Esky - What have I paid for?

Yellabowley

Evening all.

Made a bit of a !!!!!! up when booking some flights. I tend to use price comparison sites and Skyscanner etc and then go and book direct with the airline. Sometimes it’s cheaper booking direct but it’s rarely more expensive than using a third party.

The flights I wanted were short notice and there were only 4 tickets left so I googled the airline ‘Wizz Air’ who I’ve heard of but never booked with before. I found what I thought was their website which was something like Wizz.Esky.something and I guessed esky was their online booking service. They were more expensive than I’d been quoted on the comparison sites due to an admin fee. But I figured that if the airline were adding it on, it would have been added on regardless of who I booked through and with only 4 seats left I booked it.

I had never heard of eSky before and had no idea they were a completely separate company, I thought I was booking direct. Having read the reviews I know I’m not the only one this has happened to.

Regardless, my booking is valid and I have my tickets, live and learn, luckily I’m in a position financially where I can take the loss on the chin. It’s only £40-£50. What I cannot seem to find out anywhere is if I am any better off for this ‘admin fee’. Are eSky a travel agent? Does it insure me against anything? Surely the extra money has to be for something? Their list of services looks like things anyone could do for themselves.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Westin

Yellabowley said:

Evening all.

Made a bit of a !!!!!! up when booking some flights. I tend to use price comparison sites and Skyscanner etc and then go and book direct with the airline. Sometimes it’s cheaper booking direct but it’s rarely more expensive than using a third party.

The flights I wanted were short notice and there were only 4 tickets left so I googled the airline ‘Wizz Air’ who I’ve heard of but never booked with before. I found what I thought was their website which was something like Wizz.Esky.something and I guessed esky was their online booking service. They were more expensive than I’d been quoted on the comparison sites due to an admin fee. But I figured that if the airline were adding it on, it would have been added on regardless of who I booked through and with only 4 seats left I booked it.

I had never heard of eSky before and had no idea they were a completely separate company, I thought I was booking direct. Having read the reviews I know I’m not the only one this has happened to.

Regardless, my booking is valid and I have my tickets, live and learn, luckily I’m in a position financially where I can take the loss on the chin. It’s only £40-£50. What I cannot seem to find out anywhere is if I am any better off for this ‘admin fee’. Are eSky a travel agent? Does it insure me against anything? Surely the extra money has to be for something? Their list of services looks like things anyone could do for themselves.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

You have covered the situation and your mistake well.  

Do not do ‘simple’ Google type searches then click on any links that are returned. The first few results are often adverts. Always check url links.  This applies to many things not just searches for airline tickets and travel.

To answer your questions:

1.  No.
2.  Class themselves as an ‘online travel agent’ (but that is not anything like the traditional high street travel agent of old).
3.  No. Just their fee. 
3.  The extra £40 fee is their fee for the work you instructed them to do, or rather the use of their website when you key in your information and select your choices.

You are correct, your could have done all this yourself had you been on the airline website and saved yourself £40.

The correct website was WizzAir.com

Buyer beware.

Yellabowley

Thanks. Yeah I think even when checking the URL I just thought it was the booking page within the legitimate website. I was obviously rushing with there being limited seats but it seems as though this is how they operate. They’ve since asked me to go through them to check in online but I’ve gone through the official website. Don’t know if they’d charge me for that as well! Thanks very much for your reply.

LisaSaper

I had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday, but with RyanAir. I genuinely thought I was booking on RyanAir.  These guys are a complete scam. Surely there must be some regulation against this kind of thing.  The URL started RyanAir.esky so it really appears to be direct with the airline.  I'm absolutely fuming. 

Caz3121

you need to be careful when random ads on search engines - look out for those that say 'Ad' next to them that pay to appear at the top
As well as the esky page having esky all over it, I am guessing you ticked to state you had read the terms and conditions without actually reading them...there are over 100 references to 'esky' and no references to Ryanair.
Hopefully your trip will go without any issue and no harm done (apart from possibly paying more than you needed to) you will also know what to look out for next time you are booking flights online

eskbanker

LisaSaper said:

The URL started RyanAir.esky so it really appears to be direct with the airline.

If that's the level of validation that you consider appropriate, then it might be best to avoid any sort of online purchasing activity - it's the unregulated internet, with copycat URLs rife, although in some cases, trademark holders will take action to protect their rights (but not their customers)....

CKhalvashi

Flight only is largely unregulated, you've paid your agent to go and try to make a booking for you at the price you've agreed. You've paid for the service that your agent has carried out for you.

Wizz only sell their tickets at Wizzair.com. This is the website on the side of their aircraft, on their social media pages and in any correspondence I've ever had from them. I use the airline both via the app and website very regularly (including booking a flight this morning) with very few problems. They're a legitimate airline.

If you believe you have genuinely been deceived by eSky (and this looks marginal as to whether it's passing off, especially if the website you were directed to is pink and blue) then you'll need to report this to the airline and can also report to Trading Standards via the CAB.

You can also mention this in your complaint to your chosen agent if you believe they have misled you.

Lhatt78

I had the same thing but with Easyjet yesterday. I thought I was paying £3540.50 for 7 flight tickets and even took a screenshot of the total amount, put my credit card details in and then when it was processed it actually charged me £3956.50!! A difference of £416 for what exactly? I have complained to them and they have said this is their fee, I understand they take a fee but this much surely not?! Who can I please complain to, to try and recoup my money back from? I have googled and they are not abta registered. Should I try my credit card company?

eskbanker

Lhatt78 said:

I have complained to them and they have said this is their fee, I understand they take a fee but this much surely not?!

First place to start is the terms you accepted when agreeing to proceed with them - these should define what fees are associated with your purchase, so you can validate whether or not the figures applied are correct (regardless of whether you feel they're too high).

Lhatt78

I can’t find anything anywhere where they state their fees? 

eskbanker

Lhatt78 said:

I can’t find anything anywhere where they state their fees? 

In which case, given that "they have said this is their fee", ask them to show you where those fees are documented.

You may ultimately be able to get assistance from your card company if you have a screenshot showing that you entered your card details against a transaction value lower than that charged, but again you'll need to check the Ts & Cs of the purchase in case they reserve the right to impose additional fees after that point.