********* misleading extra charges

I booked two return flights through Travelstart on TAAG. As we were uncertain of our return dates, we selected the very body stated additional option to select which is cancellation refund guarantee. R700 guarantees that a flight can be cancelled and a full refund received provided it is cancelled before 48 hours to departure. This means I added R1400 to the two return tickets.

My boyfriend travelled earlier than I did as his grandfather is ill and he had to see him. I contacted Travelstart to cancel his return journey. The initial response was that I would receive a +- R400 refund as the airline penalty consumed the majority of the refund. Following that I got an e-mail stating they forgot to include vat so there is a R0 refund. Absolutely nothing . This means I paid an additional R700 for nothing.

Now my problem is not with the airline penalty but the fact that I was sold a benefit I hoped could save me money, when in fact it cost me more. They should not offer this, or I should have been advised that the refund may be little to nothing as airline fees are high. I booked flights directly with airlines in the past, but I was concerned about managing my return journey and therefore used Travelstart. We as customers use a middleman when we want to be more confident in our purchase, they are advisors... Why was I not advised correctly.

I request that I be refunded the R700 that I paid on both bookings (done as one payment). It was a completely misleading additonal charge.