Orbitz — horrifying service, dishonesty, scams
I have been using Oribtz for many years and I used to love their service even when I ran into problem. But for the past 6 months, My husband and I have had numerous problems with them although we have separate accounts and have never dealt with them together on 1 particular case. Their India Call Center is horrible and I was hung up on multiple times by that call center in India (by Joseph and another lady) and by a supervisor named Brandon in the U.S. Call center. The funniest call was the one that I just had 10 minutes ago where I was being conferenced to Alitalia, but instead, Orbitz hung up and I ended up with Alitalia alone, then I was on another hour hold with all kinds of strange noises and finally they hung up. I have spent at least 8 hours in the past 3 days trying to straighten out my credit with them and use it to purchase another ticket.
My experience tells me that whenever you cancel something with Oribtz, they do their best to annoy you and put up road blocks so they can steal your money. I was told clearly by their rep when i cancelled a trip that I can book the flight within 1 year of that day for any travel date. I stressed with them: "are you sure I will be able to book it for a later flight as long as I book by Jan xx, 2007, they assured me :"yes mam etc.." Now I call back, on top of everything else, they suddenly tell me i have to travel by the 10th, and I told them that some screwed up, and their supervisor's response was that even if their reps told me otherwise, there were policies stated online" I told him:" I tried to look for that, and it says it's not available". He said: "well, it should have been there when you booked". Well, I talked to them after I booked and cancelled, their words mean nothing obviously and has no credibility.
My husband was going to use them as a corporate travel agent since his company is always sending people all over the place for consulting work, but after this, we are going with expedia. I haven't had the energy to call back since the last time I was hung up (15 minutes ago) because it's just not worth it and that's probably how they make their money. I'd rather lose 1400 dollars than have to go through that kind of torture again, first with people who didn't speak English or could even comprehend me, then with people who claim not to know how to use their phone and hang up on me, then to supervisor that put me on "hour long" hold, and then finally hanging up on me again. I am sad that my favorite travel site has come to this.
Made travel plans with Orbitz, thier site steered me to the travel insurance company "Access America".
my mother died unexpectedly. Canx the trip, submitted claim. Access America ran me through the ringer- they first would not accept the death certificate, then demanded I get a doctors evaluation. Getting a doctors write-up proving that this was not an underlying condition (which it said so on the doctors report) still was not enough, and they denied the claim. Ban Orbitz and this company, this is a scam and they need to be shut down. Oh, and this hellish process took over three months! SAVE your money folks, AVOID ORBITZ and ACCESS AMERICA.
I was trying to book a vacation for 6 people for about $6500.00. First when I called they said the flight that was listed on-line that we were interested in was no longer available (of course) so we could choose an alternate one (all of which were more expensive) and that we would have to book two separate trips because they can only reserve 2 rooms at a time.
So after booking 4 of us and two rooms we tried to book the other 2 with one room but the transaction would not go through. I said I would call my bank to check on it. When I did I discovered two additional charges (besides the $4400 for the first 4 I had just paid) for $1189 each. I contacted Orbitz about this and they said they were 'soft charges' that occurred when they tried to book the flights that were not available. They said they would contact my bank. After getting disconnected a couple times and trying to get back to the same person I was talking to (impossible I was told), I finally talked to a supervisor. Basically I was told by my bank that they could do nothing and that the charges would have to 'roll off after a few days' and told by Orbitz that was the only thing they could do. One agent told me after all of this that 'that's why you shouldn't use a debit card'. They should have told me that before they accepted my card- like the car rental companies do. So I had to cancel my other reservations because I could not guarantee that we could book the rest of our party. They told me that it would take up to 5 days to get my money refunded. So here I am after spending a day arguing with Orbitz and trying to book a fair size trip with them and having them charge my bank account $6778, with no reservations and no way to book somewhere else because it will take 3-5 days for me to get access to that money again.I don't know about most people but I do not have a spare $7000 to work with. This is one of the most frustrating unpleasant experiences I have had - with anyone! I just hope I can get flights when I finally get my money...
a verified customer
I checked Orbitz for a flight to UK ended up using another company. I now get 3-4 emails every week from them despite going to their website and unsubscribing. They just won't stop.
a verified customer
THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM. I WILL NOT USE THEM AGAIN!
so you dont meet the requirements and your complaining... are you serious?????????????
dude that is why they have rules... get over yourself. your not special and your case doesnt qualify for a complaint it qualifies for whining over 60 bucks causs they arent willing to break their rules for you.
a verified customer
This seems to be a common thing with Orbitz, promising refunds and consistently failing to deliver on that promise. My experience is with Orbitz's Hotel Club site, and I can say that their customer service is rude and incompetent on a good day.
