The complaint has been investigated and
resolved to the customer's satisfactionResolved www.wholesale-flights.com — Bait and switch
resolved to the customer's satisfaction
Service Sucks and they are a total bait and switch operation. They will give you a really low fare on their website and ask you to call. I called them and the first thing I was asked if I was ready to buy tickets today! Apparently they would not spend time looking for tickets if I was not ready to buy today. I was ready.. so I said yes.. next thing he asks is if I've checked any prices . I thought the job of the agent was to check prices for me and not ask me for prices.. but anyway.. I said I had. So he then asks me what was the price I was seeing and which airline. So I gave him the ballpark price I was seeing online. So he does some checking for a couple of minutes and says that he cant find anything for that price and says that the lowest price he can find is almost double of the price I saw. He then says.. can we go to the website where you saw the price and both look at it! I'm like.. hello I called you because you are the travel agent supposed to look for prices and not because I want you to tell me how to search online! I told him that.. and he says he's trying to "help me"... and then he decides that he cant con me and asks me to call back when I want to buy tickets!! DO NOT USE THIS AGENCY.
More www.wholesale-flights.com Complaints & Reviews
- Wholesale-Flights.com - Never again with this company
- Wholesale Flights Inc - False Advertising
- Wholesale-Flights.com - These people are dishonest, do not see their clients as customers with a right to be treated well and do not accept responsibility for anything
- Wholesale-Flights.com - Wholesale Flights is more than a bait and switch operation
a verified customer
First let me say Dan is an honest person, not someone out to deceive you purposefully. However, there are things you should know before booking a flight with him or his company:
1) Although he works hard to find you a flight, Dan is bound by the mileage program he's working with, and also the airline's reputation for following through on an original itinerary committment. Ours was the Star Alliance mileage program, and the airline was Turkish Airlines. After making and paying for the flights in November 2017, Turkish Airlines changed the final leg of our flight by 24 hrs. forcing us to stay in Istambul (hotel, taxi, meals - you get the picture). But get this - The flight change by Turkish Airlines was made April 23, 2018, and our departure date wasn't until June 23. Plenty of time for Dan to alert us and make changes, yet he totally dropped the ball, even though he didn't admit to and own the error. He explained that there were mechanisms in place to check the itinerary on a weekly basis, then every couple of days in the last week before departure, but honestly that just didn't happen. Dan even said he personally checked and rechecked the itinerary but that just can't be true because it was me that discovered the change and called him frantically 2 days before departure telling him we weren't going to make the start date of a prepaid safari.
2) Once the change was discovered by me, Dan had very few options of rerouting us, because it was afterall a mileage ticket and he would "have to book it with Star Alliance" and just 2 days before departure. (No way his company was going to put some skin in the game since it was their error in not seeing the itinerary change earlier. They could have payed the $200 or so change fee and looked at a different mileage plan since they likely have millions of miles to work with from numerous airlines). So he offered flights with 2 and even 3 extra connections at distant and highly undesirable airports (Addis Ababa Ethiopia) as well as several to many (10 +) hours' layovers, which we ultimately refused to do. My point is this - it could have been easily averted if Dan had truly done his job and noticed the itinerary change back in April when it occurred, and therefore had more connection options to offer earlier on to get to our final destination. He could have at least owned up to the error, but instead danced around that saying iyt was a last minute change by the airline and out of his control.
3) Dan tells you he's there for you throughout your whole trip to handle last minute urgent flight issues. But if the problem doesn't occur during Dan's business hours, he can't be of much help, since:
a) He's unreachable at 4 am California time while you have a crisis abroad at 2 pm local time, or on a weekend
b) Even if you do reach him during off hours, he's not in the office with all the info at hand on his computer. This in fact happened on a flight boarding at 4 am on a Saturday from Kilimanjaro Tanzania. Because the flight was improperly ticketed, both our tickets were showing as cancelled on the Kenya Airlines screen at the airport counter. Had it not been for the perseverence of the ticket agent who called Air Canada and waited for an agent (just like you and me) for 30 minutes who ultimately corrected the error, we would not have boarded. We barely made the flight.
So my advice is:
1) Dan, although he books a ticket in good faith, he probably doesn't check and recheck for changes in itineraries he's arranged for you. You need to do that for yourself.
2) He can't (and the company won't) help you if there are itinerary changes, especially if they don't notice them. You're on your own there. Yes they'll scramble to find other options but will tell you they're bound by the mileage awards program. Hence awful connections.
2) In reality Dan isn't available and can't help you in multiple different time zones.
3) Wholesale Flights does not divulge the name of the ticket issuing airline (in this case Air Canada), so if there's a mistake on your ticket such as we had saying the ticket was invalid at Kilimonjaro Airport, they will ask you which airline issued the ticket. If you tell them Wholesale Flights and show them your receipt, you'll get a blank stare. They then have to look at the ticket number, look up the first 4 digits and match it to the issuing airline.
a verified customer
Here is my experience word for word that I am trying to get posted on every site so NOBODY has to endure what I have with this company.
