travelstart south africa travel agency reviews

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Travelstart south africa - travel agency, travelstart.de.

Travelstart   Reviews

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Reviews 1.3.

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Contacted Travelstart on their website

Contacted Travelstart on their website, Chat line and even phoned to get my ticket cancelled ...was promised on all three their means of contact that I will be send an email with the quotation for this cancellation but already 24 hours later and stil no email....its like they do not want to except a cancellation before the day of my flight. Ref ZA10877080 .

Date of experience : June 12, 2023

Reply from Travelstart

Hi there, Mr Jansen van Vuuren Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Looking into your booking, I can confirm that the booking was cancelled and the refund submitted to the airline on your behalf. The refund has been finalised by the airline on 22 June 2023 and should reflect in the account linked to the card used for original payment within 10-14 days of this date.

I would not recommend travelstart EVER

I would not recommend travelstart EVER. Please do not consider booking With travelstart because their packages seem cheaper. My bank card was charged 3 times for ONE ticket, and the customer service line was of zero help in this regard. I have sent them multiple emails and filled in the contact form, tried speaking with agents who did not even bother to issue me with a reference number for my refund which I still have not received

Date of experience : June 15, 2022

You bunch of scams!you first steal my…

You bunch of scams!you first steal my money than put me on hold for half n hour waiting for your answers hence my bank wouldn't help since your stole my money through my card so it looks like I payed you.God forbid I wish people stop using your service,infact its about time I make you trend on socials

Date of experience : April 02, 2023

Travelstart buyer beware - go direct to airline rather

booked 2 tickets and the flight was cancelled by airline R6000 and my total refund will be R1800 in 6 to 12 weeks - this company is a scam with zero customer service, go direct, avoid this company After taking to social media and contacting the airline directly Travelstart are refunding me - it shouldn't have to be like this and their story is non truthful. I am however being refunded in full

Date of experience : March 21, 2023

appalling customer service.

appalling customer service. there is no way to contact them via email and the live chat and phone service just parrots the emails they sent. cancelled my outbound flight with free cancellation policy from the airline and travelstart gave me nothing, saying the refund amount is less than the admin fee (they told me their admin fee is 15 euros before i asked to cancel). their was no way to contact them to ask for proof, how can refund amount be less than 15 euros, until i told them i will dispute my payment with my Amex, they forward my message (i think) to "internal support"

Date of experience : August 31, 2022

I had contact with the customer service…

I had contact with the customer service several times and it’s just horrible. Talked to 6 people about the same issue and there were 6 different (not satisfactory) ways to “solve” the problem. Changed my flight for a specific amount of money, ended up paying more after. Just not a correct business.

Date of experience : April 07, 2023

Do not rely on their assistance

Waiting for days to get alternative booking on flight that was cancelled. Zero feedback, no solution and I have to phone twice daily to try and get answers. I will never use their services again. I am stuck without a flight and still not feedback. Do not rely on them to assist!

Date of experience : January 02, 2024

Hi there, Marlisa Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. The matter has been escalated to the relevant team lead for you.

Got charged and booked twice for same flight

Their system booked and charged me twice for the same exact flight. I tried to make them cancel one of the bookings, which was one of the most infuriating experiences I ever had. It was clearly an issue within their system. Staff is rude and not at all helpful. Ended up paying their 40€ cancellation fee in order to finally have peace and get at least some of the money back. Never again!

Date of experience : March 11, 2023

There should be a minus stars option for this company. You cannot reach them, don't waste your time on their WhatsApp automated set up as you do not get through to a human and the bot is useless. No reference number because they are sitting with our money without sending us any e-tickets or reference number so we cannot fill in their "contact us"form. I would avoid using this company at all costs and cannot fathom how or why airlines allow them to operate on their behalf. Just shocking and very expensive trying to reach them when you are not in SA, they simply don't answer their phone.

Date of experience : May 10, 2022

Never book with Travelstart

Never book with Travelstart. I have booked 3 flights this year with them to Europe. On the last one I chose economy with a 23kg luggage allowance for R10,800. They issued me an Economy Lite ticket priced R9,800 that allows no luggage. Call centre was useless and despite seeing my ticket said Economy not Economy Lite and seeing the price difference I was told I had to pay to bring luggage. Who travels to Europe without a suitcase? Never ever use these people. They will only ever say no to you, nobody will ever help

Date of experience : November 16, 2023

Good Morning Thank you for your feedback. According to the log history of your search and subsequent booking on our website, you had selected a Virgin Atlantic flight option. On the search results page, it did display that this fare did not include checked luggage. During the booking process, the option to add checked luggage was offered but this was not selected. The total cost that was paid was for a bagless fare plus our service and processing fees.