When I discovered that I would not be able to go to San Francisco as originally planned, I called Hotel Club/Orbitz to cancel. On the other end I was promised a full refund in 10 working days. Ten working days have long since passed and I have not gotten the refund.
Every time I have called their Third World call center, I have been connected to someone who can barely speak English and who promises the refund "soon." No one is able to give me a date on the refund, so that tells me they have no intention of issuing the refund.
Orbitz and their affiliated companies are to be avoided at all costs. Never have I dealt with such awful customer service. I mean these people suck to high heaven.
Purchased a one way ticket on Mon, price changed on Tues by $60. cheaper, they will not do anything for you..their policy is to refund the difference ... IF...someone else purchases a ticket for the same day, same flight & also would have to be a oneway ticket... too many "IF's"
..Orbitz blames United, United blames Orbitz & stated Orbitz would have to make a refund, but it has to be within their "IF's" to qualify, what a rip off, customer is just out of luck.
a verified customer
Hi,
My name is Shalon with the Orbitz Customer Relations Team in Chicago. I saw your post, and would like to see if I can assist. Can you please email to me your Orbitz record locator, and I will review and respond back to you. Our email address is [email protected] Please put attention to Shalon on the subject line of your email.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Shalon
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
Formal Complaint over Orbitz not honoring price Assurance Guarantee
Two r/t tickets PDX to NBO (6/12/10 – 6/1910) for $2, 274, 09 purchased 3/19/10– New search on your website on 3/29/10 showed r/t fare including the taxes to be $2, 123. For a total difference of $151.09 X 2 passengers = $302.18 = total difference.
To qualify for Price Assurance, customer’s flight including origin, destination, dates, airline, flight number, booking and other restrictions must match qualifying booking. Maximum refund is $250.
Orbitz places the burden of proof of these exact conditions on the Customer when we do not have access to your books to prove if any customer booked the exact booking or if Orbitz slightly changed the itinerary to avoid having to pay $151.08 per ticket, on our high-priced round-trip to Africia.
It is not just that we monitored and found that Orbitz was quoting a $302.18 lower fare on this exact itinerary but that it must be placed on the exact same date, flight, airline, etc. and that is what we consider “very deceptive and unfair advertising” on Orbitz part.
This is a 100% scam whose purpose is to get potential clients excited about the mere possibility of getting a partial refund at a later date. Then you make them wait for months to even get a refund.
[protected]
https://www.orbitz.com/Secure/SignIn
a verified customer
Hi,
My name is Kristi and I am contacting you from Orbitz Customer Relations. If you could e-mail me your Orbitz record locator to [email protected], I will be glad to review your reservation. Please place the e-mail to my attention, (Kristi) and please include your blog and screen name.
Thanks,
Kristi
(Brand) Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
a verified customer
The hotel was difficult to locate due to the fact that it was still under construction. Half of the facility was incomplete.
The pool was kept locked, there were no lights in the parking area during the evening, and phone service was only local and only after calling the front desk.
The water was shut off intermittently for repairs and only one ice machine was available for an entire bank of occupied rooms.
I voiced my complaint to the manager who stated that, "Repairs were in progress; wait a while, and the ice will come down... and buy a phone card if you want to call out."
a verified customer
THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM! I WILL NOT USE THEM AGAIN AND AM LETTING FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW ABOUT THEIR PRACTICES. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THE SAME.
a verified customer
My wife and I bought tickets threw Orbitz.com from Poland to the States, having one connecting flight from Chicago to our destination. I have had terrible experiences with both CheapTickets.com and Expedia, so I thought I would try a new service. I read all the fine print before purchasing and they still managed to be screwed in the end.
Orbitz.com sold us tickets on two different airlines (Lot Polish Air and United) that DO NOT have a baggage agreement with only a 2 hour layover time between flights. This means that not only do we have to pay to check our luggage twice with two different airlines, that we will be forced to deal with customs, collect our baggage, change terminals with all our luggage in tow, check in for our domestic connecting flight, pass threw security and make our flight all in under 2 hours. Where as this may be possible if everything works perfectly and the ques are light, I wanted to make sure there wasn’t something I could do to get a little more time being that I am a realist and have traveled internationally quite often.