*****STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY!!!***** I WILL MAKE THIS SIMPLE. This company operates at the risk of YOU losing your flight and ruining your vacation or trip. They win 90% of the time or more, but if you check BBB, you will see several "customers" have had that happen and the company refunds their money. Somehow, when I purchased what I thought was a "ticket, " I received an email from Delta for $129.30 and 245, 000 Sky Miles!!! I don't have Sky Miles so somebody else's account transferred those miles to me, charged my American Express for the Delta fees, then a hefty nearly $6000 for 245, 000 points. People ask if they sell points, well, indirectly they sure do and I set out to prove it. I demanded a refund and the owner/COO offered me $2000 IF, IF, IF and ONLY IF I removed any negative comments and left positive ones in their place...He also threatened to sue me for defamation of character for leaving my comments IF I took him to court. I have not said a word that I can't back up with proof, so if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about this company, then I don't know what does. IMO, it seems I'm being paid off to remove negative comments and leave false positive ones int their place. I could be wrong, but it sure does feel that way to me. IF you're feeling lucky go ahead and book it with them, if you're not, then deal with it and just go in economy. At least you know you will get on the flight and not have your ticket cancelled. Side note, I tried resolving it directly with the company directly, now it is with the BBB and next will be court. Look elsewhere if you want quality customer service, a real ticket (not a hidden award ticket that they shuffle miles around and then charge you ridiculous amounts.) Not to mention unscrupulous representatives that lie to you. My so called "agent" promised me he wouldn't book the flight without my final consent...well, you know how that went and shame on me for giving my cc #. I just thought it was to hold the ticket since he said I had a time frame in which to lock that fare in. High pressure sales tactics, bait and switch fares and despite what their website claims, they DO NOT HAVE EXCLUSIVE CONTRACTS WITH ANY AIRLINES!!! That statement is a flat out lie and it baffles me how they can leave it up there. Also, simply by using their site, your are agreeing to what is called a browse wrap (check Terms and Conditions at the bottom of their site.) Furthermore, they claim they occasionally "gift" customers points/miles. Anyone knows you can't gift miles to strangers and a customer is still a stranger and you can't gift miles...Do your homework, check the BBB complaints, resolutions and do a general search on forums and other people's horrible experiences. NOT WORTH THE RISK!!! STAY FAR AWAY!!!
a verified customer
Avoid this company at all costs. My husband and I booked a complicated ticket to Europe with them, with several stopovers, using miles for upgrades. The agent, Dennis, booked the ticket without even consulting me about a layover in Paris, putting my husband on an earlier flight to Berln and me on a later one! Then, because he hadn't even "linked" our reservations, Delta later changed my husband's ticket so that he was flying out of JFK and I was flying out of Newark!! I finally had to deal with Delta directly and buy an additional ticket to be on my husband's same flight from Paris to Berlin. When I asked Dennis for a full itinerary of our trip, it was like pulling teeth, and all sorts of excuses were given for not producing it. ("I have dyslexia.") We were stranded in Turin because our Turin-Rome flight on British Air was cancelled, and British Air said, "Your agent should have told you. Ask for the refund from them." We still have to get home from Rome in three days, and I'm a nervous wreck. Dennis bought the ticket in Ukrainian currency. Smell a rat?
I have had a terrible experience with this company. They took 4 months to get me a ticket. I had to pay the taxes. They never refunded the taxes. Then when I got to the airport, because of a mistake they made I had to buy the return ticket outright on the day.
If we all report them to the Federal Trade Commission something will be done about it.
Worst service ever.
Not confident that my flights I booked will get me to Bangkok.
Still waiting to "hear back" about a mysteriously cancelled flight from Seoul to Bangkok .
By the way... I had to call the airlines myself to confirm the seats. When I called Asiana...the informed me that the flight from Seoul to Bangkok was no longer running.
I have been waiting a week to be rebooked on my flight and still have not been rebooked.
I constantly have to track down my "travel specialist" who is a man named Josh.
Josh yelled at me on the phone for a straight 5 minutes today when I started to become frustrated with him constantly telling me that he was "working on it" but NEVER updating me.
There has been not one interaction between is that didn't enforce me emailing and calling him consistently until he gets back to me.
I don't know who runs this place but..you certainly cannot et them on the phone.
Wonder why...
And of course there are no refunds (I would even pay a fee to cancel and get the remainer refunded...THAT is how badly I wish I could back out of my transaction with this service)
I am sure that I will show up to the airport and I won't be booked on the flights. But...I can't get my money back until after that happens.
I took of 2 weeks for this trip from work and will be paying the credit card off for the next year.
This company is the worst decision I've ever made.
Worst company ever.
Worst customer service ever.
