opodo and flightnetwork problems

justme111

Never had any issues with flight bookings using either search engines or direct airlines. This time was unlucky though. I booked flights on opodo website on friday evening , got confirmation email only to be followed by an email on monday that my fare has changed (or something for that matter ) and to get in touch with them , otherwise my booking will be cancelled. When I phoned them on Tuesday booking was already cancelled.
Second attempt at booking was through fightnetwork. While I made 2 bookings and got two confirmation emails money has been taken from my account on 3 (!) occasions with first and last transaction amounts being correct but second one being random number. (More than £200). In addition they are annoying in applying "transaction fee" which does not appear anywhere in the information or receipts, only on bank statements and which is about a tenner per booking ! I written to them , got a reply 4 (!) days later asking me for bank statements. I asked whether screenshots will do - still waiting for a reply being about £250 lighter and telling to myself never again using neither them nor opodo.

Caz3121

the problem with 3rd party sites is that many do not have live pricing so the "cheap" fare they advertise (which gets them to the top in search engines) may not exist
you "request to book" pay your money then they come back and tell you they need more money or you can wait for a refund. The majority of fares with airlines require full payment at time of booking and, if not fully paid within 24 hours, the booking will be cancelled automatically
They also have lengthy T&Cs that they rely on people not reading (but ticking the box to say they have read) which will be their get out for additional fees etc
Always best to book direct with the airline

Voyager2002

Caz3121 wrote: »

the problem with 3rd party sites is that many do not have live pricing so the "cheap" fare they advertise (which gets them to the top in search engines) may not exist
you "request to book" pay your money then they come back and tell you they need more money or you can wait for a refund. The majority of fares with airlines require full payment at time of booking and, if not fully paid within 24 hours, the booking will be cancelled automatically
They also have lengthy T&Cs that they rely on people not reading (but ticking the box to say they have read) which will be their get out for additional fees etc
Always best to book direct with the airline

Yes, but some agents do offer good deals together with acceptable service: good to check out reviews before using them.

There should be a confirmation page showing the total amount to be paid: if the charge to your card or bank is different from this, you can contact your card provider to claw back the money rather than waiting weeks for a refund.

justme111

It was debit card so I don't think I can do it

Voyager2002

justme111 wrote: »

It was debit card so I don't think I can do it

If you agreed to pay one total on the final confirmation page, yet a different amount was charged (to a debit or credit card) then this is similar to fraud, and you can ask your card issuer to reverse the transaction ("do a chargeback"). You will get your money back, but lose your flight booking.

justme111

I made two bookings. I had 3 lots of money coming from my account , two for right amounts and one random number.

budgetflyer

Caz3121 wrote: »

the problem with 3rd party sites is that many do not have live pricing so the "cheap" fare they advertise (which gets them to the top in search engines) may not exist
you "request to book" pay your money then they come back and tell you they need more money or you can wait for a refund. The majority of fares with airlines require full payment at time of booking and, if not fully paid within 24 hours, the booking will be cancelled automatically
They also have lengthy T&Cs that they rely on people not reading (but ticking the box to say they have read) which will be their get out for additional fees etc
Always best to book direct with the airline

Not always the case.
Some agents can get special fares . The problem is your Edreams, Opodo, Bravofly type sites have tarnished the 3rd party market .