(108) Comments on Expedia Dot SCAM?
I warned Expedia about this. Now I'm taking my story here, and next to the L.A. Times and East Coast. I booked my package through Expedia and they charged me just over $1,000.00 for my 5 night stay in the Bahama's. At check-out, the Westinn Hotel gave me my hotel bill which was only slightly over $600.00. I paid that bill via my credit card. I called Expedia and told them I needed a refund on my Expedia charge of $1,047.00 due to the fact that I paid the Hotel directly. About $300-$400.00 less. Expedia told me I wasn't suppose to see that bill. They wouldn't refund my money. They called the Hotel and had the hotel take the charge off of my card so Expedia could reap the profits. I recommend using any other service at this point. They lead you to believe that you're getting a great deal when in reality, they are turning huge profits off of us-the consumers.
Comments by Mark : Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 01:10 PM
I also had a horrible experience using EXPEDIA. Read my case in my website:
http://www.victimsofexpedia.com
Regards
Comments by John : Tuesday, September 05, 2006 at 05:55 PM
Expedia sucks and makes false advertisement.
Do a search for Air Canada.
What pops-up at the top of the page is the paid-for banner of Expedia, advertising the best rates and the best savings. That is shit and lies.
I was able to book the very same flight, one-way, from Vancouver to Montreal for January 8 2007 and saving over 25% by booking directly with Air Canada.
Expedia's supposedly best price was $516, but as soon as you clicked book now or next page, the price had changed to $527.
I was able to book the same flight for $419.41 all the extra taxes and fees included.
So, before booking anything with Expedia I suggest that you do some footwork, if you don't want to be shafted.
Michel, Coquitlam BC
Comments by Michel : Wednesday, January 03, 2007 at 02:31 AM
I recently booked a flight from DC to Iowa to visit my family for the holidays.
I reserved and purchased my flight 3 weeks before my trip. I was sent a confirmation email immediately after purchase as well as a second confirmation email the day before.
To my surprise when I arrived at the airport the airline told me that I had a reservation, but no ticket. I called Expedia with confirmation emails in hand, confident that they would sort everything out. I was on hold for 1 HOUR AND EIGHT MINUTES before speaking to anyone.
When I finally spoke to the rep. they told me "Sorry, we were not able to give you a ticket....we will refund the money to your credit card." I explained that I had confirmation emails and had already paid. I just need to get on the flight. The rep said sometimes Expedia sells tickets that don't exist. I was dumbfounded. I asked for to speak to a supervisor. They told me sorry....but that's the way the company works.
I can't explain how angry I was. The way this company operates is unethical and unacceptable
I told the rep I needed to go home for Christmas and could he please assist me finding another flight. I was placed on hold for ANOTHER 27 MINUTES!!
The rep came back and told me that he found a flight the next morning for $1200 and how would I like to pay for that. I told him it was not my mistake that his company had messed up. He told me "Sorry, but there is nothing I can do."
They offered me a $100 hotel voucher that can only be used for an Expedia Super Saver Vacation...actual value= $0
Luckily, I found my own flight they next day for $800 less that Expedia quoted me. I really appreciated having Expedia sell me a non-existent ticket and then leave me stranded at the airport and then finish off by trying to con me into purchasing a last minute ticket at an exorbitant rate.
I will never do business with this company again.
Comments by Jennifer Byers : Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 07:44 PM
I just had a major issue with expedia too!!!! I had booked a package to the Bahamas about 2 months ago. Got my itinerary that said I was staying the Sheraton on Grand Bahama and I would fly into Georgetown (GCM). Me assuming that everything is OK I load my girlfriend and my son onto the plane to find myself in Grand Cayman not Grand Bahama. It turns out that GCM stands for Grand Cayman!. So they stop me in immigration at the Caymans and I call Expedia. Well talk about useless. They told me I should have checked the Itinerary!!!! How was I supposed to know GCM stood for Grand Cayman. They told me that if I wanted to go to the Bahamas I would have to pay for the flight!!! So basically I have to pay for their mistake. All they did was cancel my Hotel in the Bahamas and credit my card.
I then tried to find a Hotel in the Caymens. So I am sitting in the Airport and Expedia are recommending Hotels which I do not have any idea about. Luckily for me the Manager at Delta airlines was a doll (Marva) she told me to stay at the Marriott beach resort. So I told Expedia to get me in that Hotel. They came back and told me it had no availability, so I called them on my own and found out they had plenty of rooms available. Expedia then explained that they could not get a room!!! I finally just booked the room on my own.
The people at immigration said that the same thing happened to two other couples in the previous week...the exact same thing. I think that someone at expedia is getting a kick back to send people to the Caymens. The Island was still recovering from Hurricane Ivan, and although the waters were beautiful and the people were nice half the island was still wrecked and rebuilding.
Then Hurricane Dean made an appearance and headed for the Caymans and although we left on our regular flight, the airport was a complete nightmare. I have never seen such poor organization in my life. The authorities who run that place should be run off the island. I could go on and on about the airport alone but thats another story.
Suffice it to say...Thanks Expedia you made my son's first trip to the carribean a real horror story. The scary part was they just couldn't care less. They had my money for the flight and there wasn't much I could do stranded in the caymens.
So I got screwed.
Comments by Erik Langelius : Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 03:14 PM
OK you guys are all idiots. Let me explain how the travel business actually works and then I'll call the waaaaambulance. First of all, Mr. Evan Roberts, the Expedia lady did NOT say "I'm sorry sir we had to change your flight to the evening flight." You know why? Because the AIRLINE is the one who changed your flight time, because that's what airlines do, everyday, all the damn time, Delta in particular. You would have had the same problem had you booked with the airline directly. Then, you know why the price changed when you were trying to book your other flight? Because the airline happened to be on our website at the same time you were updating the price. That's why it clearly says on the website that airfare and hotel rates can change hourly. I've seen them change in the span of a 5 minute phone call.
Mark: $600.00 is not what you would have paid the hotel had they actually done their job. That rate is a GROUP rate for big companies like Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity for buying 1000's of rooms. Just because the front desk clerk happened to be an idiot and gave you Expedia's receipt doesn't entitle you to a rate for one room that you should only get if you booked 100. If the reservation was prepaid, and you agreed to the rate, then you should be GLAD that the Expedia agent was nice enough to get an extra $600 off of your credit card!
Michel: Kind of can't help it if Air Canada lowers the airfare on their website to where it beats Expedia's. That's why you comparison shop online when you travel. If Air Canada got you a better rate direct, good for you. Be happy about that instead of whining about Expedia over something they have ZERO control over. (Since when did "when in doubt, blame Canada become "when in doubt, blame Expedia?")
Jennifer Byers: Just like Evan Roberts, you make up things said to you by an Expedia agent or don't listen. Once again, it would have been the AIRLINE who overbooked their flight, not Expedia! If Expedia is not informed about this by the airline, then what happened to you getting stuck at the airport is the end result. I'm sure the agent you called was just as dumbfounded as you were about you not having a ticket considering the airline didn't have the courtesy to contact Expedia to inform the passenger that they oversold the flight. But once again, Expedia's fault for someone else mistake. Oh and a $100 hotel voucher is worth $100, you're just bitter.
Erik Langelius: It IS your fault for thinking that GCM wasn't Grand Cayman. But hey, it's easier to blame some poor Customer Care agent on the phone than to take responsibility for you own stupidity. That is NOT "their mistake," it was YOURS. And just because the Marriott Beach Resort had rooms available direct doesn't mean that Expedia does. As explained on the website (clear that no one in this blog ever bothered to read), Expedia is given an allocation of rooms at a hotel on a prepaid basis. So guess what Erik? If we were given 20 rooms and our 20 were sold out, then we can't sell you a room even if the hotel has 50 left, because they didn't give any of them to us to sell. Your time could be better spent telling the hotel that if they do such good business with Expedia, then allocate them more hotel rooms. Nah, it's easier to whine on this blog than to think about ways to improve service for others.
So folks, all of you need to learn to read "terms & conditions" on a website, LISTEN to a Customer Care agent when YOU call into THEM seeking assistance, and learn to take responsibility for your own mistakes instead of bitching about the travel company you made the decision to book with. What's sad is that the 6 of you who posted comments on here probably think you're going to impact Expedia's business in some way. Let's see here... millions of satisfied Expedia customers every year vs. 6 whiners. I'll take my chances on the big greedy corporation!
Comments by Team Expedia : Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 07:16 AM
Wow, I think Team Expedia's post tells us EVERYTHING we need to know about "customer service" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) at that company.
Thanks to all those who posted their horror stories!
Comments by ChrisJ : Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 12:10 PM
I too had an expedia nightmare. They sent my ticket to the wrong address. They would not send me an e-ticket and actually didn't require a signature so Fedex left the envelope on a NYC sidewalk and expected me to find it when I came home. When I complained to Expedia, they first agreed to replace the ticket, then the song and dance happened. They wanted me to buy a second ticket and wait to get reimbursed for their lost ticket.
I wouldn't give them permission, but they did it anyway, illegally charging my credit card. I wound up missing my flight (having to take a later one) and was unable to pay for my hotel room because of the extra charge. Will never use them again and will tell everybody just how bad they are.
Comments by Tigerd : Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 02:43 PM
Heee hee... that's so funny. This Expedia-favouring person comes in an bitch-slaps all the whiners in one blow. Hilarious.
There will always be big corporations ripping 'little people' off, just as there will always be moaning misfits that never take the blame (very often Americans, since taught to complain if not content from an early age).
Expedia may very well have under-paid staff with bad attitude and slim-to-none customer skills, but the other extreme is of course the bitching American from hell, who 'is always right'.
Thanks for the laugh.
Comments by Yebo : Thursday, September 06, 2007 at 03:52 AM
Heee hee... that's so funny. This Expedia-favouring person comes in an bitch-slaps all the whiners in one blow. Hilarious.
There will always be big corporations ripping 'little people' off, just as there will always be moaning misfits that never take the blame (very often Americans, since taught to complain if not content from an early age).
Expedia may very well have under-paid staff with slim-to-none customer skille, but the other extreme is the bitching American from hell who 'is always right'.
Thanks for the laugh.
Comments by Yebo : Thursday, September 06, 2007 at 03:54 AM
Predictable lame responses to my post, along with more whining and not listening to Customer Care. Yebo you're absolutely right about the "moaning misfits" that don't understand that people are responsible for their own actions, but just so you know, Expedia's pay and benefits are actually very solid and I happen to have very GOOD Customer Service skills thank you very much! I admit I would have probably handled the whiners incidents a little more professionally, although I'm sure these people would still have something to complain about.
Tigerd, Expedia has no control over whether or not the airline requires that you have a paper ticket or if they will send an electronic ticket. A paper ticket is shipped only to the address that YOU provide, Expedia wouldn't have had a wrong address if you hadn't GIVEN THE WRONG ADDRESS! I guess the next accusation will be "Expedia opens the phone book and finds random addresses to ship tickets to." Come on, dude. Admit that YOU screwed up and gave Expedia the wrong address.
Chris J., if there is any problem with Expedia customer service, it's because the Customer Care agents are burnt out from having to deal with stupid people like the ones who have posted here, who prove that they don't listen to the people who are trying to help them. It is so damn frustrating that people CALL IN TO US for our help but yet are all Mr. & Ms. Know It Alls while we're trying to do the best we can to resolve their issue. I have learned that people have a genuine lack of listening skills and no sense of respecting someone that they are asking to help them. If everyone is such experts, why call-in? Oh yeah... it's because they're NOT experts, WE ARE. For every half dozen complaints like there are on this website, there are thousands of issues resolved daily by the hard work of Expedia agents. So Chris J, get over yourself, and find a way to use your time more effectively than by coming on to a blog like this and encourage people to keep whining and bitching, particularly when you don't even say what your own beef is with the company.
