June 4, 2008 by philybones.

Hopefully you read this before you book your flight.  Unfortunately, I found this AFTER we used orbitz (sucks).

 We decided to book a trip through Vegas.  After finding the choices we wanted for hotel and flights we booked the flight.  After we booked the flight and hotel we thought all was well.  that’s when it started.  We get the confirmation and they booked everything right for the flight but we now only had 1 room instead of two for two couples.   We luckily only were charged for one room.   What the F*#@!  I then called Orbitz customer service (which is most likely outsourced to INDIA!) and they said it was my fault and there was nothing they could do.  Thanks a lot.  They then said they would book another room for $500.00 more than what I was supposed to pay originally even though I actually found a cheaper price on THEIR website!  I asked to cancel the whole trip and redo it.  Another $150.00 per person!   We gave up and decided to just go and see if the hotel would do anything.  Nope, they were even more money even though it wasn’t even full!  Oh well, that’s another story.  We end up just rooming together no big deal.  We have a great time in Vegas then go to get our boarding passes.  The machine says they can’t find our reservation!  Come to find out, American Airlines changed the flight and Orbitz never told us about it!  

 We then had to find another hotel because the next flight out wasn’t until the next morning.  This means we have to get another room.  I called Orbitz and they again said it was my fault.  I asked for them to pick up the bill for the hotel room and they said no.  I then told them that we would never use Orbitz again and that we would tell all of our friends not to use their site because the suck!  Still nothing.  It’s not like I was asking for a refund on the trip, just for them to pay for their mistake.   They just lost out on all our business plus some hopefully.  (To note, the Hyatt Place in Vegas is amazing!  Mostly for business but really nice). 

 So use someone else, Orbitz is no good and they probably outsource all their customer service to India anyways making hundreds of Americans not have jobs. 

 And I almost forgot, my friend that went with me used Orbitz a month earlier for a short trip and they cancelled his trip home for some reason.  FU Orbitz

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

May 28, 2008 by ReynoldW.

I sent the following email to Orbitz upon return from a recent vacation.  

“I booked a trip package (flight hotel, rental car) through Orbitz on 3/8/08 (7 weeks prior to my trip on 4/29/08).    When I arrived at the Hertz rental car at Owens International Airport in Grand Cayman, the local Hertz did have my reservation on file.  But, they stated that I needed to provide credit card to actually take the car (this seemed standard to me, I knew that they would want the card in the event of damage to the vehicle).
I told the billing clerk where I staying, which was the Reef Resort at the East End of the Island.  This resort was 25 miles away, so I absolutely needed to have a car.  The billing clerk then stated that I needed to pay for the car.   I explained that I had already paid for the car as a part of a trip package and provided them with my confirmation number.   I also showed them the email printout of my confirmation clearly showing that it had been paid for.   They then told me that I needed a “voucher number”.   I called Orbitz customer service and was transferred several times, in addition to reaching a non-working number.  I was then connected to a woman who actually was pretty helpful, she stated that this Hertz franchise did not need a voucher number.  She said that they just needed my confirmation and they should then bill Hertz.  

I put the woman from customer service on the phone with the billing person at the Hertz franchise and then the manager.   The woman from customer service explained to them what she had explained to me, but the manager insisted that her needed a “voucher number”.    The manager refused to accept the confirmation number.   He gave the phone back to me, and the woman explained that she was going to contact Hertz corporate and have them contact this franchise, which she did.   She then had a conference call with the manager of this Hertz franchise and the Hertz corporate folks.  After talking for a few minutes, he said that he now needed a “voucher form”.  He provided his fax number and then an email, it seemed like it would be taken care of .

This entire phone call lasted over 30 minutes and was made while I was roaming, so I will now have almost $100 in charges for this phone call.
When I returned the car, the manager said that he had not received anything from Orbitz or Hertz and therefore had to bill me $250.   I was in no position to dispute this at the time since I needed to leave for my flight home.  I truly feel that I was taken advantage of, due to the fact that I was a first time traveler in a foreign country and had to have a car.   I never received a phone call back from anyone at Hertz corporate or from Orbitz. 
Therefore, I am going to dispute the $250 charges with my credit card company.  I feel that my dispute will be responded to in my favor, since it is clear that I was double-charged for this car. 
At this point,  I feel the issue is between Orbitz (who has been paid for this rental car), Hertz Corporate and or the local Grand Cayman Hertz.    The main reason that I used Orbitz was to avoid problems like this.
I am emailing you to make you aware and to see if you can assist.   If not, I will certainly make everyone I know aware of the major problem that I had with Orbitz / Cheap tickets and Hertz.  I will never use either again and will advise others that they should not either.   I will be sending this same email to my credit card company, Hertz corporate, and the Better Busines Bureau separately.”