After spending 1.5 hours on the phone with their customer service, I was told by two different people (one a service rep, then one a supervisor) first that we WOULD NOT have to check our bags again only to have them contradict themselves 10 minutes later after they actually checked with the airlines we will be flying with.
In fact, I was put on hold for 8 minutes by the service rep who then ‘called the airline’ only to find out it was closed because ‘it was 3 am in Poland.’ I informed her that I was calling via Skype from Poland and that it was in fact 11:00 am. I asked if she had actually tried to call at all and if so, what was the number? She said that they cannot give out the numbers because they are specifically for services such as Orbitz.com or the like.
Completely confused as to what she was saying, I asked her about possibly moving the flight time of the connecting flight back to give us more time. She informed me that it would $200 per ticket to do this and add 4 hours to our layover time. I explained to her that I was on Orbitz.com and that the ticket price for the exact same flight we were now talking about was only $112 including all taxes and fees. I asked her why would I spend $400 to move tickets when I could just buy two more for $224? She told me that if I did it this way, I would not receive my money back for the original tickets I booked.
Obviously, I asked if I paid the $200 per flight ‘transferring fee’ would we then receive money for the original flights? She said no. I asked why would she even bring it up in the first place if it wasn’t an option at all to which she replied, and I quote, ‘These are the tickets you purchased and agreed to so there is nothing we can do about it.’
I then asked to speak to her manager. I was connected with a woman named Luna who I was forced to explain the entire situation to again. I asked how Orbitz.com could sell ticket combinations for international flights not taking into account all these issues? She told me repeatedly that ‘the computer says its enough time according to the airlines standards.’ When I asked her if this was a standard situation, she agreed that it was not and told me that these times are ‘based on domestic connections.’ I asked her if she knew what she was now saying and if she really thought it made sense and she launched into whatever the monitor she was sitting in front of told her to say, repeating it over and over.
We went around and around, me explaining the situation in as many different ways as I could and her speaking but not actually saying anything until she told me she would do ‘some research and put me on hold.’ After 11 minutes, she came back telling me that there WAS in fact a baggage agreement and that I wouldn’t have to worry about checking the luggage at all. I told her, again, that this contradicted what the previous woman had told me and asked her to make sure.
After being on hold for another 10 minutes, she came back and said that she had spoke to Lot Airlines (who had previously been closed because it was 3 am in Poland according to the first woman) and that there WAS NOT a baggage agreement but that ‘they said it was probably enough time.’ I was so furious at this point that I asked her if she realized she just contradicted herself. She ignored the question completely and went back into her schpiel about how ‘the computer says its enough time.’
It took me asking 4 more times for her to admit that the was wrong about the baggage agreement and then put me on hold yet again only to return to say that she was just told that if we miss our connecting flight, that United would move our tickets to the next available flight free of charge because ‘their standard times were in fact not enough.’
I asked her if I could get something stating this emailed to me and she said they had no way of sending out emails from their computers. I asked her then what would Orbitz.com do for me if I get there and this isn’t actually correct and I am forced to pay for additional tickets as well as checked luggage? I told her that I had in fact been recording this entire conversation and that I just had her making a guarantee that I wouldn’t be charged if I miss the connecting flight. She asked if I could hold again, I said yes, and the call then dropped.
She hung up on me after an hour and a half of contradicting information and mistruths.
It is my plan to call every day, record the conversations and make their lives hell until I get satisfaction. Actually, what I should say is, until I get reasonable service for my nearly $2000 spent with this horrible company.
Please do not use this service at all unless you want to deal with the same sort of situations. I wish that I could possibly suggest a better service but I haven’t had much luck with any similar in the past. Granted, the situations have been different, but the complete lack of care for the customer has been exactly the same.
a verified customer
I called customer service - to ask for assisytance they were rude told me I had no comeback refused to let me speak with a suppervysor. Took no responsability for the product they sell - claimed it was nothing to do with them an dwe are simply out $1800 They also told me they would consider changing only the date of the flight not the airline or destination for a fee that amounts to 460 for the two tickets! Well thats useless as we will now NOT be going to France at all so what good is it? They have my money, why cant they just ge me a credit towards my next ticket? Because they are thieves!
I planned my vacation to Ohio. It would've been my Mother and Father's 60th wedding anniversary;sadly my Father passed in November. Also my sister was there visiting from memphis who I never see.I had a 2 day migraine and had to xl my flight with orbitz yet had purchased travel insurance through Access America. The same PM of the day I was to leave originally, I started feeling better. It has been 4 days now and I have not heard a word from anybody to get my flight rebooked! NOT A WORD! I wanted to rebook it the very same day I canceled. Orbitz customer service didn't helpt at all if you can understand them;advised me to get in touch with Access America! I cannot! They will not respond! Now it is too late for my trip andI am reporting both companies to BBB..unless they agree to give me a refund. The agreement was I was able to rebook before May 2010..hellloooo? I spent $453+...they want something from a Dr according to the site... which I didn't need to go to;I've had migraines my whole life! This has been a disheartened time and I have spend everyday in bed crying. I will NEVER do business with ORBITZ or ACCESS AMERICA AGAIN!!! Here I come BBB!
Now my vacation is almost over and I do not get another until next year!
I demand a refund of all money exchanged with these companies! I demand a credit on my cc immediatley! Although nothing can replace that very special week.
In addition to my other comments:
...I FINALLY just received an email after days and days..2 actually, one was from a "sara" that used capital letters which we ALL know, lol..you do not ever use capital letters when emailing a customer! She was yelling at me.Then she tells me I have to have a Dr fill out a form for the reason I had to cancel my flight..then I'd have to wait 5-7 business days! Well, my vacation is over...I have explained to them 4 times I didn't have to go to the Dr., then she wanted all my receipts, proof, of payment, flight info..etc. Everything was in the email I have sent to them all these times. I'm taking this to the Attorney general's office Now!
I just received another email tday 6/10/11, they said I needed to read all terms! I DID! Otherwise I wouldn't have purchased it! I always get travel insurance, but have never used this insurance or Orbitz. They said if it would make me feel better, I could still file a claim!...I am looking for every complaint website or resource I can find!!!
a verified customer
Hi Compose12,
My name is Lynne. I’m part of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. We’d like to get your Orbitz confirmation number so we can look into this issue. Please email us at [email protected] and include my name in the subject line. I’ll look into this issue for you. Thank you for your patience and for reaching out.
Sincerely,
Lynne
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
a verified customer
I was in the middle of buying an airline ticket one way for 78 bucks and in a matter of minutes price went up to 112.00. So, I figured they are going up, i should buy them now. Well, hours later I looked directly on Spirit airlines and the tickets were $59. What a difference! I could not believe it. I called customer service, the lady at Orbitz said that she couldn't refund me and that she could match it for 87 just like one in the morning flight.
So, I asked her than "would have to change my flight right?"
She answered "no."
And so I said than I want to do that.
She says let me transfer you over to the department that changes flights.
I told her you just told me that i didnt have to.
she replies with oh well there will be a charge if you change it.
Im thinking do you know what you are doing !
a verified customer
I booked a package with Orbitz. The flight schedule changed to be a couple hours earlier which was ok. Orbitz didn't change the time of the car reservation though. I called the car rental agency. They said to call Orbitz. I called Orbitz. They said they couldn't help and transferred me to their "package" department. Before transferring me, I said, , , , don't hang up on me. The guy said, if you're hung up on, I'll call you back. He "transferred" me, and I was disconnected. Note that I was calling from a landline so it isn't cell service that was the issue. It's been 10 minutes. He hasn't called me back. I'm about to call again.Calling again at 3:18 pm after no call back - automated - getting transferred to an agent - 3:19 pm - on hold - i have an agent- too many numbers - I gave her too many 9's the first time - of course, it's my fault - now transferring to the packaging specialist - again - let's see if we get disconnected - 3:22 p.m. - on hold - i have a person - very soft voice and hard to hear - have to do a record locator again - asked for more verifications - now on hold once again - more Beethoven - 3:24 pm - all I'm trying to do is get the car rental time updated which Orbitz should have done themselves when the flight time change occurred. 3:26 pm and still on hold - this booking is for a wedding trip - I've now heard virtually the entire Beethoven piece so I'll have a real knowledge of it for the wedding I guess - 3:30 pm and still on hold -3:35pm - mike is my "customer service" agent - he's working on it. He has put me on hold AGAIN! i think the only song they have on hold is the Beethoven wedding song - 3:39pm - and he's come back on the line to say "it's done" - only 21 minutes...really?