Comments by Team Expedia : Friday, September 07, 2007 at 02:29 PM
Don't ever use expedia
1. service rep are horrible (non of them can speak english and they like to give you a run-a-round)
2. they like FEES (so they will charge you for anything that you want to change)
3. manager is never there. So you can never talk to an upper management.
I would rather pay $100 extra than going through all these head ache with them.
Expedia DOT SCAM!
Comments by Jason : Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 02:35 PM
I booked a package deal to Las Vegas for $599 CA. 3 nights stay, four days,at New York New York, which included 2 for 1 to the Il Fornio Restaurant, 2 for 1 To the Fine nine Irishman Pub (meals and drinks), among a ticket to Zumanity and a couple other perks. I noticed after I selected this package and by the time everything was finalized and paid for there was nothing on my iternerary about the "extras" that made this package such a great deal. I leave on Tuesday and as of today i have spent a total of 3 hours on hold. I have spoken to two seperate managers who told me there is nothing they can do as they don't keep track of the "deals" and unless i fax them the web page with the offer, there was nothing they could do. (Which does not exist anymore because the deal expired. Does anyone have that page showing the package for New York New York? PLEASE e mail me if you do!! I'm going to prove to these jerks that this was what i paid for and what i expect!!
Comments by Tanis : Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 07:01 PM
Well here I am again! Straightening everybody out!
Jason, only a fraction of Expedia reps are of foreign decent. The majority are right here in the good 'ol U.S. of A, including myself. Last time I think I speak (and write!) English pretty well. Your "Fees for everything" claim doesn't hold water b/c you don't even outline what you were charged fees for. I bet I know... necessary fees from the airline or simple fees for a hotel booking that YOU AGREED TO when you booked the reservation! If you don't agree with the policies, don't book the reservation! And finally, I always have a Supervisor or Lead Agent available, so if they are not there you can leave a voice mail and they will call you back within 24 hours. If you would allow the first person you speak to to actually help you, you probably wouldn't need management anyway!
Tanis: First real, legitimate problem I've seen on this website. You might contact the hotel because the promotion might be through them, as an incentive to you for booking their hotel on Expedia instead of their competition. A lot of Vegas hotel-casinos do this with "food credits". The hotel is the one actually offering the promo on Expedia. It's a shame that the deal expired b/c if you had something to fax in showing the promo, a supervisor could definitely help you. But try calling the hotel.
Comments by Team Expedia : Monday, September 17, 2007 at 04:40 PM
I received notice from Expedia.ca that they had received notice from the airline that the departure time for a flight had changed. This was six days ago and to date, my itinerary online has not been updated. Also last week, I sent three E-mails to customer service, and have yet to receive a reply to any of them. This despite the fact that their website says I will receive a reply within 24 hours. So much for customer service. I tried the phone, but after navigating the menu, I get a message that my call cannot be completed, or am put on hold for over an hour. I have had no problems with Expedia in the past, until now. What gives? Is there a labour dispute or something?
Comments by Robert : Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 04:27 PM
Robert... just getting out of a peak travel season. No reason hold time should be an hour but may be a while... call 1-800-EXPEDIA.
Comments by Team Expedia : Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 02:14 AM
Expedia is a horrible company. I made the mistake in booking a flight and having to cancel it within 7 hours and they wouldn't give me a refund after I realized my mistake. They're quick to take your money in a few hours but want to take months in giving the money back to you. I've already filed a complaint with the attorney generals of Texas and CA.
My situation basically amounts to fraud and theft. Expedia is just trying to use the same excuses that the airlines give to people when they provide poor service but fortunately they're not protected by federal laws. Expedia is a service, they don't run anything...as a service oriented company, they should be the first to treat their customers like gold. Now that airlines realize the crap Expedia pulls, they're setting things up so you don't need Expedia anymore to buy tickets at decent prices. It's best to buy directly from the airlines now rather than deal with online travel agencies like travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz. HELP CLOSE BUSINESSES LIKE EXPEDIA DOWN! BUY TICKETS DIRECTLY FROM THE AIRLINES ONLINE.
Comments by Roy : Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 09:57 PM
My god, I can't help but laugh at the stupid complaints you people have!!!I am a loyal customer of expedia and I NEVER had a bad experience with them. You know why? because I LISTEN to their explanation if I have problems. Maybe thats what you people should also do. Roy, do not blame expedia for the mistake that you made. Of course when you book, money will be taken out of your account. If there would be a refund, a process would have to be undergone. There are also some airlines with a NO-VOID policy (meaning no refund)- so if refund wouln't be given, BLAME THE AIRLINES.
"Now that airlines realize the crap Expedia pulls, they're setting things up so you don't need Expedia anymore to buy tickets at decent prices." <<<---- are you kidding me? can you name an airline who backed out from business with expedia because of your so-called scam?
Again, another "moaning misfit" that never take the blame ...tsk tsk tsk
Comments by Monica : Friday, September 21, 2007 at 01:20 PM
I have just tried to book 2 flights from Glasgow to Las Palmas on the 1st of
October returning on the 8th of October 2007, I was advised there were flights available, i then proceeded to book the flights but was advised after a few minutes "We are unable to complete your booking at this time, please try later".
I then decided to try another website, i found 2 flights available on
www.lastminute.com, when i went to book the flights my payment was declined,
i have enough funds in my account so i called my bank, They advised there was a hold on funds for £448.00, so i called
Expedia (10p per minute)as i assumed the flights may have been booked. I spoke to a young lady who advised the flights were not booked as they are no longer available and that the payment was put on hold from my account before confirmation that the flights were available.
I want to know how they can put a hold on funds when no transaction has taken
place, the young lady also advised it can take up to 7 days for the funds of
£448 to be released which means i now cannot book the flights with
www.lastminute.com
I am absolutely disgusted with their business process, don't touch them with a barge pole.
p.s. I'm still waiting for a reply to my e-mail i sent them! + the flights i tried to book are still showing up on Expeida as available. A total waste of space!!!!
Comments by mike fyfe : Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 05:57 AM
Well, this definitely was useful in deciding whether or not I wanted to use expedia for my next vacation. More horror stories for the list, along with the link to http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Expedia.com-925035233.html provided by the wikipedia entry.
Seems as if Expedia customer's service is also exemplified by "Team Expedia's" insulting responses here. Demeaning customers? Not only is it unprofessional, it's unwarrented here. After all, how are customers idiots for not knowing the inner workings of an online travel agent? You know, good customer service goes a long way. Just look at the mistake Audi made in 1986 in response to false allegations. (A textbook case on crisis management.) Now I'm not even saying that Expedia has the luxury of calling its shortcomings "false", but even if it did, not letting the customer win is a stupid thing to do. And blatantly disrepecting them even more stupid.
In short, you're the idiot, Team Expedia.
Comments by aidepxE maeT : Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 11:15 PM
I have recently had very bad experience with Expedia.ca customer service.
On September 1, I booked a return flight to Brussels on Expedia, for October 20 - 24, at a cost of $1850. This week I saw a price of under $1000 for flights to the same destination, same dates!
I have tried to call Expedia to ge tinformation about the cost of canceling my easrlier reservations at their 1-888 number at least four times, waiting over a half hour each time before hanging up in disgust. I also left three messages on the e0mail reply which promises a repl;y within 24 hours, and have had no reply in four days!
I'm not sure how Team Expedia can justify this lack of reasonable customer service. I just want an answer!
Comments by George Teather : Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 10:45 AM
George, the number to call Expedia is not 1-888. It's 1-800-EXPEDIA.
Roy, read my earlier posts. The no-refund policy is that of the AIRLINE, not Expedia!! Get through your thick skull that airlines have strict policies and the chances are nil that you get a refund from an airline or from the company you booked the airline through because THEY will not refund Expedia or YOU. Book the right flight the first time, and don't blame a travel company for you own mistake or the policies of an airline!
Now, aidepxE maeT or whatever your ridiculous handle is. (Not as ridiculous as your unoriginal response of calling ME an idiot.) I'm not asking anyone to "know the inner workings of an online travel agent." I'm asking that people use common sense before they book something. I'm asking people to realize that 9 times out of 10 the problem is caused by an airline or hotel, not Expedia. I'm asking that people LISTEN to Customer Care agents when they call in to the Customer Care department wanting help. There are no false allegations being made Expedia or by customers on this website. (Expedia doesn't come close to your Audi example in ANY way). It's all just a result of people not using common sense and not hearing the answer they want when they call in to Customer Care. So no, person with goofy handle, I'm not an idiot. People who call in and don't listen, and YOU... are.
Comments by Team Expedia : Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 03:23 PM
The main problem I have with expedia right now is I can't reach customer service. I've called a few times, waiting over an hour on hold and sent an email, waiting over 24 hours for a reply, and I have still not heard from them at all.
Does anyone know what happens if my paper ticket is lost or stolen in a foreign country? Am I supposed to call expedia long distance and wait on hold for hours?
Comments by Ben : Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 04:43 PM
Here's a link for you.
http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/f.php?pagetitle=expedia
According to wikiscanner, people within the Expedia company have made 16 changes to the Expedia wiki entry. This is a breach of ethical behavior, similar to the other companies such as Coca-Cola recently ratted out for removing incriminating information.
A few of the notable changes?
December 21, 2006 edit:
The entire customer feedback section, detailing common complaints, was deleted by Expedia.
January 23, 2007 edit:
The customer feedback section (restored by someone else) was again modified by Expedia. All negative information was removed, and positive press was added in.
Just more evidence that Expedia is run by a bunch of sleazes bent on dishonestly painting a brighter image on a flawed company.
I'm not even going to bother responding to your post in detail. I can hardly believe that you're a representative for Expedia. If you are not, someone will track your post IP, and you will be found liable. And if you really are - then all the more reason not to work with a company that sends dimwits onto online blogs to post ad hominem attacks on discontent customers.
Comments by aidepxE maeT : Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 04:44 PM
2 days later, still unable to get through to anyone at Expedia on the phone after waiting a total of hours on hold. Emails not responded to in over 48 hours.
I found flightcenter.com has much more responsive service. They answer the phone *and* reply to email. Amazing!
Comments by Ben : Friday, September 28, 2007 at 12:23 PM
aidepxE maeT, what are you talking about? You have WAY too much time on your hands apparently. And don't throw your pompous "we're gonna find out who you are" attitude around. My IP is nobody's business and it sure as hell better not be tracked. Wait a minute. It wouldn't, because it's just 1 little opinion site that has a small fraction of the hits that Expedia.com does everyday. Just so you know, I came on this site of my own free will, and my posts are for the purpose of providing an understanding of how travel planning works, and maybe to vent just a little frustration after a day of handling phone calls from many who don't listen or don't try to understand.
Ben, I'm sorry. Keep trying, and call late at night. Customer Care is 24 hours!
aidepxE maeT, back to you. I can't help it. You're a pompous prick. If you have had a bad experience with Expedia, say what it is. Don't come on here with an "I'm gonna throw my weight around and uncover all kinds of dark secrets" and try to act all threatening and cocky. Go ahead with your little plan, I'll sit back and laugh when you come out looking like Geraldo Rivera opening up Al Capone's vault.
