Different name on passport from booking.

CKhalvashi

AJRBADGER said:

mattyprice4004 said:

Unfortunately regardless of reason, you need to change the name on the tickets. 
You're stuck with whatever they choose to charge, or finding new flights - a name change is always going to be expensive through a third party. 
It's in the terms you agreed to, so is completely legal. 

I get that, but....... I can't help but feel the system is set up to try and fleece people. That is why I say it feels like (legalised) robbery.

I will not have been the first or the last person to have made an error with a married and maiden name when making a booking. £600 to correct that mistake seems grossly unreasonable, even if it is in written in the small print that I ticked a box to agree to (although I agreed to it, not even realising that I was making a mistake at the time). Other travel agents manage to correct this for free, or a small admin charge. 

I've booked other flights. We won't be travelling together now, nor even travelling from the same airport - however it's ended up costing an additional £260 plus whatever additional transport costs are at the other end (as we won't be travelling to the hotel as a group), so fair to say the mistake has ended up costing over £300. 

What was supposed to be a nice 40th birthday surprise turned into a frustrating and expensive experience. 

Have to say, Kiwi have been utterly appalling to deal with, not just because they've not told me what I wanted to hear, but the service for what is something that needs rectified in days has been utterly dreadful.

I would never recommend anyone using this company. 

Airlines understandably have to protect themselves from fraudulent resales of tickets and therefore apply perfectly reasonable fees that stop that from happening.

It was your choice to book through a third party agent who have no relationship to any of the airlines you are booking with. You could presumably have got the same deals (with no fees) by booking each segment with the respective airline, but unfortunately chose to not do so.

If you had asked for the passport before booking, this would not be an issue. The system is therefore not designed to fleece people.

AJRBADGER

CKhalvashi said:

AJRBADGER said:

mattyprice4004 said:

Unfortunately regardless of reason, you need to change the name on the tickets. 
You're stuck with whatever they choose to charge, or finding new flights - a name change is always going to be expensive through a third party. 
It's in the terms you agreed to, so is completely legal. 

I get that, but....... I can't help but feel the system is set up to try and fleece people. That is why I say it feels like (legalised) robbery.

I will not have been the first or the last person to have made an error with a married and maiden name when making a booking. £600 to correct that mistake seems grossly unreasonable, even if it is in written in the small print that I ticked a box to agree to (although I agreed to it, not even realising that I was making a mistake at the time). Other travel agents manage to correct this for free, or a small admin charge. 

I've booked other flights. We won't be travelling together now, nor even travelling from the same airport - however it's ended up costing an additional £260 plus whatever additional transport costs are at the other end (as we won't be travelling to the hotel as a group), so fair to say the mistake has ended up costing over £300. 

What was supposed to be a nice 40th birthday surprise turned into a frustrating and expensive experience. 

Have to say, Kiwi have been utterly appalling to deal with, not just because they've not told me what I wanted to hear, but the service for what is something that needs rectified in days has been utterly dreadful.

I would never recommend anyone using this company. 

Airlines understandably have to protect themselves from fraudulent resales of tickets and therefore apply perfectly reasonable fees that stop that from happening.

It was your choice to book through a third party agent who have no relationship to any of the airlines you are booking with. You could presumably have got the same deals (with no fees) by booking each segment with the respective airline, but unfortunately chose to not do so.

If you had asked for the passport before booking, this would not be an issue. The system is therefore not designed to fleece people.

It also wouldn't be a surprise present.

AJRBADGER

soolin said:

Quote “I would never recommend anyone using this company. “

The problem is that they are rarely recommended in fact most reviews suggest they are to be avoided, but as you yourself found out people see the price and don’t bother with warnings or reviews . 

I just bought it off Skyscanner. I have used Skyscanner loads of times over the past decade with no issue.

Fair to say I trust them, but this has soured it.

onashoestring

@ARJBADGER Glad that you have found a way to save the holiday and as posters suggested on this thread you found alternative flights which have cost a lot less than €640. Thanks for reporting back. Hope you all have a great holiday. I hope that your friend appreciates all your efforts. 

eskbanker

AJRBADGER said:

soolin said:

Quote “I would never recommend anyone using this company. “

The problem is that they are rarely recommended in fact most reviews suggest they are to be avoided, but as you yourself found out people see the price and don’t bother with warnings or reviews . 

I just bought it off Skyscanner. I have used Skyscanner loads of times over the past decade with no issue.

Fair to say I trust them, but this has soured it.

Skyscanner isn't endorsing companies but is simply a price comparison tool, in much the same way as a certain personal finance site includes a disclaimer at the foot of each page:

• This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.
  
• We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late [...]

so it remains incumbent on the purchaser to do some due diligence about a (hyper-)linked company's reputation in order to spot clues about why they're able to offer cheap prices....

Pollycat

As said above... you did not buy your flights from Skyscanner.
You used Skyscanner to search for flights and followed a link to Kiwi.
Unfortunately.