "Once we have processed your payment we will send you your e-ticket in a separate email. For flights departing in more than one day this may take up to 24 hours. " is what she referred to. I explained that if I go to a shop and my card is declined (even when tried again and again) the shop is not going to give me my goods and I have to leave the shop. The purchase I wanted to make would then be cancelled. This is when she lost it and told me that she is ending the discussion as she do not need to listen to my arguments. She then hung up on me!!! I called again and it seems that my number was then "flagged" as I never managed to get through. Next stop was a message on messenger to them on Facebook. I received a call a hour or two later where the person who called informed me that she listened to the call and she found that I did not follow their internal policy. (At that point I nearly lost it as I explained to both of them that the normal person in the street do not know their internal policies.) We then agreed that she would get me a quotation to change the second ticket to a ticket which can be used for the person's return trip. I gave her a window period of about a week in which this ticket can fall and asked for different price options for the different dates. I then got an e-mail with only one date and the following explanation for the fees: The cost for the changes: Airline Penalty Fee: R0.00 Airline Fare Difference: R0.00 Airline Tax Difference: R17.75 Travelstart Handling Fee: R350.00

I failed to understand why I had to pay Travelstart R350.00 when in my opinion they were to blame, but left it at that. I asked them for a different date expecting to pay in an extra R367.00.

I got the new date but with the new fee:

The cost for the changes are as follows:

Airline Penalty Fee: R0.00 Airline Fare Difference: R1010.00 Airline Tax Difference: R169.25 Travelstart Handling Fee: R350.00

Total: R1529.25 per person per change (additional)

I then checked online and saw that I can book a return ticket on that exact flight for R1815.00. If I accepted their offer I would be paying R2786.95. I communicated this to them and eventually (about 10 calls and e-mails later) we agreed that they will ask the airline for a refund. This was on 22 November 2018. I told them that I wanted them to deal with it asap as I wanted to buy a new ticket on the Black Friday specials.

Despite two follow up e-mails since my request for the cancellation, on the day the ticket/s had to be used I got a call from the person flying informing me that the airline told him that he has two tickets for the same flight. I communicated this with Travelstart via e-mail. - NO reply.

Today despite numerous e-mails I am not getting any feedback. Someone is probably praying somewhere that I will just leave it.

I understand that never can be a very long time, but NEVER again will I do business with Travelstart. I would also advise anyone willing to listen to rather book through the airline. In our business we fly a substantial number of times per year and have always booked through Travelstart. Since this we started booking directly. We not only paying less but the service is also user friendly and without top secret internal policies.

I fail to understand how any company can have "internal policies" which they refuse to deviate from, without informing potential clients about these "internal policies". The fact that these "internal policies" might be against common business practice, clearly is none of their business. I am 100% convinced that if I waited for my ticket the 24 hours (their top secret on a need to know basis only policy waiting period) and the flight got fully booked before they managed to put the transaction through, I would have been told that the transaction was cancelled because of insufficient funds and they cannot be kept to the initial price.

I have to admit that it is rather alarming that there is no less than three reports on Hellopeter about Travelstart so far today, three yesterday and three on the 8th. I am sure that when the Travelstart Owners return from holiday on Monday they are going to kick some behinds.