Comments by Team Expedia : Saturday, September 29, 2007 at 04:47 AM
i dont think that this to expedia. i believe expedia the whole expedia company is trying thier cest to meet the needs of every traveler. we should be thankful that there is a company name expedia because we wre able to look and compare for other options. i believe that their customer service rep is great and helful.
thanks
Comments by joewary anderson : Tuesday, October 02, 2007 at 10:18 PM
Way too much time? It takes a couple minutes to run simple checks and to write posts that piss off people like you.
The fact that I'm able to elicit such a response from you is tickling. Anyways, I'm done with you here. Expedia's hardly even a company worth flaming about. According to alexa.com, it's lost about 75% of its internet traffic over the past two years. Only a matter of time before Expedia won't even exist and these posts won't matter anyways.
You are far too easy.
Comments by aidepxE maeT : Wednesday, October 03, 2007 at 12:39 AM
aidepxE maeT, I'm not at all pissed off at your lame comments. I'm disgusted with your "know it all" attitude that in reality doesn't mean a damn thing to anybody. Thanks for that info about Expedia's website traffic that comes from a website that gets a small fraction of the traffic that Expedia does. Brilliant insight. If you think that Expedia is somehow doomed then your just an idiot. The only thing "easy" is blowing holes in your irrelevant arguments based on information from websites no one has even heard of or cares about. Even if you spend a "couple minutes" on those websites, it's too much time dude. Get a grip.
Comments by Team Expedia : Thursday, October 04, 2007 at 02:21 AM
Expedia screwed up my hotel reservation and ended bumping me up to a $700.00 a night suite for the $199.99 I was booked for, so I got a $700.00 suite for $199.99 It rocked. All travel website and agents and airlines suck, it's because there is always someone who will take the punishment so complainers don't matter, they are so few and far between.
Comments by Fred : Monday, October 08, 2007 at 03:02 PM
A month after booking my trip I got a call that their was a change to my itinerary. I called in and was told that I would now have a 7 hour layover in a Mexican airport. When I said that was unacceptable I was told they would look into it to see what they could do and that they would call me back. They called back and to my delight said that no changed were made afterall, that the original itinerary would remain as it was when purchased. Well fast forward to now, two days before our flight... the changes were made, I was lied to by Expedia, and now my only option is take what is given to me or pay a minimum of $200 to change flight times to my approval. I find that to be dishonest ans minipulative. I will never ever use Expedia again and I will be sharing my experience with all personal and professional contacts. I will also post on any anti-Expedia message boards and re copy links to other anti-Expedia links online. Thanks Expedia.
Comments by jillian : Friday, October 12, 2007 at 08:18 PM
Expedia has ripped me off for $500 by charging my credit card twice for the same flights/itinerary. "Customer Service" is a joke. I have written about it here:
http://wyaryan.blogspot.com/2007/10/expedia-sucks.html
Comments by Will Yaryan : Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 08:24 PM
I have been on hold for 4 hours waiting to change a flight. My e-mails have gone unanswered after 24 hrs. I will never use this company again!
Comments by Brendan : Monday, October 15, 2007 at 06:19 PM
Well this is probably more "American" whining to some but it has seriously stressed me out and has completely convinced me that Expedia is a company full of lies, incompetance and also from what I have read above rudeness. I can not believe that is what you call customer service! But let me share my experience so that you can tell me how this was my fault.
I had to book an emergency flight to Santa Rosa, California for my mother due to a sudden death in the family. I booked the flight on 15th with Expedia leaving Wichita Ks. at 6:00 a.m. the following morning. When I explained the situation to the operator she nicely suggested that I purchase the $15 protection so that if my mother decided she needed more days in California she could change her flight without any further expense. She said the only thing that I would have to be sure she did was to call 2 days prior to changing her flight. I was very appreciative and agreed to this purchase. I also had her note on the account that my mother was free to discuss ticket changes with them and she assured me her name had been added as a person who could do so. She said all my mother would need was the confirmation number. I was very relieved to know that she would be taken care of and had plans to use the services of Expedia again. That all changed at 3 a.m. the following morning.
My mother arrived very early to the airport as is her policy just in case. She went to the Atlanta SE (Delta) counter where she was suppose to be able to pick up her tickets. There were no tickets and they did not have her booked on any flight. They did have a flight leaving at 6:00 and arriving in Santa Rosa at 3:30 but they did not have her on any of the flights (which by the way took her all over the U.S. to get there). So she called me to find out what was the problem. I called Expedia and after 5 phone calls and 4 hours later we had the matter resolved. (Her flight left at 6:00!!) At one point I had the counter assistant on one phone and Expedia on the other because Expedia kept telling me that they were calling the number I gave them to reach the ticket agent to straighten it out. They kept saying they couldn't do anything about it that it was the airline's fault however when I said well I have the man you are trying to call on another line via my mother's cell phone and I know for a fact you have not called him they finally got the call through. It was only through this 3 way conversation that the matter was taken care of.
The resolve didn't cost me extra...the Expedia agent had to point that out..that they were so nice that they would not charge me extra for the changes in flight and he also did apologize but never did admit that it was Expedia's fault that her electronic ticket was not there at the counter as they said it would be the night before. This apology and no charge was to make up for the fact that my mother had to spend the rest of the day in the airport waiting for her now 2:10 p.m. flight because she was 2 hours from home at this point.
Had this been the only trouble with this flight I would have probably have taken it as a fluke and tried Expedia again. On the 19th my mother said it was obvious to her that my aunt would need her for another week to help straighten out insurance, estate, etc. So she called Expedia to change her flight. They would not talk to her about it because she was not the one who booked the flight. I said it is okay Mom, I will handle it (she had enough to deal with). I call Expedia to make the changes. The operator asks me if an Expedia agent sold me this exchange protection or if we purchased it at the airline. I said no mam, the Expedia agent who sold me my tickets on the 15th is the agent who sold me this protection. She said okay please hold...(in total I was on hold 5 hours with this company!!) So I hold and hold...finally she comes on and says I am sorry mam' but I am showing no such charge on your account and we have no such coverage. I said okay well maybe it got messed up when we had to make changes on the 16th due to the previous mess up. She said no mam...it is not our policy to exchange tickets. I can do that but it will be at least another $100. Then she tells me that there have been paper tickets produced so I can not even exchange these tickets without first turning in my paper tickets to a Delta counter. What!!?? I have no paper tickets...remember the electronic tickets that are suppose to be at the counter?? Also my mother is in Ukiah, California...and she will have to drive to LA to make these changes.
When I get upset she tells me mam..I am doing my best and you are not handling this well...duh!! do you think?? How would she feel if this was her situation to deal with. She tells me she can cancel the return flight a refund $100 of my $900 round trip to my credit card. I said well I am not even sure how much my card has been charged already because I have not recieved any of the emails promised confirming the charges or the flights. She said well mam you will just have to trust me....Right...I am suppose to trust her that she will handle this but yet she is not trusting me that I agreed to a $15 protection plan?? I have already put my trust into this company twice and been let down..it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they can not be trusted.
So now my mother is going to see what she can plead out with the Delta agents...I will in the mean time wait to see how much they have ripped me off.
Tell me Mr. Expedia man...how would you feel in this situation?? Tell me how I was to properly handle this??? Tell me why I should ever use Expedia ever again or ever reccomend this company to any of my friends??
Oh by the way the people I dealt with at Delta said this is Expedia all the way around...they do this all the time.
Comments by Richelle : Friday, October 19, 2007 at 08:55 PM
I'd just like to know how many of you remember a positive customer service experience, be it a cabbie, a waiter or phone agent? Most likely not as much as all the negative experiences listed above. The reason is that people do not really remember the good experience but a bad memory sicks out like a sore thumb. Do you think that I wake up each day to try and milk every cent from you? I love vacations - in fact, i love it so much, I love helping people plan and book vacations. That's the reason i work for expedia. If there is a screw up, i try my best to fix it myself - no matter who made the mistake - because i've been there myself.
My mother always used to tell me to "use the eyes, not the mouth". All the rules are listed on the itinerary when you purchase it, right? Even honest mistakes are still mistakes and there are still consequences for making them. But we still try to help you guys out. I wish you guys could know what it's like to take a call from someone who is as upset as you are now, about a problem you didn't make - but you won't.
Comments by Expedia Rep : Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 03:35 PM
Warning.... Expedia led me to believe I was booking into the Downtown Seattle Travelodge. When I arrived, we discovered our paid for hotel was 15 minutes out of downtown. The hotel in Aurora confirmed that this happens frequently with Expedia. We paid $120 / night to Expedia for a room that rented for $79 / night book rate.
TOTALLY NOT IMPRESSED WITH EXPEDIA - BUYER BEWARE
Comments by Cindy : Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 12:12 AM
Richelle, I honestly have no idea what might have happened here because I handle mostly hotel and car reservations not flights, but I have never heard of Expedia offering this "$15 protection plan" that you are referring to. We have absolutely no control over flight schedule changes as these are done by the airlines. Funny that the Delta guy would put us down considering the MILLIONS of dollars of business that we generate for them every year, but if he wants to name call us, I'll point out immediately that out of the flight itineraries I HAVE worked with, the overwhelming majority of flights that had problems due to last minute schedule changes were Delta flights. No airline causes more headaches for passengers due to their last minute schedule changes than Delta.
Your comment about you getting upset while on the phone with the Expedia illustrates all of my points on here perfectly... you call Customer Care to get help and then you get mad at the person trying to help you when the problem is likely some kind of technical glitch between Expedia and the airline. I just CANNOT UNDERSTAND any logic in calling in for help but then make life a living hell for the person trying to HELP YOU by screaming instead of being patient and letting the agent do their job.
Cindy, too bad that the Travelodge failed to mention that all information about their hotel on our website, including location, is provided by THEM. If they're not in downtown Seattle, then they need to contact us and tell us that they're not in downtown Seattle instead of pointing fingers at us. DUH. I'm sure that simple logic like that though is too difficult for someone who is going to make such a gripe about 15 minutes to understand. Oh, and if the hotel told you that they were $79/night, that's called UNDERCUTTING the rate that you booked in advance. Hotels are not supposed to do this but they do. But again, easier for you to join in the finger pointing at Expedia than being disgusted at the hotel for offering better rates at the last minute than for those that book in advance.
Kudos to Expedia Rep for helping me illustrate the main point I've been trying to make on this website... many problems are avoided if people would actually READ the terms & conditions before booking and then REREAD their confirmation... and why call Customer Care for help when all you're going to do is yell and not let them help you? Buyer beware Cindy? More like "Customer Care agent beware of those who won't let you care because all they care about is griping!"
Comments by Team Expedia : Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 09:02 AM
I don't care for griping; I do care for promised low prices and common courtesy, neither of which I received from Expedia. Misled by their advertising into thinking they secured lower rates than I would be able to get elsewhere (including the hotel, I booked a hotel with them only to find out later that my sister booked a comparable room with the hotel at a lower rate. When I called Expedia and asked for an adjustment, they were unable to help me, explained that rates change, yada, yada. I asked for a supervisor and she immediately told me I wasn't getting any satisfaction from her. BUT, they would give me a voucher for future bookings to offset the cancellation charge! Just what I want--another chance to be duped and inconvenienced and rudely treated. NO MORE EXPEDIA! PS If Expedia reads this, the agent's name was Tina and so was the Supervisor's. Send them to "customer care" classes.
