Thrive Travel
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DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO BE DISAPPOINTED, STRESSED AND OUT-OF-POCKET FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME
So, I obviously don't think they a reputable travel agency. Here is why: I initially made a booking with them on 12/6 for 2 return business class tickets from Australia - Japan in late October. Pleased to have gotten a decent price, but suspicious - due to the T's and C's that are only shown when you actually make the booking, and the fact that I had had e-mails from multiple addresses and the initial reservation had been made with incorrect information (despite having provided the information correctly) - I decided to try and add the booking to my frequent flyer account with the airline in question using the details provided by Thrive Travel to validate the more than six-thousand US dollar booking. Worth noting at this point is what is in their T's and C's...and I quote..."DO NOT CONTACT THE AIRLINE DIRECTLY. Direct contact with any third-party, including the airlines on which your travel is booked, may result in cancellation of your flight and will extinguish any obligation of the Company with regard to cash refunds or travel credits." Not the most friendly statement and obviously intended to keep travelers from communicating with the actual travel providers. When I checked with the airline the day after making the booking, using the details provided, (E-ticket number and booking reference number) I was told that the flight had been booked, but had immediately been cancelled and refunded. The airline couldn't help me directly of course, because the booking was made via a travel agency. I then (obviously) contacted thrive travel directly, afraid that I had been the victim of an elaborate scam. I was re-assured that this was a glitch and that they had had a problem with their "consolidator" who actually provides the tickets and that they would do their best to remedy this as soon as possible. I completed the first trust-pilot review which was less than complementary and they asked if I would mind removing it when the problem was resolved. Problem is, in general, flights don't get cheaper over time, they tend to get pricier. And Thrive Travel couldn't refund me the money directly, but I obviously still needed to get a flight booked. At this point, Thrive Travel refunded their brokerage fee (which was in their control) - sourced me a replacement flight via a different consolidator and of course asked me to pay another six thousand dollars to get these flights. After my experience with the first flight and my worry about this being a scam, I had cancelled the credit card associated with that transaction, so I used a different card (an actual physical one) in order to pay for this flight. (This was on 21/6, 9 days after the original booking). I again received a couple of e-ticket numbers and a booking reference - and I removed the Trust Pilot Review. Again, I contacted the airline to add the bookings to my frequent flyer account and beggar me - the flights had again been voided. I felt like a complete idiot. I froze the credit-card (to make sure no further transactions took place), reported the transactions as fraudulent with the credit card providers and again contacted Thrive Travel. They couldn't explain why I was so "unlucky" and assured me that they weren't a scam and that they would help me get refunds, they automatically sent me another Trust Pilot Review link - and I then wrote my second review. I still had to book flights - so I now booked directly with the airlines (paying again) and began to Pursue both Thrive Travel and the credit-card providers to get my money back. The good news was that the second Thrive Travel booking had not been charged to the credit card - so I was only out of pocket for two sets of business class flights to Japan. I got a series of e-mails from them up until the first week in July where they explained why everything wasn't their fault and asking me if I had received a refund yet (which I hadn't). They also explained in detail why they weren't a scam (something that featured in my review) - but of course I kept pointing out that as far as I was concerned until I got my money back, in my eyes they were a scam. Then they got their legal counsel involved. He contacted me on 16/7 to tell me my review was defamatory and asking me to change it or take it down. After checking West Australian Law on defamation - it became clear that they had no case and could not pursue this, but were hoping that this "bully-boy" tactic would force me to take down the review. After e-mailing back and forth a number of times, during which I continually made it clear that my firm belief was still that they were operating a scam and I would only cease to believe that when I received a full refund. I am pleased to say that I have finally received a refund. Don't use them unless you are prepared to spend a ridiculous amount of time and energy fixing the mess they make.