worst place to book a flight, I booked a flight and got contradicting information about transit visa requirements. An agent told me I did not need any, however I did. No accommodation whatever, all my... See more
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I booked through Travelstart and shortly afterwards realised I had selected the wrong return date. Trying to reach them was pointless. They simply do not respond, and when they do, it is wit... See more
Needed to change a flight - actually paid for and booked another flight as I had no response after 7 days of bots, emails etc. The original flight was never cancelled. No response from company. So p... See more
Company replied
Flight changed. Phoned travelstart - got thru to India, "sorry offline, can't help, try again in an hour". Subsequent flight changes from airline (no details) said "contact booking agent" ie trave... See more
Company replied
Company details
Written by the company
Based in Sunny Cape Town, Travelstart is your one-stop online travel shop. Forget trawling the web for the latest flight specials. We bring you the best international and domestic flights from all your favourite airlines. Book your hotel stay at properties on every continent. We offer you travel insurance too, for peace of mind. Select car hire from top car rental companies, book bus tickets to anywhere in southern Africa, and even book your next holiday activity. For custom holiday packages to anywhere in the world, contact our travel experts and let’s make it happen. For all your travel needs, go with the best and we’ll take care of the rest.
Contact info
Longkloof Studios, Block B,Darters Road, Gardens, 8001, Cape Town, South Africa
- +27 4684300
- feedback@travelstart.com
- www.travelstart.com
1.2
Bad
773 reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 90% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 24 hours
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See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
No refund after correct cancelation
I booked a business class trip for over 10000 Euro and haven't received the payment yet after two months despite Travel start helpdesk sends me to the airline and the airline back to travel -start.
July 1, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Thank you for contacting Travelstart South Africa
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 Travelstart companies in Europe.
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.
Sorry that we are not able to be of further assistance.
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Too much penalty fee. Cancellation denied
Booked a flight on friday night, want to change the travelling date. Was sent a shocking penalty amount that i must pay. Asked for cancellation and was told that its not possible.
July 29, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Dear Grace
We regret to hear of your Travelstart experience and value your feedback.
We have reached out via feedback@travelstart.com and hope to have this matter resolved for you.
Kind regards
Travelstart
STAY AWAY - HIGH CHANCE YOU LOSE MONEY
STAY AWAY - FLIGHT CANCELLED, NO ALTERNATIVE FLIGHT, NO REFUND, WEAK EXCUSES, DENY RESPONSIBILITY.
Our flight was cancelled, we were not offered an alternative flight. Instead of receiving the due refund, we only received 10% back. When calling their customer service, they acknowledge the mistake, however in the follow-up they keep saying the airline made a mistake and we should call the airline for refund (which is not possible as the flight was booked via Travelstart).
Their standard reply is "sorry, we understand your situation, we did our best".
Sorry, if that's your best, better close the company and stop acting irresponsible with customer's money.
UPDATE:
after receiving a comment on my review by Travelstart, asking to send my case to their feedback-channel, it gets more ridiculous: I got the following reply:
‘Thank you for contacting Travelstart South Africa
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 Travelstart companies in Europe.
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.’
Again, denying any form of accountability, in the actual channel they asked me to use in this very post (check the comment) sending me back to the channels which brought me here in the first place. Textbook solution on how to prank a customer.
July 21, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Dear Sebastian
We regret to hear of your experience with Travelstart and value your feedback.
Kindly assist us with your Travelstart reference and further information, please email this to feedback@travelstart.com so we my investigate and try and resolve this matter for you.
Kind regards
Travelstart
Refund not processed voided ticket
Phoned numerous times explaining the story over and over again. Ticket was voided on 14th July ..paid for new ticket but refund not processed .. been send all over to get the issue resolved..just not getting anywhere...the mistake of wrong ticket booked 2nd time was their mistake...they just dont take responcibility!!! Bad bad seŕvice when you are told the refund will take 2 to 3 days
July 14, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Dear Suretha
We regret to hear of your experience with Travelstart and value your feedback.
Kindly provide us with your Travelstart reference and any further information and please email this to feedback@travelstart.com so we may investigate and try to resolve this matter for you.