Josh is extremely rude and unhelpful .
Never ever. Ever again.
Never.
Although there was a lack of communication, the confirmation numbers have been sent.
This company is a scam.
a verified customer
"braintheflyer": Your post has no credibility. You are obviously a shill for the company if not employee or even an owner. (Josh is still there and he seems to be a major offender in the company's scams.)
I read a few negative reviews on these guys but still wanted to give them a chance. Apprently it was a few past employees that are no longer there that were not providing good service to clients and are no longer there. I felt comfortable dealing with the agent that I spoke to and decided to book. I checked on the airlines website after they issued my ticket and in fact I was able to obtain my eticket number and itinirary directly from the airline. I actually saved almost $300 then what the airlines was offering on their website. Im sorry for the people that had their bad experiences but it seems like they have their things together and were very professional with me. I would definatley use them again. If anything changes I will keep all of you posted. Hope this helps!
a verified customer
I agree with the "bait and switch" allegations. I bought tickets from "Josh" for a "business class" flight to go overseas and the flight they booked me on was a private jet! He never disclosed this. It was the flight from hell. Since I have returned, I have attempted to coimmunicate with Josh but he does not respond. I have contacted the attorney general's office in CA. This site needs to be shut down!
Total scam, Similar thing, was quoted first class, purchased and Josh says I am confirmed on 2 legs and waitlisted on 2 others, and when the seats were released by the airline I would get them. Never received itineraries, Josh's response: out of office, computer down, consolidator issued wrong tickets, harder to correct than thought.
6 weeks later Josh and Gene (the supervisor) Claims it is all taken care of, yet still sends only 2 of the 3 itineraries. I E mail him, no response. Call united and find out they bought me economy tickets and were trying to use some other persons account to get me upgrades to first class. Here is the kicker!!!... United tells me that I DO NOT have first class tickets, only a hold on first class seats. And that unless the named person giving up his miles comes with me to the airport to sign a security document at the time I checked in, I would be seated in economy. They never had any intention of giving me first class tickets and everything illegal they tried to do was verified by United and considered fraud by them and against all their policies . WF.com claims I am to blame because I called United. Hah. how could calling an airline ever cause a problem with a reservation, UNLESS, the activity the WF is performing is already against airline policy? The only time I got Josh to call me was after I filed a dispute with Am Ex for the $2000 + that WF kept in their pocket and did not use to purchase me the tickets I authorized. I also filed a dispute with United because WF committed a third party fraud by making an unauthorized purchase of economy tickets that are non refundable. It has been 2 and a half month since this nightmare began. Even after Gene Khizver, the general manager, said to me in an e-mail and I quote " EVERYTHING WILL BE REFUNDED AND YOUR FLIGHTS WILL BE CANCELED", Vlad tells me no matter if I dispute the ticket cost, he will not refund any money. So PLEASE, Don't do as I did, STAY FAR AWAY!!!
Agree with all above negative comments!!! FRAUD AND SCAM!!! They first cut the price and intendn to make many small mistakes. And ask you to return them the credit release form. After getting all your creadit card information they will never purchase you ticket!!! I then called and emailed. When they picked up the phone and figured out it was me they just hanged up! Never believe them!!! They said they've already booked the ticket but when I called the airlines they said no!! At last, I have to call my bank and cancel that credit card.!!! Worst experiece ever!!! Never believe them, stay away from them!!!
DO NOT BUY USE WHOLESALE FLIGHTS !! I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY STAY IN BUSINESS WITH THESE MANY
COMPLAINTS AND ALSO WHY DO THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND AIRLINES HAVE THEM AS CLIENTS????
I ORDERED TICKETS FROM MATT CHERENSCHCHIKOV EXT 208, THE PROBLEM BEGAN WHEN I DECIDED TO
CHANGE DATES, WHICH HE AGREED PAYING A $1, 000 PENALTY, THE ORDEAL IS TAKING MORE THAN A MONTH
TO TRY TO REBOOK MY TICKET'S THE HAVE A "CREDIT" IN MY FAVOR FOR ALMOST 8, 000 PLUS THE 1, 000 PENALTY
AND NO TICKETS YET!!! CLAIMING HE'S WAITING FOR LOW PRICE TICKETS WICH LOOKING ON LINE, THE OWN
AIRLINES HAVE THEM WHERE IS MY MONEYYYYYYY
The wosrst comparny and custumer service ever. I called them to ask the price From US to Vn. The first one hang up on me after 10 seconds. The second one put me on hold, have me wait for 35 mintures and never return. I called them the 3rd time, finally i talked to some one. He asked me right away if i'm ready to book or just shopping around. I told him i just want to know the price first, and he like then you are just shopping around then hang up on me. Thought out the convertiation, he was very RUDE ( cant belive this company hired those kind of person to be the repersensitive). This look like SCAM. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!