I received a response to this email stating that someone would contact me via phone within 48 hours.   I did not receive a call, so a few days later I responded to the email saying that I had not heard from anyone.  I again received an email stating that someone would contact me. 

Almost 1 month later, I have not received a phone call, email, or ANYTHING from this company.  

USE TRAVELOCITY OR BOOK YOUR TRIP DIRECT, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY (OR HERTZ) — you will regret it. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

March 29, 2008 by anteros.

For 24 hours now, I’ve been trying to book a flight on Orbitz. Everytime, and I mean everytime (20+), I try to book a flight at their advertised price, it either gives me a message that it cannot confirm my flight, or, more often, that the flight is now 33%-50% more than advertised. This site seems to be nothing more than a bait and switch job!!! Don’t trust them or waste your time. Life is too important than to waste it on this POS site!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

March 9, 2008 by mlodico.

Had to cancel my resvervations due to a flight cancellation.  Orbitz did this after mulitple phone calls.  he first three phone calls ended up transferring me to a non working number.  After a few hours a called again and finally got a live person - they said they processed a refund - we’ll see.  Then I asked for the booking fee back - this is where it really got frustrating. After an hour and a half of my time and speaking to 4 different people and getting cut off once, and having to repeat my story and personal information 4-5 times, even during the same phone session, I spoke to a supervisor.  I expressed to him my frustration with customer service - politely I might add - and he agreed to refund the lousy 13 dollar booking fee provided I re- booked thru Orbitz.   I decided to rebook thru Orbitz until I saw that the flight offered were 150 more expensive then when I first bookd and approx. 175 more expensive then hotwire flights.  So it was a no brainer and there is no way I’m going to waste any more time ever calling or dealing with Orbitz.  They SUCK - IMHO!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

June 9, 2007 by Pixelpusher.

I was billed six times on my debit card for one flight.  The total almost caused an overdraft on my account.  The charges are “pending” so I can’t use my account until they clear or are dropped as errors.  Orbitz service center called these !%##% screwups “Soft charges”.  They said it’s not a problem, they will just fall off after 7-10 days.  MY bank account is technicaly empty until this is resolved…They billed me $1322.95 for a $646.69 flight!

See an Email transcript of this mess:
——————————————————————————–
 
From :  OrbitzTLCService OrbitzTLCService@orbitz.com>
Sent :  Saturday, June 9, 2007 12:00 AM
To :
Subject :  Re: Credit Cards and Billing (KMM453126I86L0KM)

——————————————————————————–
 
 
Dear Orbitz Customer,

Thank you for contacting Orbitz.

We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences caused.

In reviewing our reservation system, we show that you have a reservation
titled ‘Juneau 7/2/07′.

With regards to your query, please note that for the above reservation,
you were charged as follows:

Airfare, (Adult)                       $639.70  
Service fee                               $6.99  
                                      ———-
Total trip cost                         $646.69 USD
                                      ———-

For your reference, please note that a soft charge is a temporary
authorization that will automatically drop off your account within seven
days, if not sooner. A soft charge is when Orbitz asks for funds from a
credit card / debit card company but does not actually charge the card.
By doing this the funds are taken out of the available credit on the
card but not included in the balance that you need to pay to your credit
card / debit card company.
 
Soft charges ‘Fall off’ or are added back to the available credit after
7 - 10 days. For further information, please call your credit card
company.

We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in the
future.

Sincerely,

Sana
OrbitzTLC
www.Orbitz.com

Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.