Comments by Aileen Reinstatler : Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 11:55 AM
I love it! Yet ANOTHER comment to prove my point from Ms. Aileen here. Aileen, you mention "yada, yada" in your post... when translated to English that means "I didn't listen." In your situation here, the only misleading done was by the hotel because after your booked your room in advance at a low rate, your sister books LATER and gets a LOWER rate? I love how when this happens that people blame Expedia. Ever stop for a minute and think that maybe it's the HOTEL doing something strange?
I'll try to explain this as clearly as possible so even someone as thick headed as you are can understand, Aileen. When you booked your reservation, you DID get the lowest rate at the time you booked it. When your sister booked her reservation later, the hotel had lowered their rates and undercut Expedia's price. And Expedia has control of this HOW? But instead of calling the hotel and finding out what kind of operation they're running that they're offering lower rates on last minute bookings instead of rewarding those who book in advance, you join the people who post on this site as yet another mind-numbed finger pointer.
Perhaps the 2 Tina's could have handled your call more professionally, but you just dismissing a voucher for a future booking doesn't exactly illustrate that you were a patient, understanding customer. The reason the vouchers are offered in the first place is basically for us to say "we're sorry" and want to give you something for your inconvenience when there is nothing else that can be done, i.e. match a hotel's last minute rate that is less than what they are billing our company for. Again, didn't a thought of "why would the hotel do something like this?" ever cross your mind? Oh wait, no it didn't... we've already established you as a mind-numbed finger pointer.
Anyone that uses the words "yada, yada" doesn't get to suggest what Customer Care agents need to do to improve at their jobs because we don't get to suggest to you over the phone that you do something about your attention-deficit disorder.
Comments by Team Expedia : Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 03:37 AM
This morning, I got an "Urgent" email message to call Expedia about my flight. They said they had "received notice from Delta Airlines that they have:" and then there was nothing after the colon. Then it gave the number to call them. So I called at 11:20 a.m. and was on hold until 1:05 p.m. One hour and 45 minutes. I didn't even know what happened to my flight. I had received two previous emails with slight itinerary time changes, but this urgent one was new. So, while on hold, I surfed the net and found several complaints about Expedia (.ca is what I'm using). I ended up calling Delta directly, and they sorted it out. I now have a ticket and confirmation directly from the airline. Even though my problem was small, I won't use Expedia.ca again. One hour and 45 minutes on hold trying to respond to an urgent message is totally unacceptable.
Comments by Kathy : Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 02:06 PM
I've just had almost the exact same experience. Urgent notice from Expedia to call to find out about a schedule change, hours spent on hold on the phone (2 1/2 last time) and still no information. I, too, have contacted the airline directly and am presently waiting to here from them. Hopefully, they'll take over my reservation from Expedia.ca. I'll never use again either.
Comments by Caroline : Sunday, October 28, 2007 at 02:28 PM
This is for our customers in general...
Yes, I work for Expedia. Reading all of the negative posts here makes me sad, only because I know what it's like to plan a vacation through a company (I've used a few before I started working for Expedia) and finding out too late that you've been duped. Team Expedia is right, people need to listen to the "legal scripts" that are read to you (or shown to you if you book on line) during your call to Expedia. The rules of the airline, hotel, and/or car company are explained, in detail. If there is something that is read to you that doesn't make sense, STOP the agent and have them explain it. Do that BEFORE we process your credit card.
Again, I do feel bad for those of you who have had bad experiences with Expedia. Take your time with the agent when you call so you can make sure that everything is accurate in your reservation. Ask questions! At Expedia, we don't have a certain number of calls we have to take in an hour, so there's no need to rush through anything. Ask the agent to call the hotel if you have specific questions that we aren't able to answer. Or, ask the agent for the direct number to the hotel if you would rather call.
Comments by Expedia Employee : Monday, October 29, 2007 at 09:05 PM
MY EXPERIENCE IS THE SAME AS:
Comments by mike fyfe : Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 05:57 AM
I TRIED TO BOOK A TRIP TO ORLANDO. MY CARD WAS CHARGED/AUTHORIZED TWICE FOR THE SAME TRIP AT 1600.usd A POP! THEY SAID THE AIRLINE HAPPENED TO BE UPDATING THEIR SYSTEM WHEN I TRIED TO BOOK SO THE AOURTHORIZATION WENT THROUGH BUT THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY BOOK THE TRIP. I TOLD THE GUY THAT I COULD TRY ALL DAY TO BOOK AND IN EFFECT END UP WITH A $64,000 USD IN CHARGES AND STILL NOT HAVE A BOOKED TRIP...HE WAS SYMPATHETIC BUT SAID THAT'S THE WAY THE SYSTEM WORKS...DUMB ASS SYSTEM! WAS SUPPOSED TO TRY AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN..ALL AT 1600. A SHOT... THIS HAS THE EFFECT OF ESSENTIALLY FREEZING THE FUNDS IN MY BANK ACCOUNT FROM BEING USED BY ME FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE...LIKE SAY A TRIP TO A THERAPIST FOR AN ANGER MANAGEMENT COURSE WHICH IS BADLY NEEDED AFTER TRYING TO DEAL WITH EXPEDIA!....WAS ON THE PHONE OVER AN HOUR TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT...NOW 3200.USD OF MY FUNDS ARE ON HOLD FOR UP TO 3 BUSINESS DAYS AND I STILL HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BOOK THE TRIP. IDIOTS. AWFUL BOOKING SYSTEM. WILL NEVER TRY AND USE THIS FIRM AGAIN.
Comments by Krissie : Saturday, November 03, 2007 at 09:22 AM
You will find it hard to believe my story which I am writing while waiting on the phone for Expedia.ca. Here is the complaint letter I wrote half an hour to Expedia -
121650756459
Expedia.ca
I have been trying 2 hrs and 20 minutes - and I am still waiting on the phone line - to change flight dates on a Expedia.ca issued ticket.
The first try I was transferred and waited 50 minutes with no answer so stared again.
Unbelievably after speaking with Brenda she did exactly the same thing - EXACTLY THE SAME THING !! This was after I told her I have waited 1 hr and half and asked to speak with a manager since she could "not guarantee" that I would not have to wait. She was right - STILL WAITING.
I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on flights this year and this does not include my staff who travel equal amounts.
I am entitled when I buy a ticket to a reasonable amount of service as part of the value of the ticket. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT COMPENSATION I SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOU FAILING WHICH I WILL MAKE SURE I GET IT THROUGH THE COURTS AND PUBLICATION OF THIS EXPEDIA PROBLEM ON MY COMPANY BLOG.
PS - Timing you - 1:14:49 on the second call so far.
PPS - 1:47:41 STILL WAITING !!
It is time for the Airlines to take back this reversation function and allow us to book the best flight no matter what airline!
Ed
President& CEO
Name of Company withheld
Comments by Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER : Monday, November 05, 2007 at 01:08 PM
Well, here's another one for you. I have now been trying to get through to them for five hours. I also waited, talked to a guy, got transferred...battery on portable died after 1.5 hours. So I started again. Made an error after getting through and lost the connection - another hour lost. Then I got through again and once again was transferred. I am so desperate I was crying when I was talking to the guy. He did nothing. I tried to find out how long I would be waiting. He wouldn't tell me. So, two and a half hours later I'm still on hold trying to change my ticket. They changed my flight so that my transfer time is not adequate to get from flight to flight. I'm sure their hope is that people will hang up and give up. It's just too pathetic - and unfortunate for expedia who clearly know nothing about customer relations (see message above from them to prove the point). Could have been a great business. The competition is great out there. My family and friends travel a lot -word will be spread and I will never use them again. I am madly running between two phones - trying to keep one charged so I don't lose the call again. Bastards.
Comments by jane : Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 12:43 AM
Well, just a follow up. I never did get through to Expedia. Waited on the phone for four and a half hours listening to music. I'm going to try phoning the actual airlines in the morning to see if I can get some help. As this is an emergency I had to book another flight but did it through Air Canada - had to call them twice to ask a question about my booking and they answered the phone each time within less than a minute. So, folks, just deal directly with the airlines. Expedia is crap. The guy at Expedia told me they were going to be reorganizing their system. Yeah, sure. Hate to phone and give a service person a bad time. Not their fault of course, but man this is so frustrating....and I'm out over 1000 dollars at this point. (The same ticket through Air Canada was 600.00 by the way).
Comments by Jane : Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 02:09 AM
The Latest from Me, an email to Expedia.ca =
FLIGHT CANCELLATION - Itinerary No: 121650756459
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please be advised this November 5th, 2007 at 4:33 EST that the above flight is cancelled. I require you to return ALL my money for this flight and compensate me at my consulting rate of $175 per hour for the six hours I wasted waiting for you to answer the phone. You never did answer the phone but kept me waiting in line all that time. In addition you do not permit the Airline or anyone else to make changes to the flight [according to Lufthansa], and you require this to be done by phone according to your website.
Please be in no doubt that I hold you in fundamental breach of contract and am entitled to full damages in compensation. These damages are as follows -
Time expended - $1,050
Flight Change extra cost - $700
Return of payment $2,177.65
TOTAL CLAIM - $3,927.65
Note that I will not accept any kind of a credit from Expedia since I have no intention of ever doing business with Expedia again. [You can probably see from your records that I fly extensively.}
Unless payment is received within seven days I will indeed proceed to to Small Claims Court and will include other claims against you and expenses.
Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER
November 6, 2007
Comments by Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER : Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 04:55 PM
You must have a legal background. Maybe you could advise some of us on how to go about this. Maybe if everyone acted together we could put an end to Expedia for good and protect others from the nightmares we all know too well.
Comments by Richelle : Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 07:39 PM
The Expedia Saga continues their answer my reply . .
From: support@service.expedia.ca [ mailto:support@service.expedia.ca ]
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:37 PM
To: anderson@trugroup.com
Subject: Re: 4105:Expedia.ca, I wish to cancel my booking - Case ID: [REQ:37452174]
Dear Edward,
Thank you for contacting Expedia.ca regarding your reservation.
Due to our high security measures your request can not be done via e-mail.
We ask all Expedia.ca members to call us directly and speak to one of our agents in order to change or cancel their booking.
We apologize for your inconvenience this may have caused you.
* Note: Certain flights are non-refundable and cancellation may result in a future travel credit. Along with any change penalties issued by the airline and fair difference.
=
MY REPLY -
Sent: 11/6/2007 4:23:56 PM
To: support@service.expedia.ca
Subject: RE: 4105:Expedia.ca, I wish to cancel my booking - Case ID: [REQ:37452174]
IS THIS A JOKE - YOUR ANSWER - I WAITED SIX HOURS WAITING FOR YOU TO ANSWER THE PHONE.
ARE YOU LISTENING - SIX HOURS AND YOU DID NOT ANSWER THE PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are both crazy and stupid if you think I am going to call again !
I WILL NOT BE CALLING AGAIN AND WANT MY MONEY INCLUDING MY DAMAGES SETTLED FORTHWITH. HERE IS A COPY OF THE EMAIL SENT YESTERDAY. YOU HAVE SIX DAYS TO PAY AND THEN YOU ARE IN COURT.
Ed
Comments by Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER : Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 09:45 PM
Ed,
I'm sorry that you're having such a problem with Expedia.ca. I will tell you, I've talked to A LOT of people who are having issues trying to get in touch with anyone at Expedia.ca. I've booked many many trips for people in the past week who had spent a lot of time trying to work on our Canadian site. I wish that I had an answer for you! If I had any way of even looking up your itinerary number, I would! Our system only allows me to look up itinerary numbers that were booked with one of our US agents or on our US website.
