Travelstart system does not work

Thank you Travelstart for ripping me off. Firstly their booking system is completely deceiving. You go through the process of booking put in your card details and the order is processed. Little did I know the order is not in fact processed. You receive an email that tells you to click on a payment link. Each time I clicked on this email it informed me that this link has expired . I ended up getting charged for two flights when i only needed one.

The booking I made was for my daughter who was in the USA at the time. I used her email address and the first transaction emails was sent to her. She informed me the link is not working. I then went through the whole process again, this time using my email address. Once again and email with a link not working to complete the transaction. After a lot of searching I eventually found the Travelstart office number. I spoke to a very helpful person explaining to him what had happened. He then asked me to hold as he was going to call the airline. After a 10 min hold he came back on the line and said to me not to worry the flight is now confirmed and I should check my email. I received and email to say this is your payment link. I went through the process again and finally received the eticket. When I received my card statement I noticed my credit card has been charged for two flights ans two sets of Travelstart fees. Now after a number of emails Travelstart inform me the booking was made twice and I can get the following refund: Service fees and Travel Extras :R 1706.02(nonrefundable)

Fare and Taxes :R 6045.68 Airline Penalty :R 4950.00 Refundable amount : R 1095.68

Here are my suggestions: 1. Travelstart, fix the system so that when the flight is booked the payment is completed and your customer knows where they stand. Right now it's too confusing and has led to me losing approximately R 5000.00 because of cancellation fees. 2. When a customer calls in and you help them, double check your system to make sure their booking has not actually gone through before re-booking. 3. Stop hiding your phone number so that it's virtually impossible to speak to a person.

For everyone else - Book through Skyscanner, GotoGate, Flight Centre at least their systems work and you know the booking is completed. Travelstart seems to show prices R 1000 cheaper than these guys but it will cost you almost double in the end. Happy Travels!