Trying to Purchase Tickets on Expedia and Saying to Try Again

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Warning, guys, this 1's a doozy. But it's been brewing for some fourth dimension—more than than a year, in fact. And while I try my hardest to proceed this a positive space, sometimes yous've just got to tell the truth in hopes that history doesn't repeat itself (i.e. none of you make the same mistake I've done). Cliffsnotes version: Booking through Expedia or another tertiary-party OTA is something you should never do. Why exactly? Well, I'll tell you.

As you may recall, my family and I went on an epic European vacation through the Balkans last fall. The trip began in Budapest, wound its way downwardly the Danube and ended in Bulgaria. From there, we'd wing to Istanbul for the final week.

Throughout all of 2016, the ISIS situation in Turkey continued to escalate, i bombing subsequently some other fabricated united states of america a fleck wary simply the bulk of them occurred far from Istanbul, where we'd be visiting. Until, of class, the Istanbul airport itself got bombed at the end of June. This paired with my dad'due south stroke and his inability to communicate left the states all feeling uneasy plenty for me to attempt to reroute us—with no help from Expedia.

There was no manner to abolish our flights, they told the states. They had no control, they said. It was, ultimately, the airline's decision. And if y'all're thinking "good luck trying to contact Turkish Airlines," you're exactly right—they're most as helpful as Expedia.

So I guess we were going to Turkey; there was no way around information technology.

Then when our trip was less than one calendar month out, Turkey vicious into a armed forces coup—which later on failed, just here's the kicker: For three total days of dubiety, anyone who had booked trips to the airdrome, for the most part, could get refunded in total for their trip.

That is, unless, you booked with Expedia.

At the time, I reached out to the company by both Twitter and phone to become ahead and cancel all our flights; my thought was that if I could just get those funds back or a credit to rebook even, I'd simply purchase tickets on another airline (certainly non Turkish) that transported the states to another European hub similar Vienna or Budapest. We didn't have to go to Istanbul subsequently all; our cruise left from Hungary and ended in Republic of bulgaria. We just had idea a few days in Turkey on the dorsum-cease would be a nice way to tie up our family vacation.

At the time I was going through all of this in mid-July, besides, the Turkish president had alleged a state of emergency that was in event through October. Our trip was planned for mid-August. This was the state department and FAA alarm issued at the time:

Sounds ominous, right? Because I know someone who works at Expedia and was getting no results with the phone, beingness left on concord for hours at a time, I immediately got in bear upon with her hoping she'd help. She put me in touch with Nick Curry, GCO at Expedia, who wrote me this on July 16, the twenty-four hour period after the coup try, in response to my explanation of the events that had unfolded:

Looks like the insurrection is over for at present. At that place are no cancellations to report simply please let me know closer to your trip if yous accept any questions. Thank you!

To which I responded:

Hi Nick,

Information technology may exist over—for now—but more than 160 people died concluding night, and this is the 3rd such incident in a month alone. Would you feel comfy taking your family there? I sure don't—particularly every bit my 64-year-former father just had a massive stroke months ago.

We notwithstanding want to get on our Europe vacation as planned, every bit it's been booked for a year now, but want to avert Turkey entirely. I was hoping to change our flights to another Star Alliance member that has usa bypassing Istanbul but every fourth dimension I call Expedia, I'm told they tin't assistance. Is this something you could help us with?

Appreciate your help,

Kristin

His response:

Kristin,

I merely caught up on my e-mail and saw a annotation from the US State Department about travel being restricted. Apologies for the spam but in that location wasn't a policy last night. Allow me take my team call out and see what we tin do. I imagine there are lots in your situation, so this may take a few days to resolve, but permit me start the process ASAP.

Things were looking up! I suddenly felt like I had an marry. Until I didn't. Three more than days passed without a response from Nick. Then he had his team call to tell me the insurrection was over and then I was, in a sense, screwed. Oh, simply had information technologynottaken them so long to respond, I could have easily canceled over the weekend through our credit card company when the state department alarm was still in upshot, as so many friends as well traveling to Turkey had done successfully. Dozens of phone calls with Expedia followed, and I connected to ask to speak to that person's supervisor, just information technology got me nowhere.

For those of you who think travel writers get preferential handling, let this be a example study. Nosotros don't!

Meanwhile, I was working the Twitter connection equally I've learned, at least in the example of the airlines, it'south often the only way to talk to a existent-live customer service representative, someone who is non at a call center in India.

In that location are two ways this scenario could have played out: one) They could have just canceled my flights and refunded me in total or 2) they could take let me improve my flights and use the $8,500 we had spent in airfare toward another booking. But oh no, Expedia wouldn't allow such a thing; I'd have to become to the airline instead.

So go to the airline I did. Just, I notwithstandingcouldn't ever really go through to anyone on the line, and they sent out a stock response to anyone who reached out via Twitter maxim that you could cancel within that period but that was it. Not besides helpful in my case. And while, yeah, the airport bombing happened 47 days prior and the failed coup 31 days before our departure, this happened the forenoon we would have arrived: 14 dead and more than 220 wounded. I think we made the smart choice hither, fifty-fifty if it toll the states cold, hard cash.

Needless to say, I lost more than 60 hours of my life on the phone trying to sort this ordeal, and I've never wanted to quit a trip and then bad as I did this one.

