Travelstart Daylight Robbery

RAR

RAR

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Jan 5, 2025
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Be WARNED all potential passengers from ever engaging with this organization in future

I booked on Black Friday and have paid over R21 000 through 3 payflex instalments ,with 1 more instalment of R7000 due 10/01 and a further R17 000 for my first booking change.

Now again due to VISA processing delays I have to postpone my trip till the next school holidays.
I received a change quote requesting payment of R8767.
To say that R54 000 for a return trip Durban to Christchurch in April ie.booking 4 months in advance is daylight robbery is an understatement!
I now want to cancel my entire booking and will seek legal advice on the way forward.The penalty will be R9186(gasp!) and can take 6-12 weeks to finalize.
I thank them for disappointing a South African who was willing to support this CPT based company.

I will be taking up this matter with all relevant authorities etc.Anyone else with a similar experience?

*Long sob story and update attached
 

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Last edited:
RAR said:
Be WARNED all potential passengers from ever engaging with this organization in future

I booked on Black Friday and have paid over R21 000 through 3 payflex instalments ,with 1 more instalment of R7000 due 10/01 and a further R17 000 for my first booking change.

Now again due to VISA processing delays I have to postpone my trip till the next school holidays.
I received a change quote requesting payment of R8767.
To say that R54 000 for a return trip Durban to Christchurch in April ie.booking 4 months in advance is daylight robbery is an understatement!
I now want to cancel my entire booking and will seek legal advice on the way forward.The penalty will be R9186(gasp!) and can take 6-12 weeks to finalize.
I thank them for disappointing a South African who was willing to support this CPT based company.

I will be taking up this matter with all relevant authorities etc.Anyone else with a similar experience?
Click to expand...
Hellopeter is full of horror stories.

1736093776797.png

I almost gave them a chance after waiting more than an hour to connect to someone I decided any saving was not worth it.

Also VISA processing problems are a YOU problem and not Travelstart problem any airline would give you the same issue. You booked for a certain time couldt make it work not their problem.

Not something you might want to hear but thats the reality. CHEAP FLIGHTS MEAN NO FREE DATE CHANGES THATS THE RISK (gamble) YOU TAKE...

Travel insurance wouldnt even cover you.

You are wasting your time pursuing the matter any further.

My other question is this the first time you are flying international? Simply not worth saving a few k at the expense of a few R10ks....

My question is what were you expecting? A free change of date? Your terms set out that any change would be subject to charges. Cancellation for free? Only on expensive tickets.

Its kek what happened I dont deny that but you have ZERO recourse unless they did something that you did not sign up for.
 
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So the TWO booking changes you made are Travelstarts fault and they should have been free??
Virtually no airline tickets can have the dates changed for free so the real question is are the date change fees you were charged in line with what their competitors charge?

As far as I understand it the only time date changes may not be absolutely horrific is if you book directly with the airline in question but then you may not be getting the best flight price in the first place, pick your poison?
 
Snyper564 said:
Hellopeter is full of horror stories.

View attachment 1785498

I almost gave them a chance after waiting more than an hour to connect to someone I decided any saving was not worth it.

Also VISA processing problems are a YOU problem and not Travelstart problem any airline would give you the same issue. You booked for a certain time couldt make it work not their problem.

Not something you might want to hear but thats the reality. CHEAP FLIGHTS MEAN NO FREE DATE CHANGES THATS THE RISK (gamble) YOU TAKE...

Travel insurance wouldnt even cover you.

You are wasting your time pursuing the matter any further.

My other question is this the first time you are flying international? Simply not worth saving a few k at the expense of a few R10ks....

My question is what were you expecting? A free change of date? Your terms set out that any change would be subject to charges. Cancellation for free? Only on expensive tickets.

Its kek what happened I dont deny that but you have ZERO recourse unless they did something that you did not sign up for.
Click to expand...
Probably booked a discounted seat and now the new flight dates don't have that fare available so OP has to pay in for the higher fare. Can't really blame travelstart for this one though.
 
Hello, welcome to mybb. This be your first .... and I would wager .... last post.

I see your post on Tripadvisor .... your copy and paste skills are amazing:love:

Anyhow, seeing as you are on Tripadvisor, page 21, I suggest you read the previous 20 pages ... before you pay for a ticket without a visa.

Have a nice day.

1736096880218.png
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
Hello, welcome to mybb. This be your first .... and I would wager .... last post.

I see your post on Tripadvisor .... your copy and paste skills are amazing:love:

Anyhow, seeing as you are on Tripadvisor, page 21, I suggest you read the previous 20 pages ... before you pay for a ticket without a visa.

Have a nice day.

View attachment 1785507
Click to expand...
Ah yes the internet strikes again... Kekekeke.
 
RAR said:
Be WARNED all potential passengers from ever engaging with this organization in future

I booked on Black Friday and have paid over R21 000 through 3 payflex instalments ,with 1 more instalment of R7000 due 10/01 and a further R17 000 for my first booking change.