Original Message Follows:
————————
I DID contact Orbitz Customer Service at 888-656-4546 twice and my bank
twice.  IF YOU READ MY EMAIL you would know that.  Your Orbitz Customer
Service said they could do NOTHING!  NO SERVICE!!!  The bank requires
that
Orbitz Customer Service call them at 1-866-477-5518.  PLEASE reread my
first
email more carefully!
>From: OrbitzTLCService OrbitzTLCService@orbitz.com>
>To:
>Subject: Re: Credit Cards and Billing  (KMM451285I86L0KM)
>Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 19:15:00 -0400 (EDT)
>
>Dear Orbitz Customer,
>
>Thank you for contacting Orbitz.
>
>We are unable to solve this issue via e-mail.
>
>For assistance with regards to your issue, please contact Orbitz
>Customer Service at 888-656-4546 or internationally at 312-416-0018.
Our
>representative will be glad to assist you.
>
>We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in the
>future.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Tim
>OrbitzTLC
>www.Orbitz.com
>
>Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.
>
>Original Message Follows:
>————————
>I bought one ticket to Alaska on 06/07/07:
>Airline ticket number(s):
>
>Total airfare: $639.70 (including taxes)
>Service fee: $6.99
>Total trip cost: $646.69 USD
>
>My credit card was billed for six charges totaling $1322.95
>These charges are “pending” and not final but my account is almost
>empty!  I have made many calls to my bank and to your service center
>tryng to get this resolved.  Your service center said they can’t call
>my bank and my bank said they can’t call you.  CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIX
>THIS SOON!!!  TODAY
>
>

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

February 27, 2007 by bemerson.

On the 17th of February I attempted to purchase three tickets to Zurich and orbitz charged my checking account for $10,000

Below is a transcript of my email to orbitz customer service and a timeline of a telephone call.

Dear Brian,

Thank you for contacting Orbitz.

For further information and assistance with regards to your issue,
please contact Orbitz Customer Service at 1-888-656-4546. If you wish to
speak to a supervisor, you may ask the representative to transfer you to
the supervisor available at that time. Our representative will be glad
to assist you.

We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in the
future.

Sincerely,

Janet
OrbitzTLC
www.Orbitz.com

Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.

Original Message Follows:
————————-

Priya,

Your response and you attempt to tell me that you can’t do anything at
all I
need to talk to someone else is the exact problem I am talking about.

I called customer service and they said I had to send an email to get
the
“convenience fee” refunded.

The charges have been removed but the point is I am not happy with
wasting
about four hours Saturday and being lied to by the ticketing agent.

Please have someone address my concerns… don’t tell me that I did
something wrong that caused me to waste time.  I realized something was
wrong when my accounts were near overdrawn, called Orbits who said to
call
my bank, I called my bank they said they needed the auth number, I
conferenced the bank on the line with Orbitz when Orbitz said they
couldn’t
help with the charges because I didn’t have a reservation at the time…
the
time wasted repeating this story to the low level clerks that had no
authority is getting old way too fast….  I called waited and did
whatever
Orbitz asked and still it took a VP at my bank to give me a “credit”
until
the Orbitz stuff fell off.  And wasted four hours

If you think lying to customers is acceptable just keep sending the same
canned responses.

If you think a bug or the error handling in your web based booking
application causing about $10,000 of my money to be tied up for a few
days
is acceptable then keep sending the same responses.

I would expect if someone held on to your paycheck for a few extra days
that
wouldn’t be a problem would it.

Please have someone email or preferably call me that has the authority
to
make a decision on something.  I tried all your customer no service
numbers
the weekend before last and they stated no one was working that could
refund
my “inconvenience fee”.

