Smartfares

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
At present, LBF Travel is working with me to resolve this issue.  My credit card was declined several times; however, I was informed that I needed to pay for the reaervation within 24 hours or they could not guarantee the fare.  I made a large payment to my card in order to be able to use it. LBF Travel contacted me or vice versa the following day and we completed the transaction.  The card went through.  I reject the notion of the card being the reason for the canceled reservation.  American Airlines provided me a printout that indicates a window of time until May 6 by which ticket nimbers are to be issues.  Further, they again requested ticket numbers be issued by 23:59 hours on May 10, 2016. The printout indicates cancelatin due to travel agency not issuing ticket numbers. I received email confirmation from LBF despite ticket numbers not being issued.  LBF is engaged at this time in an investigation regarding this incident.  I appreciate their effort and hope they will make this right.  
Regards,
[redacted]

7th of May I have booked ticket from HoChiMinh to Bali on 12 May at lowcostairlines.com And received confirmation email with my booking reference number. I checked my reservation status at checkmytrip,com and garuda airlines - everything is okay, booking confirmed. All the next days I didn't recive any emails or phone calls from lowcostairlines.com , Smartfares or Garuda airlines. On 11 of May I tried to web check-in at garuda-indonesia.com but my reservation was not found by their system. Ofcourse I started to call the support at 877-245-8092 and +1 858-256-7209 that was listed at their website - both not working, hang-up and short rings. At header of website they proudly name it "CALL CENTER". Really - no voicemail, no autoresponder, or any info about operating hours of "CALL CENTER". Okay, I have sent them email, no answer.. 2hours.. no answer. And all of this happening 23 hours before the flight! Wow, chat support is online on site, I sent a message describing situation including reservation number, personal details and dates to person with nickname "[redacted]" and avatar of Eminem. In response he asked me resrvation number, I told already sent, then he asking for my name, again and again asking me for info, that I has already sent him in a first message. He told me that my booking was cancelled, on my question why they didn't notify me about it thru email or phone call - he answering about possible reasons of cancellation. Im not interested why ticket was cancelled, I want to know why they didn't contacted me - I told him. Getting answer - that I can book tickets directly at Garuda website. Perfect advice from professional support! Airlines stop to sell tickets in 24 hours before the flight, and Garuda is not exception! And guess what will be happend if I preferred to pass check-in at airport, not online? Ok, I just want to know, is this a normal situation, what they think about it? Getting over 5 answers about things, that I didn't asked at all. Finally he started to lie! Telling, that maybe they have sent email, but it is in spam folder or maybe I deleted or blacklisted it. Ofcourse when I named him a lier and asked to show or send me email server headers as a proof - he didn't found any answer and asked me to end a chat. Asked him for contacts of supervisor or manager, maybe he can give answer for 2 simple questions - Why, and is it fine practice for this company. Didn't get any contacts, just another portion of "you can book flight at garuda website and how can I help you". Asked for registered business name, address and phone. Getting very strange address, and company at LBF Travel India - okay, now everything is clear. No registered landline phone - only numbers of "CALL CENTER" that is not working. Ofcourse saved chat log with Eminem from support.
Jsut a classic story describing what will you get, if work with such companies "Namaste travel corporation" with Call Centers, highly trained and experienced customer service and offices around the world.

I have received my money back, but they did not call me to follow up.Thank you for your help.

Revdex.com,
 
I have refunded this customer $100.00. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please see the attached receipt for the refund. Funds may take up to 10 business days to return to the customer's account depending on the policies and procedures of their card issuing...

bank.
 
Regards,
 
[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858)
408-3815EMAIL: [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[The company HAS NOT offered me a refund even though they have now stolen an extravAUD$300 from my bank account! AUD $300 ABOVE the grand total they provided me with to secure my business in the first place.  If required I am more than happy to show you my bank statements detailing these unauthorised transaction.  Dear Revdex.com please can you advise me you get involved?
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com,
This matter was escalated to a senior travel agent here in our San Diego office,[redacted]. Upon further research, we found that this customer booked flights in May for July. On her return flight, she thought that the flight left at noon, but it left at midnight so she had missed...

her flight. She booked the reservation herself online and this mistake was not one made by LBF Travel and we are not responsible for her missing her flight.
Regards,
[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858)
408-3815EMAIL: [redacted]

[redacted],Can you please provide me with confirmation or reservation codes for these bookings? I need to circle with the hotel department before I can put in for your refunds.Regards,[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858)
408-3815
EMAIL: [redacted]

A lady from Travel Agency spoke to me by phone about my airline tickets , she want  to send me another check instead the check which I dont recieve it , I refused her offer , I told her  I already get my wife tickets refund by [redacted] Express Help , and now I have my 2 sons tickets , by the US law kids under 5 years old cant travel alone , and one of my kids ( 4 months old) have a Cancer and hes under chemotherapy now , his treatment needs at least 3 years . so by the US law also, he cant travel and he can get his money full back , After  I refused her offer she said shes realy want to help me and  she want me to talk with [redacted] Express Cards and Cancel my Disputes .  Italked to [redacted] Express , they advice me to tell the Travel Agency , if they are really want to help me  give me my money back first then I will cancel . what if I cancel it then travel agency said sorry we cant give u ur money back ?I have a Medical Report from Children Hospital show my baby Situation , Hes under Intensive care , using Chemotherapy . everyday a nurse from the hospital come to my apartment to check my son health , give him many kind of treatment , week after week I need to take my sone to hospital and stay there for few days  sometimes weeks . Te Social Worker at the Hospital  told me by the law my baby cant travel , and if Travel agency refused to give me my money back I can go to the Suprem Fedral Court . At the same time im writing this massage I look at my [redacted] Express , they return me back as a refund   the $124.55 ( Travel Agencey Fees Service) and My baby ticket ( $ 184.43) . So my new case now is my oldest son ticket  ( $973.33) . Now I had My wife tickets , travel agency service fees and my sick baby ticket .

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
My credit card statement says I was charged $341.00 for the flight I took on June 4th (posted June 7th) on Jet Blue. Then I have an Agent Fee of $599.00 charged on June 4th by this company I know nothing of. Again, I never contacted this "agency" and would like a refund of the Full Agent Fee. They trolled the Jet Blue website, and I mistakenly thought I was dealing directly with Jet Blue, as I always do.  Please let me know when my credit card will be credited for the full fee. Thank you for your assistance in and resolution of this despicable matter.
Regards,
[redacted]

The agents are friendly but not knowledgeable. I was advised by the agent that with the ticket I purchased there would be a $15 charge for luggage, but I was charged $70.00 per bag by the airline. I spent more on luggage than on the ticket. When I called the agency to complain, I was told that I would receive a call back, but repeated attempts to contact them were ignored. They only want your business and do not have any after service care.
Spend a little more and go with a more reliable company.

Revdex.com, It does not appear this customer’s reservation was ever ticketed or confirmed. I cannot find any charges associated with this customer. If the customer still believes he is charged, please have him send me a copy of his bank statement to confirm. Regards, [redacted] Senior Executive...

Administrator DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858) 408-3815 EMAIL: [redacted]@lbftravel.com

I have researched the issue.  In this case as it was an agent error we will be refunding the 443.54.
This should not have been charged.

Revdex.com,Our agents quote a total price to all customers and they clearly state that the total includes taxes and fees and is in US dollars. This is not a bait and switch. The customer agreed to the total cost and this has not been disputed.Regards,[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858)
408-3815
EMAIL: [redacted]











10/6/2015

Revdex.com,$1000.00 was refunded to this customer's card on 5/13/15. Please let me know if there are any problems.Regards,
Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
color:gray;mso-no-proof:yes">[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: [redacted]
EMAIL: [redacted]

I booked a ticket to Sao Paulo with Smartfares. I thought it was a positive experience since the ticket was less expensive than other sites such as expedia, etc. That is until my client received the statement from American Express. Turns out that Smartfares charged the card approximately $2,907. The price that was quoted to me in an email confirmation from Smartfares after my reservation was finalized was $2,889.97.
I went online to the United Airlines website to get a copy of my itinerary/receipt. The fare listed on the itinerary was $2,473. When I called to ask Smartfares why the fare they quoted me and the fare on the United website were different, they were not able to provide an adequate explanation. They did however say that they would credit the card for the difference of the $2907 and the 2889.97. We have not yet seen the credit to the card. There is also no corporate office that you can call or an accounting department.