Now again due to VISA processing delays I have to postpone my trip till the next school holidays.
I received a change quote requesting payment of R8767.
To say that R54 000 for a return trip Durban to Christchurch in April ie.booking 4 months in advance is daylight robbery is an understatement!
I now want to cancel my entire booking and will seek legal advice on the way forward.The penalty will be R9186(gasp!) and can take 6-12 weeks to finalize.
I thank them for disappointing a South African who was willing to support this CPT based company.

I will be taking up this matter with all relevant authorities etc.Anyone else with a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Check die bra
 
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There is this thing called T's&C's. we got fscked with them once as well. Had to chose, either pay an extra R20k or lose R70k. Guess what though, we knew that our tickets would change in pricing, and we also took the chance by not getting travel insurance.

Also, the ticket prices are tied to the time period, in conjunction with the timing. They will always be expensive in April, cause that's when everyone wants to travel. You notice how holiday places cost more as well during holidays? Sure, they tend to be a bit cheaper if you book them long in advance, increasing until the date and then dropping again in the last few hours or so, but the biggest factor is the demand planning.

It seems, that you didn't take the insurance, whilst also not understanding how the pricing works. Write it up as school fees.
 
RAR said:
Be WARNED all potential passengers from ever engaging with this organization in future

I booked on Black Friday and have paid over R21 000 through 3 payflex instalments ,with 1 more instalment of R7000 due 10/01 and a further R17 000 for my first booking change.

Now again due to VISA processing delays I have to postpone my trip till the next school holidays.
I received a change quote requesting payment of R8767.
To say that R54 000 for a return trip Durban to Christchurch in April ie.booking 4 months in advance is daylight robbery is an understatement!
I now want to cancel my entire booking and will seek legal advice on the way forward.The penalty will be R9186(gasp!) and can take 6-12 weeks to finalize.
I thank them for disappointing a South African who was willing to support this CPT based company.

I will be taking up this matter with all relevant authorities etc.Anyone else with a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Im curious as to which authorities this will be taken up with? Are you going to report them to saps, your local high school, the ombud?
 
GhostSixFour said:
There is this thing called T's&C's. we got fscked with them once as well. Had to chose, either pay an extra R20k or lose R70k. Guess what though, we knew that our tickets would change in pricing, and we also took the chance by not getting travel insurance.

Also, the ticket prices are tied to the time period, in conjunction with the timing. They will always be expensive in April, cause that's when everyone wants to travel. You notice how holiday places cost more as well during holidays? Sure, they tend to be a bit cheaper if you book them long in advance, increasing until the date and then dropping again in the last few hours or so, but the biggest factor is the demand planning.

It seems, that you didn't take the insurance, whilst also not understanding how the pricing works. Write it up as school fees.
Click to expand...
Travel insurance would not have covered this.
 
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Snyper564 said:
Travel insurance would not have covered this.
Click to expand...
Some are bundled with some form of ticket date change cover but it’s limited to certain scenarios(like medical emergency etc)and I don't think not having a visa is one of them.
 
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Some airlines allow a free change if a scheduled flight changes .. eg Turkish with a >15 min change lets you change times and airports in quite a wide range ... I've been able to move flights to far more expensive time slots and different airports after booking something months in advance - but one certainly cannot count on it happening.
 
Snyper564 said:
Hellopeter is full of horror stories.

View attachment 1785498

I almost gave them a chance after waiting more than an hour to connect to someone I decided any saving was not worth it.

Also VISA processing problems are a YOU problem and not Travelstart problem any airline would give you the same issue. You booked for a certain time couldt make it work not their problem.

Not something you might want to hear but thats the reality. CHEAP FLIGHTS MEAN NO FREE DATE CHANGES THATS THE RISK (gamble) YOU TAKE...

Travel insurance wouldnt even cover you.

You are wasting your time pursuing the matter any further.

My other question is this the first time you are flying international? Simply not worth saving a few k at the expense of a few R10ks....

My question is what were you expecting? A free change of date? Your terms set out that any change would be subject to charges. Cancellation for free? Only on expensive tickets.

Its kek what happened I dont deny that but you have ZERO recourse unless they did something that you did not sign up for.
Click to expand...
Hello Peter is scam as well though. He doesn't have the reputation he used to have and it's not a trusted source anymore which is why people ignore it. Until they need to post something negative though. Such a useless website and using the negative reviews to force companies to give them money.
 
Travelstart got me cheaper tickets from Cape Town to Windhoek. Not much, but R1900 per seat less than the direct Airlink price

Worth a couple of clicks I would say
 
  • Wow
Reactions: RAR
Wait are you telling me you can't organise a Visa to New Zealand for April?

Can someone please tell me how long it normally takes to get a visa for New Zealand? 4 months seems excessive...
 
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