My office number is xxx-xxx-xxxx

Regards,

Brian

On 2/26/07, Orbitz Customer Service <customerservice@orbitz.com > wrote:
>
> Dear Orbitz Customer,
>
> Thank you for contacting Orbitz.
>
> We are sorry for the inconvenience cause to you. With regards to your
> query, we suggest you to called our customer service at 1-888-656-4546
> or internationally at 1-312-416-0018 and ask the agent to contact the
> bank so as to remove the additional charges.
>
> If you wish to make the reservation over the phone, please contact our
> sales desk at 1-888-656-4546 or internationally at 1-312-416-0018. In
> lieu of online service fees, to ensure the ability to provide
> exceptional service, Orbitz charges a $25.00 per ticket service fee to
> complete flight reservations over the phone.
>
> We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in
the
> future.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Priya
> OrbitzTLC
> www.Orbitz.com <http://www.orbitz.com/>
>
> Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.
>
> Original Message Follows:
> ————————-
>
> I am registered using xxx@xxx.com but used my personal
> email
> to file this complaint because the web form would not work when logged
> into
> the website.
>
> As I said this problem has nothing to do with an existing reservation
it
> was
> how the authorizations were handled and not reversed.  Coupled with
the
> insulting $75 convenience fee and the ticketing agent or customer
> service
> agent lying to me about how to get that charge removed.
>
> I understand the “soft charge” but it still kept $10,000 of my money
> unavailable for 7-10 days.
>
> Frank,
>
> I doubt you would be so understanding if 10K of your money was tied up
> for
> 7-10 days.  I had to book over the phone since I couldn’t book it
online
> due
> to the repricing of a leg of the flight.
>
> I was notified about the charge and told I would need to accept the
> charge
> then could get it taken off later.
>
> Also my bank can not take the charge off without the business that
> posted
> the authorization contacting their merchant services and reversing the
> charge or adding a credit.
>
> Please put down the script and understand the issue I was dealing with
> was
> due to my $$$ being tied up and Orbitz lack of knowledge or
willingness
> to
> help me with my issue.
>
> I am also upset about my wasted time to fix an error that should not
> have
> happened.
>
>
> On 2/26/07, Orbitz Customer Service < customerservice@orbitz.com>
wrote:
> >
> > Dear Brian,
> >
> > Thank you for contacting Orbitz.
> >
> > It is very disappointing to learn of the  situation you encountered.
I
> > sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced.
> >
> > In reviewing our reservation system, I show that you are not
> registered
> > with Orbitz under the e-mail address ‘ @gmail.com‘. If you
have
> > made the reservation using another e-mail address, the reservation
> will
> > show up under ‘My Trips’
> > ( http://www.orbitz.com/App/PerformDisplayMyTrips) of that account.
> >
> > For reference, if you attempted to make a reservation on Orbitz
which
> > did not go through successfully, the charges reflecting on your
credit
> > card may be soft charges.
> >
> > A soft charge is a temporary authorization that will automatically
> drop
> > off your account within seven days, if not sooner. A soft charge is
> when
> > Orbitz ask for funds from a credit card / debit card company but
does
> > not actually charge the card. By doing this the funds are taken out
of
> > the available credit on the card but not included in the balance
that
> > you need to pay to your credit card / debit card company.
> >
> > Soft charges ‘Fall off’ or are added back to the available credit in
> > approximately 3-10 days depending on your credit card company/bank.
> You
> > may contact your bank or financial institution to check on the
status
> of
> > the removal of the charge.
> >
> > Booking reservations over the phone is an extra service that we
> provide
> > to our customers. These bookings are completed manually and requires
> > more time. We are experts and search for the best prices and best
time
> > for you to travel.
> >
> > Also, our agent always notifies it’s customers of the extra service
> fee
> > that will be charged. Only if the customer accepts the charge does
the
> > agent go ahead with the reservation process.
> >
> > For further assistance in this regards, please contact us via phone
at
> > 1-888-656-4546 within US or 312-416-0018 outside the US and our
> > representative will be glad to assist you.
> >
> > However, to assist you better, please provide us with the following
> > details:
> >
> > 1. Name of Traveler(s).
> > 2. Date of Travel.
> > 3. E-mail address used for booking.
> > 4. Orbitz Record Locator.
> > 5. Name of the airline and flight number.
> >
> > We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in
> the
> > future.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Frank
> > OrbitzTLC
> > www.Orbitz.com <http://www.orbitz.com/>
> >
> > Orbitz - The faster, easier way to find the trip you want.
> >
> >
> >
> > Original Message Follows:
> > ————————-
> >
> > To:  Orbits Customer Service
> > To: travelercare@orbitz.com
> > CC: jdiefendorf@orbitz.com
> >
