Hotwire.com

[jeri]

I recently went to hotwire.com to check out the web site after I saw an advertisement on TV. They boast
the lowest air fares. I wanted to see if their boast
was true. I checked with other airlines for prices
also. They say on their web site that they will not
show you the flight times until you agree to purchase.
How can you agree to purchase without knowing what
you are paying for? The flight times are displayed
after agreeing also. There is no choice. They book
you on a flight anytimeand via any route. You have no
choice and are given no way to back out if it does not
fit. For instance, I wanted a flight from Portland,
OR to Phoenix, AZ. They routed me from Portland
through San Francisco to Phoenix for a total of 5
hours to arrive starting at 6am. Why would I agree to
purchase that when I can fly direct in 2 1/2 hours and
for not much more? I had no idea that I would be
routed through SF. I believed that it was a given I
would fly direct. DUH! me. Any way when I called the
customer service number immediately upon discovering
that I had no choice for flight times or routing I was
told "you agreed to purchase and you are stuck with
it". The customer service agent who told me she was a
supervisor would not help me, refused to deal with my
complaint, and hung up on me. I have contacted
hotwire through email. I did get an email response
stating I would be called by phone within 48 hours.
Of course I never heard from them. I emailed again
and was told I would get a phone call within 12 hours.
Of course I have never been contacted. My question
is: How can hotwire trick you into purchasing when
you don't even know what you are paying for?
Thanks for listening,
April Nielsen

[eladhill]

You're not the only one that was unimpressed by Hotwire. Check out this URL at consumeraffairs.com

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/hotwire2.html

They found that they could save a ton of money NOT using Hotwire, and not getting a deal that couldn't be adjusted.

So why buy from Hotwire, when it will not get you the best deal and there is no possibility of getting an adjustment in your travel arrangements or reservations, regardless of the circumstances?

The wary traveler needs to be beware of the pitfall of dealing with this latest challenger to priceline.com.

[claudiaw2]

buyer beware! Very deceptive, I was quoted a price for a rental and the final price was $10 per day higher with "tax and booking fee" Use expedia at least the quote is all fee inclusive. I called to try to cancel and they said no - in fact the girl chuckled and said, sorry there's nothing I can do to help you. The car they rented to me was from avis, which showed cheaper rates on other sites (when you factor in the junk fees!) I bought airline thru expedia and will get the hotel there too-I won't use orbitz either because they supplied the link to hotwire.com

[gotohollywood]

..

[raistmajer]

Hahaha, It always kills me when people who don't actually read sites, and they get angry. I called the people there. They actually have valid reasons for not showing information AND they offer an alternative if you DO have to see the flight times, just not with them. What a site, they offer a competitors site if they cant offer you what you need.

you guys kill me, maybe if you read the sites before you try and purchase you might get what you expect.

By the way, they are listed with the BBBhere

[raistmajer]

I thought that would stop the posts here

[dkingmatt]

I agree with Jeri's analysis of Hotwire. I DID read the entire website before buying tickets. And I must have fallen off the turnip truck somewhere in the process. After reading all of the material, I was still under the impression that I would be able to choose a specific flight. The airline I flew was not relevant. But to offer me an option for a red-eye flight (which is what I needed) implied to me, as did the constant use of the pluralization of the word "flight", all led me to believe that there would be more than one flight available, including a red-eye when that option was chosen.

After calling Hotwire, I was given an option of a different flight, but no red-eye flights were allegedly available. Now I am in the process of disputing the charge with my credit card company (Providian - consumers beware!). First I was told over the phone that they (Providian) had received a response from Hotwire denying my dispute based upon their no-refund policy. Then I was told that they (Providian) had made that decision on their own based upon the information available on the Hotwire website and that I had been sent a letter to that effect.

Then I receive my letter (a standard form letter) that states they have received my dispute, the charges are pending and won't be applied until the dispute is resolved one way or the other.

To quote Mike Taka from his Dec 2001 post re: Priceline.com: "A wiseman once said "Grasshopper, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease." I'm very good at being a squeaky wheel. I'm not looking to get greased, just treated fairly. I would have been content to take a connecting flight as long as the red-eye was the starting point. I did book a red-eye flight, direct from Seattle to Chicago (not via Minneapolis as booked through Hotwire) for a total of only $8 more.

[raistmajer]

these paragraphs are BOTH on the second page of their website.

This one was on the TOP of the second page:

Once the Hot-FaresSM are displayed on the next step, you'll have one hour to purchase. The airline name and flight times will be shown only after you purchase your tickets.

I kept the bold letters intact, it IS bolded on the page.

also, This note was DIRECTLY under the option to include a red-eye flight:

Include red-eye flights in search?
Unless you request a red-eye, all flights are scheduled to depart 6a.m.-10p.m. Searching red-eyes means you could leave late at night or early in the morning. Agreeing to accept a red-eye does not guarantee one; it simply allows us to include red-eyes when we search for the lowest available fares.

Again, keeping the bolds intact.

So much for claiming: "I DID read the entire website before buying tickets" Aparently you didn't read the second page.

[Spike]

Originally posted by raistmajer

By the way, they are listed with the BBBhere

"Listed with the BBB?" The Better Business Bureau is worse than worthless; it's an outrighht scam. Their "members" have carte blanche on providing the information shown and reported on THEIR records. The BBB has brazenly offered to assist in clearing the records of non-members if they join. That's nothing but damn blackmail! I consider membership in the BBB a negative element in assessing the character and reliability of a business.

