[anaxaton]

Having been stranded in Palermo last week by the volcanic ash myself and ms. Murphy were trying get a flight back to Gatwick. A search online led us to a company called: 'edreams' which turned up a Windjet flight (IV282) apparently leaving Palermo at 6.55 am on thursday 13th, changing at Forli and arriving in Gatwick at 10.10 It was reasonably priced at € 267.93 so we immediately booked it using my Visa card. The day before we were due to fly however we tried to check and see if the flight was still scheduled or had also succumbed to the ash but there was no sign of it on either Palermo or Gatwick's websites. We rang the Gatwick helpline who confirmed that no flight from Palermo was arriving that day -indeed none was arriving until the weekend. When we eventually flew out on a re-booked Easyjet flight on Saturday 9th we enquired at the airport and sure enough no-one had heard of Windjet flight 282. The Windjet helpline number doesn't work and so far it's been impossible to contact them through their site. Also the edreams customer service email bounces back.
Any advice welcome

[mars6423]

It is probably a fraudulent or scam site meaning that the business is a fake

I suggest contacting your credit card company and tell them you believe it is a fraudulent company, and since you entered personal info to get a new card

[jimworcs]

Mars advice is right and you should act quickly to cancel your card. In addition, if your card was issued in the UK, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act. For any purchase over £100, the credit card company is totally liable for the failure of the airline or scammer to deliver the goods or services you ordered. Therefore, you will receive all of your money back. This protection states that if you paid on credit card, the card company is 'jointly and severally liable' under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which means it is equally responsible, along with the retailer or trader, for the quality of the goods or service. This can be particularly useful if the company you bought from has gone bust or you can't contact them (as in this case, which sounds like a scam). The credit provider is only liable for goods or services costing between £100 and £30,000, and if the amount of credit is no more than £25,000. Some credit card companies have attempted to claim that transactions conducted outside the UK are not covered by this legislation. (They hate this legislation with a passion!!). However, the House of Lords has confirmed that Section 75 does apply to foreign transactions. Although in 2004 the High Court said the act didn't apply when people made purchases abroad, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal and confirmed by The House of Lords. This ruling also confirmed that the protection also applies if you buy goods for delivery to the UK from overseas or purchased the goods by telephone, mail order or over the internet.

You are protected, but I think Mars is giving good advice when he tells you to cancel the card.

One other thing... you did check that it wasn't just a marketing name and there was definitely no company making such a flight at that time didn't you? Some companies act like "virtual" airlines, selling tickets under their own name, but in fact booking you onto other airlines seats. Some of the big consolidators use this method.



This rule does not apply to debit cards or to American Express transactions, as these are not credit cards. However, if you used a Visa Debit Card you can request a Chargeback. Do this quickly, as it can only be processed within 100 days of the original charge.

[jimworcs]

I have done some further checking. There is an airline called Windjet. It is a licensed low cost carrier it Italy. It genuinely does have routes from Palermo to Forli and from Forli to London Stanstead. It is not a scam airline and there are reviews from passengers who have travelled on the airline on Skytrax. The last review was published on the 14th May 2010, so it was definitely still operating at that time.

Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?

[jimworcs]

The flight times and flight numbers you mention do exist. However, the flight from Forli to Gatwick is flight number IV346. I am afraid e-dreams might not be genuine, I will check further into that, but Windjet most definitely does and is not a scam. You may simply show as a "no show".. in which case you may not be entitled to your money back.

[jimworcs]

I think e-dreams also exists. Indeed, it is owned by a US based Private Equity company and has market capitalisation of at least €150m. It is still operating and you can contact them at the following addresses:

eDreams Spain
European Headquarters
601 World Trade Center Nord
Moll de Barcelona s/n
08039 Barcelona
Spain
Phone: 00 34 93 508 8558
http://www.edreams.es
eDreams Italy
Via Boscovich, 14
20124 Milano
Italy
Phone: 00 39 02 880 8101
http://www.edreams.it
eDreams Germany
Graf-Adolf-Platz 15
40213 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone: 00 49 180 5555 10501
http://www.edreams.de
eDreams Portugal
16 Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
1200 Lisboa
Portugal
Phone: 00 351 808 78 3737
http://www.edreams.pt
eDreams France
35 avenue de Friedland
75008 PARIS
France
http://www.edreams.fr
customerservice@edreams.fr
eDreams UK
73/75 Mortimer Street
London W1W 7SQ
United Kingdom
http://www.edreams.co.uk


I suspect you may have jumped the gun in assuming your flights were not real.

[The_Judge]

Are you bored today, Jim?? Good job and great advice!!

[jimworcs]

lol... just call me Kojak

[Leatherboy2006]

before being called Kojak you have to shave your head (if not already) and get a supply of lollipops

[jimworcs]

Just a number 3 crop..but I am partial to the odd lollipop Leatherboy... and far more handsome than Telly Savalas even if I say so myself!!

[The_Judge]

I think Telly's lost alot of weight so I'm sure you look better than him. Lollipop, eh??