Arrggghhh! 3rd party booking - Not so Bravo

SinDinero

Hello. I hope this is posted in the right thread.

The other day I was searching Skyscanner for flights and found a cheap one, BUT when I clicked through it went through a 3rd party booking agent called Bravofly.

I went through with the booking as the price seemed okay (and I guess I wasn't really thinking straight).

Anyway, now I'm stuck and have realised my error. There are loads of negative reviews of Bravofly and I may well be adding my own in the near future.

My flight is actually with Monarch, but now I can't access anything like on-line check-in, baggage allowance as I've booked through Bravofly (who it seems don't like to respond to their customers). Furthermore I'm not sure if my flight has even been booked yet as no money has gone out of my account - and like I said I can't check-in online or anything via their site either (the flight is this week).

I heard that some airlines don't allow flights to be booked by third parties and could in theory cancel the flight at any time.
Monarch actually state that flights can be booked by REGISTERED 3d parties, but how can I find out if Bravofly are even registered?

Ideally I'd like to try and get a refund and book another flight. As I've made an error. Does anyone know where I stand with regards to getting a refund (probably from the credit card company as I guess the 'booking agent' will probably offer a % of the taxes only - i.e. - pretty much nothing).

A simple trip has now turned a little bit stressful. Thanks

2nd_Time_Lucky

I used bravofly last year with no problems I just got the info off the airline website rather than them. I flew with fly be.

jpsartre

SinDinero wrote: »

Does anyone know where I stand with regards to getting a refund (probably from the credit card company as I guess the 'booking agent' will probably offer a % of the taxes only - i.e. - pretty much nothing).

I can't see that happening unless it turns out that there's a problem with your booking and you don't get what you paid for. While I would certainly recommend to everyone that they stay far away from Bravofly, the damage is done in your case and you may as well try and make the best of it. I would start be calling Monarch to determine whether or not you are in fact booked in the flight.

SinDinero

Thanks. Anyone in the know about the whole 'registered' thing? How can one find out?

I heard of people on Ryanair flights having them cancelled at the last minute because they "booked through a 3rd party".

Voyager2002

Since no money has left your account, the question of a refund is moot.

You should most certainly contact Monarch; find out if they have any record of your booking; and if not, buy your flight ASAP. Contact your credit card company and explain that the service you agreed to buy has not been provided and so the transaction should be cancelled, and since no money has left your account all they need to do is ensure that payment cannot be taken later.

jpsartre

SinDinero wrote: »

Thanks. Anyone in the know about the whole 'registered' thing? How can one find out?

I heard of people on Ryanair flights having them cancelled at the last minute because they "booked through a 3rd party".

I wouldn't worry about it. Even Ryanair generally won't cancel 3rd party bookings and I've never heard of Monarch doing this or even that they don't allow 3rd party bookings. The important thing for you right now is to find out if you're booked on the flight or not.

SinDinero

Hi guys. I'm well aware that the majority of flights are not affected by such things, but there have been cases where flights have been cancelled by the airline. However, I'm more concerned with the legal aspects of this now, like I thought I was booking a flight and up to now I don't have one, so as a previous post said "the service you agreed to buy has not been provided" so technically I should have a right to cancel the booking (at least from the credit card end), right?
Initial contact with the bank has been fruitless. They said something about the merchant submitting a voucher and something about authorisation and ended with

"I am sorry, until the merchant debits an unauthorised transaction on the card account the investigating team will be unable to assist".

So basically they can't or won't stop the transaction and if I have a gripe then I have to wait until after it's happened to try and sort it out, which seems pretty daft.

mcfisco

like I thought I was booking a flight and up to now I don't have one, so as a previous posted said "the service you agreed to buy has not been provided" so technically I should have a right to cancel the booking (at least from the credit card end), right?

Well given that you obviously asked for a specific delivery date for the service [flight] you ordered, they can't really deliver it until that date.

rich987652

Wow...bravofly....

Was trying to book a flight, no mention of admin charges except when you add your card details and if you scroll to the top of the page the price has suddenly increased by £16 with no mention of reasons, and no reference to charges for using a card.

Glad I noticed and stopped my booking.