[PA71]

I am so glad I found this site as I am at the end of my tethers with Emirates and a booking that has taken over 2 weeks and is not yet completed.

Two weeks ago I rang Emirates to make a booking for my family of two adults and 2 infants. After being cut off a few times I was told that only one infant is allowed per booking, otherwise one of the infants will have tyo purchase a full seat! I suggested that he makes two bookings, one for one adult and one baby and other the same. The reservations were made and I rang the next day to pay but their system rejected my credit card. I called my credit card company who said they have had no request and everything is fine from their end. So I called Emirates again and they told me to call back the next day while they investigate. I rang the next day and no one knew why this was happening. Finally they speculated that it could be due to making two separate bookings while third party payments are not allowed. So they suggested I make a single booking for the 4 of us! I mentioned that's what I had intended to do but was told I would have to pay a full seat for a child. Apparently that was not true so the chap made me another booking for four people.
I then paid for the ticket and there was again a problem with my card. They went away to investigate and apparently the error was from their end and the tickets were issued the next day and emailed to me. I reviewed the ticket only to find that they had got the wrong dates (February instead of April)!!! So I rang back to have it changed and they said it would cost me $50 per change, which would be a lot for 4 tickets. I was sure that I gave the correct dates as I had them on paper in front of me when I rang. So they went away again to investigate (listen to our telephone conversations) and they agreed the mistake was from their side. So they voided the booking with the mistaken dates and made me another booking with the correct dates.

Anyway, this is where the problems really began because they had taken the money from my credit card and I do not have more credit to pay for the new booking until the money from the first booking is refunded. They said it would take 3-4 working days but I have now waited 8 working days and still waiting.

In the meantime, the keep extending the time for the booking, but this means I have to call every couple of days to extend this until the money appears back into my credit card account. Each time I phone I speak to a new person, who then puts me on hold to check with a supervisor and each time I am at least 20-30 minutes on the line.

I am extremely frustrated and angry because it never occurs to them to at least call me instead. Oh and I was told they can not guarantee the same price they first quoted me because as we approach the flight date then ticket prices increase! This is all through no fault of my own. I have spent so much time and money calling them for what should have been a simple booking had it been dealt with competently by Emirates staff.

I have sent an email to theit UK affairs complaint address detailing everything that took place but haven't heard bac. And if you are wondering why I insist on flying with them, it's because they are the only flight to Dubai where I intend to stay on my way to my destination.

I wonder, will they do anything to compensate me for the time and money I lost calling them and the inconvenience and annoyance they caused? I doubt it. They might even give me a more expensive price now on top of everything. It's a complete disgrace and I have never had so much trouble making a simple booking with any other airline.

[PA71]

Could I ask one of the moderators to insert Emirates in the title of the thread please? I forgot.
Thanks

[PA71]

Ok, so they have now reduced me to tears.

They finally refunded the money from the first booking. The problem was they had keyed in the wrong credit card number. I noticed this myself from the receipts they sent me as proof of refund!

I now have the money back into my account so I phoned to pay for my reservation. After 30 minutes on the phone, their system was not accepting payment from my card!!! This had happened the first time and I had to wait before their finance department sorted it out before I realised the fllight dates were wrong.

So their agent advised me to make a new booking!!!!!! I was almost in tears when I heard this, I was angry to say the least. I know the problem is not the booking and a new booking will not solve the problem with the card not being accepted.

I just don't understand how any company can make such a mess of a simple booking and then treat their customer like this.

[SB69]

Hi,

Just read your post and I have had much the same experience with Emirates now demanding £400 for a name change.

My troubles started 3/4 weeks ago when I booked online and their website crashed. I called my credit card company to find that they had taken full payment for 5 passengers but when I called Emirates call centre no flights had been booked. The chap said one of their team would look at it and book the flights.

I didn't hear anything and called back a day later and found they had booked the outbound journey but not the inbound journey, so I would have been 8,000 miles away without a return flight.

I have had to make all the calls (they are unable to call back and I've lost count how many), they can never answer the query and leave you on hold, I've been told it was my fault, would have to pay additional flight charges because the orignal seats were now not available, and that I cancelled the original booking which is just not true. I've also had the phone put down on me twice!!

When finally they made the bookings I realised that my wife's name was incorrect. According to them this was how I booked it online but I am sure I didn't and I have never made such a mistake in years of travel. I know this is no gurantee but nor can they say that their system was not at fault as it took my money without booking the flights.

I've been through their customer complaints department and when I raise these issues they are just ignored and I am told I need to pay for the name change which has gone up from £80 (which I thought was steep) to £400 today.

It's shocking and the worst is that the reason I went with Emirates was because of their reputation. I'm now pulling my hair out as to what to do next.

[PA71]

SB,
I sympathise with you as I know how frustrating it can be when you know you are being wronged and no one wants to hear you. I'd suggest you ring them again and demand to speak to a supervisor instead of one of the telephone staff. Explain the problem again and ask him/her to look into it. Then take their name and email address so you can contact them again to follow up. Be very polite (I know it's difficult some times) and hope that he/she is a decent person. Also, keep ringing until you are put through to your local office instead of the one in Dubai. I don't know where you are but I am in the UK and the Manchester staff were much easier to deal with and in the end it was one of the supervisors in Manchester who took my case upon her and solved it.

Another thing you can do is ask them for the tapes of your conversations. They definitely have a copy of these and keep them for a while. Then you can prove that you spelled your names correctly and that the mistake was on their side.

So I finally had my tickets come through on Saturday and my card debited. It took just short of 3 weeks to make a simple booking that should have taken 15 minutes. They made one mistake after another. I would expect at least an upgrade to First class but I am not holding my breath really. I don't even believe they will acknowledge my emails.

[SB69]

Good to hear that you have finally got your booking sorted.

I agree that the Manchester staff seem far more friendly but the difficulty is getting through to the them. I have been asked to be put through to the supervisor I spoke to in Manchester but they refuse (well they say they can not transfer calls) and ask me to call the same number and it might just get through to Manchester!!

I spoke to the CAA today as getting desperate particularly as the flights are a few weeks away and got things to organise. The guy I spoke to seemed genuinely shocked when I said they wanted to charge me £400 to amend a name so will see what/ if that brings any joy.

Will take your advise also and give Emirates another call and see if I can get to a supervisor although they seem very reluctant to come to the phone.

[PA71]

In the past I have vehemently insisted to speak to a supervisor. I have had to wait on hold but eventually got what I wanted.

Can CAA do anything? Are such cases within their remit? You may also want to give Consumer Direct a call. They have advisers and can tell you what legal channels you can pursue. It's a free service.

Best of luck.