I called a week ago and I was given low price because I wasn't ready to book. When I called to book the price was triple what they told me. And then the guy dares to hang up the phone on me just because I ask the reason for that and the reason why the prices are so low when you enter the itenerary on their webiste.
AVOID!!! They are unprofessional and a joke as a business. What kind of business hangs up the phone to avoid answering a question?
a verified customer
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. AND DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ FROM VLAD, THE VICE PRESIDENT. HE AND THIS COMPANY ARE A PIECE OF WORK (or is that sh!*&#t?)
My itinerary for the airline ticket I bought on August 20th, 2010 had the wrong times for arrival and departure. The true times will not allow me to make my connection.
Wholesale-flights must have known this when they sold me the ticket. If not they must have surely been aware at least 2 weeks prior to my scheduled trip - I notified them by voice and email requesting that they corect the problem. But I got no reply via telephone or email (including messages left for the company vice president Vlad).
When I confirmed my ticket with the airline on September 22, I was told the ticket was an illegal combination.
I then called Wholesale-flights and finally got somebody that would not "transfer" me (that is disconnect me) and they said it was my fault and recommended that I
1.cancel my trip and rebook it for next month for the same fare less a $450 refund penalty for each of 3 tickets. But not to worry because my travel insurance would reimburse me. (After reading my insurance contract I have determined this is probably not true).
2.cancel my trip and rebook right now for a 60% higher fare and take the $450 hit each on exchanging the tickets. Again not to worry because travel insurance would reimburse (see above)
Wholesale-flight refused to take any responsiblity for the mistake, alternately trying to blame me for not notifiying them earlier and blaming it all on a former employee. I did not buy the ticket from the former employee, I bought it from wholesale-flights.
I gave them plenty of notice that there was a problem, but they blew me off, wanting no part in fixing a problem they created.
This is the partial text of an email I sent on sept 8 to the agent (Michelle) who sold me the ticket:
>Looking at Hainan Airlines website I noticed >that the times are not the same as listed on >this itinerary. The 4:00 PM arrival into Beijing >is listed by the airline as 4:25 and the >departure to Chengdu that the itinerary lists as >5:20 is scheduled by the airline at 5:15. This >means the 1 hour 20 minutes layover stated in >the itinerary is actually only going to be 50 >minutes!
> I doubt that 50 minutes is enough time to make >my connection after claiming baggage, customs >clearance and bag rechecking.
> Please check into this possible invalid >ticketing combination and take corrective >measures (i.e. arrange for the overnight hotel >in Beijing and flight to Chengdu the next day).
> There is still time for you to make this >right.
The email bounced, so I called and was transfered to her voicemail (x301). I then forwarded the message to the contact address listed on the company website, "[email protected]" and to [email protected] (Vlad is the vice president and publicity officer). I got no response.
I have seen other complaints and warnings about this company using bait and switch techniques to cheat customers. Wholesale-flights may have moved beyond bait-and-switch to outright fraud.
a verified customer
Ok---so how do we close these [censor]s down, and keep them from giving us the BS service...when we pay for a respectable one? Lets hit the BBB site, and see if they will help? I think they suck, and shouldnt be allowed to give such great hopes to people...with such fraudulent intent. The owner of the company, can be found at this address---Exploit his name, and lets get him on the right track...or close his [censor] down! he reaps lots of your hard earned money, to fly his [censor] around the planet...while we sit here and get screwed. Like he cares? LOL---lets screw him---just the same as he screwed us! Here is the BBB site, with all the company's registered info.
http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/travel-agencies-and-bureaus/wholesale-fares-in-san-francisco-ca-55776
a verified customer
All these comments are so familiar. I too was scammed by this company. I would like to suggest that you call your attorney general's office and the Federal consumer protection agency. Some states have local news casters that report on fraudulent companies such as this one. Please take the time to follow through on this so these people loose their license!
a verified customer
More scams from Wholesale-flights.com.
Read my dilema with this company, back in March 2010.
After they tried to pull the bait and swith on me, they continue to charge me $9.95 per month for a membership fee?
Since when do discount travel agents charge monthly FEES to be a member?
They apparently bury this in forms you sign, or on the signup page on their website.
I have had to write letters to my credit card company to reverse the charges.
From now on, I carefully check every detail, when doing business on the Internet.
I complained to the authorities, but these guys are still in business.
It boggle my mind that they have not been shut down by now.
But, I am confident their day will come and they will end up in jail, where they belong.
