Charter Travel

[dodgey memory]

For those who have booked flights through Charter Travel don't get caught out like we nearly did. They don't send reminders when the final balance is due. Late pament is £45. per week[:O]. Yes i know they tell you on the booking form but I didn't read that far.

[blott]

Ooops! We made a note on the calendar as we were determined not to forget it! [msnwink]

Its just a way for them to make extra money!!

Had a bad experience with Charter Travel and would not ever use them even if they are the cheapest[msnmad]

[Madabouttigger]

Used them last year and had very good service,and a good deal. But this year they couldn't match the price offered from Virgin. (Only by flying with another airline and 1 change - not an option we wanted)

[msneek]

[Mick-H]

I've been 100% happy with them, nothing has been too much trouble, everything we've chucked at them has been delt with stright away, couldn't ask for more.
[clap][clap][clap]

[Katys Grandad]

I make no comment about the particular operator but, on a general level, there have been a series of consumer cases before both the courts and Parliamentary committees of late. The rule that is clearly emerging is that so-called 'late payment' charges have to be proportionate to the additional cost to the supplier incurred by the delay.

I'm not saying that it doesn't cost any travel agent £45 for every week a payment is late but each customer has a right to require the supplier to justify the charge IRRESPECTIVE of whether it is contained in the terms of the agreement.

I know what I would do but it is, of course, for each individual to make their own decison.

[Robert5988]

Likewise I make no comment about any particular firm.

However as a general point I wonder why people(with access to a computer) book with agencies when it is usually cheaper now to book direct with airlines direct on their website.

I appreciate this wasn't always the case, and perhaps this doesn't apply to all airlines. However I have often price checked flights on many sites(Opodo, Last minute.com, Expedia etc) and then direct with the airlines and in every case the airline has been cheaper.

I always fly AA and they give an absolute guarantee that their prices will not be beaten. If you find one cheaper the same day they will refund the difference+ and give you a voucher. However I have often looked for friends & relatives for BA and Virgin flights and these have always been cheaper. I have also seen posts here confirming this for Virgin flights.

I would be interested if anyone has [u]recently</u> obtained cheaper flights from an agency for scheduled flights.

[Macka]

Robert, I'm with you on this. I just can't see how a dealer could beat the airlines website prices.

Interestingly though, I've just booked 4 tickets to go to Barcelona in early February. Our friends always like to book with their travel agent friend (too much money if you ask me) whereas we'll always book online. I checked BA and got a price of 100 quid. At the same time the agent got the same price. since then the web price at BA has ben swinging wildly. It's been as high as £250! and is now about £180. The agent meanwhile has been able to have the initial cheaper flights held for a day or two so we're booking through her.

So, although an agent can't beat a webprice, maybe they can hedge against price fluctuation. For me though...god bless the web.

[Sharon G]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by dodgey memory
For those who have booked flights through Charter Travel don't get caught out like we nearly did. They don't send reminders when the final balance is due. Late pament is £45. per week[:O]. Yes i know they tell you on the booking form but I didn't read that far.
[/quote]
,,,,Always had good service from Charter in the past, although didn't realise that they don't send reminders our anymore!! (they have in the past)

[steph_goodrum]

"However as a general point I wonder why people(with access to a computer) book with agencies when it is usually cheaper now to book direct with airlines direct on their website."

My main preference for booking with an agent (and in their defence for the last 5 years it has been Charter) is that they often have availability and prices on Virgin that we have not been able to beat by looking direct at the Virgin website and also when booking in advance as we usually do to get the dates we want, they are prebookable with deposit and balance 10 weeks before rather than full payment at time of booking which can make a signifcant difference.