Complaint Review: Cheapoair - New York New York

Before I begin, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that these people are doing business under so many different names, it would be impossible to list them all. However, during my research, I found the following names to be associated with this same entity: OneTravel.com, Travelong.com, Cheapoair.com, WK Travel, Inc., Cheapseats.com, etc.

On February 20, 2008, I went to OneTravel.com and purchased a plane ticket, advertised on OneTravel.com as follows: departing Zagreb, Croatia, 06/23/2008 at 2:30 PM, arriving in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina at 3:15 PM. One the way back, I would have departed Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina on 06/26/2008 at 4 PM, arriving in Zagreb at 5 PM. My credit card was charged $263.55. The $230.55 charge is for the actual air ticket and the additional $33.00 is for the service that OneTravel.com allegedly provides. The flights were advertised as Air Bosna (aka B&H Airlines) flights, code-shared with Croatia Airlines, which actually operates these flights.

On around March 1, 2008, I went to checkmytrip.com and found that I am still not confirmed for these flights. I contacted the Croatia Airlines office in Zagreb, Croatia. Their agents informed me that they have no record of me or my reservation in their system. I provided them with all the information from my paper ticket. Still, they were unable to locate any information pertaining to me or my travel.

I called OneTravel.com/CheapoAir.com customer service for assistance. This is where my frustration began. Every time I would call, I would spend 30-45 minutes on hold. A representative would answer, obtain a booking number and place me on hold for another 30 minutes. The first representative advised me that everything is fine with my reservation. Because I did not believe her, I called them again a couple of days later. This time, some gentleman said that there could have been a schedule change and that he would email the scheduling department to check on this, and I would receive a callback in two (2) days. He indicated that they needed to contact the airline. Needless to say, I never received this phone call.

On or around March 7, 2008, I called OneTravel.com again and requested to speak with a supervisor. I was told I would get a call back in two hours. Since the call never came, I purchased travel insurance from them in the amount of $25.00.

On March 11, 2008, I called again and spoke with Brittany. She advised me that someone at Hahn Air had cancelled my reservation. Actually, they cancelled my original reservation, placed me on some other flights and then cancelled those flights again. I also noticed that my ticket was issued by Hahn Air. Brittany did not know who they are and why they would issue a ticket on a route they do not operate. She said she would contact the airline and call me back in two hours.

As previously, two hours went by without hearing from anyone. I called OneTravel.com yet AGAIN, spoke with a few reps, hung up, called again, and eventually spoke with a supervisor, Campbell. Campbell said they will contact the airline and find out why they cancelled my reservation. Of course, I never heard back.

At this point, I checked the internet to see if I can find out more about this company. As I mentioned earlier, I discovered that they operate under so many names, in so many states that I immediately thought that I became a victim of fraud. After additionally checking the Better Business Bureau, I found out that their record with the BBB is abysmal. They have a multitude of ignored and unresolved consumer complaints from all over the United States.

On March 12, 2008, I spent literally ALL DAY, calling OneTravel.com and CheapoAir.com (it is the same company) demanding a refund of the charges because the fictitious airline they used to issue my worthless paper ticket had cancelled my reservation. I spent HOURS on the phone, demanding to speak with a manager or a supervisor, only to be promised a call back within two hours. As usual, no one ever called me back.

Finally, I decided to keep calling until I get this resolved. I called and spoke with Divia. She said that they are trying to contact Hahn Air and request money back. I asked for the contact information for Hahn Air, but she said she did not have it. I repeatedly asked her to speak with a manager, but she kept putting me on hold. She offered to book ANOTHER ticket for me, which I would have to pay in full, but I refused. Finally she said that two managers (Sanjay and Ramy)are on some conference call, and they would call me back in two hours I kept on calling. At some point, I left a voicemail for Rebecca Jones, ticketing manager.

Ms. Jones called me back around 2 PM EST that same day. She said she will review the notes and call me back in 15 minutes. I NEVER received a callback. That same day, 03/12/2008, I called again and spoke with a representative Eric, who is located in their Las Vegas office. My conversation with Eric started at 3:30 PM EST.

Eric said that they will not refund my money until they get the money back from Hahn Air. He confirmed a few times that in fact, my paper ticket IS NOT VALID and that I do not have a valid, confirmed reservation on the flights I purchased from them. I asked him who Hahn Air was and how are they connected with me and these flights, but he said he did not know. I asked him who was the CEO of their company, he said he did not know. I asked him to provide me with the contact information for Hahn Air, he said they (Onetravel.com) did not have it. Shocked, I asked Eric to tell me how they are contacting Hahn Air if they did not know their contact information, but he said he did not know. I demanded to speak with Rebecca Jones, but Eric said she was already working on this. I kept demanding to speak with her, and finally he said she has left the building. I asked him to speak with someone else, and the answer was that there was no one else there that would tell me anything different.

So, here I was out of $288.50, no valid ticket and no reservation. I pleaded with Eric to help me, and finally he screamed at me, qoute: It is not my fault that you decided to book a flight to some third world, far corner of the planet on some rinky dinky airline. I hope they recorded this call so that you can verify his rudeness. I told Eric that I did not chose to fly with Hahn Air but Air Bosna (aka B&H Airlines) and Croatia Airlines as OneTravel advertised. I also asked if he could tell me what exactly OneTravel's responsibility is here. He said they had no responsibility. I asked why did they falsely advertise the flights. He did not answer and kept ignoring me. I told him I would contact the office of the attorney general to which he responded

At this point, this is the situation: I do not have my money, I do not have a valid ticket and/or reservation from them. I ended up purchasing a ticket for the same flights directly from Croatia Airlines website, which cost me over $360.00. I wish I had done that to begin with.

About 10 days ago, some moronic minion employed by these crooks called me and asked if I would like a refund. Duh!!! I eventually convinced her to send me prepaid FedEx envelope so I can return the ticket, which I did. The ticket was delivered to them on 04/01/08 along with a 4-page letter demanding refund of all charges. Instead of issuing a refund, they charged me additional $18.00!! So, I called again, spoke with brittany again, who hung up on me. Then spoke with "supervisor Phillip" who saod another manager "Ramy" would call me back the next day. She never called. I finally ended up calling again and speaking with her - arguing over the amounts owed to me. She said they will keep the $33.00 service fee for the "service they provided."

As of right now, 04/08/08, NOTHING's been refunded to me. DO NOT do business with this company.

DJ

Jacksonville, Florida

U.S.A.