FareDepot

Review: FareDepot is quite possibly the worst company I have ever dealt with, and I'm a frequent traveler who has used many travel-related services over the years
On their website, I was quoted one price for a ticket (all the way to me inputting my credit card information and getting to the final confirmation page) only to be sent an e-mail with a completely different fare quote that they subsequently refused to honour, even though the error was their own
Their concept (or lack thereof) of client relations/customer service is non-existentWhen I phoned their 'service' line (if you can even call it that and which is also next to impossible to get through to) and, after explaining to the agent the issue at hand and sending screenshots of the website quote via e-mail to their sales team, I was eventually told that it would be sent off to their technical department for review and that I would receive an e-mail follbetween two and three hours later with the result of my case
Needless to say, I never received an e-mail from them updating me on the situationWhen I called back, the agent I spoke with was of next-helpHe kept telling me to "listen! listen!" while he repeated the same garbage story ("it was a technical glitch and it wasn't their 'fault'") over and over again
They offered no apology and absolutely refused to honour the advertised price on their website, even though I had already received confirmation that my booking had been madeI imagine that, had I not called back, they would have just pushed my credit card through at this new (much higher) fare
The [redacted]only[redacted] saving grace was that I was able to cancel my transaction (or so they told meI'm hoping nothing shows up on my next credit card statement) because I had gotten in touch with them before they had time to process my itinerary
They are dishonest, unhelpful, and clearly have no desire to right wrongs with their customers.Desired Settlement: I would like them to honour the quote that was given to me on their website (I have screenshots of several pages as I went through the booking process all the way to the final confirmation)At the very least, they should provide me with a coupon/promotional code as a 'peace offering' for the stress and hassle and as a way to show that they take their customer care seriously
Business
Response:
On behalf of the FareDepot.com team, we wholeheartedly apologize for any inconvenience throughout the travel-booking processFor a short period of time that lasted just over hours, our back-end technology system experienced an error which pulled a different fare in the email confirmation than the one that was booked onlineAs soon as we realized the problem, we made it our top priority to fix it and assist our customers who may have been affected by the system errorWith regards to Ms[redacted], I personally apologize for any rudeness you experienced with one of our travel agentsI have made it a priority that this agent does not behave in such a way and have taken necessary measures to ensure that our agents handle our customers with the utmost respect and to be as helpful as possibleI understand your frustration and thank you for your patience throughout this matter, and therefore as a token of our appreciation, we will kindly grant you a coupon code promotion unique only to you that you may use for any future travel booking with FareDepot.comPlease feel free to contact me personally if you have any other questions or concerns and I will make it my duty to assist you immediately.Thank you & Kind Regards,Managing Supervisor,FareDepot.com
Consumer
Response:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me, with the understanding/agreement that the coupon code offered is for a reasonable amount for an airfare booking and does not come with the stipulation of a minimum spend or a short-term expiration date

Review: The flight confirmation emailed to me did not match the flights I had purchasedWhen I called FareDepot they had to cancel the entire outbound portion and re-book it which they claimed to have doneWhen I went to the carrier's website to check all was correct there was no outbound flight information on my reservation code at all, only the return journeyI called FareDepot who claimed the carrier had cancelled the flight, for reasons they did not know, and that I should contact them, which I didThe carrier stated that they had not in fact cancelled this flight but rather the travel agency, FareDepot, had failed to provide them with the correct coding and therefore they were not able to retain the reservation in their systemI had to call FareDepot again to explain this to them and was told I'd be called within the hourThey did not call backSo I went to the carrier's website and discovered that my outbound flight had been reinstatedHowever, the reservation showing up on the website did not match the reservation on my e-ticket confirmation email - I called the carrier about this and they stated that FareDepot had failed to correctly ticket my reservation, and whilst I still held a seat on my preferred flight, the ticket had not been issued properlyAgain I called FareDepot and was told they'd need hours to work on this and I would be contactedIt has now been over hours and they have not called or emailed with an updateFurthermore, their customer service representatives are condescending and generally unhelpful - rather than trying to genuinely help with this situation, they act like it's an inconvenience to them and want to get me off the phone as quickly as possible.Desired Settlement: FareDepot need to reissue the tickets fully and correctly, and with the desired flight dates and times
Business
Response:
We are in receipt of this complaint by our customer and will make it our priority to resolve this issue as soon as possibleThough, in order to investigate and respond to our customer properly, we need some helpWe kindly ask for you to provide the Booking Number or Record Number on the reservation that was made online by the customerWe do not have accurate information based on the Name and Email fields onlyPlease contact us as soon as possible to help you resolve this matter.Kind Regards,[redacted]FareDepot Team
Consumer
Response:

Review: Hello,

I have previously reserved flights with FareDepot but not payed for them. I heard that my card had declined the full payment of the flights, and a few days later noticed I had been charged $153.48 by FareDepot - which was not agreed upon. Since then personal issues have arisen and I have had to withdraw my ticket. I was charged ANOTHER $50 for the cancellation on top of the $153.48 already. I have not been able to get the $153.48 back and have had no proof that I will get it back.Desired Settlement: I would like the original $153.48 back, and preferably the $50 cancellation fee - that was never mentioned - back too

Business

Response:

Please be informed there was a fare difference of $153.48 that was charged to passenger but later passenger changed his mind and wanted to cancel the reservation. We in response advised passenger there is a cancellation processing fee of $50.00 and was advised by passenger to deduct it from $153.48 which was not possible at that point of time thus, $50.00 was charged and $153.48 was refunded to passenger SEP 17, 2015. By this time passenger should have received. If we can be of further assistant towards this case, please let us know, we will be more then happy to be of any assistance.

Review: Purchased 2 flight tickets via online agent Fare Depot on 2/9/15 for a final total of $1,167.40 ($583.70 per ticket). United Airlines charged a total of $1,176.00 ($588.00 per ticket) on my credit card. United Airlines refuses to refund the amount because the contract was entered with third-party (Fare Depot). No one at Fare Depot answers the phone. Sent a complaint yesterday via website message feature. No response has been received. I have the confirmation e-mail specifying $1,167.40 as the correct amount, and screen shots that also show the confirmation screen when the transaction was originally approved by Fare Depot. I cannot handle the problem through Discover Card because the issuing transaction was made by United Airlines, not Fare Depot. They simply will not allow me to dispute with anyone else but the original online travel agent.Desired Settlement: I am seeking an immediate credit card refund of $8.60 for the overcharge ($1,176.00 - $1,167.40).

Business

Response:

On behalf of our team, we whole-heartedly apologize for the inconvenience with your booking. The extra charge made to your credit card from $1,167.40 ($583.70 per ticket) to $1,176.00 ($588.00 per ticket) occurred as an automatic processed payment on your technical booking engine. This charge was made as the original fare price had changed in the time it took to make the reservation. We apologize that the extra charge was made and will value that as our mistake and take responsibility for the extra amount. We are committed to resolving this matter for your patience we will promptly issue you a check for the charge difference as well as a promotion towards any future booking. Please don't hesitate to contact [redacted] for any questions.Sincerely,faredepot Team

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: I booked a flight through Fare Depot and they sent me an email telling me that the flight was cancelled and that they would give me a full refundI accepted that, but then they said they had to rebook me the same flight because they made a mistake and they would have to charge me again before I even got my refundThat is double charging for one flightI said I would rather them not book me the new flight, and I would just accept a refundThey said there was no choice they HAD to rebook me a flight and I didn't have a choiceI felt backed into a corner and that I was about to be double charged for one flight and that I wouldn't get my money backI feel like I had lost all agency as a consumer by not having the choice to tell them no, I did not want them to book me the same flight again after they had already cancelled it the first timeHow am I to trust that they won't cancel again and do the same thing to me as I keep waiting for my full refund? They ended up booking me another flight even though I told them I would rather not and charging me again before I got my first refundAs of right now, I am still waiting for my refund.Desired Settlement: I want my refund and I also want some other form of compensationFree credit or flight
Business
Response:
We have processed the original flight for refund and have acknowledged a mistake in the original bookingOur team has been in contact with [redacted] and had made it a priority to resolve this issue for her as soon as possibleWe guaranteed [redacted] that no booking would be cancelled and we would accept full liability for any mistake to any future bookingWe are in an ongoing relationship with Ms[redacted] and will notify her of a coupon that she will be able to apply towards any future booking with usWe have appreciated her patience and have let her know thatSincerely,
[redacted]FareDepot Team

Review: On 29.1.2015 I booked online roundtrip flights from Montreal to New York for me and my spouse at Faredepot's web page. Our outbound flight UA 8182 was supposed to depart from Montreal Monday 9.2.2015 at 8.55 am and to be operated by Air Canada and the return flight to depart from New York on Sunday 15.2.2015 at 15.45 pm. The reservation number was [redacted]. I made the payment with my mastercard and was issued tickets with the booking reference [redacted]. However, due to a snowstorm we found out that our Monday 8.55 am flight was cancelled and we had been rebooked by the operating airline to an afternoon flight departing at 15.35, flight no. [redacted] We got to the airport and this flight too was cancelled. At this point Air Canada rebooked us for the 10th of February morning flight 8.55am, no. [redacted], and reserved seats for us. Air Canada gave us a print-out from their reservation system which showed that following the rebooking our reference no. had changed to [redacted]. The ticket numbers were [redacted] and [redacted] 949056 (or [redacted], hard to say from the print-out.)

On Monday evening Faredepot customer service called us and asked if we wanted to have our flights reimbursed because of the delay. We told them several times that no, we would not want to have a reimbursement as we had already been rebooked by the airline for the replacing flight and were going to go to New York. However, on the morning of the 10th as we got to the airport Air Canada couldn't find our reservation, and they suspected that the travel agency had something to do with it and told us to check with the United Airlines. The UA counter personnel told us that according to their system the travel agency Faredopot had requested for reimbursement of the reservation. Following this, we had no more reservation, no more outbound or inbound flights and no checked-in seats on the 8.55 10th of February morning flight. Because the reservation was done through Faredepot, the airline couldn't cancel the reimbursement claim and thus there was nothing to do. As we had to get to New York because I had a work engagement there, we had to buy new tickets for the same flights from Air Canada. The new tickets cost us [redacted] Hence, due to Faredepot's unwarranted and unrequested cancellation, we sustained damages of [redacted]

We tried to contact Faredepot to discuss the refund of the damages and sent them the new etickets which showed both the amount of damages and that we could not have requested the cancellation, as we bought the same tickets again. After this, they informed us (although vaguely) that they would refund the whole sum to my credit card. However, as I asked for confirmation and receipt, they told us that they would not refund anything else than the original tickets. They claimed that the cancellation (of Tuesday 10.2.2015 8.55 am flight) was done by the airline but refused to show the documentation which would have shown this. They did however show us documentation showing the airlines cancelled our flights on the 9th of February, which we already knew and were fine with.

According to both airlines, the cancellation was done by the travel agent Faredepot.Desired Settlement: I wish that Faredepot compensates the caused damages total amount of which are CAD $1420.82. The amount consists of the difference between the tickets we bought through Faredepot (which they have informed to have reimbursed CAD $865.00) and the new tickets we had to by CAD $ 2285.82.

Business

Response:

Due to the double cancellation of re-booked flight segments, the airline carrier corresponded with our team of travel agents and gave the proof of order to cancel the portion of the flight segments. As per the global distribution system record, we see that correspondence with UA was made at the United Airlines Corporate Office in Houston, TX. FareDepot facilitated communication between the airlines and the customer to make sure the customer would be protected. We are not required nor permitted to process a full refund for the tickets that were processed by the airline separate from any transaction made with Faredepot.com. Though any other reimbursement with regards to transactions for payments processed with faredepot have been upheld and reimbursed accordingly.4 We are committed to providing you with additional help if needed. Feel free to contact [redacted] for any questions. Sincerely,faredepot Team

Consumer

Response: