Vayama
reviews and complaints

We used Vayama for our trip to Mexico. Total incompetence and negligence and, if that was not enough, very rude.
They messed up my husband's name. They used my first name twice!
We wrote asking Vayama to correct my husband's name and got a standard answer going nowhere. So we wrote back and got exactly the same answer so, this time, I was not as nice.
We got an answer - Vayama does not make manual reservations so does not make errors... Basically, it was our fault - but if we sent our passports, they would get the tickets corrected.
We sent copies of our passports but received an answer that customer service does not take care of these changes. We had to write to a travix.com and, again send copies of the passports.
Did it work? No. They said the changes could not be made because the tickets were on Aero Mexico and the flights were operated by Delta! No excuse, nothing - and they did add that the tickets were not refundable. Basically, they did not care!
I wrote again asking them who I should contact to get the issue solved. Their answer? It was all my fault - I had given them the wrong name and had waited more than 24 hours to let them know of the issue!
The series of messages took over a week and we were within 5 days of our flight. So I called Delta, stayed on the phone for a very long time but Delta did get it straighten out. It may have helped that I am gold with them. They even apologize for Vayama's attitude!
I will never again use Vayama and highly recommend no one does. Such poor customer service!

Vayama's reference KUSW-2757037

I was booked on direct (with 1.5 hour transfer) Ethiopian Airlines from NBO to ACC via ADD on the 19th Dec. The flight was delayed due to a technicality. 6 hours later, Vayama without any prodding rebooked me to a flight for the 20th that spent a full night 12.5 hours in Addis without accommodation and arrived on the 21 Dec against the 20th morning arrival. The message accompanying Vayama's rebooked flight said that the change was due to the airline. And I couldn't make any changes except to go back to the airport to change. This turned out to be deceptive.

At the airport on the 20th the flight service personnel said no travel agency can tell a passenger that you cannot change a flight if you want to as Vayama had indicate by email in its rebooked flight. ET said I was obliged to travel or pay substantially more for a rebooked ticket. Vayama of course continues to maintain its false excuse and unreliable explanation. They have asked me to go to the airline for compensation.

Vayama was unreliable, dishonest and not transparent in its dealings with me on this particular issue.

I shall never use their ever again.

If you need to book tickets, I would recommend you to find another place, because this one is the most terrible one.
Here's my situation. My airline changed the time of the departure and said I had to ask Vayama to reissue my tickets with the right timing.
I spent one day trying to get in touch with them. When I finally did, I was said that there will be additional fees for changing the dates. But in fact, they tried to convince me to buy other tickets from another airline.
Well, long story short. I had to pay 300 dollars for a simple date change. If it's not a robbery act, then what is it?
I hope this company will lose all of their customers sooner or later.

It's the worst travel agency in the whole world. It is way beyond infuriating. I really have no idea why they haven't closed their shady business yet. It surely must be done with them forever.
They don't care about customers and do everything to get as much money as possible.
I called them from another country and urgently needed their help. I may say it was something like an emergency call to get their qualified help and to resolve the issue. I was waiting for 30 minutes and spent all of my money because you know international calls are very expensive. But even after they picked it up there was no use.
Thank you for stealing my money and being absolutely not helpful.
I wish you to shut down.

Hi there,

I booked my wife ticket online throw Vayma from New Delhi To Wellington. She got an attached file ETicket. there was only one stay and that was only in Singapore but when my wife enter the airport the authority asked about the transit visa. when I booked there was only one stop and that was in Singapore. So, She missed the flight because she didnt have the transit visa for Australia. there is also nothing Mention in Eticket from the travel Company (vayma) the flight will go australia. You can also see in the attached file. My wife is crying from whole day. when I tried to talk with Vayma they saying they will give my refund after 350 US deduction and it will take nearly 45-60 Days.

She lost her important time and money. we are unable to book new flight.

