Orbitz took my money when they Had Nothing to Sell

September 9, 2007 by Renee.

This just happened to me today! I went to Orbitz.com to book a flight, and when I went through the process received message: “We were unable to complete this purchase with the airline, please pick another flight, message 154″—I tried to do that, but found out that Orbitz had charged my card for the flight that they did not sell me, and that I now did not have enough funds to purchase a flight. When I emailed their customer service I got that pablum about soft charges, and was informed that my funds should be available in 7-10 days. I called their “customer service” line –(India?) and explained that I needed either MY MONEY BACK or a flight, and was told to wait 7 to 10 days until the money shows back up on my card. Complete refusal of giving me another flight. They were completely ignorant of the exchange concept—that they sold me something they didn’t have, so they should replace it with a like product or give my money back. Spent two hours on the phone, to no avail. They even had the nerve to blame this on my credit card company’s policies.
How on earth can they take your money and give you nothing?? With most companies, when I purchase something online, they often don’t even charge my card until my purchase is shipped. They are able to get approval without actually deducting the funds.
I have filed a complaint with the FTC, and suggest that all others who cannot afford to loan Orbitz their money for 7 - 10 days do the same. This, in my opinion, is nothing short of robbery, even if they are calling it “soft” robbery. If a thief takes something from you and returns it 7-10 days later, it is still a crime.
Thanks for hosting this website. My travel plans have been ruined, but it feels somewhat better to be able to warn others about these practices.

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