Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:29/05/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We purchased 2 ticket from the agent of the travel agency one for my father in law another for my mother in law. The travel date was for Jan 01 2023. The agent confirmed to us that everything should be fine with the visa status for the passengers. We were told the tickets were refundable and in case the passengers cannot go we will get our money back. The airline didn’t allow one of the passenger to board due to visa restrictions. We called the agent and we were told we will get a refund for our ticket. The agent won’t accept their fault for wrong advice. After few months the travel agency manager call to offer a voucher of USD1000. As per the manager the voucher can be used by several air Lines including *******, ***, ***** and some others. The voucher has a expiry date which is June 2024 The travel agent also confirmed verbally that the voucher can be used to any flight we were booking to pay for the fare of the ticket for any passengers as long as the one of the passengers name is my wife whose last name is *******. So the travel agent confirmed as long as my wife is travelling the voucher can be used to pay for the fare of all passengers on that booking. We recently tried booking a flight as we were hoping to travel. Apparently the voucher can only be used by *****, plus there is only $500 that can be used towards the booking, plus it can’t be use to pay for other passengers whose last name is not *******. There has been many **** the travel agent has been telling and they have been trying to sell us expensive tickets and many unrealistic suggestions on travelling. For example the agent was suggesting using the voucher to go to Toronto from Edmonton. His suggestion was from Edmonton I should go to USA then to Toronto. We don’t want to deal with them as they lack professionalism and customer service. They *** a lot and operate like ********. . We have requested our money back and we don’t want the voucher. The travel agent has refused.
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/06/2024

  This client (*****) had booked 2 tickets for his in-laws with travel date of January 3rd,2023. Both passengers had the same nationalities/passports. Only one of the passengers (mother-in-law) was denied boarding by the airline, so certainly the **** requirement was not the issue. To set the story straight, the airline did not allow the passenger to board the flight as her passport was expiring within 10 days of her travel start date. Our agency had advised the client to ensure appropriate and valid travel documents for the trip. We as an agency are not responsible for checking each clients travel documents and the validity thereof. Client simply failed to check and comply with the general airline travel documentation requirements/validity.

  Although no fault of our agency or of the airline,we went above and beyond, spent hours and months of our own time in negotiating clients case with the airline and finally got them awarded with a $1000USD future travel credit voucher on June 12th, 2023 (with expiry date of 12 months). ******* denied any other form of compensation including refund given no one but the client is at fault. All the associated rules and regulations are clearly printed on the voucher and on the airlines website (see attachment). Our agent had also explained these terms and conditions to the client over the phone. Client had gladly accepted that voucher at the time and we closed our files after confirming client full satisfaction.

  In addition, passengerslast name is ******* and the voucher was issued to them and has nothing to do with clients or his wifes name.

  Since voucher is about to expire on June 12th, 2024, and client could not use that voucher in time, he now has changed his mind, and is forcing our agency for the refund of the credit voucher amount instead. The voucher does not have any monetary value associated to it. We have explained that to him during various phone conversations.Since he is not happy, now he has chosen to take this matter in the form of a BBB complaint. He has also posted a few **** reviews on our agencys ****** page from some **** accounts to ****** our business.

  The value of the voucher was a full $1000USD as we last checked on May 29 at 10:33pm (please see the screenshot attached). When we try to pull the same voucher on airlines website now, it says the voucher is closed (please see other screenshot). This makes me believe that the client has already redeemed the voucher. Our agency or the airline will not be providing any additional compensations to the client. The complaint should now be marked as resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/06/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The travel agent ******* us, the client to get our business and has been ********* all the time during the service delivery. 

  I contacted the travel agent initially for a ticket for my in-law he knew that the passport is expiring soon and requested a copy of the passport. He even checked online in some websites and sent us a screenshot showing that my in-law can fly without any issues. We believed him as we thought he was professional and genuine. Find the attached documents as a reference. 

  But actually he was wrong and he wanted to sell a ticket at all means. 

  He must have entered the information wrong on the website to give us some kind of re-assurance so we can buy the tickets. 

  He also confirmed over the phone that the ticket was refundable so in case something goes wrong we can get our money back. We agreed to purchase a more expensive ticket to be on the safe side. 
  

  See text conversations while I was asking him about the refundable tickets he was blaming the airline. He knew there was less than 24 hours time from the time we were purchasing the tickets to the flight time.
  

  But he still offered a refundable ticket and then when things turned wrong he says because the ticket was purchased within less than 24 hours its not refundable. 
  

  As mentioned earlier we can only see ********** and ********* practice. 

  He then encouraged me to file a complaint with the airline so the ticket can be refunded. 
  

  The airlines confirmed the money was with the travel agent. But the travel agency still refused to refund the money. 

  The agency finally agreed to provide a voucher after I did a ****** review. 
  

  The lady I was talking to confirmed the voucher is valid for one year and it can be used by many airlines including ***, *********, ***** among others. 
  

  She sent a voucher but there were no terms and conditions that she is referring to. 

  We tried using the voucher this year by the airlines and we were told the voucher is only accessible by the travel agency and we should request the travel agency release it. 
  

  We contacted the travel agent and they were giving us hard time in using the voucher. They wont make the voucher accessible by the airlines, the voucher can only be used by ***** airlines, plus  only $500 can be use per booking. 
  

  On top of that travel agency was trying to sell us ticket extremely high. For example a vacation to ****** was coming at around $7000 a week when same can be found online somewhere else for way cheaper. 
  

  The agent was making some ridiculous flights suggestions. Like if we were to go to ******* from ********, the agent was suggesting to fly from ******** to *** and then *** to ******* only through ***** airlines. 

  It appears to me that the agency was trying to tied sell and/or oversell its services by making us buy 2 services /vacation from them rather than one. 

  After sometime the lady travel agent texted my wife telling her she has a solution for the situation. My wife asked to email the solution there was no response. 
  

  I emailed the lady travel agent as well she didnt respond and had her very capable agent to call me. There was no resolution. 
  

  its only after I filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau that the voucher became accessible by ***** airlines. 
  

  ***** airlines were very accommodating and were able to help with the vouchers.

  Talking about ****** reviews as a client its my entitlement to give my feedback on a company I used. Thats why we have those ****** reviews. How can they be **** when the lady had called me begging to remove the review. 
  

  **** reviews are those when someone has never use a person and would use **** names to add reviews or use a different name to give a 5 stars to their own travel agency.  
  

  The agency has been ********** me as a client since day one and I would encourage anyone being ****** by this agency to come forward and report them. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ******************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/07/2024

  We have already addressed all the concerns brought up by the client. Client has already used the voucher which they originally claimed is not usable (***** claim). So we have nothing more to offer this client and would like this complaint to be closed. Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/07/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because my complaint is not only about the monetary refund but also about the practice of the business. 
  

  The complaint is absolutely genuine and the business has been ********** us since day 1. 
  

  The voucher was restricted to be used by the travel agent only. The airlines were not able to book any tickets. The voucher was released only after few complaints. 

  The travel agent as well had confirmed the voucher can only be used by the agency. 
  

  The company has been ********** us as a customer and I believe other customers should be aware of the agency service level. 
  

  The business has not responded to my other concerns, other than the voucher 

  I had complained about the way they ******* us as a customer. They had no response to those. So its for sure the business is accepting the poor customer service, ********** customers, trying to oversell and tied sell a client. 
  

  The business had never disclosed the terms and conditions of the voucher to the us and couldnt provide a copy of the  terms and conditions to BBB. 
  

  The business failed to provide an explanation to why they were restricting the voucher. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ******************