I am filing a small claims suit against orbitz for overcharging and fraud. Would you be willing to send me a signed and dated summary of your experience, so I can use it to prove that it is routine practice for Orbitz to screw people
Let me know if you would be willing to help.
Thank you Very Much,
Tyler
[email protected]
I have booked with Orbitz.com for ALL of my travel over the last 5 years and have NEVER once had an issue. They have always provided the best prices and my ticket has always been waiting for me at the airport when I flew. I've never booked over the phone with them, so not sure how that process works, but booking flights, hotels and cars online on their website is very convenient and I'll never use anyone else for booking my travel.
We called Orbitz to book a cruise to Bermuda and spoke to Sarah. She proceeded to take our information down for booking the trip. She stated that she was working with another agent to get two rooms on the same deck. She gave us a price took our names, then proceeded to keep us on hold for 45 min. only to hang up on us. When we called back we were informed that she gave us incorrect pricing, never saved the info we gave her and the reason we were booking (Orbitz refunds when price goes down) was completely incorrect. Management would not match what was quoted by the "new girl" and there was nothing they could do to fix the situation. We will not try to book with them again, there advertisement are so convincing there "new" employees even believe them.
a verified customer
THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM! I WILL NOT USE THEM AGAIN AND AM LETTING FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW ABOUT THEIR PRACTICES. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THE SAME.
Booked a trip to Punta Cana with an advertised discount of 15%. Did not receive the discount but did get 4 different excuses why. Obviously staff is not qualified, nobody has the same excuse twice. Flights changed, received alert, this was okay. Flights changed a second time with no alert. I happened to find this change by logging onto my trips. My connecting flight in New York left before I arrived there. I managed to get this fixed after several phone calls and emails(which I don't think they actually read as they're responses made no sense). Customer service is awful, they make no attempt to make their clients happy.
I have booked with BJ's vacations for many years with no problem, and will never book with Orbitz again.
a verified customer
Hi Jeff,
My name is Lynne; I’m a member of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. Please email us at [email protected] and provide your Orbitz Member Email info. We'll review your "My Account" details to verify "Email Preference" is set to "opt-out" status. Thanks for reaching out.
Kindly,
Lynne
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
Orbitz will not stop sending me spam emails. The unsubscribe button in there emails does not work. That is not right! They give me no way to unsubscribe!
Mistakenly my wife thought by booking with orbitz are medication would be hassled free and given the best treatment and pricing. The orbits representative, after being told specifically which beach front we wanted to be placed on, but booked a hotel at a different beach, a smaller room and plane tickets which separated our 9-year-old daughter and the family and different seats of a plane with a lay over. Plane tickets cost more than if I would have booked them myself for a nonstop flight. During the vacation we had to switch hotels and were given a half hour to pack everything up and checked out. Orbits been had the nerve to charge me $90.97 for a processing fee. The vacation was filled with distress secondary to orbitz screwups. When calling to complain, they offered to give me a certificate for the processing fee to be used with a later orbitz booking. Does anyone want a certificate because I will never book with this company again.
I lost $2089.68 to Orbitz who denied a transaction was completed so, I booked another ticket with them to same location and dates. I was Billed for Both Tickets. Orbitz Response to BBB Complaint They Agree that a REFUND Is DUE yet unable to complete; They just blame the airline
After 5 hours on the phone listening to countless lies, I filed the following complaints:
Emirates NY Ref : NYC/X/SC/260613/686131 FAX +[protected]
Orbitz LocatorAP110101ODJYSA0D BBB Complaint Case # [protected]
Emirates Ticket# [protected] BBB Complaint 9546287
US Dept of Transportation Case # KC2013050065
Orbits first response to my complaint was 72 days later.
6-months later yep, refund due yet no indication it is ever forthcoming.
The unexpected theft of $2089. has devastated my family.
Chicago mobster business practices.
