Paying to be part of a web of deceit

Paying to be part of a web of deceit

I have just made a flight-only booking on viewdata with Airtours. The flight is in two weeks’ time, yet Airtours made a ticket-on-departure charge of £10. Within the booking it offered transfers, none of which were wanted, but a charge was added, this time £15. The result was the £159 price I quoted the customer actually rose to £184.

The prices on viewdata change frequently so all compulsory extras could be included. There is no reason why tickets cannot be posted for bookings two weeks in advance and I have never understood why it costs more for the operator to arrange a bundle of tickets at the airport than to post them individually to each agent.

It is amazing that trading standards officers allow this to happen.

For the agent this is not the end of it. Ihave the cost of the telephone call (and time) to advise the customer of the extras, then have to deal with their anger.

Then Ihave the cost of a phone call and time arranging with Airtours to have the cost of transfer deleted. The time and cost of holding on is well documented. Then Ihave to phone the customer back to tell them the outcome.

If I take the full cost on credit card I will have to give a refund. If I don’t take the amount due the customer might cancel – and I’ve then got Airtours’ cancellation fees to take into account.

As someone who takes pride in giving good customer service I am made to feel like Iam part of a web of deceit – and I have to pay for the privilege.

I am fortunate that I deal with many small operators who treat me like a customer and business partner. I can’t understand why large operators don’t.

Bernard Johnson, Ashby Travel, Lutterworth, Leicestershire