Airborn Direct - AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

mikeyc77

HoofeHearted wrote: »

They sound like a right set of cowboys.

Yep!

I've posted my experience on the holiday watchdog site as well. If you google "Airborn Direct" there are two separate incidents listed on the first page. :T

antifreeze

Hindsight is a winderful thing. But as I had found them through cheapflights, albeit under a different name (currently flight heros), I didn't question it, although they answered with airborn.
Sam got back to me, saying that Adam would deal with this formally tomorrow. Admin are now saying that the £14/pp is an agency charge-has anyone ever heard of this? I am sure that they told me that it was related to ATOL, and now they are denying this. Ba...s.

antifreeze

Has anyone else had to pay an agency bonding charge? Because if not, why am I being singled out? BTW, Adam now has personal reasons for not being in the office and I am supposed to await his return for an answer...

Alan_Bowen

There is no such thing as 'agency bonding fees' and there would be no ATOL fees if they were booking Easyjet flights since they are not ATOL protected. The only time you pay ATOL fees is for scheduled tickets when they are not issued within 24 hours of paying for them, charter flights but I don't think Airborn charter their own aircraft or when Airborn are selling a package holiday at a single price for flights and accommodation. This looks like something you should complain to ABTA about when charges are being added that are not explained

antifreeze

hi Alan, I was sent an itinerary with a worldspan reservation number the same day, but I got my actual confirmation/invoice 5 days later in the post. They took the money out of my account the same day I booked it. I am flying with swiss and lufthansa. I guess an itinerary with passenger names is as good as a scheduled ticket, or am I wrong? I had no reply form Sam today when I asked her to look into it and get a refund. P.S.: the confirmation has the wrong airline on it! How incompetent are these people??But I've checked with the airlines and I am on the right flights.
p.s.2: why would I have to pay ATOL charges if the agency cannot issue me with tickets within 24 hours?

antifreeze

The invoice is dated 1/12, the same date as I booked the flights, eventhough it only got here this week.

Alan_Bowen

It appears they did book the flights and issue an e ticket on the day you booked, this is called 'ticket providing' and is not protected by the ATOL scheme. The reason is that ATOL protects against the failure of the agent making the booking but once the tickets have been issued, it doesn't matter whether the agent goes bust or not as the airline will honour the ticket. If tickets are not issued, then you risk losing your money if the agent goes pop, hence the £2.50 fee which guarantees your refund or ticket in due course

dannyboydannyboy

This is the worst company that I have ever dealt with. Also look out for Holiday Hero which is part of the same group.

Before booking check Google - it will save you much heartache, money and time.

They lied about the initial package but still charged the full amount, got my address wrong and other details wrong, changed the baggage allowance to a lower level without consultation and were evasive on the phone. Travel is stressfull enough without this sort of behavior.

1 year after booking with them and 6 months after a failed operator ( Goldtrail) I am still awaiting settlement of over £2000.00.

They do not respond to e-mails or phone calls and have an ability to ignore all communication.

The CAA who should be responsible have advised that the claims forms are still with Airborn which sums them up -inefficient and only interested in getting your money. Thereafter they show no interest or professional standards.


Zero out of 100 for customer relations.
zero out of 100 for aftersales
zero out of 100 for honesty

Also shame on the CAA for not addressing the real issues - fully bonded should mean something for customers and not a shield to hide behind.

Jeffrey_Alan

I booked two flights with Flight Heros - a bonding fee of £36 was added without them telling me. Also charged 5% credit card fee. Cost of flight does not include luggage - again not told. If booked direct with Ryan Air - cost would have been half.

Have written complaint letter - no reply after 28 days and so submitted complaint to Abta last week - waiting to hear.

Jane78_2

Jeffrey_Alan wrote: »

I booked two flights with Flight Heros - a bonding fee of £36 was added without them telling me. Also charged 5% credit card fee. Cost of flight does not include luggage - again not told. If booked direct with Ryan Air - cost would have been half.

Have written complaint letter - no reply after 28 days and so submitted complaint to Abta last week - waiting to hear.

I booked a holiday with Airborn direct they told me there was a £15 ABG (Agency Bonding Charge) but did not tell me it was per flight per person, charging me an extra £45 without telling me. I have been in dispute with them for a couple of weeks and finally received a copy of the call today (for a fee of £10). There is a section of the call that is missing were I repeated back to him what I believed he was going to take from my debit card and is replaced by the other person saying things he never said to me. There is no way I would pay for a copy of a recording and continue to fight for the sake of £45 if I was not 100% certain that they are not telling the truth.

Has anyone else received a copy of their call from this company and believe it was interfered with. Also does anyone know what and ABC is? One employee told me it is what the government make them charge; another told me it was what the airlines charge not the holiday company and a third employee told me it was what Airborn direct charge themselves. Surely if it is a bond this money should be returned if not used but they have said no. There was recently an article on sky news about charges coming into force for bookings made after the 4th April 2011 but I am not sure if this is the ABG???

Any info would be a great help as I am continuing to dispute it.

Many thanks Jane