> > On 2/17/07 I attempted to book three tickets from Houston to Zurich
> > online.
> > The website said something like “orbits encountered a problem making
> > your
> > reservation, please try again”  After I tried it 4 times my card was
> > declined due to insufficient funds.
> >
> > After speaking to your representative Later I found out each time I
> > attempted to make the reservation Orbitz would authorize my card
then
> > fail
> > to get the tickets from the airline so the entire transaction would
> > fail.
> > But my authorization of $2408 for the tickets and $39 convenience
fee
> > was
> > still authorized.  Correction that was $9636 authorized for the
> tickets
> > and
> > $195 authorized for the convenience fee.
> >
> > After my card was declined I looked online and found the nearly
> $10,000
> > authorized against my checking account for airline tickets that were
> > never
> > purchased.
> >
> > I called orbits customer support and they asked for my reservation
> > number,
> > email address, etc and I told them I would like to book the tickets
> and
> > remove the authorizations that were placed in error.  They kept
saying
> > they
> > needed a reservation number or email address for a reservation and
> could
> > not
> > get it through their heads that the reservation did not exist but
the
> > authorizations against my checking account did exist tying up about
> > $10,000
> > of my money.
> >
> > The first person I spoke to hung up in me.  The second person did
not
> > have a
> > clear telephone line and I could not hear her and she would not
> transfer
> > me
> > to anyone else.  She put me on hold or transferred me to a queue
that
> > didn’t
> > have a message or anyone answering.  I hung up after 30 minutes.  So
> far
> > I
> > have used 3 hours of my Saturday morning.  Then I call back again..
> tell
> > my
> > same story explain that I don’t have a reservation I need to get the
> > charges
> > off my account… etc …etc..etc…
> >
> > Then I get someone in the credit card processing departments who
found
> > my
> > $10,000 worth of transactions and agreed to take them off.  I give
her
> > the
> > number of my bank’s credit card department and she says all the
> > transactions
> > will be taken off she said she spoke with Jessica at Amegy bank.  I
> call
> > Amegy bank and happen to talk to Jessica who stated she was only
given
> > authorization to remove the service fee authorizations and not the
> > actual
> > charges of about $9,600.  She gave me a string of numbers as proof
of
> > this.
> >
> > Now I am up to four hours of my Saturday that I will never get back.
> So
> > much for the “Orbitz and go” or “Point click Orbits”.  Then I call a
> VP
> > at
> > Amegy Bank and she helps me out and posts a reversal of $5,000 of
the
> > authorizations so I could use my account until everything is
> > straightened
> > out.
> >
> > Then I still need to book the tickets and decide to use my amex,
call
> a
> > representative to book the tickets.  I explain the problem I am
having
> > and
> > the tickets I would like to purchase.  We attempt to purchase the
> > tickets
> > but it turns out the airline is repricing a leg of the flight so the
> > transaction can not go through I can either wait or purchase a
flight
> at
> > a
> > slightly different time.  She tells me about the $25 per ticket
> > convenience
> > fee and I tell her briefly my story for the morning and ask her to
> waive
> > the
> > fee.  She said she can not do that but after I book the ticket she
can
> > transfer me to customer service where they are able to reverse that
> fee.
> >
> > Now I am up to 4 1/2 hours or more of my Saturday that I will never
> get
> > back.
> >
> > I speak to someone in customer service who asks about my
> reservation…
> > Now
> > I have one but they can’t refund the $75 since I agreed to the fee
> > earlier
> > when I made the reservation.
> >
> > I can see my issue was caused by Orbitz authorizing my debit card
> before
> > the
> > tickets were available and not reversing the authorization of the
> charge
> > when the transaction could not go through.
> >
> > My time was lost due to the lack of helpfulness and knowledge of
> Orbits
> > customer service staff.  If it didn’t have a reservation number they
> > couldn’t absorb the problem.  I even was told once “oh the
> authorization
> > will go away in a few days”  Do you have $10,000 that I can keep you
> > from
> > using for a few days and everything will be fine?
> >
> > So now I am writing this email to request two things.
> >
> > First,  I want my $75 convenience fee sent back to me soon.  This
> > experience was anything but convenient.
> >
> > Second, I feel like my time is worth some consideration since it
took
> me
> > 4-5
> > hours of my Saturday trying to fix the issues you caused.
> >
> > Finally if this isn’t resolved to my satisfaction soon I will bring
a
> > recently registered website online called www.orbits-sucks.com and
> post
> > my
> > experience there and allow others to do the same.  I was thinking a
> blog
> > or
> > forum site where everyone can post their stories about problems with
> > Orbitz
> > and how they will do nothing on the customer service front.
> >
> > Feel free to call me with any questions

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »