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Tripsta - travel agent, Headache!!

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  • 14-06-2013 6:56pm
    #1
    Mrs McSweeney
    Registered Users Posts: 95 ✭✭


    Just a word of warning when booking flights...

    I booked flights via Skyscanner (flights are with Aer Lingus & Air Canada).
    I was directed to a web agent called Tripsta (They have an Irish phone number, Irish website etc but in fact are a Greek company in Athens).

    I made my booking (totaling nearly €3500 :eek:).

    Then this morning I get an email asking me to print off a credit card authorisation form, complete it & fax it, along with copies of both sides of my credit card & my passport.
    I thought the email was a scam so I rang Tripsta, and they confirmed it.
    I had until 4pm today to do it.
    I called my credit card company to get their opinion on it, and they advised me under no circumstances to send any of the stuff, and that if I did & it all went pear shaped I would have no come-back. Or if my booking was cancelled for any reason it would take at least 10 working days for me to be reimbursed.

    I was stuck between a rock & a hard place so I faxed it, after blacking out all the numbers on both sides of the credit card, and some of the details on my passport.

    I wasted half the day trying to scan stuff to email, then decided not to email (after bank advised) & then finding a place to send a fax.

    This has never happened on any bookings I've made before on Skyscanner, & I've never used this particular agent before (Tripsta).

    Thankfully they confirmed my booking & sent me my e-ticket, but frankly I don't want to EVER have to go through that again.


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    #2
    COYVB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,660 ✭✭✭COYVB


    Look up the prices on SkyScanner, then go to the direct website of the operating airline and book there. All SkyScanner does is get the best price from the airline's website - it doesn't have a cheaper price than you'll find on aerlingus.ie, for example. Use SS as a reference and you'll be grand

    That said, I've booked directly through it using eBookers and never had any issues


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    #3
    Mrs McSweeney
    Registered Users Posts: 95 ✭✭Mrs McSweeney


    I tried all that, the operating airline in my case is Aer Lingus, BUT they don't do the second leg of my journey at all (into Saskatoon) so I couldn't book directly with them. Believe me, after today's fiasco I would love to just book with them!

    By the way, when I searched my specific flights on other airlines websites (airlines, not agents) the prices were astronomical (like 3k+ EACH person, one way) compared with Skyscanner, so they DO get better prices (for whatever reason).

    Skyscanner gets prices from other agents & direct airlines, but most of the cheaper options are with other agents. This is what happened to me today. All the flights I booked with Skyscanner before were fine, so this was a new scenario (different agent) for me to deal with.

    Anyway, it was just a warning of what can happen with this specific agent. Maybe loads of others are similarly awkward, though my credit card company thought that this specific situation (see my OP) was very unusual indeed.


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