Kind regards
Travelstart
Travelstart ripped us off of R50k
I booked flights through Travelstart for a family holiday to Abu Dhabi. The flights were on Qatar. I specifically booked this flight for it's shortest travel time as I have an autistic son with severe anxiety and the airport waiting times are a major issue for him. Lack of sleep also is a massive struggle for him. This whole trip was part of his therapy for overcoming a disasterous flight to Abu Dhabi 7 or so years earlier. He finally felt ready to conquer his fears so that our family could travel again. After paying for the flights I received an email stating that the flight times had changed and that our layover would be lengthened by hours. Obviously this was not going to work. That is how my nightmare with Travelstart began. I only booked through them because they offered the best price on the google page. I would have saved about R1000 so I booked through them. That decision ended up costing me HOURS of phonecalls and messaging AND R50 000. I'm devastated. After hours of my time, it was agreed that they would give us a full refund (highly unusual and I thought I was being given a special service), only to find out that I actually will not be receiving a cent back. Once we were assured of our money back and I accepted their offer, I used my credit card to book the families flights on Emirates instead and fly directly to Dubai without any stops. I kept telling my husband not to worry, Travelstart were in the process of refunding. When I inquired they said that it would take 8 to 12 weeks. Now that the 12 weeks are past, I once again contacted them only to find out we will not be getting a refund because according to them I never accepted the refund quote. And Qatar confirmed that we were a no show for the flight!!!!!! Travelstart are very sly. They insert a link that you have to click on to accept their offer. You have no proof that you have done it. Only they do. Whether they are outright lying because they have a fault in their system which meant they didn't cancel the flight on their part, or whether the link they sent wasn't working, or whether this is just what they do, I KNOW THAT I ABSOLUTELY ACCEPTED THAT QUOTE. Why would I not accept an offer to a full refund when they had been wanting to take thousands off for admin before I got hold of their SA manager, John Friel.
R50 000 gone. No sorry. This company is shocking. I wish I had come here to check before trying to save thay R1000. Please, save yourselves the stress. These people are not ethical.
April 6, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Dear Michelle
We regret to hear about your experience with Travelstart and value your feedback
Upon investigating the correspondence in the booking we have noticed that one of our agents had called you yesterday on the number provided in the booking, you had indicated that you no longer want to speak to her however, she followed up the conversation with an email from feedback@travelstart.com to which you had also indicated that you no longer want to deal with an agent.
We have gone through the booking history to see what had transpired.
A refund quote was emailed 20th March confirming the refundable amount. In the quote the following was mentioned:
""If you wish to proceed with the cancellation, please confirm at least 48 hours before your scheduled departure.""
You had also responded on 20th of March but only asked the following question:
Contact Info:
Name: Michelle Engelbrecht
Email: engelamm@yahoo.com
Category: CONFIRMATION_OF_REFUND
Customer query: Just to confirm, are we being fully refunded?
To which the team again responded with the following:
Dear Gideon Engelbrecht,
Please be informed that the ticket cost for all the passengers will be fully refunded by the airline.
Without confirmation from you, no cancellation will be actioned and no refund will be due.
To go ahead with the refund processing have your Travelstart reference ready and select the following option: COVID 19- Confirmation of refund quote received by clicking on this link : https://www.travelstart.co.za/lp/contact-us
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further queries.
Confirmation was only received 23rd April after the flight had departed.
Proof of acceptance of the refund quote was also mailed to you in the form of this email:
Dear Gideon Engelbrecht,
Thank you for your confirmation. The Booking has been cancelled as per your Request and placed on the relevant queue to process the refund with Airlines.
The refund can take 08-12 weeks, however due to the current worldwide crisis significant delays in the refund process should be expected.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further queries.
As advised in our previous email, confirmation needed to be made 48 hours prior to your scheduled flight
Our team reached out to the airline who confirmed as the passengers were a no-show a no-show penalty fee would apply, which we are not permitted to waiver.
And updated refund quote was emailed again in May
SENT # 06:36:14 Sun, 21 May 23 and again
SENT # 07:56:23 Thu, 25 May 23
To which we had not received any response until this follow up contact form sent on 24 May
Contact Info:
Name: Gideon Engelbrecht
Email: engelamm@yahoo.com
Category: FOLLOW_UP_REFUND
Customer query: Could you please let me know where you are in the refund process?
To which we again resent the refund quotes explaining the matter and asked you to either accept or decline
To which you had then managed to call the contact center on the 19th of July querying both quotes.
Should you have any further queries please feel free to reach out and we will respond or be happy to call again should you prefer to now speak to an agent.
We would be more than happy to try and assist to have this matter resolved
Looking forward to hearing from you
Kind regards
Travelstart
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Unreliability at its best…I mean worst
I suggest that no one uses Travelstart. I made a booking, never got issued tickets, got refunded more than R2000 less than what I paid and they are unwilling to make it right. If you have R2000 to risk...then go ahead. They emailed me last week and said they would get back to me by yesterday. Never heard from them again. Epitome of unreliability!
June 20, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Dear Josh Kruger
We regret to hear about your experience with Travelstart and value your feedback.
We have acknowledged all your posts on all our social media platforms, HelloPeter (which has been removed) and now Trustpilot, have tried contacting you numerous times on the numbers provided and have been in contact with your via email.
The original funds had been paid back to the original form of payment however your had a currency dispute which we have agreed to compensate you for also confirmed via email sent earlier this morning via our feedback@travelstart.com platform
Kindly respond and we will try our best to have this matter resolved as timeously as possible
Kind regards
Travelstart
Charged different amount than agreed
I agreed to be debited EUR 191.99, instead I was debited NOK 2217. Travelstart debited my credit card both another currency and amount than was agreed. Contacting their customer service about this led nowhere.
May 1, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there,
Thanks for contacting Travelstart South Africa.
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 Travelstart companies in Europe.
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.
Sorry that we are not able to be of further assistance.
