Lenleigh

In my opinion, people are nuts to give their credit card info to any company when your not sure of exactly what your getting and when you will get it(ie not telling you airlines,times,amount of connections and fares until after your credit card is charged).

I work for Cheap Tickets and I sell tickets all day long. We give up front info and often times have the lowest fares.

You have to be aware of what you are getting yourself into with tickets.And be extra careful when booking tickets with companies that are nearly impossible to reach.Good thing for Tom that it turned out for the better.In his case it was obviously not his fault.

Marcie

Glad to see things worked out. I've found that priceline.com is GREAT when you really can have flexability and are sure of your plans. If there is any doubt about changing dates etc. though forget it....they won't budge. By the way, when giving your CC number...this is a secure site so not a problem. The only thing I didn't like hearing about was that priceline.com was trying to stick Tom with the $75 cancellation fee per ticket to the airlines when it wasn't his fault. Thank goodness for American Express...I think they're tops for going to bat for their customers!

Bob

I goofed on Priceline once and bid for the wrong airport but they handled it quickly. I am sorry to hear you had a problem, Tom.

Leslie

All goes to show how careful you have to be when 1) using Priceline and 2) supplying any credit card info to anybody. Priceline has made it very clear that once you pay, you are agreeing to accept whatever they give you. So obviously you've got to be SUPER careful before giving them credit card info for anything. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!

bhavana

American Express is really one of the credit cards that resolves disputes in favour of the consumer and NOt the merchant. It's a good one to have, in my experience.

I have had one similar bad experience [though not as bad as tom's] with priceline and i have NEVER used them again. Well, even if i don't save money by not going thru priceline it's fine, but i would rather not use that company.

Andrea

bhavana - what happened with you and priceline?

Tonia

I'm really happy to hear that Tom's situation was resolved. Priceline was clearly in the error, and they only did themselves harm for not working with him in this obvious mistake. Just imagine how many people are going to hear about how Priceline tried to rip Tom off.

Also, always remember that websites that sell airline tickets and ect ARE travel agents. ANY agent can get the same deal that online agents get, but offering TOO many low fares would cut into their commission. Online travel agents like Price-line and Cheap Tickets have the benefit of selling tickets to thousands of people and making great commission in compared to one travel agent located in your town.

What ever you do, always make sure to read all the fine print when booking online. A cheap ticket usually means a highly restricted ticket, unless you get really lucky

looper

I would have gladly paid a professional travel agent a fee to book tickets to begin with. I don't know about everyone else but my time is valuable.

xx

Don't count on travel agents to find cheap tickets. They have now been cut completely out of the airline commission loop and are adding a healthy fees on top of all ticket prices. Many cheap fares are only available to consumers on Internet web sites run by the specific airlines. You can't even count on Orbitz to get you the cheapest fares on the airlines that own it. I've always found better on the airline's own web site.

As for Am Ex being a great help to consumers in times of trouble. This has not been my experience. They will hold up your responsiblity to the charge until such time as the merchant gives them any old form letter bogus excuse - like: "its what Tom bid" - and then you're on your own to set it straight. I'm still fighting over having AOL double dip into my account for monthly charges. Good luck.

itsmlf

this is when you wish you had gone to your friendly travel agent. I do think your credit card company should take care of it....