Please Help us.
Thanks]
Bupinder Singh
[protected]

Buyer Beware: WY384R
Booked airfare to Australia through Vayama.com. Needed to change airfare home to new date. Understood there would be a charge, as airlines charge anywhere from $200 to $300. Vayama passed along Air Canada charge of $200 and then $100 for their part, I was Ok with this until they said the increased cost of ticket (at SAME time and SAME destination) would be $700! Yes, $700. Called AirCanada and they were only charging the $200, and could not assist sine reservation was made through third party. Was able to book one way flight less than the cost Vayama wanted to change me simply to change date of travel!

Have traveled for 30 years and NEVER witnessed or been a part of such a complete travel SCAM. AT ALL COSTS DO NOT BOOK THROUGH VAYAMA.com.

I am posting this here to know if I can get any refund of my tickets that I could not use.
Though Vayama gave me better deal for the tickets, their customer service is very bad. I booked three round tickets (booking no: LN2TJ2) for my family (me, wife and kid) from SFO to Kochi. Due to medical emergency my wife and kid had to travel early than the booked tickets. Vayama did not allow me to cancel the tickets with any refund. Also did not allow to prepond the tickets with lesser rescheduling charge than the ticket charge at that time. So I had to book new one-way ticket for my wife and kid from SFO to Kochi. I booked that too through Vayama itself. I had repeatedly asked customer care executive if my wife and kid can use the return ticket in the first booked one if they are using different ticket for travel. They said yes. That is why I did not reserve any return ticket for my wife and kid for return. I travelled with the original ticket to Kochi.
But later Emirates, the airlines, suspended the return ticket of my wife and kid. Vayama did not inform me anything regarding this via mail or phone. On previous day of my return only I came to know that Emirates airline suspended return ticket of my wife and kid. When I contacted Vayama they said, this return ticket for my wife and kid is still valid to use. They did not even check with airlines. When I insisted Vayama to contact airlines only, they came to know that the tickets were suspended. They did not help me to get those return tickets available again for me, but simply said, tickets cannot be used. Due to this I had to again book new tickets for my wife and kid from Kochi to SFO.
Vayama customer care executives misguided me two times. First they said return ticket can be used even if its not used for travel. Secondly, after the airlines suspended the return tickets, they said the return ticket was still valid to use. Also they did not inform me any change that happened in the ticket status. Due to that I had to go through panic situation of searching for tickets for my wife and kid a few hours before my travel. And had to book new tickets.
I would never recommend Vayama for booking flight tickets. Go and book tickets in Airline's website directly.

Thanks and Regards,
Manosh Padannayil

Hi,

I've committed an order of a flight trip id : u5ej2m on 10/05/2016, a round trip tlv-hrk & hrk - tlv, which included full baggage. the initial cost was: $ 311.03 us. later on, i've requested to change the date and the return location of the trip on 07/06/2016 (tlv-hrk & kbp-tlv) while keeping all the other options the same as before, and you've charged me for additional outrageous $220 (almost doubled the original price)! today i've taken the flight, and was shocked to discover at the registration desk, that my baggage from kiev to tlv isn't included for some odd reason. after spending a lot of time going back and forth to uia customer service desk, it turned out that vayama didn't add the baggage option on my flight back home!

To be honest I was shocked not only by the mistake of vayama's representative itself, but also for the total absence of logic from his side - how come a person go to one direction with full baggage, and return home without it?! does it make any sense?! it might be the opposite (going forth without any baggage, and returning back with it, in case of large shopping abroad, for example), but definitely not the way it happened in my case!

besides causing me a big amount of aggravation, i've almost missed my flight while running back & forth from the registration desk to uia customer service desk and back again to the registration desk! i've requested vayama to refund me with the sum spent of 55eur + 3% fee of my cc company (due to currency changes: https://www.leumi-card.co.il/he-il/abroad/pages/exchangevisa.aspx), making a total of: eur56.65, which I paid due to vayama's representative's mistake when changed the initial date/location of the flight. after a short correspondence by email with vayama, they politely said that i'll piss off.

Attached:
1. a descriptive print out from uia service desk and the receipt of payment.
2. email correspondence with vayama.