This is the worst company ever

This is the worst, most inconsistent, confusing, and misleading platform ever. Please stay away from them. They cancelled my ticket, rendered it invalid, it took me over 24 hours to contact them via mail and WhatsApp, they sent a quote, I paid, just for them to send another quote, to pay more money, which I paid! Guess what??? I am still waiting for my ticket!!!!!

Date of experience : July 29, 2022

Travelstart is a complete untrustworthy…

Travelstart is a complete untrustworthy company and I would never recommend using them. I have been waiting for my refund from Jan 2022 and have just been jostled around with hardly any feedback. They are impossible to get a hold off and their after sales service is pathetic, infact non existent!!

Date of experience : July 19, 2022

Horrible experience booking through…

Horrible experience booking through this company! Very surprised this isn't a scam company, it sure seems like it. They managed to screw up my booking and sent me an email my payment didn't go through with no suggestion on how to fix this, and I am still not sure if I am making a double booking for the same flight... The form for contact as soon as you press send a message also does not confirm that the message went through. What a nightmare!

Date of experience : October 29, 2022

Even if you have a flexible flight with them, they have some tricky hidden rules

I booked a flight with flexible booking and when I called the service point for a rebooking on a different date, they held me on a call for ages and finally a lady came back to shortly tell me that it's written on the agreement that if you already have used the outbound flight then the flexible flight rule doesn't apply to change date for the return flight. The staff are not friendly, they talk to you like a robot and try everything possible to justify their ill and hidden business agenda. They discussed on how to trick me and got back after so long. The other time they said due to technical problems, they can't rebook my flight. Horrible experience in general and I am going to book a new flight on my own. They don't deserve a single star basically. It's a clear scamming act.

Date of experience : March 10, 2023

My flights were changed

My flights were changed. I called Travelstart, as my flights were bought through them. They said it was not their issue. Then I called the airline (AirSerbia), which said the same. This went on and on for a while, until Travelstart was able to request a refund. I still have not gotten a reply for my refund, Travelstart says they are waiting a response from the airline. I now tried to call them again, as I cannot use their new option of WhatsApp services, since they request a booking number of 10 digits and the TravelStart booking request I have is of 8 digits. I called them, however, the assistant had such a strong accent so I could not understand her and neither did she understand me. I do not know if it was intentional, but the call was cancelled at one point, which left me nowhere. Definitely not recommended!

Date of experience : November 29, 2023

Good Day, Kaia Thanks for contacting Travelstart South Africa. Please email [email protected] with your boking number starting with ZA as well as details of your situation and the matter will be in vestigated. If you have purchased your ticket through one of the Travelstart companies in Europe, we are unfortunately not able to assist you as we are not affiliated with any of the European Travelstart companies. For any bookings made through Travelstart Germany etc you would need to contact them directly as we do not have access to any of their bookings. The contact details we have for them are as follows: German Market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.de/Contact Phone number +49 69257367449 Swedish Market: Website contact page:https://www.travelstart.se/kontakt Contact number: +46 770-45 74 24 Norwegian Market: Website contact page https://www.travelstart.no/kontakt Contact number: +47 815 59 859 Danish market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.dk/ kontakt Contact number: +45 70 80 89 97 Finnish Market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.fi/kontakt Contact number: +358 922193380 Alternatively we ask that you reach out to the airline direct, they would have access to your booking and be able to assist.

Cleaned UP act - excellent service!

Having read such terrible reviews of this company I was terrified when needing to modify my flights - however, the team couldn't have been more helpful and efficient. Within a matter of minutes my flight was changed at a minimal fee. I am so impressed and couldn't recommend this company more highly. They have certainly cleaned up their act!

Date of experience : June 06, 2023

If I could give 0 stars, I would

If I could give 0 stars, I would. I made a booking for an international flight with Travelstart last week, the next day I get instructions for payment and within a few hours I sent a bank transfer for the full amount. The next day I wake up to an email that the booking was cancelled, and yet my bank transfer had gone through - the funds had left my account. I understand that sometimes it takes some few days for the payment to reflect, but an email was sent with the details of the transaction immediately when it was placed. The email says that there was a challenge with the credit card details I gave in the initial reservation process, yet it was the autofilled information I use each time I make a credit card payment, and it has never failed before. I call immediately to alert them and sort a refund, they tell me that the account team will call me within the hour - 7 hours go by, nothing. I call them back, they assure me that they will process the refund within 24 hours. This was now 6 days ago and I haven’t heard anything, and there is no refund. Now I am here with no flight and am missing $2,000. This site seems like fraud and I am close to reporting to police.