C William

A topic spanning 6 months and 29 responses...I had to check it out! I have little to offer regarding the priceline.com issue. I was enjoying the intelligent and friendly 'conversation' until I stumbled upon Marci's mercyless comment. She has no mercy for 'you people' (the evil bargain-hunting, travel agent-hating public?) who book online and encounter a problem. You should only entrust your cc to a real professional. f she is a travel agent, she's anything BUT professional. I can't imagine a mean, bitter, ignorant comment like that coming from a 'professional' in any field. I'm a travel agent and feel very sorry for anyone who through no fault of their own has cc problems, errors, or any other inconveniences when booking online. She says "that's what you get". With that kind of attitude what she'll most likely get is early, involuntary retirement. I welcome any potential clients to compare prices with many sources (other agents, internet etc.) as any prudent consumer should do. Sometimes my rates are lower, sometimes they are higher. I'm happy when 'you people' find a good deal, with or without me. The internet is wonderful and many great deals are to be found on it. Scaring people into booking with travel agents and scolding them when they don't are tactics used mainly by travel agents in Iraq and the former USSR. Her message was followed by a response from ooo (sounds Hawaiian) who tells Dinosaur Marci that travel agents are only good for cruises. Ha! Tell that to my client for whom I found a 10-leg international business class ticket to Australia for $5200 when the lowest he could find online or calling the airlines was $9400! This after staying at my office until 9pm using my 10 years of experience, knowledge, expertise and insider know-how to save him $4200. Maybe next time ooo can point him to the right internet site. Ooo says the cruise lines only use us because they are way behind in the whole internet thang. Yeehaw! Internet rules! Some dinosaurs are still buying dog food at the grocery store. Get with the program, right ooo? Anyone who's anyone shops at pets.com. How's their stock doing anyway? My once secure career is now in jeopardy as I hear a new internet site is being developed which will be staffed with people who sit down with first-time cruisers and those with many questions and concerns, spend hours giving free expert and unbiased advice, follow up during the following weeks as often as necessary, and personally take responsibility for everything going smoothly before during and after the cruise. Sorry for the run-on sentence. I think Marci and Mr ooo both need a little aa.....attitude adjustment. Maybe one day Marci and ooo can meet somewhere between ooo's Hawaii and Marci's USSR to discuss the matter. Maybe Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Ooo'll find a great deal on priceline.com (as long as the last for digits of his ss number are 0200 or lower) and Marci'll call a real professional, maybe even me! I accept all major credit cards (well, the ones who side with the merchant in a dispute). Both travel agents and the internet have their place. General, one-sided and unintelligent comments on any issue are, well, welcome in our free society......but they invite long, boring, probably never-to-be-read responses from travel agents who drink too much coffee before bed. Happy Travels !!

Ali

Sorry bud, but you get what you pay for, or try to anyway. Should have went to your travel agent!!

sdunkerly

C William: Did read your response and enjoyed it immensely. Have tears in my eyes trying to read it aloud to my fiance'!

x

C William, ever heard of a paragraph break!?!?

Mr. Complement

I just want to give it to C. Williams. If you did not lay it on the table then nobody can. Those comments like Marci I think it was, were very simple to say the very least. I for one have so much faith in my common sense. Some people forget to use it. That was not the case with Tom. It was a horrible mistake on Priceline's part and they really have lost my hard earned dollar. Sure, others have had great experiences, but I would never support a company who is not fair to all of it's customers. If any situation was obviously an error then Tom's situation was it. Anyway, I think both Internet and Travel Agents are great resources and thank goodness for both. Having so many options available is what makes it possible for budget travelers like myself to have enjoyable vacations at great prices. I sure would like to have the wallets of those who think that travel agents are only good for a cruise or not at all. I would then be able to dine at 5 star restaurants on every trip. I have been qouted prices online that sucked in comparison to those found by my agent and in the reverse. It is all about research. Thank goodness for both. Of course, if you decide to use a site that is not secure, then you may be setting yourself up for trouble. What I want to know is, what agency does C Williams work for? My next destination may be Austraila.

sara

Contact the Better Business Bureau and file your complaint! It's really easy to do online. We recently purchased tickets on Priceline to go to Italy and didn't have any problems. I agree, it's their glitch and should be their problem to deal with. Good luck!

PRESTON

Tom I hope all of you that buy these travel deals know that a good travel agent and pull up your reservation and cancel change and can also see your credit card frequent flyer number address phone and the list goes on. So if we can see it I wonder who else can. I hope no one gets your card number or cashes in on your frequent flyer miles. HA HA HA!!!!!

huh?

What the heck does the post above say?
Can you repost and try to make sense?
Who can see the traveler data?
Once ticketed (billed) travel agents can only see reservations they have made.

Travel Agent

hahahahahahahahahahahaha



HA!

Debra

I had a great experience last year using Skyauction.com for a trip to England vice Priceline. I tried Priceline.com first and kept getting all those magazine offers to wade thru and then never got a decent price on a ticket. I don't remember now how I found skyauction but the great thing about them was that they didn't charge me up front. After I won a bid and found dates/times I liked, then I charged the trip. If I hadn't found dates/times I liked or they didn't have them, the deal would have been off. This allowed me a lot of flexibility which I adore. I got a roundtrip seat in September for around $530 vice the $800+ everyone else wanted. I was wondering if everything was on the up and up but I booked my tickets and the planes flew. Just be sure to read the details--they note that they tack on about $85 per person to the bid price so you have to take that into account when you bid. I expect the rules are still the same. Great experience.