I believe I have a significant problem with the way in which Cheapoair handled my reservations with WestJet. I include herewith correspondence pertaining to this matter. In addition I have difficulty in understanding why, after dealing with WestJet only on my reservation, I received an e-mail from Cheapoair providing my Booking Receipt and Confirmation. This doesn’t seem right!
In addition to the e-mail to Cheapoair of today’s date I include the following from Cheapoair:
From: cheapoair@cheapoair.com
Date: 11/18/2008 12:31:39 PM
To: maurice_t@shaw.ca
Subject: Your booking 1616269 on Cheapoair.com has been canceled.
Dear Maurice Thomas,
Thank you for choosing Cheapoair.com for your travel reservations.
Your reservation with booking number 1616269 made on 11/18/2008 has been cancelled on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.
Please note that the travel insurance that you may have purchased on your original reservation can not be transferred to any new reservation and is non-refundable. Also note that the service fees that you incurred on your original reservation are non-refundable.
Since you are a valued client, any tickets that were issued against the above mentioned reservation will be canceled and a refund will be credited back to your credit card account. Please allow up to four weeks for the credit to appear on your statement.
For further information or assistance with your booking, please contact our customer service at 866-636-9088. If you are calling from outside the US or Canada, please call 212 478-0335 or email us at feedback@cheapoair.com
We look forward to your continued patronage with cheapoair.com
Sincerely,
Customer Service
www.cheapoair.com
The following was sent to Cheapoair today by e-mail:
I am still awaiting a response to my e-mail below. PLEASE RESPOND.
This will be copied to WestJet and the Better Business Bureau
-------Original Message-------
From: maurice thomas
Date: 11/19/2008 1:58:22 PM
To: feedback@cheapoair.Com
Subject: Trip Purchases
I am massively ticked off at CHEAPOAIR. I made two separate reservations for me and my wife departing Edmonton on different dates for Barbados but returning on the same day. First, I receive the following e-mail:
Dear Maurice Thomas,
Thank you for choosing Cheapoair.Com.
This is in reference to booking # 1616321
We have received a message from the airline that they are unable to confirm your flights at the price quoted when you made your reservations on-line.
Airfares and inventory change throughout the day based on demand. Airlines reserve the right to modify them at any time. We monitor these changes closely and make every effort to keep our fare displays as current as possible. Sometimes the fare difference is the result of a technical issue with a specific airline.
We have searched our data base of over 100 million flight options including 18 million of our own negotiated, exclusive and wholesale airfares on more than 350 carriers and have found suitable alternative flights.
In order to confirm the new itinerary, we are asking that you contact us at 1-866-636-9088 or email us at tkt@cheapoair.Com.
Because these fares are only available for a limited time, we ask that you call us immediately upon receipt of this email. Please note that fares are not guaranteed until tickets are issued and charged to your credit card.
Thank you,
Cheapoair
I responded immediately and was conned into accepting a flight at a much higher cost. I did not attempt to determine if cheaper flights were available at the time, but I am sure that I could have gotten better fares had I been suspicious of the ineptness of the agent.
However very shortly after receiving and acting on the above e-mail I received the following e-mail:
Dear Maurice,
Thank you for choosing Cheapoair.Com.
This is in reference to booking #1616269
Due to the multiple carriers that make up the itinerary you've chosen, we are experiencing technical difficulties and your original booking cannot be confirmed.
We have searched our data base of over 100 million flight options including 18 million of our own negotiated, exclusive and wholesale airfares on more than 350 carriers and have found suitable alternative flights.
WS 426 Y 29DEC 1 YEGYYZ KK1 0100 0637 29DEC E WS.X3Q3J0
3 WS 712 Y 29DEC 1 YYZBGI KK1 0940 1554 29DEC E WS.X3Q3J0
4 WS 713 Y 31JAN 6 BGIYYZ KK1 1700 2159 31JAN E WS.X3Q3J0
5 WS 575 Y 01FEB 7 YYZYEG KK1 0715 0927 01FEB E WS.X3Q3J0
New fare 1985.71...please call us so that we may look for lower fares
Please call us using our 24/7 toll free number 866-636-9088 and one of our travel specialists will be happy to assist you with no additional service fees. You may also email us at tkt@cheapoair.Com.
Because these fares are only available for a limited time, we ask that you call us immediately upon receipt of this email.
Thank you,
Cheapoair
Again, I immediately contacted Cheapoair by phone. My original quoted price was US$862.58. I was flabbergasted when I read above that the new fare was in the order of US$1985.71!!! This was more than twice the original quote!! I instructed the agent to look for a different flight and the best price she could find was over US$1100 as I recall. I would not accept that fare. The agent said she would cancel the reservation. I immediately went to the WestJet website and made a reservation for the same dates, which was confirmed immediately, at a cost of $987.71 CAD. This is the equivalent of US$807.15, which is a saving over Cheapoair's best fare of US$358. I believe I would have gotten an even better deal from WestJet had I gone to them initially rather than waste my time being screwed by Cheapoair.
Currency comparisons: US$ $CAD
862.58 1055.53
1100.00 1346.07
1985.71 2429.91
807.15 987.71 A reduction of $358 CDN in my cost (1346-988).
I must conclude the agent was NOT doing her job by ensuring she had the lowest fare to quote me. There is something basically wrong with the system that demands forfeiting certain costs (fees and insurance premium totaling US$179.53 in this case) when, through no fault of mine, the flight cannot be confirmed and I am given two choices, pay the much higher fare, which was nowhere near the lowest fare available, or cancel and get dinged for fees and insurance premium. It is definitely not fair. Where is the incentive for the agent to ensure she has ferreted out the lowest fare available? I take it that Cheapoair gets the fees regardless of whether I accept the fare she suggests or cancel an unconfirmed flight. Who gets the insurance premium? As far as I can see nothing has been done by the agent or the insurer to warrant confiscating the $179.53. Had the flight been confirmed and I decided to cancel, for any reason, then and only then would I concede that forfeiture of the fees, insurance premium and fares would be acceptable. This was my understanding as I interpreted what I read. Fees should be assessed only when the client cancels a confirmed booking.
I would appreciate receiving a response from you on the foregoing. The most important point I want an answer to is the fact that the agent did not provide me with the lowest fare available at the time.
Yours truly
Maurice Thomas |
Date
328 days ago by 