BEWARE ORBITZ Orbits RIPOFF and JERK YOU ARROUND FOREVER NEVER ORBITZ
orbitz is one screw up that cheat people
why does the govt aloud this company to stay in business .
a verified customer
Another Rip off Orbitz uses is coming up with the lowest price, then raised the quote, eight times! Other companies do not do this, except for Cheap tickets, obviously Cheap tickets is part of Orbitz, so keep away from them too. They came up with exact same bids and raised the price the same amount of times, so beware of these two companies which are actually one in the same.
a verified customer
Hello,
My name is Charlotte, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at [email protected] and enter my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Charlotte
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
Wow, there is obviously a trend here. I've been an Orbitz customer since October 28, 2001...over 10 years (I have my original registration email). In August of last year, I purchased 4 round trip nonstop tickets. The return carrier decided to change our original nonstop flight to one with a layover. Since I was traveling with two small children, I called Orbitz to cancel the flights as this was not what I purchased. I was assured by an Orbitz representative on 9/28/2011, after they spoke with the carriers, that I would be receiving a credit for these flights. I PROMPTLY REBOOKED ACCEPTABLE FLIGHTS THAT SAME DAY. Two weeks later I received an email stating that my credit request was denied. Again, I called Orbitz on 10/11/2011 and again, after their representative spoke with the carriers, I am told that I should be receiving a credit for the original tickets. Just yesterday (2/21/2012), after recognizing that I never received a credit or even another email denying the request, I called Orbitz. Again, the representative said that I should have received a credit, told me that his system notes indicate I was told I would receive a credit, and called the carriers who said they issued a credit but it was denied for some reason. He then told me the previous Orbitz representative "should not have told you that (I would receive a credit)" and would be passing me to his supervisor who kept repeating the phrase "I'm not able to do anything for you". Bottom line, I spent lots of money rebooking flights consistent with my original purchase based on the information Orbitz conveyed only to find out later that that the Orbitz representative "should not have told you that". I run a business with 30 people that I am ultimately responsible for. If one of my staff makes a representation to a customer, I follow through on it even if it doesn't immediately benefit my organization. I will be taking my travel business as well as those who work for me elsewhere.
Following is a letter that I sent to an Orbitz Supervisor after trying to get a refund for them after a reservation for a hotel. The basics are that I booked a room, arrived to check-in, entered the room and found roaches, returned to tell the office that I would not stay and why, was told that it would be refunded and promptly found another hotel. I tried for six days after to get Orbitz to refund, but they said that the hotel had to approve the refund and I received the run-around on that daily as they said that they were contacting the hotel. In the end, they offered me some $50 voucher for a future stay. I had already told them that I would never use their service again.
Hello Sebastian,
I am happy that you provided your Email address, so that I can send this Email to you. As you already know, I am extremely disappointed with Orbitz at this time. The customer service that was provided in my case has been absolutely abhorrent. It's nice that you and your agents apologize continuously for all that I've been through when we are speaking by phone, but customers do not care to hear apologies. They just want you to resolve their problems.
If you check records, you will note that I have used Orbitz several times in the past. That will never happen again. Moreover, I will make it my personal mission to daily find some new forum to post the type of service that you provide when your customers have problems. You fail to see that by satisfying customers, you ensure that they will return for more business in the future. That is not a very intelligent way to run a business.
My personal campaign against Orbitz begins today!!
I purchased a multi-city trip online from Orbitz and found out that I miscalculated the return date of the 2nd portion of a 3-part trip. I changed this online immediately, agreeing to the $150 change fee but never received a confirmation by email. I called them to clear this up over the phone. They said that their system had a record that I had tried to change it, but it must have been my fault that the request did not go all the way through. They would be able to change it with me over the phone, but there would be a fare difference too, aside from the change fee, totaling $450 plus $150 change fee, plus $30 Orbitz service fee. The manager agreed to waive the $30 service fee. I decided to hold off as maybe it would be cheaper to change my obligations at the destination city and take the flight on the wrong date. As luck would have it, I did not want to change my obligations and called back to change, thinking it would be $450 plus fees after all. The agent told me "sorry", the only seat they have at this point would cost me $1800. I decided to get my own one way ticket for that segment and forfeit the second part of my multi-city trip after which I found out from a friend that this may result in the rest of my ticket getting automatically cancelled in the system. I tried to contact the carrier to advise them of my upcoming "no-show" to try to assure that the last part of the trip does not get cancelled and found out that the computer system does not work that way! I was also told to talk to the other airline (Orbitz booked the ticket under a different carrier's locator number), which I did. They told me to talk to Orbitz. Orbitz told me that if I don't show up for one portion, the rest of the trip will be cancelled. If I didn't want it to be cancelled, they would have to initiate a change to the ticket, and the last portion of my trip could be preserved for $1800 even if there are no changes to that portion! I went online to the Orbitz website and found that I could buy a new ticket for $320 including taxes. I asked them why didn't they just give me the $320 flight, instead of offering to keep my last leg for $1800???? They said that I'd have to talk to United. (the airline that Orbitz put my Alaska Airlines flight under). After being on hold for half an hour with United whom I already spoke to for an hour last night, who had redirected me to Orbitz, I asked the Orbitz agent if I could cancel the remainder of my trip and book the $320 ticket, using whatever credit I get from the foerfitting of the portion of my trip, minus a change fee and service fee. At this point I decided that I did not have the patience to do any more figuring out and did not want to explode. I am taking a break from this mess and will go down to the airport later to see if a human can help me in person. Shame on Orbitz for their irrational suggestions and unhelpful policies and money-grubbing attitude!!! I will NEVER USE THIS SERVICE AGAIN AND HOPE NO ONE ELSE DOES EITHER.