Comments by Expedia Employee : Wednesday, November 07, 2007 at 12:31 AM
My Expedia nightmare began back in Feburary. I decided to book the holiday of a life-time for my 30th birthday. I wanted flights only, travling from England to Jamaica to visit a friend for a while then we both flew to Las Vegas together where some more friends were flying out from England to meet us. Finally flying back to England after a dream holiday.
I could see all the flights that I wanted on the web site, I just couldn't get the right combination online so I called them and booked it over the phone, not a problem I booked the flights for the dates and times that I wanted. Only, when the e-mail confirmation came through my sirname had been spelt incorrectly. Even though I had spelt it out over the phone useing the phonetic alphabet at least three times during the booking. (they did manage to get it right for the credit card compny though) I notified them imediatly by e-mail (the office had closed for the night) and by phone the next day. I had no reason to belive that this was a difficult problem to resolve. Any way to cut a very long story short, by the end of April after about 15 phone calls over the months since booking, I finally got the issue resolved about a week before my holliday. I had been in tears on the phone no end of times (once in a life time holiday and all that) speaking to people who don't seem to know the meaning of the term "customer service",it was like banging my head against a brick wall. They did apparently however credit my Expedia account with a £50 voucher. I still don't know how they managed this as I don't even have an account with them, (I booked it through my friends account and she hasn't seen the voucher either). They did tell me that I would be able to reclaim any expences incured (phone bills). I have been trying to do this since the beging of July. They will ony corespond through my friends e-mail address because it is the one assosiated with the account,(this makes life very difficult as she is in Jamaica, I have to E-mail her every time to forward it to them) even though they sent me the amended E-ticket to my E-mail Address. I am getting so fed up with Expedia this has been going on for over nine months now, and it wasn't even my mistake in the first place. I swere I will never use Expedia again!
Comments by Sharon : Thursday, November 08, 2007 at 11:44 AM
Ed...I am anxious to hear how your situation turned out. Please post any info; I'm following your saga with interest.
In the meantime, I'm also warning everyone I know about the horrible (nonexistent!) customer phone service, and advising against any bookings with expedia.ca .
Comments by Kathy : Sunday, November 11, 2007 at 11:52 PM
Expedia = BAIT AND SWITCH.
plain and simple these guys are crooks with a brand. And if you call to change even the smallest thing 2hr hold times.
Comments by Mike Toronto : Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 09:32 AM
thanks TEAM EXPEDIA! i don't think that it is right to blame the travel agency that YOU customers booked your reservations with.
To customers who call in asking for assistance:
LISTEN to the Travel Experts, they were trained to handle your concern. Think before you start to complain.
Comments by eXpEdiA fAn : Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 08:07 PM
alright so here is the deal! firstly to team expedia THANK YOU so much for debunking some terrible ... misunderstands If you can call them that.. customers have. basically here is how it works people!
EXPEDIA.CA AND .COM DO NOT FLY PLANES, WE DO NOT OWN HOTELS, OR PROVIDE YOU WITHS CARS! we are merely the middle man. we charge you and either pay the vendor at that time OR we have already paid.so expedia only gets that 9.00 BOOKING fee! and any proft we make from our ESR purchases (which is not that large) basically as we have our VENDORS who ADVERTISE we HAVE to follow their rules WHICH ARE WRITTEN IS RED WRITING BEFORE YOU PURCHASE! we expect our customers to be interested in reading all rules for hotels or cars before the purchase! If all the pissed off customers blogging here stopped using expedia.ca or .com we would loose about 9 bucks per person..frankl;y if you are going to make silly mistakes like some that are listed then we dont want your business as all you do is aggrevate the CS agent and make us less than happy with the next bonehead customer.
Now to clear a few things up on expedia.ca's end. YES WE ARE RECIEVING A HIGH CALL VOLUME FOR THE FLIGHT CHANGE DEPARTMENT! that department IS the only one who can help you and i know how frustrated you are. But telling the unlucky rep who answered your call how long you have waiting will not get you anywhere..VERY RARELY will a manger be able to help you with the change! and even if they can they will most likely not as they are not allowed to! company policy. ONLY THE FLIGHT CHANGE/CANCELLATION department can take care of this as NOBODY ELSE ON THE FLOOR HAS TRAINING! this is because flight changes deal with thousands of dollars and it is our wauy to ensure that no mistakes are made with these flights. IF all agents had this training then there would be no agents available to take the rest of the hotel car insurance ppv calls. we do have different depts. we neeeeeddd the diff dept! VERY RARELY will an airline take over the flights unless it is within 24 hours of travel and if they do count yourself lucky because it is a rare occurance..
now ALL calls do need to go through the General inquiry department becasue not all changes can be delt with by expedia and we do not need that queue clogged up with calls that are unnecessary. to specify, if you have a west jet flight call west jet as they use a completely different system and they only advertise through expedia. so the general department will direct you to them, if this flight is in progress you need to call the airline, and at this time expedia.ca changed their booking system so for any flights that were booked before june or july the 14th need to go to a completely different department at our old location. now this department is only open 9am to 5pm est. so if you call after that regrettably you will be directed to call back between those hours, and trust me no matter how pissed you are about that the agent having to deliver that news is cringing becuase there is literally no other options..thankfully that department will no longer be needed soon..
as far as hotels are concerned yes they do undercut us in prices.. and we do apologize abotu that..please call hotels and give them trouble, but even then the person you speak to from the hotel most certainly did not do that.
my favourite calls are the ones where customers expect us to know all their information as they had been speaking with an agent earlier..lol i laugh at those silly people.
OMG and the worst calls are the people who put their names in wrong! considering half the times the AIRLINE do not allow expedia to make that change please ALWAYS PUT THE NAME THAT IS ON YOUR PASSPORT! we hate dealing with this issue as most of hte time there is nothign we can do, which effectively makes the customer mad at expedia..even though the rules state that name changes are not allowed..somehow this is expedias fault...
YES sometimes there are agent errors..misinformation most of the time, and that is unfortunate, but seriously we correct and compensate for those errors! WE HAVE TO! and if you havent been then perhaps you were not listening correctly or you did miss reading a rule so we could not compensate.
SO PLEASE NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU CALL IN ABOUT CHANGES OR CANCELLATION YOU WILL ALWAYS BE TRANFERED!
the louder you get on the phone the more unlikely help will be.
As a rep i love going above and beyond to help my customers! i pride myself of good customer service and yes when i first started i did make silly mistakes!
Before you call expedia please read the faQs portion the site because what the site tells you is what needs to be done. please make sure you check all requirments before for entry into a country and any you may have layovers in as you will be denied boarding if you do not..we have it on the site, and customers need to check before you book or call as this is the custoemrs responsibility! and NEVER PUT YOUR NICKNAME ON THE TICKET! this is a hassel for you an expedia.ca
Now i have not been rude nor demeaning to customers, i have merely explained process
oh and for hotels yeah we do need to speak with hotel before we can waive a fee and we need a fax from them stating so as we can not refund with out confirmation from them that is okay..
so now all i have to do is post this on all exisitng blogs..lol this will take forever! i dont think there are stupid custoemrs i just believe that many customers do not consider the seriousness when booking online as it is slightly less concrete. so please READ EVERYTHING before you book. do not be casual with expedia. it is no different from booking directly, or other online agencys!
thank you for reading this little rant/explanation
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 03:18 AM
ok specifically to ed!
about this this change. as i stated in my earlier post, and i apoligize for not noticing this earlier!
yes the e-mail is correct for security purposes WE do need to speak with you..and yes the hold times right now are ridiculous! let me tell you reasons
1. airlines have hold times and we do need to confirm changes with them while we talk to you. sometimes suggested flights are no longer available and that is unfortunate. if you would have gotten through to that dept then you would have noticed that you call may have taken hours to resolve and that is not expedias fault but the airlines!
2. expedia purchases about 80 seats per flights approx. and when the airline makes a change that change is applicable to ALL 80 expedia customers. now even if we had 50gents on the floor and there are about 20-30 flights changes per day including cancellations name changes and voluntary changes there would still be a hold time. as it stands i have seen some ridiculous queue amounts! and yes right now we have SEVEN training classes of over 23 people going through the training to try to lower this but it does take time.
I assure you that this is more stressful to the agent then to yourself, as 90% of the agents so badly want to help you but can not..
oh and to let you know we only hear from 15% of our custoemrs meaning there are 85% percent of customers who do not have issues..possibly they were better shoppers, oorr they were fortunate enough to have any changes made.
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 03:34 AM
ok specifically to ed!
about this this change. as i stated in my earlier post, and i apoligize for not noticing this earlier!
yes the e-mail is correct for security purposes WE do need to speak with you..and yes the hold times right now are ridiculous! let me tell you reasons
1. airlines have hold times and we do need to confirm changes with them while we talk to you. sometimes suggested flights are no longer available and that is unfortunate. if you would have gotten through to that dept then you would have noticed that you call may have taken hours to resolve and that is not expedias fault but the airlines!
2. expedia purchases about 80 seats per flights approx. and when the airline makes a change that change is applicable to ALL 80 expedia customers. now even if we had 50gents on the floor and there are about 20-30 flights changes per day including cancellations name changes and voluntary changes there would still be a hold time. as it stands i have seen some ridiculous queue amounts! and yes right now we have SEVEN training classes of over 23 people going through the training to try to lower this but it does take time.
I assure you that this is more stressful to the agent then to yourself, as 90% of the agents so badly want to help you but can not..
oh and to let you know we only hear from 15% of our custoemrs meaning there are 85% percent of customers who do not have issues..possibly they were better shoppers, oorr they were fortunate enough to have any changes made.
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 03:34 AM
ok specifically to ed!
about this this change. as i stated in my earlier post, and i apoligize for not noticing this earlier!
yes the e-mail is correct for security purposes WE do need to speak with you..and yes the hold times right now are ridiculous! let me tell you reasons
1. airlines have hold times and we do need to confirm changes with them while we talk to you. sometimes suggested flights are no longer available and that is unfortunate. if you would have gotten through to that dept then you would have noticed that you call may have taken hours to resolve and that is not expedias fault but the airlines!
2. expedia purchases about 80 seats per flights approx. and when the airline makes a change that change is applicable to ALL 80 expedia customers. now even if we had 50gents on the floor and there are about 20-30 flights changes per day including cancellations name changes and voluntary changes there would still be a hold time. as it stands i have seen some ridiculous queue amounts! and yes right now we have SEVEN training classes of over 23 people going through the training to try to lower this but it does take time.
I assure you that this is more stressful to the agent then to yourself, as 90% of the agents so badly want to help you but can not..
oh and to let you know we only hear from 15% of our custoemrs meaning there are 85% percent of customers who do not have issues..possibly they were better shoppers, oorr they were fortunate enough to have any changes made.