Absolutely shocking experience with…
Absolutely shocking experience with Travelstart. I had booked with a free flight change as my father was in hospital. When I called to make the change, the quotation was sent to me at 16:39. When I tried to accept it… I was informed that I had to accept it by 16:00. When I called back suddenly the price had increased by R3000 and they refused to assist.
July 12, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there Tam
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are sorry to hear about your Father, hope he recovers soon.
Please email feedback@travelstart.com with the Travelstart booking number and any additional feedback so we can investigate the matter.
A literal scam.
July 8, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there,
Thanks for contacting Travelstart South Africa.
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 Travelstart companies in Europe.
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.
Sorry that we are not able to be of further assistance.
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Raised price after I entered credit…
Raised price after I entered credit card… that shouldn’t even be legal
July 6, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there, Harrison
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
Please note that Travelstart South Africa does charge a processing fee for bookings made. Once the method of payment is selected, the processing fee is added to the booking. This is displayed under the booking summary with the adjusted total before one clicks on the Pay Now button.
As per Travelstart's terms and conditions:
https://www.travelstart.co.za/lp/terms-and-conditions
Processing Fee
These fees cover expenses related to customer support, and maintenance costs for our online booking platform. This ensures that our customers will benefit from secure and efficient ways to book and pay online.
Thank you for allowing us to provide feedback regarding this matter.
If you would like further investigation into this matter, you are welcome to email feedback@travlestart.com with your Travelstart booking number and further details of your query.
Terrible customer care experience
Terrible customer care experience. Booked several flights already with them and never needed customer care. Until now, booked a flight, flew the first leg and tried to change the date of second leg, just to be told by a person in broken english on the customer care line, that this is unfortunatly not possible. Even my information on the related ticket rules, stated in Travelstart's email when sending the ticket to me in the first place, entailing me to a date change for a fixed service fee, was in vain. I was several times simply told, that they couldn't do anything for me. Despite receiving the feedback prior by the airline, that a change has to be dealed with through the travel agency I 'd booked with. Resolved? Well, no. I had to buy a new ticket. Never again with Travelstart!
June 21, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there,
Thanks for contacting Travelstart South Africa.
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 Travelstart companies in Europe.
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.
Sorry that we are not able to be of further assistance.
Very slow response and a lot of hidden…
Very slow response and a lot of hidden cost and fees. Try to avoid using this company.
June 16, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there, YY Chan
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Please email feedback@travelstart.com with your Travelstart South Africa booking number and further details of your experience so that we can investigate this matter.
Con artists
Required excessive documents to confirm booking after I had already paid, supplied the documents needed within the deadline supplied, they denied my documents and cancelled my booking, I then missed out on the flight I had paid for and had to pay for a much more expensive flight, stay clear of travel start!
June 14, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there, Mr Wilkinson
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Please email feedback@travelstart.com with your Travelstart booking number and further details of your experience so that we can investigate this matter.
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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 .
June 12, 2023
Unprompted review
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.
A rip you off with a Date Change and Excessive Processing Fee
Reserved a Flight online but the return date was wrong, thus prior to paying for the flight we tried to change it. We contacted Travelstart that advised us that we can only make changes to the ticket once we have paid for it, and the ticket was issued. The ticket rules / fare rules stated that a change would cost no more than R3600. Travelstart quoted us R9100 to make a date change of which R700 was a processing fee... more than double the processing fee I paid to issue the ticket. Complete Rip Off. Further more they have some or other arrangement with the Airlines that you cant change the ticket on the airlines website directly, you have to go thought Travelstart, allowing them to rip you off however they want to.
June 9, 2023
Unprompted review
Reply from Travelstart
Hi there, Ms Rautenbach
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Please email feedback@travelstart.com with your Travelstart booking number and further details of your experience so that we can investigate this matter.
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!
June 6, 2023
Unprompted review
Is this for real?
What is going on here? Their system rejected both my bank cards, even though these had enough funds in them and were working perfectly. And their EFT option expects users to log into their bank account from the Travelstart website. Surely this isn't normal? Their outsourced call centre personnel were unhelpful and speak with such accents I couldn't understand them. Something dodgy here. I've used Travelstart in the past without problems.
May 26, 2023
Unprompted review
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DO NOT use this company
DO NOT use this company. I booked a ticket, then the ticket was cancelled because the said the payment didn't clear, but the payment cleared from my bank. In short, the money was debited off my account, but NO TICKET. So, scam alert.
April 28, 2023
Unprompted review
WAITING FOR REFUND
I’m surprised that this “company” is still allowed to conduct business after so many bad reviews. tho I was too late to read reviews, circumstances happened already when I was searching about this Travelstart. I’m sorry that I chose to book with them. And strongly advise people not to book with TravelStart.
April 28, 2023
Unprompted review
Gave me the wrong flight date and charged me for a date change.
I selected a specific date for my booking and issed me a ticket with the wrong date attached. They still charge me to change the date to the correct one. Thank you, Travelstart!
April 28, 2023
Unprompted review
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