Frustrated, sad, mad by Travelocity

[mayrag]

I've been planning a trip for thanksgiving for months, I've always used Expedia as my travel agency, and after today, I will definitely continue doing so...
I have a credit card which doesn't have that great amount of money limit, this morning I thought I buy a package to go to Orlando FL for that week. When my credit card info was entered and click on purchase, we got a message saying that the departing flight was full, we clicked the back button and tried with another flight, but still got a message. So we decided to try somewhere else, we tried on Spiritair.com, and when I entered the credit card, I got a message that something was wrong. Then I called Spirit airlines directly to purchase it by phone and they told me my credit card have declined. We went to the ATM to check on the credit card balance, and guess what, Travelocity DID got my money from my credit card.
The supervisor Robert Rodriguez just hung up on me, I explained everything to a service rep, and when he couldn't help, I asked for a supervisor, Robert Rodriguez. They just tell me that the fault was not theirs, but from my credit card company that made a "merchant hold" for the money, to which I told him that if they wouldn't charge my credit card, I would have the money in my card and I could purchase it somewhere else. I asked him that since they had a hold of more than $1000 from me, to provide me with another travel option so I can continue with my travel plans, but he only told me that there was no other option for me.

If I try to purchase something in a website that is not available, they don't charge or hold my money for it, unless is on backorder and I authorize them to do it, nevertheless, they don't charge the card, they charge it when it is provided or sent. THey should not do this to people, now the only option I have is to wait until tomorrow to call my credit card bank and ask them to help me out.

I WILL DEFINITELY NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM TRAVELOCITY AGAIN< NEVER, EVEN IF IT IS MARKEDLY UNDERPRICED. I WILL CONTINUE DOING MY BUSINESS WITH EXPEDIA WHICH HAVE GREAT CUST SERVICE AND ALWAYS PROVIDE ME WITH GREAT SERVICE.

UPDATE- I called travelocity this morning and the nice lady who helped me, called my bank with me on the line. I sent my bank a letter explaining what happened, and I just bought my trip tickets for 11/17, obviously not with them. Thanks

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We had some issues with some stuff Travelocity screwed up on us when we were traveling to be with my mother during bypass surgery in June. They try not to accept fault but take a month or more to refund their mistake on my card. It was crap all the way around. You won't get me to deal with them again. I don't care how cheap the deal may be.

Sorry you ran into that.

I used to do satellite phone rentals/sales and we had to secure large authorizations (holds) on credit cards. If you caught it right away they should be able to fix their mistake. Thats IF they will take the initiative to call the lending institution and explain. I doubt you'll get them to do that because the time I did it, it took a lot of effort. If I were you I would call my lending institution asap and get them to release the authorization. Basically, Travelocity has obtained a pre-approval to charge your card the thousand bucks when they are ready to. Generally, most banks/finance companies will automatically release these holds after 30 days.

Travelocity should make it clear that they are going to do the authorization when you click a certain button. I never did an authorization without telling the clients that I was doing it, how it was done, what it meant, and when it should release. I always invited my clients to call their banks/finance companies to discuss any details about their policies with them. Shady behavior, IMO.

 

[raven]

I've been using Travelocity for years and never had any problems. I fly several times a year and usually always go through them. Maybe this was just a isolated incident. :shrug:

 

[LoriMistress]

I would speak to someone higher then a manager. I would also call your credit card and report fraud. Also, I would report them to BBB. Travelocity will resolve it quickly.

 

[Philo]

I would also call your credit card and report fraud.

Not sure that you can do that. Technically no-one has done anything wrong as no money has been taken, its just been reserved for use. It's not right that a company can do this without having proper procedures in place to resolve the problem quickly but it's not illegal either.

 

[mayrag]

I would speak to someone higher then a manager. I would also call your credit card and report fraud. Also, I would report them to BBB. Travelocity will resolve it quickly.

I spoke with a supervisor, today I'm calling a higher authority, I read later in their website that they have a "customer guarantee"on which it says that they are going to provide you with an excellent customer service and help you through any error made by them.

What is BBB?

 

[mayrag]

Not sure that you can do that. Technically no-one has done anything wrong as no money has been taken, its just been reserved for use. It's not right that a company can do this without having proper procedures in place to resolve the problem quickly but it's not illegal either.

Its illegal because in any area of the website explains about this, if this woul've been explained I wouldn't buy with them. Right now, they have a hold of my trip money and I can't purchase it elsewhere.
If you try to buy something and they are going to hold your money for it, they should explain it.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

What is BBB?