I Was going to book a flight to Hong Kong i did a search on google and saw that they had it listed for $489 (not possible i been going there for years never seen such a price) unbelievable so i checked their web site and called them today (June, 2010). They asked me for the date i said any time in august date which is cheaper the girl says dont waste my time (very polite ha?) so i gave her exact dates, than she quoted me nearly $1200 and i told her that how can they claim wholesale and best prices when they are more expensive than booking from the airline directly or anywhere else, and that they should not list it for $489 and lie, than she hanged up. Save you time and money, pay more but get peace of mind and get it directly from the airline or some reputable company. Warn every one you know about this site.
a verified customer
I agree with all above, I just called them to check on the cheap fare I saw advertise on there website. I typed in the date I wanted to travel, the fare were very reasonable, so I called and talked to the rudest [censor] hole I've ever talked to in my life!!! He told me the fares that were advertised are not for the travel date I had typed in, they were for the off season. I told him I had typed in the exact date I wanted to travel and the prices came up for that date. He said to me, I told you the low fares you saw are for the off season. I tried to tell him that I put in the date I wanted to travel, but he said, "call back when you wanna book the ticket, BYE!!!" this website is a scam, and the people that are on the phone are very rude http://www.wholesale-flights.com/ really big liars!!! SCAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... NEVER USE THIS WEBSITE!
My experience with wholesaleflights.com was an absolutely terrible!!! I was quoted a price over the phone of $930 per ticket for tickets for my wife and I to fly to Paris. I specifically asked if that would be the final price and was told that it would be. Then, after receiving my confirmation email, the price had jumped up to $1, 140 per ticket! I was outraged! I called the agent back with whom I had been working (Anna) and she told me that she had told me that $930 would not be the final price and that there was no way she could have known the final price until after she had booked the tickets. She blatently lied to me. When I called the airline to see if I could cancel the tickets, they told me that I could but that I would have to go through the travel agency. When I called Anna back, she told me that would be impossible. When I told her that the airline said it was possible, she got very defensive and began to insult me. Then (a month after the incident) I found a charge for $9.95 on my credit card bill. I couldn't believe it! I was told that I had suscribed for a membership that cost $9.95 per month but nobody at wholesaleflights.com had ever told me that!! This experience was extremely frustrating and I would not recommend them to anyone...even my mortal enemy or the devil himself!
The first time I called this place, I was kind of skeptical too but in the end, they helped me book my flight. The agent even helped me shop around other places to reassure me that he had the best price offered. I was overall pleased with the service mostly and the price was good too. I would book my ticket through Wholesale Flights again.
i called asking about some tickets the prices were good but i called back for some more info and they told me right away to book and they said if you aren gonna book then its illeageal to cal them
I found this web site on Google, I never had a bad, I mean THE WORST experienced customer services you ever deal with; after finding the real price which was advertised a bogus amount, customer have rights to declined the transaction specially when being approached aggressive; the worst part customer service call me a B*****. I couldn't believed what I've heard, so I call back and I ask the operators name (Kyle) he responded why do you want my name I told him just need the supervisor guess what Kyle transferred me to a non-existing number; I called back Kyle answer again I asked him to please transfer me to a supervisor which I was introduce as James Lebron (same as the basketball player) and I know it was also a bogus name. Instead of apologizing to me what was just happened he said "DID YOU BUY THE TICKETS" I was furious I couldn't believe this.
I told James Lebron surely you have higher management that I could talk to; he transfer me to another person name Brian or Bryan ---again I told what happened he said the operator was "BORED", the terminology of being rude is bored. I said even if the tickets price right now as 1 dollar I will not buy it.
GOS
OMG! I called them twice in the last 15 minutes and both times were the 2 most horrible customer service I have ever gotten in my ENTIRE life!!! FIrst time I called after being on hold forever, someone finally picked up. She asked me if I was ready to buy a ticket and I said I'm still shopping around and I'm still not sure if I'm going. SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? She said to keep shopping around and call them whenever I'm decided then hung up! JUST LIKE THAT! I was in shock for about 10 seconds. I called again and a guy picked up this time. I was calm and I told him I was looking at their website and put in the dates that I wanted and I like their prices. He talks for about a full minute without letting me get a word in about how in reality the prices I'm looking at are before taxes and because of the time of year and because it's last minute it won't be that cheap. Then he asks me what my budget is and I told him that I like what I'm looking at and he says it's not realistic. He says to just give him my budget because it's not as simple as punching in dates at the computer and getting my price and that it'll be a waste of both our time. SO EVEN WHEN I WAS SO ANGRY INSIDE AND JUST WANTED TO TELL HIM HOW MUCH THEIR COMPANY SUCKS, I SAID "THANKS FOR YOUR TIME." THEN HE SAYS, "THANKS FOR WASTING MY TIME!!!" HOW ON EARTH DID I WASTE HIS TIME ASKING INNOCENT QUESTIONS!????! ACTUALLY I WASN'T EVEN ABLE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T LET ME SPEAK!!! BASICALLY THEY LURE YOU IN WITH THEIR UNBELIEVABLY LOW PRICES THEN WHEN YOU CALL THEY EXPECT YOU TO ALREADY BE READY TO GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER. THEY DO NOT "AT ALL" WANT TO SPEND ANY EXTRA TIME ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM YOU. THEY SAID IT'S A WASTE OF THEIR TIME TRYING TO FIND CHEAP TICKETS FOR ME WHEN IT'S THEIR FREAKING JOB TO DO SO!! DO NOT "EVER" FALL FOR THESE SCAMMERS!!
