I booked a trip for me and my son to Koh Samui, Thailand. I even bought the so called, Travel Insurance, to ensure that we have our flights as booked. A day after I had arrived in Thailand, I get an email from Travelocity, saying that —
"We have learned that the airline did not confirm the flights you requested. Unfortunately, this means that we are not currently holding air reservations for your trip to Koh Samui, Thailand.
Your immediate action is required.
Please call our Customer Support Center right away to review your available options and to confirm a new flight schedule for this trip. You must call us back within 48 hours or we may not be able to honor your original booking price."
Funny thing is that we had already landed in Thailand for more than 24 hours. What this basically meant (as I learned later) is that they can screw you over and charge you more money if you don't call them. I spent the next 3 days in total panic and anxiety on the phone, calling international to Customer Service in some remote country where I could hardly hear the so-called Customer Service person. I spent more than US$300.00 on the phone and wasted my entire vacation dealing with these con artists.
When Travelocity kept hanging up on me, I called the airline. They said that they I do have a reservation but they cannot confirm it as it was booked through a travel agent. So, I called Travelocity again to asked them what is going on. They put me on hold for 30 minutes. I finally had to hang up. I called the airline again. They informed me that the travel agent had just canceled my reservation. What the $%^&?! So, I called Travelocity again. After being on hold for another 30 minutes, they informed me that the airlines had canceled my flight! What?! After being on the phone for two days, they told me that my" only choice" is to take an indirect flight that would land me in Kuala Lumpur at midnight (as opposed to 7:00pm).
When I went to the airport, I checked with the flight that I was originally booked on. They said that they have plenty of seats available! But, I had to take the indirect flight. When we landed in Bangkok, there was not enough time to catch the connecting flight. We literally had to run a mile through the airport to catch our connecting flight. Unfortunately, our luggage could not run. I had fresh food in our luggage. Our luggage was delivered two days later. All our food had gone bad.
I don't understand the business tactics behind this. Word will and does get around. Travelocity will have to shut down its business if it continues continue this path of screwing customers over. We all know the saying, "You can fool some of the people some of the time. But, you cannot fool all the people all the time."
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