Thanks in advance,
Dimitri medvedev.

Called them to reschedule my flight
First I had to wait ~30 minutes in queue on the phone
Then after I gave the women my trip ID she told me to wait as she is reading the policy
~10 minutes of completely silence before I got nervous if she is still there or not and ask if she is still there
She told me to wait
~20 minutes of completely silence again
She just drops my phone call...
So I called the airline directly and they reschedule my flight FOR FREE (CX)
0/10 would not buy flight tickets through vayama again. This was my first business with them and it is safe to say that it will be my last and no one I know will ever use them.

I contacted Vayama because I needed to make some changes. First of all my name was written with mistakes and I also wanted to change dates. They said that changes are possible, but each would cost me about $150. Are you kidding me? So in total I had to pay $300 to make changes! Then I asked them to cancel my ticket because these fees were absolutely ridiculous, and they said ok, but you have pay $150 for the cancellation! Then I told them that I want to see the price list, but they refused to show it. I told them that I am not going to pay for anything until I see some proofs and received the same response. These guys are terrible liars and criminals! This site should be investigated and closed!

I booked a flight via www.vayama.com and then I received a message stating they need some time to confirm my credit card payment. Two days passed and I contacted them and asked what was going on. They said that they were not able to process the card so they cancelled my reservation. Well, I'm glad they did not take my money, but they were really unprofessional and never contacted me to tell that my booking was cancelled.

This was first time I used vayama to book an international flight.
I'm trying to get Refund for a cancelled reservation from past 3 weeks.
1st time when I called after initial 7-10 day Refund issue period, I was told there are no issues with the refund and refund will be issued next Monday. But no refund was made. I called 5 times in 2 weeks after that to check the refund status, every time they told that refund will be issues in 2-3 days. On 03/28/2016, I received email that refund will be issued in 1-2 billing cycles (60 days). When I contacted the customer care I got different answers from customer care representatives. One Rep. told that it's being processed and another told she is not sure when the refund will be processed. I've booked & cancelled flights earlier on other websites but never had any issues for getting refund. I would suggest please do not use Vayama to make any reservations.

Trip Advisor recommended this travel agency which is a travel company that takes your money and then with crook tricks avoids any responsibilities for providing value for money or service. Example: I booked and paid for a flight considerable cheaper than other offers. One day before the flight I received a message from Vayama that their quote was wrong, too low with the company not responsible for this mistake. I could cancel the flight or accept the new price (twice as high). I did accept the increased fare (much higher than other previous offers) as I had an important appoint on the arranged date and could not arrive later. Later, when I had to change the date of the return flight, Vayama charged me almost the price of a new ticket which I did not accept and bought a new cheaper single return flight with the same airline. When asked a restitution from Vayama as I cancelled the flight ample in time before my departure, Vayama refused to give me any restitution. Please, avoid these crooks called Vayama and shame on Trip Advisor as well for recommending this company!

I really regret booking through Vayama. After ticketing my flight, I found that I was not able to select seats on any of my flights. I went to the airline websites and also called the airlines and was told that the class of fare does not allow me to select seats till the day of the flight. The whole reason I had booked in advance was to make sure I had good seats and good flights. When I called Vayama to cancel the booking, all they did was keep telling me to call the airline (even though I repeatedly told them I had called the airline and was told I would not be able to select seats), and then wanted to charge me $50 per person to void the ticket. That was unacceptable. There was nothing in their booking process that indicated that it would not be possible to select seats. I asked to speak with a supervisor, was told that he/she was on another call and would call me back, but I never received a callback. Terrible customer service, not transparent, never booking with them again.

Vayama has the worst customer service ever - this is the third time I have called them. Twice they couldn't hear me even though my phone line was fine both times (called from 2 different places as well). Then in addition, I asked them to tell me how much they charged my credit card because the bill showed a larger charge and even though I gave them my name, my trip id # and ticket #- 2 of those directly from the ticket confirmation they provided, they were unable to help me.

They have nobody who is an expert there - if you get someone that can't answer your question, then you are screwed and they want you to then email them and wait 24 hours for a simple answer such as 'what did you bill my credit card'.

Most frustrating experience ever!

I have had the worst experience after booking my tickets through Vayama. Even though their tickets are non-refundable, nowhere in there terms and conditions is it mentioned that if you cancel the trip then the entire value of the ticket is lost. Neither do they mention their no-show policy or the fact that Vayama would not assist you in any way on the phone. Every time you call them, after making you hold for about an hour and listening to your concerns, they tell you that they will respond via email, which in my case took about 10 days. And after that I received a quote for $1900 for making a change to a ticket that I brought for $1282. I had no option, but to buy new tickets all together. What is the use of cancelling the ticket in advance, if the entire value is going to be lost. I wrote a letter to Kayak in order to share my bad experience, and I received a response from Anna (KAYAK Consumer Services Rep) giving the Vayama customer care number and asking to call them for assistance. How is this supposed to be of any help?

COPY OF LETTER

I booked my tickets on September 21st, 2014, using the Kayak website, which redirected the booking to Vayama.com. Since, I knew that Kayak was a trusted booking site, I went ahead and did the booking. The result of this trust was a waste of $1282.32, which was price of my entire ticket, and a painful and honestly the worst customer service experience of my life. What has happened has happened, but I cannot let this go without sharing my experience and I will also be sharing on public forums, so that others do not have to go through such a terrible ordeal.
The problem started, when I found out that since my trip from US to India, included two stops at Germany, I would be requiring a Schengen tourist visa. Because my H1-B visa had expired, and I was going to get my visa renewed in India, getting the Schengen visa was not possible. So, I tried to get my flight scheduled changed, as having a single stop in Germany would not require for me to have the visa. After that I called Vayama, about five times, each call lasting for more than an hour because of the long durations of waiting in between calls. First of all, no helpful information was provided via phone. Every time I called, they listened to my concerns and said that they would me sending me the quote for getting the ticket changed within two business days. After waiting for those two days, and not getting any reply, I would have to call again and they would unapologetically ask me to wait another two days. When I tried calling the main airline company, i.e. Lufthansa, they said that they could not help in any way and only the agent, which was Vayama could do that. Why was I not given this piece of information clearly, while booking the ticket?
Finally, after waiting for 8-9 days, I got an email with a quote for $1900 for making the required change. (Additional airfare - $1500, airline change penalty - $300, Vayama service fee - $100) This quote seemed like a ridiculous joke, as they were just making a change to my outgoing flight and the price was more than the cost of my entire ticket. Since, no changes were required in the return flight. So, I decided to book an altogether new one way ticket from US to India, and was hoping to use the Lufthansa ticket for the return journey. But then a new piece of information was given to me. If I do not show up for my flights from US to India, I would be considered a no-show and my entire trip ahead would be cancelled. I felt really helpless and angry at this point of time. I decided to forget about this ticket completely book new return tickets for my return trip as well.
The monetary loss is still acceptable, but the fact that I was not informed about so many things while booking the ticket, that I found out about later, such as the no-show policy, or that any changes to the ticket in future would have to be made through the agent only, makes me feel cheated. I really regret not looking up the reviews for Vayama online, before booking my tickets as they would have prevented me from making the booking. The complaints posted by other customers seem to match my experience and not surprisingly I did not come across any positive reviews at all. I will not be making any future purchases from Kayak or Vayama and advice other also to do the same.

Terribe customer service!

They kill you with conflicting stories, agents and dates - every time I called they had a new story as to why there was a delay to processing my refund. I had emergency surgery, rebooked the trip with vayama and still have not received my refund 5 months later.

They tell me it is bring process, give me a confirmation number and 2 months later send an email saying the letter from my dr. Is illegible and the refund was denied.
This is after confirming several times that the letter was received, refund was approved and I just needed to be patient.

The hope is that they will be so frustrating that you give up on the refund is what I think.
They stink.

They deserve -5 stars. They dont deserve to be a business.

The way they run their business is just counter intuitive, unethical, and shady.

Basically I had bought a ticket from them and literally an hour or so later I had to cancel it.

BUT lo and behold, I didn't cancel quick enough and I still have to pay the 90 dollar fee to cancel. It has to do with the time differences because I ordered it while in another country. So in the end they said I didn't make the window in getting a full refund. So that sucked.

But in the end they said they would refund it with the 90 dollar fee on top. And I said ok fine.

Month later I never get a refund. I call them and they said I have to verify an email regarding the refund to actually get a refund!

I dont recall the representative telling me to answer an email. When I called to get a refund I expect it to be done. I don't want to answer an email regarding something I just called about! I don't know any other airline or airline agency that does this.
Its redundant and stupid.

Its like you calling to order a pizza and you have to verify an email from the pizza company to send you a pizza. Obviously if I called, I want the freaking pizza!

vayama listen to this because you guys are idiots!

So since I didn't respond to their little email, I now have to pay an extra 25 dollars for a no show fee for the airlines because they never actually canceled anything.

I called them three times. The second call they told me the manager would call me back in an hour and he never called. So good job vayama.

Then we called back for the third time. Finally we got to talk to the manager.
They said they will check the recording to see if the rep told me that I have to check my email. So it could've been an easy mistake on my part.

But honestly, the whole verify email thing is ridiculous. Especially for me because when I ordered this ticket it was overseas and my internet access was very limited. So when I made the call, I expected everything shouldve been done right there and then.

Usually when I call airlines directly they do things right away. None of this Email verification crap.

Think about it vayama. Think! Emails are dangerous. What if they went to spam?

So LISTEN to your customers.

Obviously you guys have some issues with your business because of all the negative feedback.

You guys need to improve your rules and improve your customer service because you guys seriously suck.

WARNING FOR ANYONE OUT THERE. BE CAUTIOUS WITH VAYAMA! THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY. THEY DONT CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR SATISFACTION!

DONT LET THE CHEAP PRICES FOOL YOU! YOU WILL PAY THE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU NEED ANY ACTUAL HELP!

Never use this company! I should have know better from my past experiences. Worst customer service policies in the travel industry. I had to change a ticket on ukraine international airlines from kiev to sochi. Talked directly to the airline and got the costs (150 dollars) but was told I could not due it due to agency agreement with vayama and I had to call them. Called them and after being told I should have done this 4 days ago (wow didn't know the air canada plane would have a mechanical problem 4 days ago) I had to get them to do the change. They confirmed the 150 dollar airline fee and added 50 dollars for them. (hey when you pay a person in india a dollar a hour to do this you are making $ on change fees. So then after confirming with them on the phone and email that these fees and the changes are okay I later get an email confirmation and the changes fees billed were 550 usd. I am being asked to pay 350 dollars more because they took too long to phone the airline. Wtf did I pay the 50 dollars for.
This is not the first time I have had issues with vayama but it will be the last. You can now get all the same flights using orbitz and get better customer service and none of the problems where you can't make a change at the airline yourself. I take over 100 flighst a year and this company is the worst by such a huge amount it is amazing.

Back in November, I booked a round-trip flight for my daughter from Boston to Johannesburg for a research expedition for July-August. Months later, she got a job for next school year.. Unfortunately, the training period overlaps with my original trip dates, so I have to change them.
Why will I NEVER use Vayama again? Vayama charges $100 to change itineraries ON TOP of what the airlines charges. PLUS, even though I can go online and get the new itinerary for nearly $500 less than I paid for the original, I must pay $110 more for the "fare increase" because "the airlines won't let us book the less expensive seat class".
So. If I had gone directly through the airlines, the change would have cost $275 (and perhaps less, if they credited the airfare difference). Because I'm using Vayama, the change will cost $485. (Yes I bought travel insurance, but the "cancel for work reasons" only covers current employment, not future, and this policy did not offer "cancel for any reason" as an option. D'oh.)

Gee, thanks, Vayama. Don't worry, I will let my friends know. Friends don't let friends use Vayama.