Travelstart - a bad joke.

I booked a flight with Travelstart and received an email with a huge banner at the top of it saying 'booking confirmed'. I thought nothing further of it until the day of the flight. The airline had never heard of me. I phoned Travelstart where a massively unhelpful person whose name I have expunged from my memory (mild PTSD). This person said 'there was a payment issue on both sides'. She could tell me no further what that meant. Apparently, she said, I should have checked to see if the money went off my credit card and not accepted the email they sent. I asked to speak to a manager. This wasn't possible, she was in a meeting and would call me later.

I booked a flight at a premium to go to the funeral in question.

I then mailed Travelstart to complain. A 'manager' called Stacey then contacted me to say she had tried to phone (no voicemail, no missed calls) and then delivered the following pearler: "We do understand that no email notification was sent regarding your failed booking, however it is the clients responsibility to check if he/she has received the relevant travel documents. No payment was also processed from your card, which indicates that your tickets were not secured.

Feel free to have a look at our terms and conditions online https://www.travelstart.co.za/lp/terms-and-conditions.

I trust the above is all in order. Have a lovely day. "

In other words, she blamed me, the client, for the fact that I had no flight despite the fact that the only communication I received from Travelstart in a bright blue banner 'booking confirmed' . I rep**** and asked if she was joking. she then said no and that she would offer me R300 off my next booking.

Travelstart's incompetence cost me more than R3000.