Date of experience : February 09, 2024

Hi there, Ms McNeil Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I have escalated this matter to the relevant team lead regarding your booking KE11856687 to get this matter resolved soonest.

Scam travel agency

Very poor service, they operate like a scam agency or a very inexperienced one. I booked a ticket for BA for a connecting flight to Finland from Nigerian and they offered no advice on required documentation to have. I eventually was turned back at the check in counter and didn’t fly and now to get them to make a complete refund is a huge challenge. I have never had this bad an experience with a travel agency before. How did the South African government license them , I wonder??

Date of experience : May 03, 2022

If there was a minus star I would have…

If there was a minus star I would have chosen that one. Customer service is so bad!!!! I booked two flights with one additional baggage to each flight, however, travelstart went and put both baggages on the one flight and expect me to pay for an additional baggage after they ignored my several correction requests. terrible company. Would not recommend at all.

Date of experience : October 20, 2022

Travelstart is redundant! Just book from airline directly.

Booked a ticket in March 2020 which was subsequently cancelled. We went through all the processes at first to try and sell the ticket on to someone else when travel became possible again. That wasn't possible because every time someone wanted to purchase the ticket and do the name swap it was impossible to get hold of someone at Travelstart and the buyer would lose interest. Then we tried to get a refund for the tickets and they went round in circles until the time to get the refund from the airline expired and we no longer can be refunded. All the time they were going round in circles felt like a concerted effort to muck us about so that we would eventually not be eligible for a refund. Guys, book your tickets directly from the airline. Travelstart is redundant.

Date of experience : December 11, 2022

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Travelstart, flight centre south africa, travelwings.com.

Travelstart South Africa - Travel Agency   Reviews

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Reviews 2.8.

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Allan is a great staff member!

After initially experiencing great difficulties in getting a response from Travelstart, I was finally connected to a gentleman called Allan. What a wonderful staff member you have. He was courteous; took time listening to my issue; and sorted out the problem effortlessly. Thank you SO much Allan.

Date of experience : June 06, 2024

URGENTLY WAITING FOR MY E-TICKET

I’ve paid for my flight booking immediately via Nedbank EFT today and you have still not sent me an e-ticket. Now you are sending me constant payment reminders. Send me my e-ticket. I emailed proof of payment to your bankpayments email address. Your urgent attention to my matter is required. Thanks in advance.

Date of experience : June 01, 2024

Double booking and payment to wrong account

I made booking on 21.11.2023.The following day i thought it was cancelled. I made another booking and made payment immediately via EFT to Nedbank. Unfortunately the booking was not registered on the system, Sherryne explained to me when i made a phone call. It was long and tedious processe to correct it thanks to Sherryne I am sorted She is very patient, polite and has good interpersonal relationships. She is the best.Keep it up girl!! Regards.

Date of experience : November 22, 2023

Reply from Travelstart South Africa - Travel Agency

Hi there. Thank you for the 5 star review . We appreciate the support and will pass this on to Shireen and the team. Have a fantastic day further!

3 Days ago I wrote a bad review

3 Days ago I wrote a bad review. I literally spoke to about 10 people and explain my query to them. Every time they told me they will call me back, but that did not happened. Today 14/03/2024 Allan Richard from Travel start had call me back. I Have explain everything to him and he was so helpful with all my queries. If it wasn't for him I would have still struggle to sort out my tickets. With in 4 Hours he has sorted me out and I got my new tickets. Thank you Allan for all you help and you friendliness. Much appreciated. Five stars to him.

Date of experience : March 14, 2024

HI there, Amelia. Thank you for the lovely review. We will definitely be sharing your feedback with Allan and the team. I hope you have a wonderful day further.

This is an update of my previous review…Pathetic Service

This is an update of my previous review regarding Travelstart's in Cape Town. This morning Chantil Buckley telephoned me and apologized for the inconvenience caused due to the cancelation of my late flights to Or Tambo. This morning, 29 March, she went out of her way to get me another flight on the same day, at a better price inclusive of taxes and baggage. But to be honest, she seemed more clued up wrt what was going on with my situation than the two ladies over the weekend. Thumbs up to Chantil Buckley for her understanding, knowledge and excellent work done.

Date of experience : March 20, 2023

I have used them for years, affordable flights, easy process for changind dates and cancelling flights. I can highly recommend them.

Date of experience : September 02, 2022

Shireen Burger's professionalism

Hi Shireen - Thanks for your prompt response.. you always exceed my expectations!

