AirTicketsDirect (Voyages a la Carte)
Unethical dealings

I booked 2 airline seats for a multi city European trip. After entering passenger information, there is a box which states:

"Change your mind or cancel for any reason without penalty. A unique feature of AirTicketsDirect that assures total satisfaction with this airfare purchase. For any reason, you can cancel this booking within the same day you made the purchase - 100% free of charge" That is a "cut-and-paste" from their site, not my version of their wording. There is a box to check if you want to decline this, but why would someone decline something that is "100% free of charge"?

Well, it seems this company has a strange concept of what "100% Free of Charge" means, as when my credit card charges came through on the next page, there was a $39.98 charge for this "unique feature" of AirTicketsDirect.com. A charge of 19.99 per person!

Over an hour on the phone with the company was a waste of time. I am told that it is illegal for travel companies in Quebec to even sell any type of trip isurance. I am not a lawyer but was told this by a Montreal travel executive. It is illegal in my province to have "negative option billing" under consumer regulations.

In my view this company is unscrupulous and unethical, whether they operate within the strict confines of the regulations or not. I have forwarded the complaint to the travel group whose umbrella they operate under, Ensemble Travel, to see if they can stop this practise. I have also notified the folks at AMEX Platinum about them. In the meantime... my advice is stay away from this site.

Company: AirTicketsDirect (Voyages a la Carte)
Country: Canada
Province: Ontario
City: Toronto

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