Meanwhile, I located a contact for a PR girl from Turkish Air's U.S. agency (at the time) Golin, and she tried her hardest to help and was kind as could be. Just ultimately she can't dictate how a regime-owned airline runs. In the finish, I was referred to a supervisor, Selkan Ukel, who was supposed to exist able to help me, only subsequently v attempts at reaching him, this was the simply response I got:

Dear Ms. Luna,

We acknowladge [sic] receipt of your e mail service. Nosotros understand your situation and looking in to this matter. The flow for refund/rebooking without penalization covers for flights betwixt July 15-July 20. Nosotros are extremely busy trying to transport our passengers to thier [sic] final destinations who had to stay here for 3 days. Simply I volition share your situation with our headquarters and go dorsum to y'all as soon possible.

Warn regards,

Selkan UNEL

Frustrating, yes, and why I sympathise the airline was under a lot of estrus, I expected more given that collectively my group had handed over $8,500 to Turkish Airlines. Too, that "get back to you as soon equally possible?" Good thing I wasn't waiting by my reckoner as nine months have now passed.

But and so at that place was the insurance I'd purchased: With Dad however recovering from a major ischemic stroke, I had gone against my gut and bought Expedia's trip protection, the kind they try to force upon you lot whenever you purchase a flight, only to notice out when it was besides late that such a plan does not cover "acts of declared or undeclared war."

So, what happened in the end?

Rather than pay a $135 rebooking fee ten 23 tickets—the number of separate Turkish Air bookings we made through Expedia, or 7 round-trip transatlantic tickets + 16 one-way legs within Europe—to employ the credit within the remaining five-calendar month window, nosotros canceled outright and ate the unabridged toll of each ticket, booking new international flights to/from Vienna and Budapest only 2 weeks before our departure date. Cheap? No. Worth information technology to avoid a terrorist attack in Istanbul? Without a doubt.

So what is a traveler to exercise in times of political strife?

I honestly don't know, other than to practise as nosotros did and absorb the striking, realizing that, in the long run, your life is more important than $8,500. I volition say that earlier y'all do anythingelse, try contacting your credit card visitor first; oftentimes, at that place's a certain level of insurance attached to trips that you might not fifty-fifty know about. At that place were eight of united states travelers and the onlyticket we didn't book through Expedia was SVV's RT ticket from Atlanta to Istanbul; we booked it via Hunt Sapphire Advantage points instead. So guess who issued the states a $965.16 refund check for the canceled flight? Chase'southward Broadspire insurance company. (Yay, Hunt!)

Guess who didnonissue us a penny back? The Citicard and AmEx Gold nosotros used to book the remaining seven round-trip international flights on Expedia (plus another ii legs to Budapest and from Bucharest for a total of eight travelers).

According to ane of my travel industry friends, it'south of import to get the correct kind of travel insurance—and also read the fine print.

"The key with the 'cancel at any fourth dimension' insurance is you pretty much have to purchase it within like 24 or 48 hours of booking your trip," she told me. "As I discovered when prepping for a trip to Africa, near no regular travel insurance policies cover political unrest/coups/etc. I recollect from Allianz, that said in the fine print you lot could cancel for absolutely any reason. Burkina had simply had a insurrection so I wanted to brand sure I was covered in case there were more riots/protests."

I'one thousand no expert on travel insurance, just many travel agent friends recommend Travel Baby-sit or Allianz, two companies I'll besides be looking into on future trips.

Simply hey, at to the lowest degree I got a media striking on Fox News out of the whole ordeal. My grandfather would have been proud!

Nigh a year later, I still feel dingy about this whole scenario, equally if I've been scammed, like equally a travel industry professional I should take known better. Let'southward simply consider information technology a lesson learned the difficult mode. And to rub salt into the wound, not only were we out more than than $8,500, but we had made all our bookings through Expedia, including rental cars, and were charged double on both car bookings in Romania, which wound upward being a piddling shack almost a mile from the drome and gave us nodocumentation of the fees we incurred.

Given they just owed united states $200 dorsum, you'd recollect this was something that Expedia could easily remedy, correct, particularly in light of the big blow nosotros'd just been delivered? Wrong! This is the company that specializes in adding insult to injury (just telephone call them the United of OTAs). After seven months, I finally got a rep on the phone; later on more threescore minutes on concur while she investigated, at the end of the telephone call, she promised me a $100 voucher for my trouble and a resolution within 48 hours. You lot may not be surprised to hear that the voucher never materialized and no i got back to me. So, xiii days later, I took to Twitter over again, merely to become even so another rude response:

Notation: Information technology would accept never occurred to me to enquire for a voucher, and I was a flake surprised (and pleased); this kind gesture came from a "customer service" rep over the phone who proffered it because of the inconvenience. But the patronizing response from Expedia's Twitter team sure was awesome!

I gave them myriad chances to fix it, and no matter how many times I've given the rundown to a rep, I have to start over. Is it really worth pursuing further for a beggarly $200?

So guys, take my family unit's painful hit for your own travels, and don't book through Expedia. In fact, don't book through an OTA (online travel agent), menstruation. Go straight to the source, the airline in this case, as had always been my policy in the past.

My usual plan of attack? Monitor airfare through Scott's Cheap Flights, Google Flights, The Flight Deal, whatsoever service you like, then book straight through the airline (or rental automobile)(or hotel). Every single time. Or! I tin can refer you to an actual, live travel agent who will assist you 1,000 times better than an OTA would. I know a number of good ones and am always happy to pass along the contact info.

And as for if I'll ever make information technology to Turkey? That'southward debatable. Sadly, this financial blow was enough to sour the whole country for me—apologies to any Turkish readers I might take; it'due south not you, it's your airline—and with all the ISIS activity continuing to occur in the eastern part of the country, it might be a long while before I feel prophylactic traveling in that location.

Have you e'er gone through such a kerfuffle with a travel visitor like Expedia who robbed yous blind? How did you resolve it?

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Source: https://www.camelsandchocolate.com/turkish-airlines-expedia/