Date of experience : November 01, 2023

Hi there, Zane. Thank you for leaving a 5 star review. Your feedback is appreciated and we will be sharing this with Shireen and the team. Have a great day further!

Thank you Khaya for the excellent…

Thank you Khaya for the excellent service !! Much appreciated

Date of experience : January 31, 2024

Hi there, Noncedo. Thank you for your 5 star review, we do appreciate it! We will share this with feedback with Khaya and the team. Have a great day further!

A mind boggling disparity of cost adjudication!

My daughter asked us to travel through from Jeffrey's Bay to look after our 4mth & 2yr old granddaughters due to business commitments. Unfortunately we'd got the dates wrong. On learning the correct dates, we attempted to have the appropriate corrections made yesterday. This morning we received a reply that the changes would cost us R2870 per person Over and Above what was already paid. Our original total cost for both of us. ~~~ R3340 Additional cost for both of us ~~~ R5740 Both costs added together ~~~ R9080 = R4540 per person Return If we simply decided to forfeit the original cost and re-booked directly with the airline, our payments would be R3780 for both return. A total amount of R7120 A savings of R1960 I haven't even approached our change in long term parking fees. Is there someone that can give me a plausible valid explanation for the huge disparate cost anomaly? Thanking you John Haigh Add

Date of experience : April 13, 2024

Hi there, John. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and share your feedback with us. The matter has been escalated to the relevant team lead who will investigate the matter.

My wife has recently been diagnosed…

My wife has recently been diagnosed with a terminal cancer and I am unable to leave her as I am the primary carer. I immediately cancelled my return flight to London. This showed up immediately on my booking app as cancelled and as requested I sent through medical evidence to motivate the refund. Since then I have had no acknowledgement of receipt or agreement to refund. I have called several times and spoken to someone but got no assistance. I have never had such bad service before and to make thigs worse my daughter who was accompanying me who had booked directly with the airline BA, cancelled her flight and received a refund within one week. Terrible.

Date of experience : March 08, 2024

Good Day, John. Thank you for taking the time to share your review and feedback. We are sorry to hear about your wife's illness. The matter has been escalated to the relevant team lead and you will be contacted regarding your refund request.

Refused to refund ticket on their error

Worst customer serviced I’ve ever had. The travel start website said my payment was declined and then issued the ticket 2 hours later after other tickets were bought. Customer service refused to refund my ticket and said I must cancel with the airline, even though it was their error.

Date of experience : March 22, 2024

Hi there, Grace Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. The matter has been escalated to the relevant team lead and the matter will be investigated.

THE WORST COMPANY TO EVER DEAL…

THE WORST COMPANY TO EVER DEAL WITH..... I will never recommend this company to anyone. Please don't waste your money, time and energy on these scammers. They charge you a fee for flexible date change but it goes into the company's pocket and not to the airline because you will still have to pay exorbitant fees. This company engages in daylight robbery!!!!!!

Date of experience : February 20, 2024

Hi Kerry, Thanks for reaching out and voicing your concerns. Regarding our Flexi product, this product allows the customer to make 1 free date change to their booking, subject to the same fare class availability. If the same fare class is not available the passenger will be liable for the difference in fare and airport taxes. The Flexi Product only covers the airline penalty fee and the Travelstart service fee. The following is mentioned in our terms and conditions which can be viewed during the booking process: https://www.travelstart.co.za/lp/products-services/flexible-travel-dates If you are flexible on your dates our team will have a look to find a more affordable option for you. This is not a guarantee but the team will be happy to look and advise. Please keep in mind we like all agents are governed by the airline rules and policies and can only quote on what is available made by the airline. If you have an ongoing query you are welcome to email our Customer Relations team at: [email protected] along with your Travelstart reference number and contact number requesting a callback. One of our agents will be in contact to answer any other questions you have over the phone.

Bunch of scammers

Bunch of scammers, booked a ticket with them and they cancelled themselves saying they were unable to verify my card and said they’d refund in 5 working days, as at now it’s three weeks already no refund, no response to my mails, no picking up calls and all Please don’t patronise this bunch of losers

Date of experience : October 30, 2022

Terrible After Sales Service

If there was a negative star, I would have given this company -2. I agree with the previous review from Vicki Macray. This agency are rotten. Once you book with them, they dont bother assisting you or replying to emails. It cost actually more fixing up your booking done with them, so rather book with the airline directly or use some other travel agent website.