BBB is Better Business Bureau.

 

[janni518]

I always thought that if you call and dispute a charge with your credit card company, they'd handle straightening it out. Worth a try anyway. :shrug:

 

[Justa' BigKid]

Sounds like a good time to increase your credit limit. $$$$$$$$:drevil:

 

[SpenceMan01]

The "roaming gnome" has gotta eat you know! :lookaroun

Seriously. If you call and tell them to de-hold the fund, they should comply. That's just courtesy and good customer service. I would definitely contact your issuing bank, keep pressing the matter with Travelocity, and if that doesn't go anywhere, contact the BBB and possibly your state attorney general's office.

 

[jjgoo]

I agree with Janni518 call your credit card company. Call your CC company and tell them the situation. They cannot place a hold on money that is not going to be used.

If there is ever a questionable charge or a dispute with a merchant you should call your credit card company. They want your business too.

 

[rwdavis2]

I feel very sorry for your problem. But as a larger issue, why does anyone use one of these online Travel sites? IMHO, all your doing is adding one more possible place for something to go wrong. I always deal direct with the airline, car rental co., or hotel. I've never seen a discount on any site that was worth the potential trouble. I subscribe (free) to a site that helps trouble shoot travel problems (among other travel issues) and Travelocity is regularly a problem.
Bob

 

[Chezman1399]

I feel very sorry for your problem. But as a larger issue, why does anyone use one of these online Travel sites? IMHO, all your doing is adding one more possible place for something to go wrong. I always deal direct with the airline, car rental co., or hotel. I've never seen a discount on any site that was worth the potential trouble. I subscribe (free) to a site that helps trouble shoot travel problems (among other travel issues) and Travelocity is regularly a problem.
Bob

Also, Orbitz, Travelocity, and all the rest charge you an extra fee whenever you get plane tickets from them. I usually go there if I'm trying to find a flight because I can see all the major flights at once, but I always order directly at the airline that I need. A lot of time they claim to be discount, but most times they're still slightly more than buying directly and have more fees associated with them.

 

[OneLuckyMom]

Ah credit cards - gotta love them, gotta hate them.

Sounds like the problem here isn't that Travelocity put through an actual charge to your credit card, but they did do a preauthorization for an amount. This is common - it happens on everything from travel like this to pumping gas at the gas station. And while this is not an actual charge yet, the credit card companies treat it as if a charge was made in regards to your credit limit since usually it is followed quickly by the actual charge. If a charge never goes through, then the preauthorization is dropped after a few days and you never know about it. The problem is, of course, when you have a low credit limit and want to use that limit right away after someone else did a preauthorization but didn't follow through for one reason or another with an actual charge.

As someone else suggested, the quickest and easiest way around this is to call your credit card company and ask for an increase in your credit line. Since there is no actual charge yet, there is nothing to dispute with the credit card company so that route won't get you anything. And as far as I know, there is nothing Travelocity can do for you at this point to get the hold dropped...

 

[Tiggerish]

I do the same. I use Expedia, Travelocity, et al for research but then go to the airline's website, or even use my travel agent, to buy the actual ticket.

It's always good to have someone to intercede for you, or to be dealing directly with airline, in case of a problem.

Everyone who rents a car should be aware that car rental agencies are notorious for putting "holds" on your credit card--they may authorize as much as three times as much as the expected total amount of your car rental, and they don't automatically release it when you return the car and pay for the rental. When you are on vacation, unless you have a huge credit limit, this can put a big dent in your buying power. If possible, it is best to use one credit card for the car rental and another one for your spending money, if you are choosing to charge your vacation expenses.

I have encountered this through my work, we have many frequent travelers with different levels of limits on their corporate cards, and often when they max out, it's not because they spent a lot that month, but because they rented a car and the hold is not wiped out until the end of the billing period.


PS--This is an excellent topic, mayrag. It's valuable information for people to have, and it seems that your problem seems to have worked out well in the end.

 

[EvilQueen81]

That really sucks. I hope you get your money back or get your trip straight.:shrug:

 

[mcstensrud]

I feel very sorry for your problem. But as a larger issue, why does anyone use one of these online Travel sites? IMHO, all your doing is adding one more possible place for something to go wrong. I always deal direct with the airline, car rental co., or hotel. I've never seen a discount on any site that was worth the potential trouble. I subscribe (free) to a site that helps trouble shoot travel problems (among other travel issues) and Travelocity is regularly a problem.
Bob

I agree!
These on-line company's change your flights as often as you change your undergarments.