They sold me 2 round trip tickets from Malaga, Spain to Miami Florida for 2 minors and the tickets were booked incorrectly. The airline told me that the problem has to be fix by the agency. Since they knew the problem, they sold me 2 other tickets with another airline and without letting me know they cancelled the last reservation. They do not want to send me the cancellation confirmation and they collect 4 round trip tickets from me.
They are trying to force me to use the first reservation that is incorrect and the Air France will not honor the tickets. I have the Air France communication that I sent to them..

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]
Yes, the
company refunded my money and hopefully it will not take it back like it did
the first time. You did more than my bank was able to do for me and restored my
faith in our great system for which I’m very grateful. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
[redacted]

The short story is: NEVER use smartfares.com, LBF Travel, or TravelerHelpDesk. (They are all the same company)
I booked 2 overseas tickets through smartfares.com and realized a week before traveling that both of the tickets were under my name, instead of one ticket under my name and one ticket under my dad's name.
I called the smartfares customer service number many times to ask if they could correct this issue, but after 3 days and multiple hours per day of being on the phone (or rather on hold) with at least 10 different customer service representatives, what I got was:
1) Wrong and often conflicting information:
- Some agents told me to contact the airline, others told me there was no use contacting the airline because the airline would just tell you to contact the site you booked the tickets with (the latter is true).
- Some agents said that it was likely one ticket could be refunded at no charge because the booking was a dupe. One agent told me the cancellation fee would be $250. The refund fee was actually $300.
2) Customer blaming:
- They pretty much just kept saying it was my fault because I put my name twice. I'm fairly certain I didn't because I was on the phone with my dad at the time asking for his information to enter into the form, but in any case, their job is to help, not to blame the customer.
3) Flat out lying. This is directed at 3 agents in particular: [redacted] (a supposed supervisor), [redacted], and [redacted]
- First of all, they NEVER call you back. Both [redacted] and [redacted] said multiple times that they would call me back and never did. [redacted] said he would call back in 5 minutes but did ended up calling back 4 hours later. In fact, I think [redacted] was just ignoring my calls because I had asked multiple agents to connect me with him and they said they had emailed him or otherwise asked him to call me back and he never did.
- [redacted], and [redacted] all said that a refund request had been submitted to the airline and that they had yet to hear back. After many calls where they kept saying they were working on it and they would call me back, I called the airline directly and the airline informed me that there were no refund requests received for my reservation.
- Their excuse was always that "The airline office is only open from 8am - 5pm" when I called at night, but when I called during the day, they would tell me they would call me back at night.
- I asked [redacted] directly to call the airline during the day while I waited on hold but first she said the airline wasn't open and when I told her that they were the ones who said the airline was open from 8am - 5pm, she just insisted I should "trust" them if I wanted their help.
I finally called smartfares back again after talking to the airline and without any prompting from me, the customer service rep I reached told me the correct refund fee (I had asked the airline earlier), called the airline immediately, and had one of my tickets refunded, with no hassle whatsoever.
This leads me to believe that [redacted], and [redacted] had purposefully ignored my case and had been flat-out lying about what they said they were doing and and what they said they could or could not do.
I must have either gotten really unlucky to end up with [redacted], and [redacted] on my case or gotten really lucky with the last customer service rep I reached, but either way, I am never taking my chances with smartfares again and I would not advise anyone else to either.

Revdex.com,
I'm showing that there were two charges of $200.00 and that the refunds were submitted on 6/8/15.
Please have the customer confirm that he received the monies. If there is still a dispute about a 3rd charge, I will need to request to see the credit card...

statement.
Regards,
[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: [redacted]EMAIL: [redacted]

Revdex.com,We have approved refunds for this customer. Please have him confirm his current address in case we need to send a paper check.I need the address to be sent to my email address: [redacted]The refund will be processed on Monday. If we are unable to credit the card that the customer used, we will issue a paper check to the address that he provides us.Regards,
[redacted]
Senior Executive Administrator
DIRECT: (858) 429-7599 x [redacted] – FAX: (858)
408-3815
EMAIL: [redacted]