Date of experience : September 30, 2018

Return of payment with respect to cancelled flight

Return of payment with respect to cancelled flight Hello Travelstart, Whilst I appreciate you cancelling the flight owing to an error in the dates booked, and acknowledging that that someone will deal with the matter timeously, that this happen. I have sent numeorus mails over the last week and no reply. My booking reference is ZA07244352. Please would you kindly respond

Date of experience : September 22, 2019

After booking a flight ticket,getting a…

After booking a flight ticket,getting a booking number and paying the full ticket price, i received a notification that my flight booking has been cancelled-to my utter shock and dismay.I had to be in Thailand as a matter of urgency so it stand to reason that i was very upset and agitated at that moment. I immediately phoned Shireen and she calmly put my mind at peace with the assurance that she will do her utmost to get me another flight as close to my canceled flight. Within the span of ten minutes she called me with very positive news:not only did she secured another booking for me but she also saved me a massive three thousand and seven hundred rand on the new ticket. Shireen is truely an focused , committed and dedicated individual. The interaction i had with her convinced me that there are still people out there that put their clients best interest first and foremost. She displays a passion and determination to solve any problem at hand , speedily and professionally. She is truly a major asset to Travelstart. Keep up the outstanding work, Shireen!!! Oswald De Villiers

Date of experience : December 18, 2023

Dear Mr Oswald Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful review! We're delighted we could assist you throughout and will share this with Shireen and the team. Your satisfaction is our priority. We appreciate you support and your 5-star rating.

Suspected SCAM

Suspected SCAM - STAY AWAY! This website, which came up as a booking option on GOOGLE FLIGHTS as the cheapest option, did no more than a secure card check during booking, which seemed to be through the legitimate 3d secure payment system. HOWEVER, they then sent an email wherein, to confirm booking, they request you to send a PHOTO of the FRONT and BACK of your payment card, showing the written signature, as well as ID, in order to complete the booking, and to do so WITHIN 2 hours. There is NO WAY I am going to complete a booking request such as that. This reeks of scamming. I forked out the extra £40 and bought directly on Qantas website directly. If it looks too good to be true, it probably ain't...

Date of experience : February 01, 2021

WOULD NEVER BOOK ANYTHING WITH TRAVELSTART AGAIN…

Would NEVER book anything with this company again! The service sucks and the company is dishonest. I have been trying to change my flight dates numerous times over the last 5 days. I have send email after email. I have spoken to Multiple agents 15+ min on the phone and every time having to explain the same thing asking for the flight dates to be changed . Are my dates changes? NO! I request a quotation get nothing! This COMPANY and bookings are MISLEADING and I would NEVER recommend booking with this company to anyone Just Don’t do it if I could Rate -5 I would TRAVELSTART SUCKES

Date of experience : November 21, 2023

HI there, Jerelene Thank you for reaching out to Travelstart South Africa. Please email your Travelstart booking numbers starting with ZA to [email protected] along with details of your experience so that we can investigate the matter. If you have purchased your ticket through one of the Travelstart companies in Europe, we are unfortunately not able to assist you as we are not affiliated with any of the European Travelstart companies. For any bookings made through Travelstart Germany etc you would need to contact them directly as we do not have access to any of their bookings. The contact details we have for them are as follows: German Market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.de/Contact Phone number +49 69257367449 Swedish Market: Website contact page:https://www.travelstart.se/kontakt Contact number: +46 770-45 74 24 Norwegian Market: Website contact page https://www.travelstart.no/kontakt Contact number: +47 815 59 859 Danish market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.dk/ kontakt Contact number: +45 70 80 89 97 Finnish Market: Website contact page: https://www.travelstart.fi/kontakt Contact number: +358 922193380

TravelStart allows theft from your credit card - BEWARE

TravelStart allowed someone to use my credit card details to buy an Air Ethiopia ticket. They have no security to verify that the person transacting with them is the true owner of the credit card. When querying this with them I got the run around, even a risk department e-mail address that does not exist. God alone knows how the person was able to board the plane with my details. Sick! This company allowed money to be stolen from me.

Date of experience : February 03, 2020

Pay R11300 in cancellation fees or fly and get Coronavirus

I have booked flights with Travelstart several times for my domestic flights and have had pleasant experiences. However, based on my most recent encounter, I will never do my bookings through them ever again. In early January, I booked a return flight from Cape Town to Guiyang China for 7 March 2020 with Travelstart. The flight ticket cost me R12 000. I requested a cancelation quote as a result of the worsening situation in China regarding the Coronavirus. My total refundable amount is a mere R700 (out of the R12 000 flight booking). So basically I have to choose between risking my life by flying to China or paying R11300 in flight cancellation fees. Does this sound like a company that cares about its customers or a company that is just interested in making money?

Date of experience : February 10, 2020