On Oct 11th I called Way To Fly travel agency located at 31 Airport Blvd, Suite B, South San Francisco, CA to check on a airline ticket to the Philippines. I spoke with an agent named Frank. During our conversation Frank told me that a ticket to Manila would cost $868. This was the cheapest that I had found and was interested in purchasing. He continued with the sales pitch and before ending he said that there could possibly be a charge for some sort of airport security. I asked what that charge would be and why was there such a charge. He said that it is something do with Homeland Security. I told him I had never heard of such a thing and asked what the cost would be regarding that. He said that at the very most the charge would be a total of $157. He also said that it was a charge that was not always added to the ticket. He said if it was added to one person it had to be added to all flying on that particular flight. I still did not understand what the charge was about but told him that I would agree to it. I wanted to get the ticket confirmed. The total cost if that charge was imposed would be $1025. After I agreed to it he said that I would have to sign a contract with him. I was to hit any key on my computer as a signature. He had a copy of what I was agreeing to put on the computer for me to read. I hit a key and was told that my ticket was confirmed. I was never told what the total cost of the ticket would be.
I checked my bank statement on line but there was no charge on it regarding the ticket. About an hour later I checked my statement again and saw an airline ticket charge to China Airlines for $929.10 Under that was another charge for $371.24 to ARC. I then called Frank back at the number I had for him. He answered the phone and I asked him what was the deal regarding the ticket I purchased. The charges were for $1300.34. I would never have agreed to that price but he told me that he had said there would be other charges and that I agreed to them. He acted as though it was too bad for me.
After our conversation I had called the Way To Fly office back. I spoke to someone named Mike telling him I wished to cancel the ticket I had purchased. Mike pulled up my contract that I had made. He asked who had sold me the ticket and I told him Frank. He said I would have to talk to Frank about it but Frank was not in at the time. He had gone to lunch I was told. I asked if I could speak with a manager. Mike transferred my call to someone who said he was the office manager. I asked his name and he said Joe. I told what had happened and he said he was going to transfer me to someone who could help me. He transferred the call and no one answered. I sat there for at least 10 minutes or longer and still no one answered. I then hung up.
I then pulled up the contract again that I had with Frank. I read it very carefully and saw it said that the charges for this ticket was $1300.34. The line with the charges on it was in very small letters. I did not see that line on the contract when I had first looked at it. I am not sure it was even on the contract when I first read it. I also noticed that there was a signature block that had a written signature with my name on it. It was definitely not my signature. But it was my name. I then tried calling back the office of Way To Fly but received no answer. I then sent them an email telling them I did not like the way they did this business with me. My email was never answered.
The next day, Oct 12th I called back the Way To Fly office. I was on hold for more than 20 minutes. I then tried calling using another telephone. I had given them this phone number before. Again it was not answered. I was sure they had caller ID and was probably ignoring my call. I called from an other phone sometime later and finally received an answer. It was answered by someone named Mike. I told Mike that I wanted to cancel a ticket that I had purchased the day before. He asked who had sold me the ticket and I told him Frank. He said I would have to talk to Frank about it and he put me on hold. I held for several minutes and he came back on telling me that Frank was not in the office just then. I then asked to speak to the office manager. He told me to hang on and finally it was answered by a woman named Mary who said she was Franks manager. I told her of my problem and that I wanted to cancel the ticket I had bought. She told me to hang on a minute and she transferred my call to Frank whom I was just told was not there.
Frank answered and said he had tried to call me earlier. I told him I did not think so. I have caller ID on both phones with the numbers I had given him and neither had a 415 area code number on it. I told Frank that I wanted to cancel the ticket I had bought and asked him what the cost to cancel would be. He told me he did not know and he would have to check it out in the morning. He had told me before that if I was to cancel the ticket that the airline would have a cancellation charge. I had contacted the China Airlines office before I had called Frank back. I was told by the Airline person I talked to that there was no charge by the airline to cancel a ticket. I was also told that the cost of the ticket would be $929.10 which is the same price that was written on the contract that Frank had sent me even though he said it would be $868. I told this to Frank and he said that was not true. He said he would call me back in the morning. I asked what time would he call and he said he would call at 9:00 AM. The reason I want to know the charge is because I read on the notes that the cancellation charge could be anywhere from $50 to $500. After the dealings I have been having with these people I can imagine what the charge would be.
Today is Oct 13. It is after 12:00 Noon now. Frank has not called me back at this time. I believe that I have been ripped off by this travel agency and personally by this Frank. I believe that this can be proved by listening to the telephone tapes that Way To Fly may have. At the beginning of the conversation a recording states that the conversation is being recorded for training purposes.
I called back at 2:45 pm today and the phone was answered by a representative of Way To Fly. I asked to speak to someone who could make a decision regarding the cancellation of a ticket. The person I spoke with told me he would transfer my call. I asked who was the person he was transferring me to but he would not answer. He again came on the phone and said he would transfer me now and again I asked who was the person. He again would not answer and he cut me off. Another person than answered and said his name was Erin. I told Erin I did not want to be transferred again and if he could handle my problem than I will talk to him. He said that he could. He asked what was my problem.
I began telling him about the ticket I purchased from one of their salesmen named Frank. He then cut me off and said that Frank was there and he would transfer my call to him. I told him I wanted to clear this up today. He then cut me off and I waited again several minutes and Frank finally answered. Frank said that he was looking for my file before he answered. I told him ok. He then asked if I wanted to cancel my ticket and I told him that I did. He said in order to cancel it would be a $730.00 cancellation fee. The airline ticket alone was $929.10. The fees charged was $371.00.
If this isn’t some sort of a con game or scam then I don’t know what it could be. I was in law enforcement for 7 years and I was an investigator for more than 20 years. If I were still an investigator I would turn this Way To Fly, fly by night outfit upside down.
I am filing this letter as a formal complaint.
Lance Trimme
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