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 03:34 AM
CORRECTION! traning classes, we are training, i mixed up the classes not sure of the flight change class amount, but know we are workign to rectify the situation. we do know of your complaints and we are sorry for them
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 04:15 AM
i love how expedia caused it to rain all day making one of our customers sick..like seriously! dont stay outside all day :P
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 05:14 PM
well all i have to say is that when you call into expedia.ca you need to think about something. We are there working hard to serve you....when all you have to do is complain about things forever then you ahve to realize what are you accomplishing NOTHING. What you need to understand is DON"T BOOK ONLINE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!!!!!why do i say this well i say this because about 99% of tickets are non refundable and what don't people understand that when something is nonrefundable THAT MONEY CANNOT BE REFUNDED,
also finally:
IT IS THE AIRLINES CHNGING THE FLIGHTS NOT EXPEDIA
Comments by exp3dia.ca rep : Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 10:03 PM
to all those people who trying to give STUPID and LAME comments...dont blame the company for having your stupid mistakes that you made..i've been using them for quite sometime now and i never had a bad experience to the representative that i talked to. i think that your only suffering for your STUDID ASS mistakes that you made...
EXPEDIA ROCKS!!!
Comments by jinchuukuri : Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 05:55 AM
I don't know about you guys but it always isn't smooth especially if it's real time.Sometimes you get an error because the Expedia partners-the one who has access/who updates info online do not update so you see the cheap price but your not able to book it.PRICE CHANGE happens within minutes so if it took you 30 minutes to book the flight then you lose it. If you got an error using you credit card and you put it in several times, your bank will detect that activity and will automatically put a hold in it, while expedia's system will put a hold on the purchasde as well. What will be reflected is a charge but there is no booking.
Moswt of you who purchase flights dont read the FARE RULES and Cancellation policy and then if something goes wrong end uop whining and creating sites such as this one.
Comments by Cindy : Monday, November 19, 2007 at 08:14 AM
the bottom line is, most of you guys listen and understand less but complain too much. A proof that you guys have a big mouth and a microscopic brain...
Comments by Alexander : Monday, November 19, 2007 at 08:41 PM
Uhmm... to the Expedia rep, I have two things to say:
1. 5 hours on hold and still no person
2. $99 million net profit in the past quarter at Expedia
Give up on the pathetic excuses and start spending some money on more agents and provide some service like the rest of the world. This company is truly pitiful, and I pity you who has to work for it and obviously believes in it enough to get on here and try to defend it. You need to wake up and smell the jet fuel, my friend.
Comments by randy m : Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 01:26 AM
Randy, have you actually tried to wait for 5hours? give us the proof and don't exaggerate.agents are there 24 hours and every week the centers are putting in hundreds of people esp. for the upcoming holidays.I suggest you call early morning or late evening.dont call during business hours.You know how staffing works? i bet you don't. you can't predict the volume of calls coming in at a certain hour.How i wish we could explain to you guys how the logic works!Ah!
Comments by ashley : Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 05:07 PM
im an idiot add me and spam mail me littlechavydude91@hotmail.co.uk
Comments by mathiew : Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 07:39 AM
im an idiot add me and spam mail me littlechavydude91@hotmail.co.uk
Comments by mathiew : Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 07:39 AM
Ashley:
More whining. Yes - in the end, I waited a total of 8 hours on hold, which I documented. That wasn't continuous - it was spread over 3 days with an average of 2.5 hours per day. And I'm not exaggerating.
I tried calling early morning (I got up at 4:30am) and after only 2 hours got an agent. Woo hoo! She was very courteous, and solved my problem.
Do I know how staffing works? Well, I'm the CEO of a growing technology business, so I would have to answer yet to that. And I'd have to also say I understand the importance of customer service, which is clearly lost in Expedia. Stop whining and making excuses and fix the problem.
Comments by Randy m : Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 11:11 AM
lol i'll get right on that hiring more people..because i actually hold that position! I wish i had the power to just snap my fingers and fix agent, customer, airline, hotel errors..but i dont..nobody does! not even the supervisor you demand..remember rudeness breeds rudeness..rude to us..and the supervisor you get is not going to be the most empathetic person in the world..
the problem here is not only bad customer service it is ridiculous customers who call and shop with an agent for two hours and then not buy anyhting...making YOUR hold time longer becuase we can not hang up on customers who do not understand the concept of ONLINE BOOKING!
and randy m, very nice you are a CEO and everything..but are you a CEO in customer service? anyhting to do with customer service? have you ever even worked customer service? because if you have then you have a very limited understand of what the job ACTUALLY entails if you think WE can fix the problem, and the problem is not even EXPEDIAS it is in fact the airlines problems that we are having to sift through and fix, and of course who takes the heat? the poor customer service agent who is just trying to put food on the table for their kids! seriously, i dont care how long you have to wait..you have to..unfortunately right now that is the way the way it is..big deal take a day off from work, i mean being a ceo im sure you can afford to take a day off (really expedia is giving you an excuse to sit in your pjays with food watching tv all day waiting for an agent to answer) I know people get through there..becuase that department is the busiest for a reason!
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 04:13 PM
wow, I've been reading this list as I sit on hold waiting for a service rep to answer. I gave up yesterday. They sent me an e-mail stating that my trip arrangements had to be changed. I called with my itinerary number and the woman who answered asked what she could do for me! I asked her if her screen showed anything when my number was typed in and she said 'oh, just a minute' and then transferred me to where I am now, on hold. I hope I don't get arse jammed like the people writing on this web site. Had I known that I wouldn't have booked on in the first place.
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 03:41 PM
"i love how expedia caused it to rain all day making one of our customers sick..like seriously! dont stay outside all day :P"
Comments by expedia.CA rep! : Friday, November 16, 2007 at 05:14 PM
"my favourite calls are the ones where customers expect us to know all their information as they had been speaking with an agent earlier..lol i laugh at those silly people. "
--------------------------------
OUCH. Try updating your customer software so that you can follow customer issues.
The comments by alleged Expedia employees seem a bit harsh. Those people would fit in at TELUS, another "customer dis-service' company.
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 03:47 PM
Am still waiting on hold, half and hour. Surfed over to theeir web site and found this "Customer service improvements underway
We're currently receiving a large volume of telephone and e-mail inquiries. As a result, your call wait time or e-mail response time will be longer than usual. We're working hard to improve service capacity as soon as possible; in the meantime, we appreciate your understanding - and your patience."...... wow, OK I feel better now. I feel like an Expedia Platinum perks client. Oh sorry, that's a TELUS term. I'm getting these fucktards confused. Happens when I fall asleep on the phone waiting for Expedia........zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 03:54 PM
Hey check this link out, another happy customer who got royally shafted:
http://www.horsepigcow.com/2007/11/12/why-smart-travelers-should-never-book-with-expedia/
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 04:01 PM
1 hour 47 minutes on hold and counting!!! I could walk to my destination and save the fare.
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 05:13 PM
Expedia and other online services have no control over hotel prices. Hotels control the prices through and extranet system and are free to change them as often as they like and to whatever they like. Many hotels, and all hotels with a smart revenue management team, do guarantee the lowest available price on their own website. The reason can be summarized in one word…Capitalism. These big third party channels have a set markup on the rooms they sell. The rate that you are seeing on Expedia, Orbitz, and the like are not the same rate that the hotel will get paid from the agency. The markup is different based on which sight, but can be up to 33%. On Expedia for example a room that costs you $149 will only net a rate of $111.75 for the hotel. It is way more cost efficient for hotels to sell rooms directly at the hotel or their own websites because they do not have as much built in cost to makeup. Old school travel agencies can sometimes find better deals than mega online booking engines for much the same reason. Most actual travel agencies receive a 10% commission on the total amount of the hotel stay. Do the math: at $149 the hotel would make $134.10 through a travel agency, but only $111.75 on the same rate from Expedia. Over $20 per night extra in the hotels bank account. Even if the hotel gave the Travel Agent a special rate of $129 they would still make $116.10 rather than the $111.75.
I hope some of that makes sense. Expedia’s service problems are legitimate at times, but their pricing is not up to them at all. Hotels will normally price their rooms higher on these sites because of the expense related to them.
Comments by justin : Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 07:09 PM
hey people, Expedia is a good travel agency, if you are having trouble or any problems,hassles on your trip DO NOT BLAME EXPEDIA.
Expedia is NOT the one who is changing your flights.. ITS THE AIRLINES !
EXPEDIA IS THE BEST !
Comments by menara p. Support : Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 02:33 AM
Expedia ahs been nothing but great for my family, particularly with package deals for vacation.
We've enjoyed several all-inclusive vacation deals through them. Always a great low rate, and not one problem with flights overseas.
For domestic air-only travel, I use the airline carrier directly in most cases. However, airlines have changed flights on me as well.
For all the nay sayers about Expedia, then solution is simple. Pay $28 to have a travel agent book your ticket, and they can handle changes for you much better than you can. You can't be a ridiculous complainer and be totally cheap too. If you want great service, pay for it.
Comments by Superdave : Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 06:30 PM
"my favourite calls are the ones where customers expect us to know all their information as they had been speaking with an agent earlier..lol i laugh at those silly people. "
--------------------------------
OUCH. Try updating your customer software so that you can follow customer issues.
LOL what i meant here was, they expect without giving ANY information including THEIR name for us to know what the want. no matter what sort of customer software we have, it cant be THAT good..our phones do not recognize phone numbers! and if they did it would a hellauva pain in the ass as most people would use the same number to call all the time!
and of course we have customer software..we leave notes, but we do need your information or we cant bring you up..not mind readers here!
Comments by Expedia.CA rep : Friday, November 30, 2007 at 04:48 PM
I thought I had all this sorted out a few days ago but then received an e-mail message shortly after my last conversation.
I'm on hold now, have been for 2:32 YES over two and a half hours!!!!!! These people are fucked!
Comments by Tom : Monday, December 03, 2007 at 04:20 PM
obviously this is about a flight change..and OBVIOUSLY the airline made another change...dont blame expedia, if you want to call and yell at someone call the airline as they made the change again
Comments by expedia.CA rep : Monday, December 03, 2007 at 07:19 PM
Join the campaign to stop EXPEDIA's unethical (scam, fraud) business practice:
https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/stop-expedi-as-unethical-business-practice
Comments by John : Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at 10:29 AM
Expedia is the best until you need to speak to someone about your change. The fact that they take your money then let you rot when the airline makes changes is unethical. The airline may be chaning your flight but the fact that you book through Expedia means that Expedia should be helping you or at least letting you know what happened.
Also, putting people on hold for over 20 hours over the course of a week is ridiculous! People do have to work and eat and sleep, not wait on the phone for 3-4 hours. Book through a real agent or book through the airlines, car rental companies, hotels directly. And if the representative says that they will do something you fully expect it to be done. People don't have time to babysit other people who are so incompetent they can't even do their job correctly.
Comments by Pam : Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at 10:56 AM
QUOTE..."obviously this is about a flight change..and OBVIOUSLY the airline made another change...dont blame expedia, if you want to call and yell at someone call the airline as they made the change again"
AND OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE A DUMB ASS. EXPEDIA TOLD ME THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE CHANGES AND I'D HAVE TO CALL THE AIRLINE DIRECTLY. END OF CONVERSATION. When I called the airline I got through in 1 minute and they confirmed that all flights were as booked. SO EXPEDIA SENT ME AN E-MAIL FOR NO REASON, MADE WE WAIT THREE HOURS TO GET THROUGH TO A REP THAT COULDN'T HELP ME. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT ADDS UP TO PAL?....YESSSSS....FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON.