TOTOL SCAM!!!
They are liers! I just found out it is such a scam.
I booked a flight with them a week ago and everything has been confirmed. However, today I got a message asking me to pay $255 more to my flight otherwise I'm not going to get my ticket. Below is the original email from their sale's representative:
"I just received a phone call from the airline whole sale department. I was told that the airline got overbooked by 14 people for that particular flight and they cannot get you a seat on that plane. I was trying to talk to them to still get you the seat on the plane, but I was told that all the cheapest fares are booked and if you still want it is possible, but there is going to be a $510.00 fee which you need to pay.
I spoke with my manager and we feel very bad because of that. We trying to do our best and want you to remain our permanent customer. So our company is taking responsibility to pay 50% of the fee, so you just need to pay extra $255.00 per person and I will be able to get you a seat at the plane for the flight listed below.
Otherwise they cannot do it!
Please respond ASAP. The airline is waiting for my response.
Again I’m sorry about that & feel very bad because of that, but I am just trying to help you .
There is a Ticket Release form attached, please fill it out and send it to us back by fax or via email if you are ok with this."
Thank you all for posting these comments. I was researching a flight to Spain and most of the major websites (kayak.com, statravel.com, etc) were coming up with [protected] per person. I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to find anything cheaper than that. However, my father really wanted to check for himself. He calls me later to tell me that he had found flights quoted at 600 a person at wholesale-flights.com. Knowing that yes, if something does seem too good to be true it probably isn't, I did a simple google search of "wholesale-flights.com scam?" and came up with many sites just like this one full of complaints. I had to call my dad back and tell him that unfortunately the site was a scam and that 1100 was going to be as good as it gets! I worry about ridiculously unethical sites like that one because sadly, people like my father (who admittedly grew up in a different generation and is more willing to trust things on the Internet than I am) fall for them all the time! It's a terrible thing to do and I'm glad people like you guys are around to warn others about it.
Agree with all the obove comments. Same experience here, and I have to add one more. On the form they sent me, there were some small prints underneath that talking about enrolling their frequent flyer program. I would NEVER expenct anything like that on the authorization form when you thought you just sign up a form so they can charge your credit card.
Then guess what happened? they charged me $9.95 per month for the fee. I first noticed it was a month later. I sent them an email. No response. Then when I found out they had charged me 3 months, I was furious. I sent another warning email and C.C. to my bank manager, and they replied. Simply asked me to "unsubscribe" the membership. Until then I finally found out how I got "subscribe" this program! If this is not called "fraud", whatelse?
So, a warning to all people with your hard earning money:
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
This is a complete nightmare. I booked, they sent me the wrong dates. 5 calls later they fix this. one day later I dont have my confirm and then when they call me back after repeated calls they have the wrong dates again. They bait and switched the prices on me 5 times and then tried to negotiate each time. They start off very nice and then once they have your money they will not waste a second with you and are nasty. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
I was looking for flights to Germany for this summer, I also came across this wholesale-flights.com but since it just gave me a phone number to call, I decided to research the company first and came across this and other sites with many complaints, I am glad that you all shared your bad experience I believe it will save me from making a big mistake and I really appreciate that.
Called them three times - first time the guy kept yelling, "Hello?!" every time he couldn't hear me. He then hangs up on me. Second time, they put me on hold and then dropped the call. Third time, a very rude "agent" asks me the prices I've found to Paris from my city! Then said, well, what if I can beat that? (That's what I'm calling for.) He gives me a price that's twice as much as the advertised price, but supposedly doesn't include any fees. I told him I'll keep shopping and will get back to him if I can't find a better price - so he hangs up on me!
Thanks for all advices. I saw this website and the great deal from them. This is a little weird because we can't book the ticket online. So I decided to read some complaints online first. I don't think I will go with wholesale-flights.com ...It sounds dangerous to me :)
a verified customer
My Lord, i decided to call them just for fun and see if they are actually THIS rude. I thought maybe Thomas could have been exagerating a little, but to my surprise, they are as RUDE as he explains.
The first time I called an agent asked me if I was ready to book and when I told him I was just looking to get a quote, HE HUNG UP!!!.
I called back and got a different agent and he seemed like he was having a bad day. After reluctantly giving me a quote, he basicly cut the conversation short and told me to call when I'm ready to book, but he was nice enough to leave his extension number.
Conclusion:
Even if I did get the bad apples of the company, why would you risk giving your credit card to a company that would hire people like that.
