Booked flights from Birmingham Alabama instead of Birmigham UK - Cannot cancel

BusinessStudent

A similar situation happened with my friend. She went with her family to New York City and had booked the flights back to Birmingham, Alabama. The problem got resolved, im not sure how though.

trets77

intresting story. there was a story in the Times travel section today about a guy who booked a flight with Opodo and his tickets did not arrive . Opodo are charging him £150 quid becuase he did not ring up within a week to report this . in the terms and conditions they say ............pay up or don,t go..

well Opodo have lost a potential customer for life due that attitude . Expedia should also note that treating customers like this will get them noticed and cost them more than the price of sorting this in the long run.

try writing Watchdog and don,t get done det dome on the BBC and all the broad sheet travel sections

Sam_Bee

Can people stop blaming Expedia? It's a ticket condition of the airline that makes them non-refundable, not the conditions of Expedia. They are just following the airlines instructions. If the airline doesn't want to give sky rat his money back, they won't. Expedia make around 3% on flights, so about £50, so they certainly won't be refunding £1700.

The only help that Expedia can provide is to mediate, request a favour from the airline, after all they have more sway than the average punter like skyrat (and know the right people to contact). However, this is possibly a long-shot. Online companies cut costs by not hiring customer service staff. It means they cut their ticket margins from 7% to 3%, making it cheaper for the rest of you to travel.

If the tickets were booked through a travel agent, the mistake wouldn't have happened. And if a mistake would have happened, they would have fixed it. Free.

This in no way is a pop at Sky Rat, I completely appreciate your situation. It's a hell of a lot of money, and I hope someone at Expedia takes it upon to do something. Because they can if they want, no matter what they say. And this type of mistake, I promise you, is very, very common.

However, I'm not loving this 'have your cake and eat it mentality'. You all want lower prices, online booking provides that, because you do all the work. And there is no-one to bail you out if things go wrong. You could always pay more for better service, but I doubt you would, you'd be looking to save that extra 5% somehow. And if you're so determined to cut out the travel agent, then you are dispensing of the services of skilled staff who know what they are doing (well, most of them!).

dmg24

No one is 'blaming' Expedia, including the OP, just hoping that they will help out!

xxxdarlingxxx

I just read your story and wanted to wish you good luck on Tuesday when the airline are back to work. You must be feeling awful but we all make mistakes so don't beat yourself up.

I hope you can at least try and enjoy whats left of Easter with your little one.


I will keep my fingers crossed and have a wee word with the big guy upstairs today !

mummymania

Sorry I haven't got any advice, but just wanted to say that it is possible to fly from Birmingham (BHX) to Florida (Sanford) - and in my opinion if you have never driven over in the USA before, its much easier arriving at Sanford as the traffic is quieter and not so scary as arriving at Orlando!

sky_rat

Can I just say I have posted messages on all sorts of different forums before for all sorts of reasons.

But I am pleasantly suprised how many people seem to genuienly care and how thoughtful they are on the MoneySavingExpert forum.

Once again, thanks to you all, its greatly appreciated :A

Also, this "thanking" option is new to me and I have never seen this before on a forum.

Its not Expedia I am blaming, its the airlines.

If you ordered an item online and realised it was the wrong item then chances are you could send it back, or correct the mistake before the item was sent.

However, with airlines it seems to be a completely different attitude and once you've booked tickets youve got it whether you like it or not.

Even a simple error such as a spelling typo costs a fortune to change.

Us consumers arent stupid, we may make mistakes - we are only human afterall.

But we all know that to correct a spelling mistake cannot be that difficult and expensive.

Its the airlines rules and regulations that are wrong.

The first women I spoke to at expedia should have been more helpful and at least tried to contact the airline to see if they would refund the ticket.

The women my girlfirend spoke to in the Expedia Complaints Deptartment was suprised she wasnt more helpful and has even suggested that I make a complaint against her.

After all, when I spoke to the first women it was less than 12 hours after I made the booking.

Now it wont be until Tuesday when Expedia talk to the airline, because the first women I spoke to wasnt helpful.

I dont know whether I will bother to make a complaint or not, I havent decided yet.

Ill see how things go on Tuesday.

If things dont go well I may take the advice offered and contact Watchdog etc.

sky_rat

LB1985 wrote: »

Have a look at https://www.travelcitydirect.com - they are a charter company who fly from Manchester to Orlando (Sanford) on the days you are looking to travel and may be able to offer you a better flight only deal. OK, it doesn't take you into MCO, but is a step in the right direction!

Thanks LB1985.

I have tried this website but unfortunately it says that there are no dates for the 6th October.

Thanks anyway.

LB1985

sky_rat wrote: »

Thanks LB1985.

I have tried this website but unfortunately it says that there are no dates for the 6th October.

Thanks anyway.

When I looked on their website, there were flights available from London Gatwick to Sanford on the dates you specified. It might be worth giving them a call? I've never travelled with them, but have seen some very cheap flight only fares advertised with them. Good luck!

saveapenny

Travelcity on the surface look cheap but you have to take thier car hire and car insurance it really bumps the cost up.