Terrorist.
I recently purchased a trip to Europe. I used the same name I always use when traveling domestic. Nowhere during the booking process I was asked to enter my name as it appears in the Passport. Turns out that the name in the passport is slightly different (it have an additional last name that we latinoamericans use). I've spent countless hours trying to make the correction but the only solution Orbitz offers me is to forfeit this ticket (close to $900) and buy another one. Fat chance. Since their website does not warn you about this situation at booking time, I think they are at fault and need to own their lack of thoroughness.
I have to add, that this is the second time I have problems with Orbitz, but it will be the last. On a trip to Spain last year, I had to do an emergency change of plans. They did not help me at all when I called from Madrid and left me on my own over there. Stupid of me using them again this time.
a verified customer
I was caught up in the airport closures earlier this year due to the volcanic ash from the Ieland volcano. I was supposed to glide from Vienna, Austria to Brisbane, Australia but my flights were cancelled and I had to rebook on flights 5 days later when the airports reopened. I had by this time made my way to Frankfurt and so only used the Frankfurt to Singapore part of my ticket as I had to buy another ticket from Singapore to Brisbane as this flight was full. Anyway I tried to get a refund for my unused part of my ticket and have now been waiting 3 months for Orbitz to do anything about it. Everytime I ring they give me another excuse about how the airline has not processed my refund and that it will be another 60 days or two weeks or whatever time frame they like. I am sick of ringing them and want to take further action, but there does not seem to be anything I can do to get my CASH back. I would never use Orbitz for a second time and would advise all of my friends and family never to use them either.
idiot! lol
a verified customer
Hello,
This is Charlotte with Orbitz Customer Relations, and I regret to hear of your disappointing experience. If you could please email me directly with your Orbitz record locator, I will be happy to review this situation and respond. My email address is [email protected], and please place the email to my attention and include your blog and screen name.
As soon as the requested information has been received, I will be happy to review this situation further.
Sincerely,
Charlotte
Orbitz Customer Relations
a verified customer
For an upcomig trip to Los Angeles, I found a decent offer on Orbitz: A return flight in United First Class sold as a Continental code share for $2800.-. I booked the flight, checked the seatmap, selected 1A and was happy. A few days later, I double checked departure times and found, to my great surprise, the reservation downgraded to business class. Now, $2800.- for business class is no deal at all. These seats are available for $1100 ($500 plus the equivalent of $600 in miles). I called Orbitz and asked for what seemed to me a no brainer - that the bait and switch be rectified: Either offer me the product you sold me or refund the transaction. It took three and half hours of meandering discussions until I got a supervisor to offer a refund, "pending approval by management". It's now three weeks later and I am still waiting for the "pending approval". My suggestion: Always book directly though the airline's website. At least you know what you are getting. And avoid Orbitz like the plague. They don't take responsibility for anything, not even their own blatantly misleading advertising.
a verified customer
Orbitz ads, both on the internet and on TV are misleading. They say price guarentee if the price goes lower you will recieve a check back for the difference. Well no they are the ones who determine if the price is lower, if some one buys the exact same ticket as your and they will monitor it and let you know if the price is lower. So there is no way for the consumer to see if another person purchases a ticket at a lower price and you get the difference back as they promise. Also the ads mis-lead you to believe if the price goes down you will automatically get the difference refunded to you. There is no reason to buy early, as I did believing that I would get the lower rate if it came out. Also no reason to buy from Orbitz as they are not going to give you the difference. I also recieve an email teklling me they guarentee the lowest rate or you will get the difference on your next ticket, yet it would not open up any where to try and get the difference applied to my next flight. I will never use Orbitz again. And they had better not charge my credit card a fee after this flight.