My Suggestion: AVOID AT ALL COSTS
a verified customer
In response to JCUSING,
1. I agree with Josh, that the first time the charges were run on my credit card, they were declined.
When I called both banks yesterday, they informed me that the merchant making the charges is on a watch list and that the charges would not normally be declined. That was not my fault. I think the main issue was that the charges presented were over $4K, whereas the amount authorized was $3200.00, which was well know to Josh.
2. Josh was aware that I had we had a death in the family, which was the purpose of the trip. Understandably, I was looking for the cheapest air fares and noticed Wholesale-flights.com had fares as low as $888 per person, so I filled in a form.
I was offered fares from JFK to Naga, PH for around $1, 400 per person, which we agreed upon. I signed the forms, giving Josh my credit card information, after being told the flights were confirmed for 2 people.
The next day, I get a call saying that the return flight was waitlisted and that Cathay Pacific could not honor the confirmed flight that I thought we had. He then went on to say that we could book the flight by paying $500 more. I agreed at the time, by returning the form.
3. Josh then calls and said the credit cards were declined. After calling my credit card companies, they said that over $4K was presented for payment, so they obviously declined that amount. Josh was aware othe amounts available on the 2 cards, or I would have only presented 1 card. This scared me, because I was already bait and switched to higher prices, plus the way the payment was handled.
4. I called Josh to cancel the reservations, but he said the tickets were issued. I verified with the air carriers that no ticket was issued, so I asked Josh to cancel my reservations.
5. I immediately booked with another travel agent who booked me at much lower rates, plus issued the tickets immediately (within 1 hr).
6. Josh then calls me in a very threatening manner, of which I told him I am now recording any futher conversation.
He was very unprofessional and nasty on the phone. You do not expect this in the travel business. Even worse, knowing that I had a death in the family, he could have tried to be polite at best. He finally taked to his boss, who agreed to cancel my reservations with them. Josh emails me back that the matter was closed, but that if it were his company, he would NOT have cancelled the reservation and he would do anything so we cannot fly with the other carrier.
7. This attitude is not acceptable and reinforces why I woulod never use Wholesale-flights.com again.
8. Checking on the Internet, including this site, there are thousands of complaints against this company; on BBB.org, [redacted].com, and other sites. Many travelers were stranded at airports with no tickets, etc.
I did not find any complaints with the travel agent I went with, so why does Wholesale-flights.com have so many complaints?
Why can they not learn to do business the right way and treat ALL their customers with respect, at a minimum.
If Josh's boss was running a legitimate business, he would fire Josh immediately.
The only reason Wholesale-Flights.com agreed to cancel the reservation was after I told them that I would take the matter to the CT Attorney General's office. Mr. Blumenthal is well known to the community, plus I have worked with him directly.
I think the facts speak for themselves. I always treat my customers with respect. If I fail to do the job, I promptly refund all monies, even if I know the customer is wrong. This is because the customer is alwasy right. It makes no difference how outrageous a customer may be. In this case, I was the customer, plus I was 100% correct that there was a bait and switch going on here, which is very illegal in all states.
My suggestion to all is: Use a local travel agent; ALWAYS, unless booking a domestic flight on a know airline directly.
When Thomas contacted me he informed me of his situation. I told him that I would get him a flight. I found him a flight with Cathay Pacific which was pretty good fare, cheaper than anywhere else that he could find it for. When he agreed to the original price I sent him the itenarary. On the itenarary it clearly showed that they were on the waitlist on the return flight home. When the waitlist didn't clear I contacted Thomas to inform him of the situation and what had happened. I told him that I was able to confirm them a flight but it cost $250.00 more per person. During the time Thomas was totally aware of the situation and was aware that they was on the waitlist. We had already offered to pay for more than half of the extra cost of the ticket. The total ticket price was $700.00 all we asked him to do was to cover $250.00 out of it and we would cover the rest of the difference. He agreed to it, now if he didn't want to pay the extra amount all he had to say was "no" and we could have cancelled the ticket for him. However when he agreed to the price we issued the ticket using our company credit card to purchase the tickets. He gave me a credit card to cover the difference and he told me how much to charge on each credit card. First credit card he told me to charge $3200.00 and the second one was to charge the rest of the balance which was $190.00. We first attempted to do an authorization for the amount he told us to charge for each card and it declined. So my thinking is that Thomas knew from the begining that his credit card would declined because to me all he was trying to do was to get out of the situation. He claims we attempted to charge more than what he told me to charge on each card. How can we charge more than on each card when we never charged anything all we did was an authorzation for each card. Nothing we did was a bait and switch the whole time the customer knew that they was on a waitlist on the return and I offered to him that the cost was more and he could have said no and not agreed to the charge. It's a free country you have choices and you don't have to do or purchase anything that you don't agree with. So to me the complaint is totally bogus because I did my job and I tried to find them the best fare. I emailed him and cancelled his tickets even though he agreed to the charges and we paid for the penalty to cancel the tickets. If anything the bait and switch happened with the customer not with Wholesale Flights.
a verified customer
I had very similar problem.