Comments by Tom : Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at 04:23 PM
it isnt a matter of doing our job correctly..it is a matter of people calling for us to book stuff for them..and forcing us to talk on the phone with them for an hour or two..THAT makes your wait times high..and yes flight changes can take forever to fix..im sorry but if you would of just not hung up the first time or the second or the 18th time you would have gotten through.
have you ever heard of a computer gliche? obviously not..the agents you talk to can not control it..nor do agents sit there sending notifications..it is all computer..
ask any of the people who actually are decent and hold which there are hundreds a day who get through, sometimes they are on the phone with that agent for over 3 hours trying to fix the airlines problems. i dont know how people think our computer systems work..ever used msdos? where everything is codes..yeah, we use something similar..all codes..except for hotels and cars..only flights..the system is called sabre.
i dont know how people think we have these systems with magic buttons that jsut say refund, change, Credit card override..like seriously..dont work like that..love it if it did ...but it doesnt..you know, if all agents could take care of flight changes why wouldnt we? seriously? you think we enjoy talking to you people? HA! we are equally as frustrated with the wait times..but there is nothing we can do.
even if we hired hundreds of agents there would still be a hold time..of course airlines answer quicker..they dont have nearly as much content to take care of....and i have called airlines before...and i have waited for upwards of an hour..and that is while i am working with a customer on the line..tell me. you think were the only ones busy?
please dont give us that much credit...that is just insinuating we have a larger customer base then any other company..and if we do it is because we do provide great service..for those who do not screw up reservation, or have the airlines mess it up.
and i really do not think that language is necessary..plus we dont want your business anywyas..we get a whole 9.00 per booking..well person..and the booking fee is never higher then 36.00...that alone speaks volumes about how many customers we truly have..we are a multi million dollar corporation for a reason.
Comments by expedia.CA rep : Wednesday, December 05, 2007 at 02:12 AM
QUOTE " and i really do not think that language is necessary..plus we dont want your business anywyas..we get a whole 9.00 per booking..well person..and the booking fee is never higher then 36.00...that alone speaks volumes about how many customers we truly have..we are a multi million dollar corporation for a reason."
Quote " you think we enjoy talking to you people? HA! we are equally as frustrated with the wait times..but there is nothing we can do."
-------------------------------
Well now,I think that language is VERY necessary. In fact I scaled it back. Your sense of self importance and ability to pass the buck is truly stunning. Are you a Congressman? C'mon don't lie.
Anywyas, learn to spell, it will give more impact to your writing and make it look like it's coming from an educated person (maybe). By the way smart ass, I have used MS Dos, it was the first computer language for PC's, it's actually easy if you have more than a high school education and a brain like a sieve. I was using it when you were in diapers. Don't complain to me about your computers or the software. Take the dos book home and study it instead of playing video games and smoking pot. I BEG YOU for the benefit of all customers, post a note on your web site that say's "WARNING, WE HAVE FUCKED UP COMPUTERS RUNNING DOS, AN OPERATING SYSTEM THAT WE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND AND WE ONLY MAKE $9.00 PER BOOKING AND OUR AGENTS CAN'T SPELL AND THE AIRLINES PUT US ON HOLD AND PLEASE DON'T COMPALIN IF YOU HAVE TO WAIT THREE HOURS ON HOLD WHEN WE SEND YOU A CRYPTIC E-MAIL....WE'RE A MULTI MILLION DOLLAR COMPANY AND WE DON'T REALLY ENJOY SPEAKING WITH CUSTOMERS ANYWAY SO PISS OFF YOU PEON, Thank you and have a nice day".
If that was posted people wouldn't get as angry about getting screwed over. Stop crafting bloody excuses for the company and take some personal responsibility instead of blaming everyone else.
Thanks.
Comments by Tom : Wednesday, December 05, 2007 at 04:08 PM
My progress since November 6th -
I am increasing my claim to $10,000 and I will be filing December 7th against Expedia.ca for fundumental breach of contract, false advertising, and several other improper activities. I have no doubt I will win.
P.S. Evidence posted on this site will be introduced as evidence. Keep it coming especially if it occurred on or arround November 6, 2007
Comments by Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER : Thursday, December 06, 2007 at 02:42 PM
I hope expedia's lawyers have to book their flights on Expedia.ca. You'll win when they don't show up because their flights were cancelled.
Comments by Tom : Thursday, December 06, 2007 at 02:56 PM
Plaintiff Claim Summary Filed Dec 7 in Superior Court against Expedia.ca Case #SC-)7-061623-00
1. Defendants fundamentally breached its contract with Plaintiff by blocking legitimate changes to his prepaid flight itinerary on November 7, 2007 and refused to cancel the flight or to subsequently refund the Plaintiff's money amounting to $2,177.65
2. As a result of the Defendants blocking a legitimate change in flight itinerary Plaintiff was forced to change to another Agent, thereby incurring extra costs of $700
3. Plaintiff is a fully chargeable industrial consultant charging client $175 per hr and spent six hours waiting for Defendants in a line-up to answer the phone, but they never did. Plaintiff claims $1,050 for this wasted effort
4. Plaintiff is increasing his claim to $10,000 and will prove Defendants conducts misleading advertising and employs deceitful and fraudulent business practice in Canada and applied these practises in dealing with the Plaintiff. Plaintiff claims punitive damages.
5. Defendants advertises and instructs that changes to an itinerary are made by phoning Expedia.ca knowing this to be false. Plaintiff tried to call Expedia.ca but the phone was not answered timeously.
6. Plaintiff called the correct Expedia.ca phone number but was left in a line-up for more than 50 minutes. Plaintiff recalled the number and after another one-and-a-half-hours the phone was answered by Brenda: Defendent [Brenda] refused to allow Plaintiff to speak with a manager after respondent acknowledging that I would be put in another line to make an itinery change and there was no guarantee that there would not be a long wait. Plaintiff remained in the line-up for six hours before giving up.
7. Defendants purposefully, or by gross negligence, does not timeously answer legitimate calls made to numbers posted on its website Expedia.ca and Plaintiff, and other customers, are expected to rely on the truthfulness of information published on its site.
8. Defendants purposefully blocked Plaintiffs email changes to his itinerary knowing that Defendents could not be contacted any other way to make these changes
9. Defendants purposefully prohibited airline Lufthansa from effecting legitimate changes to the itinerary knowing that the Plaintiff Anderson could not make changes through the Defendants. Plaintiff called Lufthansa to request a change but they said they were blocked by Expedia from doing so
10. Defendants purposefully, or by gross negligence, does not respond timeously to email knowing that Plaintiff can lose its payment to the Defendants
11. Defendants hides behind an Agent in Canada that is not possible to urgently visit, or to make legal claims against the company
12. Plaintiff sent a claim by mail to the Defendants but there has been no answer
13. Supporting documents are attached hereto 14. Other evidence to be provided at trial
Comments by Ed - EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER : Friday, December 07, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Not sure howt this thing works, but my card ended up getting charged double the amout of the amount that was on my itenery receipt.
I had paid up with my debit card, and because of this double charge , my checking account got overdrawn and had to pay 160 $$ for the overdrawn and insufficient funds.
I called up expedia cust supp and the lady told me that they charge this amount to hold up till the transaction gets cleared up. but she could not answer why it took them the whole ticket cost as the charge.
She told that itll be returned in 24 hrs, still waiting, but im not sure if im satisfied with her answer and would appreciate sumbody from the expedia loving ppl here, if therz something i should worry about ill get my
money back by tomorrow?
Comments by PM : Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 02:32 PM
Hey EXPEDIA IS A DISASTER, you probably need to hire a lawyer with spell check. Your petition is a nightmare.
Comments by Bill Green : Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 12:31 AM
Tom:
The program we use in the flight dept is NOT dos. Stop acting like a smart ass know it all. If you'd like you can come to my desk and fix your flights yourself since you apparently know how to use sabre.
expedia.CA rep said it is *like* dos, not that it *is* dos.
You should read more carefully..it'll make you look smarter.
As for taking responsiblily? 90% of the calls to the flight dept are people who don't read the rules or don't double check what they are agreeing to purchase so they either booked the wrong dates or want to change flights but don't want to pay more to do so.
All because they didn't review their purchase during one of their 4 oppurtunities to do so in the booking process.
As for airline schedule changes, that is not up to expedia. We don't have control over the airlines and how many times they decided they want to leave a little later or which flights they don't want to fly anymore so if you booked with expedia or the airline directly, you would still have the same schedule changes.
Comments by Another expedia.CA rep : Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Quote "The program we use in the flight dept is NOT dos. Stop acting like a smart ass know it all. If you'd like you can come to my desk and fix your flights yourself since you apparently know how to use sabre.
expedia.CA rep said it is *like* dos, not that it *is* dos.
You should read more carefully..it'll make you look smarter."
I would have loved to come down and fix my flights myself, it would have saved me a few days of screwing around. Sorry, I did misread the DOS reference but the point remains the same. If sabre is complicated then pick up the book and learn the codes instead of telling customers that they are getting screwed around because the software is too difficult. wha wha wha!
In regard to me looking 'smarter' I could give a rats ass if you think I'm smart or stupid. Now get back to work dickwad, there are ten thousand people on hold trying to sort out their screwed up plans.
Comments by Tom : Monday, December 31, 2007 at 04:52 PM
fuck expedia and fuck all its customer agents, i have had it with these assholes!
Comments by bill green : Thursday, January 03, 2008 at 01:11 PM
there are never ten thousand people on hold tom! come on..be serious. yes you waited a long time..it happens..not only expedia. every company has peak hours, as well as peak seasons..it is a fact of life.
unfortunately with travel it always seems to be a peak season.
if you do not want to wait for answeres or whatever then do not do online booking of any sort. go straight to the source, or go to a travel agent. you will pay more at a travel agent, where as expedia you pay 9 bucks. online booking. self serve price. basically you get what you pay for. it sounds awful, but that is what comes with the territory.
it doesnt matter if you paid 85000 dollars on a trip expedia gets 9.00 per person, and only up to 36.00. that nine dollars doesnt even cover one hour of wages for the agents you speak with. if you want to get mad at someone about involutary changes, get mad at the source..the Airline.
if you want to get mad about waiting for a voluntary scheduale change go for it, but do not blame expedia because you spend a few hours waiting. keep in mind that during those hours if your waiting the agent you end up speaking with has been working their asses off. and tom, i do not see these reps on here passing the buck and not taking responsibility, and it is also not just the complicated nature of sabre, it is also the airlines. they are not always willing to cooperate, even when they are wrong. I guarantee you that all the agents who work with sabre have more then mastered the program, and that is not the issue. i do believe that the previous expedia.CA agent wrote the explanation in a way that caused confusion.
people need to realize that just because you book through expedia doesnt mean you are immune to the complications of Airlines, hotels and cars. Expedia has to follow the same rules that our customers do. you may have bought your ticket through expedia.ca, a THIRD party, but you still paid the airline, and they own the flights.
when you pay 10-40% of your trip to a travel agent yes you will be able to sit down one on one with them and fix the problems, but when you pay 9.00 for a self serve price you do need to wait with the rest of the customers.
I am sorry you all feel this way about expedia. please do not blame the agents. they truly have no control over anything!
Comments by yo : Friday, January 11, 2008 at 03:42 AM
Yo...If Expedia didn't make money on selling airline tickets they simply wouldn't do it. Expedia is not a non profit organization and will only push products that they can make money on. I am not involved in the airline industry, but if it is anything like hotels, and I imagine it is, Expedia makes AT LEAST 20% of the price of the airfare, could be as much as 30%. Customers purchasing on Expedia in fact DO NOT PAY the airline/hotel, they pay Expedia...Expedia pays the airline/hotel.
