Travel Expedia. Avoid them like the plague.

[ash_1050]

Wouldn't book through any third party websites at the moment for flights or hotels. With Covid and the ever evolving situation if there's any issues with flights the first thing the airline/hotel will say is 'we can't help you, call your third party provider'.

Even prior to Covid I was avoiding Expedia anyway as they're garbage.

 

[Spitty_the_alpaca]

Long story short, these bastards have ripped me (and thousands of other people) off.

Its been a year and a half and multiple calls (of up to 5 hours on hold at a time) where they often just place you back on hold and then go home, leaving you there for a few more hours. No matter how polite you are (and its hard not to threaten to come down on them like the Hammer of Thor) they just drop your call.

There is no way to contact them personally, no emails that work, nothing other than a chat bot. its always some call center in the Philippines where at best after being on hold for hours, you get told to wait 12 weeks for your refund, then nothing happens for that 12 weeks, and you call them back, and get told the same story.

Their instagram and FB pages are literally full of people with the same experience.

Firstly, do not use these pricks. If you dont trust me, check out the above social media accounts.

Secondly has anyone found any tricks or techniques with these bastards they want to share that worked? ASIC and the ACCC and Consumer Affairs arent much chop, and while Im aware of a class action by Slater and Gordon, Im at the point that I'll likely be commencing legal proceedings myself (am a Lawyer IRL, and our minor case claims are zero costs so screw it I might as well).

Share horror stories here, and tips to get your damn money back from these swindlers.

Otherwise, consider this a therapeutic vent.

Your not going anywhere in the next 5 years so why worry.

 

[The Passenger]

To be contrary to the OP, I was just looking through my Expedia account and I'm up to 23 bookings, including three $1000+ bookings, and haven't had a single issue with them. A couple of times the hotel itself was a bit below par (nothing terrible) but that is a different issue.

Their reward points amount to about 10% of expenditure which is pretty good value. Saved up some points from a few bookings and stayed in Novotel in Greenwich weekend before last at half price.

Everyone has different experiences in the online booking sphere. I've got mates who swear by bookings.com but I've had two bookings through them that just didn't show up in the hotel system when we rocked up. Fortunately there was availability both times.

It would be interesting how other booking companies rate on trustpilot, Google ratings etc. Things like booking sites always rate low online. Car hire is another. People rarely go online to give a good review when these go well. Only to give bad reviews. It's quite a contrast to something like restaurants where the spectrum of reviews in much broader.

 

[revo333]

Never had a problem with them, but I haven't used them for a few years now.

I mostly use booking.com and I havn't had a problem yet.

 

[dumb]

Share horror stories here, and tips to get your damn money back from these swindlers.

Otherwise, consider this a therapeutic vent.

in terms of poor online reviews i raise you simply energy.

ENGIE is rated "Average" with 3.6 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with ENGIE's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 1,828 customers have already said.

au.trustpilot.com

and link

apparently just been fined $2.5 million for some naughty practices.


anyway, i've never used them. is there some sort of ombudsman route available? that usually makes them take notice. that or tracey grimshaw...

 

[Malifice]

To be contrary to the OP, I was just looking through my Expedia account and I'm up to 23 bookings, including three $1000+ bookings, and haven't had a single issue with them. A couple of times the hotel itself was a bit below par (nothing terrible) but that is a different issue.

Their reward points amount to about 10% of expenditure which is pretty good value. Saved up some points from a few bookings and stayed in Novotel in Greenwich weekend before last at half price.

Everyone has different experiences in the online booking sphere. I've got mates who swear by bookings.com but I've had two bookings through them that just didn't show up in the hotel system when we rocked up. Fortunately there was availability both times.

It would be interesting how other booking companies rate on trustpilot, Google ratings etc. Things like booking sites always rate low online. Car hire is another. People rarely go online to give a good review when these go well. Only to give bad reviews. It's quite a contrast to something like restaurants where the spectrum of reviews in much broader.

Mate, trust me. When your flight gets cancelled, getting your money back is an exercise in torture.

• 2-5 hours on hold, only to be put on hold again and forgotten about (this is common)
• 23 calls now, 6 emails, 2 Facebook chats, and it still is not resolved
• They never ever call you back.
• 18 months this has been going on, still no refund.
• Default 'wait 12 weeks and you'll get your refund' but it never comes. 5 times now

I cant begin to tell you how bad their customer service is. There is literally a class action against them at the moment.

 

[raskolnikov]

I was lucky. I had to cancel my trip to Europe last year. My money was refunded pretty quickly. I wasn't even expecting it and it showed up in my account one day. This was through Aunt Betty.

 

[Hawk Dork]

I was lucky. I had to cancel my trip to Europe last year. My money was refunded pretty quickly. I wasn't even expecting it and it showed up in my account one day. This was through Aunt Betty.