In my years of being in business, my only reference to the BBB with customers was:"Call the BBB. I have a favorable record. Being a non-member, i don't have the opportunity of negating unfavorable reports. I have no unfavorable reports, so this is actually meaningful".



P.S. : Bolded?...uuuuh ok.....

Addenda:

Holy cow, "raistmajer "! Were you so insincere about your apparent endorsement of the BBB that you found it necessary to delete (edit) your sentiments relative to that scam...err...'organization?

After the response by "dkingmatt" I'd say your critique of the supposed lack of attention and loosely implied stupidity of others has been slam-dunked into the $hitcan of oblivion, eh?

Maybe additional "editing" is in order.

[dkingmatt]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once the Hot-FaresSM are displayed on the next step, you'll have one hour to purchase. The airline name and flight times will be shown only after you purchase your tickets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please take note of the letter "s" after Hot-Fare and flight time. I know it's been a while since I've been in elementary school, but I believe that children as young as 6 are taught that adding an "s" to the end of a word pluralizes that word. Without consulting our good friend Merriam Webster, that means more than one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Include red-eye flights in search?
Unless you request a red-eye, all flights are scheduled to depart 6a.m.-10p.m. Searching red-eyes means you could leave late at night or early in the morning. Agreeing to accept a red-eye does not guarantee one; it simply allows us to include red-eyes when we search for the lowest available fares.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The implication here is that an option for a red-eye flight will be included in those offered to choose from. Again, take note of the pluralizations in this paragraph.

So Raistmajer, reading is not enough. One must also be psychic to be able to determine the true meaning behind the smoke and mirrors used in their ploy to lure unsuspecting consumers into purchasing tickets that are unuseable. Their methods are commonly known as fraudulent inducement and amounts to nothing more than theft.

And as for the BBB (another perpetuator of the fleecing of America) membership in their "organization" is paid by each member, with varying levels of membership. If you choose not to pay to belong, consumers are told that you're not a member.
Additionally, if a consumer does file a complaint against a BBB member, if it's not resolved to the consumer's satisfaction, the only recourse they have is to file a lawsuit (which is all they really had to begin with because the BBB doesn't have any legal standing to enforce an agreement if one is reached in a dipute). Putting the BBB sticker and placard in your office is nothing more than window dressing.

And I can think of much nicer window dressing than that!

[razenruin]

[User is banned] editted by smizrahie

[jeffsinsf]

It is silly that people do not read the terms of an agreement before submitting an order. There are other problems with hotwire, however. I was double charged for a hotel I reserved through hotwire. 40 days later the issue still isn't resolved. Their "customer service" representatives seem to go out of their way to be unhelpful. They act as if it's my responsibility to resolve the error with the hotel, even though hotwire did the booking and collected the payment for it. This was my first experience with hotwire and it will definitely be my last. In addition to the problems, it turns out that the hotel's basic rate is actually $20 less per night than hotwire's rate. That's a pretty nice fee for allowing someone to book online and passing along a payment to another company. Maybe they need this considerable markup to hire "customer service" reps to handle the emails from disgruntled customers who keep emailing them because they provide such poor service!

[dcanaan]

I am 64 and use a cane to walk. On 8/26 I ordered an airline ticket per 66ICVPL27Y, Cincinnati to Miami early on Saturday 8/31 and returning late on Monday, 9/2.

Hotwire booked me on a Northwest Airlines flight arriving in Miami at 11:54 pm Sat.(nearly 7 hours), returning Monday, 9/2 at 6:45 am (must be at airport 4:45am due to security) (7.5 hour flight).

With those hours, no one could pick me up or bring me back to airport. Schedule gave me 28 hours with host (if I stayed awake).

I called customer service. They said they couldn't refund or credit me because the money already went to NWA (a Hotwire owner).

I called Hotwire CEO Karl Peterson and left detailed message asking him to return my call. He referred request to customer care.

I called NWA. They denied receiving payment. I told NWA to cancel because I would not be on that flight. They marked that in their computer record.

I called American Express to dispute charge. They said I would have to wait until the charge was posted to account.

I recalled customer care with specifics and I received email reply from "Nicole," who repeated Hotwire's position of not refunding or crediting me. I later received phone call from customer care chief Cindy, who received call from CEO's office. She argued with me on phone for one hour and again refused my request.

I told her that I would remove Hotwire's free advertisement from my website at www.israelfaxx.com, and that if I did not receive refund or credit, would notify appropriate authorities such as BBB, Ohio attorney general, the US Dept of Transportation and online complaint websites. In addition, I would institute legal action in small claims court in Hamilton County, Ohio.

I have checked these complaint sites and noticed that many are against Hotwire. Hotwire insists it is a matter of principle not to refund or credit fares because "of their low prices."

I would like either a refund or credit of $142. I have been a loyal customer of Hotwire since it started more than two years ago.

[Spike]

Originally posted by dcanaan
I am 64 and use a cane to walk.

Uhhh....what's that (other than an advantage)? I'm 66 and enjoy the same 'senior' benefits. Carry a cane? Good idea! That way you're never without a weapon! I assume you've acquired one with a sword inside, eh? I'd better get to work on that ploy.
Seriously though, I do sympathize with you on your plight with Hotwire.

[_Andy_]

All of you are giving a bad name to this forum. If it says it so clearly in the terms and agreements how can you dispute it? Thats like ordering a book, not liking it, and so you demand that you get your money back! Please dont post such complaints because then probably nobody will take this seriously.