Some companies have no idea about good customer service. Last year I needed to book 4 flights from East Midlands to Geneva. Firstly I tried Easyjet. The prices were good but I was given a warning that Easyjet may be pulling all flights from East Midlands. I could complete the transaction and obtain a full refund if I changed my mind but I decided to play it safe and try another company.
A Google search revealed a few flights with Aiborn Direct, the price was still good so rather than book online I decided to call them and ask them to search for the best deal for me. The first guy I spoke to was called Danny. He was very friendly and helpful as most sales people are. We found some flights and the price was about £30 per person more than Easyjet. Before I paid I decided to ask Danny who we would be flying with just in case it was Easyjet. I was told, “Air UK”. Happy days! I reached for my wallet and made my first mistake of paying by debit card as there was a nasty charge with using a credit card.
I called an hour or so later as I wanted to get the ball rolling and organise transfers so needed flight details. Danny sent me an email and I immediately noticed that the flight numbers started, “EZ”. These are Easyjet numbers so I called straight back and explained the situation. Danny’s tone changed almost immediately when he realised I wanted to cancel and he told me there would be charges involved but he couldn’t help me, I needed to call customer services. After calling customer services and explaining that I wasn’t aware the flights were with Easyjet I was told I would get a call back the next day but it was likely that I would be charged a cancellation fee of £160!
The next morning I decided to call Airborn Direct rather than wait for them. A man answered the phone and explained that the customer services department didn’t open for another 30 minutes. I explained my problem and to my amazement he told me that the rest of their 2 million customers are perfectly happy so he didn’t know what my problem was!! Unfortunately I didn’t catch this man’s name.
Later on I spoke to someone who was more polite. Her name was Anna and after short conversation she put me on hold, talked to her boss and confirmed that I would receive a full refund. I asked for an email confirmation, which I received.
Two months later I received a refund of £250. This was £130 less that my original payment to Airborn. Once again I called customer services and repeated the same story once more. I was told that the £130 was a cancellation fee!! (bare in mine Easyjet had decided to pull all flights from this airport at this point) I asked to speak to Sam Irvine, the customer services manager and was told she was busy in a meeting. I called many times over the next 2 weeks and each time she was either out of the office or in a meeting. Every request for her to call me was ignored. At the end of my tether I decided to take legal action so I wrote a letter to their managing director and copied it to Mrs. Irvine.
My letter detailed two issues. Firstly, breach of contract as my original contract was agreed with a company called Air UK. The second was a misleading omission. Danny (the sales rep) neglected to mention Easyjet as he knew I would not purchase the flights had I known.
This did the trick. The next day I was contacted by Mrs. Irvine who asked me to wait 7 working days for her to investigate the claim.
7 working days pass and I receive no contact whatsoever, so I emailed once more to remind her that her time was up and legal action would follow. The next day my bank account was £130 richer but I received no email apology, no reply from the managing director and no phone calls.
This company are a disgrace and I urge all of you to avoid them at all costs.
A Google search revealed a few flights with Aiborn Direct, the price was still good so rather than book online I decided to call them and ask them to search for the best deal for me. The first guy I spoke to was called Danny. He was very friendly and helpful as most sales people are. We found some flights and the price was about £30 per person more than Easyjet. Before I paid I decided to ask Danny who we would be flying with just in case it was Easyjet. I was told, “Air UK”. Happy days! I reached for my wallet and made my first mistake of paying by debit card as there was a nasty charge with using a credit card.
I called an hour or so later as I wanted to get the ball rolling and organise transfers so needed flight details. Danny sent me an email and I immediately noticed that the flight numbers started, “EZ”. These are Easyjet numbers so I called straight back and explained the situation. Danny’s tone changed almost immediately when he realised I wanted to cancel and he told me there would be charges involved but he couldn’t help me, I needed to call customer services. After calling customer services and explaining that I wasn’t aware the flights were with Easyjet I was told I would get a call back the next day but it was likely that I would be charged a cancellation fee of £160!
The next morning I decided to call Airborn Direct rather than wait for them. A man answered the phone and explained that the customer services department didn’t open for another 30 minutes. I explained my problem and to my amazement he told me that the rest of their 2 million customers are perfectly happy so he didn’t know what my problem was!! Unfortunately I didn’t catch this man’s name.
Later on I spoke to someone who was more polite. Her name was Anna and after short conversation she put me on hold, talked to her boss and confirmed that I would receive a full refund. I asked for an email confirmation, which I received.
Two months later I received a refund of £250. This was £130 less that my original payment to Airborn. Once again I called customer services and repeated the same story once more. I was told that the £130 was a cancellation fee!! (bare in mine Easyjet had decided to pull all flights from this airport at this point) I asked to speak to Sam Irvine, the customer services manager and was told she was busy in a meeting. I called many times over the next 2 weeks and each time she was either out of the office or in a meeting. Every request for her to call me was ignored. At the end of my tether I decided to take legal action so I wrote a letter to their managing director and copied it to Mrs. Irvine.
My letter detailed two issues. Firstly, breach of contract as my original contract was agreed with a company called Air UK. The second was a misleading omission. Danny (the sales rep) neglected to mention Easyjet as he knew I would not purchase the flights had I known.
This did the trick. The next day I was contacted by Mrs. Irvine who asked me to wait 7 working days for her to investigate the claim.
7 working days pass and I receive no contact whatsoever, so I emailed once more to remind her that her time was up and legal action would follow. The next day my bank account was £130 richer but I received no email apology, no reply from the managing director and no phone calls.
This company are a disgrace and I urge all of you to avoid them at all costs.