My name is Tom Psillas.
My fiancee Lisa's mom passed away last week and I need to find cheap tickets to the Phillipines.
They pulled a bait and switch on me, telling me the original flight I agreed to were wait-listed.
He claimed gthey did not notice that.
Orignal price was $1, 380. per ticket, which I agreed to.
They then claimed that Cathay Pacific would not be able to honor the wait-list, so I would have to pay more.
They wanted me to pay $1695.00 per person.
Being a distressful situation (death in family), I agreed, reluctantly, but told them I would search for a better deal and cancel, if found.
They ran the credit cards, authorizing $1, 000 over the $3, 400 agreed amount for the 2 tickets. The fraud department at the bank called me and I cancelled the authorization. Josh at Wholesale-Flights.com, then calls and trashes me, calling me a fraud, con artist, plus a few other words, not becoming of a travel professional.
I had politley has asked him to cancel, when the bank declined the charges, due to him charging me over the amount authorized, per signed agreement.
Stay away from these con artists. I am surprised they have not been shut down yet.
I am so very upset with myself for falling or this scam that I can barely stand it. Please, please, please stay far away from this company.
I found this company online-a link from another flight seller. I poked around their website and thought they looked legit. I gave them a call and was amazed by the level of service I was getting from the friendly agent, Anna. I would ask a question she would call the airline and call me back. If I needed something else I would call and leave a message. She would return my call in less than 15 minutes. I thought it was great. I decided to purchase my tickets from her because of her help versus the local travel agent who seemed to be too busy to get me all the information that I was requesting in what I considered a timely fashion.
I gave her the credit card number, got the itinerary and the security form. We looked it over. The price matched what her had given us we sent it back to her signed and never got a confirmation email or eticket numbers. I watched all night for that email, I emailed her again, I checked my bank and sure enough the charge was going through...I thought...give them till mid morning. Next morning I called Anna wasn't in I left a message. I called again and asked to speak with someone who could confirm my tickets, because I was worried. I was disconnected three times AFTER I explained my concern. I called back again and dealt with the WORST customer service agent I have EVER had to deal with. I don't even think that customer service is something he even cares to understand. He was aggresive, mean and belittling. I was dumbfounded. I have never been treated so poorly EVER! He told me that he doesn't call me at work and accuse me of things. That he didn't deserve to start his morning this way. He refused to listen to my concerns, told me that I was obviously over reacting and that I just needed to calm down and listen to him. Keep in mind that I was not yelling, not swearing, just very frustrated and concerned and trying to get SOMEONE to help me. Shane, that was the name he gave me and I can't believe that any legitimate company would knowingly allow someone like that to deal with the public.
Anna did finally call me and reluctantly issued me e-tickets. I called both airlines to confirm my seat assignments... there were none, but my tickets were there. When I called the second airline I was informed that my return flights were a misconnect. I would need to have Anna switch us to the later flight. They were surprised that she had even been able to book them that way. I called Anna and left a message. I waited...I called again and tried to talk with someone else and got the same run around...I would have to wait for Anna to call me back. Well, wait I did and nothing.
Meanwhile, I get a call from Visa Fraud and guess what. There are LOTS of travel and airline charges going through my account and they would like to confirm that I authorized them. NO! I did not. I authorized a set amount on the security form and no matter how you tried to add these charges together they were MUCH higher, at least a couple thousand higher. None of them came from Wholesale Flights like the agreement stated. The agreement/security form did say that the carrier might charge. Two of the charges looked like they were from one of the carriers we were using, but upon investigation it was not the carrier-I called to check with them and found out that my tickets had been voided and were no longer valid for travel.
I put a hold on the card and went to the bank. The charges that looked like they came from the carrier itself were from a company with a VERY similar name to the carrier, but strangly out of Burlingame CA. Weird, but that is where Wholesale Flights is from. All in all they have charged me for well over twice the arranged price, from a number of different company names and all I have are voided tickets. Apparantly, I had real tickets long enough for me to call and verify them and that was it. I have had to cancel my card and file multiple disputes with VISA and I hope that all works out for me. I also hope that someday somebody catches these scam artists and rights all the wrongs they have done gullible consumers like myself. I just kick myself for being the fool here, but hopefully I can help someone else not make the same mistake. Please avoid them. The risks outweigh any benefit.
...they also clearly have their employees (or owners) posting positive comments on message boards where real customers complain about them. Wow. What ###.
I would like to know why the credit card companies allow these scammers to continue to run transactions through them when they clearly have a significant number of disputed transactions.
I found this company via a link from Kayak.com (a reputable site). Wholesale-flights.com showed prices for my itinerary which were ridiculously lower than any other fare I found on reputable travel sites, even if one discounts the abundant taxes levied on international flights.
A little research indicated this company is indeed a scam. Don't touch them, folks! If it seems too good to be true, then it is.