Sharon
Columbia,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 09, 2006
Hi, I am the original poster. I would like to thank Jessica for the very informative response. I wish the people at CheapTickets has been as helpful, and it was good to know that somebody from the travel industry cared enough to write with info. Because of Jessica's reply, I was able to fix a big portion of the problem with the tickets--the "open jaw" problem. As of yesterday, I was going to be stuck either paying $500-$750 to have the itinerary changed, or buying three one-way tickets from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre ($600) just so we could catch our already-scheduled leg from Porto Alegre to Sao Paulo! Jessica said I should contact the airline directly. However, I had already contacted American Airlines, who refused to make the change. But after Jessica wrote, I decided to call TAM Airlines this morning. TAM was actually the one we would be traveling on for that leg. They answered the phone immediately (vs. 2.5 HOURS on hold for CheapTickets.com), and a very nice agent cancelled that leg right away with management approval. She was able to confirm that all three tickets now had our ideal itinerary. Thanks to TAM AIRLINES!!! They've just made my "highly recommended" list. :-) Now I need to find a website called "GreatCustomerServiceReport" so I can list them. :-) In addition, "John Smith" was able to find his tickets from other post 9/11 flights, and they all say "John Smith." He has never had any issue traveling with these even though his passport says "Rupert John Smith." So it seems it will not be necessary to buy an entirely new ticket for him. Now our only beef with Cheaptickets is the unexplicable (even by their agents) $200-$300 they charged over and above the published fares, taxes, fees, S/H charges for tickets, etc. So we are contesting that with the credit card co. and BBB, and will hopefully have a good outcome there, too. By the way, thanks to the EDitor of RipoffReport.com for having this terrific resource! Sharon
Jessica
LaVergne,#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 09, 2006
First of all yes, I do work in the travel industry, but not with anyone listed in this report. I think your anger is directed at the wrong individuals here. Let me explain..... Most airline tickets are "voidable" within 24 hours of their purchase. This is what the customer service rep offered to do when you contacted him/her. However, the individual credit card company/bank has it's own rules about credits. That's why all agencies quote 1-2 billing cycles for you to see the credit on your statement. It's not that Cheaptickets was going to keep your money an extra 60 day, but your credit card company/bank might. The customer service rep was correct in advising that if you didn't take the first leg of your return trip the AIRLINE would cancel the remaining portion of the ticket. Cheaptickets has absolutely no control over this. You are correct that Cheaptickets would not be able to sell you a flight with different arriving/departing cities. Again, this is an airline restriction, not a lack of support by Cheaptickets. Finally, neither Cheaptickets nor the airline would have been able to change your friend's name on that ticket. After 9/11, the FAA has passed several laws prohibiting name changes. All airline tickets are sold as "non-transferrable". My suggestion: Contact the airline directly about these issues. Cheaptickets is very limited with what they can and cannot do. They have to follow the rules set by the airline. The airline, however, CAN bend their own rules on occasion. For instance, ask the airlines if your friend would be able to travel on that ticket if he's able to obtain a replacement passport with his middle-name included. I can't say that he will, but it's worth a phone call. I hope everything works out for you! Let us know what happens!