Be careful, the price online is not the price

Booked flights on their website.. amount came off my credit card and the booking was confirmed, great... or so I thought.

Vinay called me back to say the flight amounts changed... the website is not "official", they are just a broker and the prices can change between when you pay travelwings and when they book with the airline, so he had to charge me an extra R3,600.

Strange.. and expensive, but... what alternative did I have? The alternative he gave me was that he can refund... and refunds take 4 weeks, so I didn't really have a choice.

On the phone Vinay confirms, flights booked, all good.

Or so I thought. I was wrong. I got an email from Travelwings the next day saying the flight is cancelled due to non-payment.

I confirmed with my bank that the money left my account. Travelwings had a long explanation about how the money charged on their website doesn't even go to them, it goes directly to the airline. They can't see my transactions, because it went to the airline, so he charged me again over the phone, another R21,000 for the flight.

As of right now, I have paid R45,600 for a flight that was originally shown on their website as R21,000 at time of checking out.

My warning to all consumers, do not expect to get the price you see during checkout, there is no guarantee. You have to pay, and only then will they tell you the price. Rather go to a normal site where you get the price you see.