AB is flight centre

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

I normally use booking.com but was asked by a couple of accom places to phone them direct and they'd give me a better room at a cheaper rate.

 

[craigos]

I was lucky. I had to cancel my trip to Europe last year. My money was refunded pretty quickly. I wasn't even expecting it and it showed up in my account one day. This was through Aunt Betty.

Aunt Betty? No wonder you are all getting ripped off. Who else you all using? Ansett?

 

[James_Blues]

in terms of poor online reviews i raise you simply energy.

ENGIE is rated "Average" with 3.6 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with ENGIE's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 1,828 customers have already said.

au.trustpilot.com

and link

apparently just been fined $2.5 million for some naughty practices.


anyway, i've never used them. is there some sort of ombudsman route available? that usually makes them take notice. that or tracey grimshaw...

I've literally just had to deal with Simply Energy. My bill said that my usage had jumped up six times in the space of a month when I live by myself and seen no real material change to my energy consumption. Rang them up a couple of times with no real outcome, so put through a complaint to the ombudsman and quickly got a call from them to resolve the issue.

 

[Hawk Dork]

Aunt Betty? No wonder you are all getting ripped off. Who else you all using? Ansett?

AB was supposed to be flights centres "secret" no/low fee booking so you didnt go to their competitors ...deliberately kept separate from full fee plus cream at FC

 

[raskolnikov]

Aunt Betty? No wonder you are all getting ripped off. Who else you all using? Ansett?

Did you actually read my post?

 

[Over The Post]

Mofra's going to be pissed off at you guys outing his secret cheap fares.

I fell in love with Air Asia X over 10 years ago and recommended them highly to anyone who would listen. Customer service was great and refunds were never a problem (said by those who needed them). Until the covid cancellations started. People are still waiting for their cash after 18 months. Disgraceful.

Re hotels, I used to maintain the back-office server for the Swiss Grand in Bondi. One day it barfed bigtime and their entire front end went down. Fortunately I happened to be in Sydney and not too far away, and had them back online in an hour or so. The head honcho, surrounded by fluttering managers, was so grateful he offered to let me stay in a suite for $99 a night. I took up that offer and for the next six months my fortnightly trips to Sydney were spent there in luxury. Until he saw me checking out and shat himself, he'd only meant $99 for one night. Oops. He should have said that up front.

 

[Kram]

1) complain to your bank. Visa or Mastercard will cut them off and cripple them.
2) write to your consumer protection in your state
3) speak to your lawyer abd place them into administration. if you write to them and they do not dispute your position, exercise your right for wind up of the company. I did this to Telstra and amazingly they suddenly repaid what was owing to me.

I'm really surprised after hitting them with the big guns "I'm a lawyer" 7or 8 times with "I'm kind of a 'big deal' on an internet sports forum" these guys didn't fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

 

[Kram]

So Malfie is a lawyer that unfairly earns less than us sparkies apparently, geez i can only imagine how scared to head honchos at Expedia a 20 billion dollar company are gonna be when they are slapped with this heavy hitter's lawsuit.

 

[74561347]

So Malfie is a lawyer that unfairly earns less than us sparkies apparently, geez i can only imagine how scared to head honchos at Expedia a 20 billion dollar company are gonna be when they are slapped with this heavy hitter's lawsuit.

the first year of a electrical apprenticeship is just running cable and not licking the wires

 

[Over The Post]

Cable? Back in my day they weren't entrusted with anything more than conduit, and even then you had to keep an eagle eye on them to make sure it didn't get plumbed into water lines.

Pulling cables was for the big bois.

 

[Frank Bunn]

I've literally just had to deal with Simply Energy. My bill said that my usage had jumped up six times in the space of a month when I live by myself and seen no real material change to my energy consumption. Rang them up a couple of times with no real outcome, so put through a complaint to the ombudsman and quickly got a call from them to resolve the issue.

Simply Energy used to be ok. They have bumped up their prices and the customer service has gone down the toilet. I have switched to Dodo for gas and lecky and they have been good so far.

Just on the Ombudsmen. Not dealt with energy but their reputation is good. Telephones (TIO) - very good. Victorian transport - very good. Victorian government - absolutely woeful. They are unfunded, possibly deliberately so.

 

[kickazz]

I don't use Expedia, wotif, bookings.com, etc

I will search them to find the best deal but then ring (well, I get the Mrs to) the hotel direct and state the package she is looking at and she does not like booking online.

Deals always matched and sometimes even bettered

Yeah this.

Same with uber eats etc. Good for searching, but always can get a better deal going direct.

 

[Shane Sheridan]

I've used expedia for booking hotels, never had a problem. Would never use a third party to book flights though, always go through the airline sites.

 

[Hawk Dork]

I've used expedia for booking hotels, never had a problem. Would never use a third party to book flights though, always go through the airline sites.

I use a 3rd party site to work out the best times and price
I like to leave at normal times and arrive at normal times then book with AB.