Comments by justin : Friday, January 11, 2008 at 11:28 PM
not quite. hotels more or less yes..but that is a complicated contract we have individually that allows expedia to pre purchase rooms in bulk, an expedia special rate room, but in that agreement we have to charge our customers change and cancellation penalties, which all goes into hotels pockets.
with airlines you will see two charges on your credit card. one from expedia travel, the booking fee be it 9.00 18.00 or 36.00 depending on the amount of travellers. and then the rest goes directly to the airline, check any customers Credit card bill you will see our booking fee, and the rest of the airfare is charged by airline. so no we do not get 20% of the air fare. sorry to dissapoint you, but i spoke the truth. i am sure that any customer on here who has actually used us for flights will vouch for that
Comments by yo : Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 03:53 AM
Wrong again Yo...not sure what you are trying to sell here, but I am not buying. Hotels do not pocket change or cancellation policies like what you speak of. The contracts...which I have seen and signed require Expedia to adhere to that particular hotel's cancellation policy, but does not require Expedia to charge anything for cancellations outside of that policy or for any changes. This is all done at Expedia's discretion. Expedia does not "pre-purchase" hotel rooms in bulk, they are given certain amounts of inventory by the hotel based on availability. You did not, by the way, tell the truth about the amount Expedia gets for airline tickets. You originally said that $9 was all Expedia got regardless of the price, now it is anywhere from $9-$36. The only thing that "disappoints" me is that you attribute fees Expedia charges to the hotels when they have nothing to do with them.
Comments by justin : Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 07:59 PM
OK I have a solution. Perhaps I've been too harsh here. Expedia needs to understand the concept of 'disclosure' and make the necessary changes so that people like me and countless others are not blindsided. In this case disclosure refers to the notice that Expedia needs to post on their web site that says: PLEASE NOTE, WE ONLY MAKE $9 PER TRANSACTION AND AS SUCH WE WARN ALL POTENTIAL CLIENTS THAT THEY WILL BE TREATED IN A MANNER EQUAL TO WHAT $9 IN SERVICE WILL WARRANTS. IF WAITING 3-4 HOURS ON THE PHONE, HAVING YOUR FLIGHTS CHANGED AND GETTING CRYPTIC E-MAILS DOESN'T APPEAL TO YOU THEN TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO A FULL SERVICE TRAVEL AGENT OR DIRECT TO THE AIRLINE. IT WILL BE EASIER. ALSO, OUR COMPUTER SYSTEM IS VERY CONFUSING AND WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS USING IT SO EXPECT ISSUES IN THAT REGARD, YOURS SINCERELY THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT AT EXPEDIA. THANK YOU AND HAPPY TRAILS."
Comments by Tom : Monday, January 14, 2008 at 05:26 PM
firstly, go through airline changes will happen too. i am not going to argue on here anymore. clearly you customers are completely misunderstanding and reading what you want to read. justin i did mention in my first message about the range of 9-36 perhaps you need to read a little more closely. +++++9.00 per person, and only up to 36.00+++++
yes justin we buy in bulk. otherwise explain how we can offer for cheaper. you are right we dont always buy in bulk. if you see a ESR or expedia special rate, weve pre purchased, any that arent we have been allotted.
they do have everything to do with the change fees. the front desk managers have nothing to do with the relationship or contracts, you need to go to the coroporate side of the hotel. they will tell you the truth. but you are allowed to believe and be as dissillousioned as you want. and yes my spelling is terrible tom, not necessary to rip my character apart as you did expedia.CA rep previously. i can spell, i just dont really care on here.
and my fingers have a mind of their own.
IDIOT TOM! our system is very easily used by those trained in it. just dont expect the hotel car and general departments to know how to..as they do not require it.
YOU GUYS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO READ..AND NOT ONLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.
but im soo done. it is impossible to argue with idiots
Comments by yo : Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 04:51 AM
I am on the Corporate side of the hotels. You don't sell cheaper, you tell people that you do. There is a big difference. I can tell people that an apple is an orange, doesn't make Granny Smith citrus does it? The rate on Expedia is normally 20-30% higher than the hotel direct because of the markup/fees that Expedia charges the hotels. Wrong again on the Expedia Special Rate...that appears on the listings for several hotels I am involved with, NONE OF WHICH HAVE PRE-SOLD ANY ROOMS TO EXPEDIA.
Comments by justin : Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 08:57 PM
I enjoyed the Expedia representative tell us how business flights are rebooked. Enjoyable.
Now wordsmith an answer to this. This past Valentine's Day I had booked a hotel in Negril, Jamaica (Negril Gardens). When I got there, they told me I had to goto another Hotel...an "upgrade". I did not want an "upgrade" - I wanted what I had purchased.
For 2 of the 5 night stay I was at another resort. I was then told that I had to leave and head back to the other hotel. (I was really happy that I was of so much convenience to Negril Gardens.)
Everyone knows one of the key intangible take-aways from a vacation is familiarization and no hassles. Well I have neither.
I called Expedia wanting a refund - for simply the 2 nights not promised at Negril Gardens. They flat out refused. They placed blame on Negril Gardens.
I tried countlessly to inform them that the issue of refunds does not come from Negril Gardens but with whom I purchased the ticket from; Expedia. The relationship between Expedia and Negril Gardens is for Expedia to fix. (Its like ordering a Blue Ford Taurus and receiving a gray Chevy Mailbu, then beng patted on the shoulder and told 'its ok')
At a minimum I want to be refunded the money for 2 nights that I DID NOT RECEIVE. In reality I should be reimbursed the complete vacation.
There Customer Service is a HUGE JOKE. They "xfer" you to a supervisor who never comes to the phone. Its a big wait game.
Screw Expedia. I hope they get whats coming to them.
And Mr Expedia who answered above -please respond. I am waiting to hear your arguement.
Comments by Robert Murphy : Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 06:28 PM
I will never give Expedia my business again. I bought two tickets to Hawaii: when I opened my email notification of my itinerary and opened the link, it said the fare had increased by $600 per ticket. AFTER I had booked, they notified me of the change.
Next: our plans changed and we had to postpone the trip. I called first, to find out what to do, was told that it would cost $100 per ticket and a $30 service fee and was given a confirmation number. This seemed fair and was fine with me. I had my confirmation number, after all.
When I tried to re-book, this number didn't seem to matter much, as my records were frozen in the system, unable to be retrieved even by the "saber computer" and a supervisor.
Another thing: I was issued paper tickets, although I never asked for them. When I called to cancel and get my confirmation number, I was never told that it was imperative that I hold on to them. I learned this the day after garbage day.
In the end, I dealt with US Airways/America West, which was smack dab in the middle of their merger. Drove all the way to the nearest airport, only not to be helped, but on the whole the airline people were much smarter and friendlier than Expedia. They told me they NEVER recommend dealing with these online sites, they make problems that the airlines have to fix. Spending their time (money) and customer service to figure out. In the end, I lost. Filled out the "lost ticket refund", waited 6 months for a reply and was denied.
Okay Mr. "Team Expedia". What about me? The charge was shown AFTER I had booked and reported through a LINK in an email, not on the email directly. It said, "the price on your tickets has gone up". That's AFTER I booked.
I never asked for paper tickets, (why would I?) and was not told anything about the paper tickets when I called to get my confirmation number on rebooking. Evidentally the man was looking at my reservation. I think he would have seen the paper tickets and told me EVERYTHING I needed to know about rebooking.
Also, what's with my reservation being lost? This mystified many over at Expedia. I spent 5 days and 10 hours on hold or speaking with people that spoke limited English. Quite a few references to the "saber computer".
So, besides correcting me, can you help? I still have a copy of my email and orignal ticket numbers and confirmation code. I'll pay all the fees. I'm not asking for something for nothing, I want justice.
Comments by Sonja : Saturday, March 01, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Expedia pulled the same scam with me as well (which is more of a breach of contract, or should be looked at as a promissory estoppel issue). It seems that I am not the only one who has fallen victim of their omissions/misrepresentations either. I think everyone should get together and see if we can't get a class action law suit against them. I would also like to say that their agent supervisor, Carmeli (spelling?) has omitted or deleted important conversations from their records in regard to their fraud and misrepresentations, and if one was to enter into such a suit, they shoudl try and get a litigation hold put on their records ASAP under the new FRCP rules in re electronic discovery.
It seems obvious that there are a number of people who have fallen victim to Expedia, Inc.'s scam, which view in a light most favorable to them, is nonetheless a breach of contract. I think in the aggregate there would be significant damages that could easily be proven, provided of course Expedia, Inc. has not destroyed that information (Although the FRCP 2006 amendments will provide for sanctions and strick punative damages if they did).
Where they need to be hit the most though is on the punitive damages side to keep them from continuing on this practice for fraudulent misrepresentations.
I think they feel that it would be too costly for most individuals to hire an attorney to resolve their $100-$1000 issue (risk assessment), so most customers will eat that cost. But I think there needs to be a class action law suit filed against them. I plan on taking them to small claims court this summer, but a class action suit seems more appropriate to keep them from doing this in the future.
Expedia was also in court a few years ago because they were charging customers for taxes that were supposed to be paid out to the cities in whch they booked packages too...I just think that their misrepresentation scam is a way to compensate for those lost revenues...
Are their any attorneys out there just itching to get a big cut on a punitive damages award? I think you'd have a great case in a class action suit!!!
Comments by Jake Bogdon : Monday, March 24, 2008 at 11:31 PM
"The Gnome from Travelocity, who actually guarantees all their trips EXACTLY as you booked it" as posted is not true. I was scammed by both Expedia and Travelocity. I would book a hotel, guaranteeing the type of room, and end up with something less than satisfactory. The hotel managers would then just tell us that it's their policy to overbook rooms and it's your problem with Expedia/Travelocity. You call Expedia/Travelocity to correct the problem and they will tell you to find yourself another hotel and they will refund your money. Or if they do find a hotel but at a higher cost then it's your problem to pay for the difference? So I'm supposed to pay more for their mistakes???
So the lesson learned is to use Expedia/Travelocity as a research tool. Once you locate a good price, call the airline or hotel and book directly through them. If you quote the Expedia/Travelocity price, most of the vendors will honour it.
Comments by Selina : Friday, March 28, 2008 at 04:50 PM
You whiny, bitchy customers really need to shut the fuck up. Go work for the Expedia.ca call centre at 235 King street in Kitchener, Ontario so you can find out first hand how lovely it is to work there. A company that makes millions for overcharging on flights/hotels then keeps your money regardless if you got what you paid for. To top it off the customer service call centre isnt even owned by Expedia. It's a 3rd party call centre called Arvato Digital Services. Customer service agents make $10.00 per hour and the rest gets pocketed by the management and owners of the call centre. What does this mean? Well the average Expedia.ca customer service agent has about a 1-2 month life expectancy before they say fuck it and quit. So this basically means everyone you talk to is new and doesn't have the slightest fucking clue what they are doing much less give a flying fuck. Arvato Digital Services took over for a company called HRG based in Ottawa. When they were running the call centre things were much better. Needless to say Arvato won't have the contract with Expedia.ca much longer as they have fucked up and cost Expedia.ca way too much money. All I am saying is while Expedia Canada is a slimy dirty business, a big part of that is the shitty call centre they are doing business with... By the way ask for Deb Renner when you apply/call. She is the beastly account manager for Expedia.ca. Ask her how Kimbery Witmer's tongue feels on her asshole.
