Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Smartfares's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Smartfares

  4545 Murphy Canyon Rd Ste 210 San Diego, CA 92123-4363

  
• 

  Smartfares

  PO Box 13 Vernon Hill, VA 24597-0013

• 

  Smartfares

  Arlington, VA 22201

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  1. On Jan 14th (Saturday) at 10:05pm EST my wife and I made a booking on smartfares with a 24 hour cancellation policy. The next morning we checked the airlines website for the reservation and did not find it. We continued to do so every hour.2. On Jan 15th, in the morning around 10:00 am we called and asked for the airline reservation number. We received another email with the airline reservation number (same as the one sent when we made the booking) and checked the airline website and the booking was still not confirmed.3. On Jan 15th around 4:00pm we decided to cancel this reservation and utilizing the 24 hour cancellation policy called the agent (Sunny) and cancelled the reservation. Initially he was going to charge a penalty but when we clearly showed him that the ticket had not even been booked on the airlines he said he would refund the full amount (verbally) and we would get an email of the same within 1 business day.4. On Jan 17th at 9:46 am we received an email from Smartfare saying they were unable to confirm our reservation. I responded to that email indicating that I had already cancelled the reservation on the phone on Jan 15th and to issue the refund.5. On Jan 18th at 4:38 am I received an email from smartfares saying they had received my request and I would receive a reply within with ***** hours. Today is Jan 24th, 2023.What I thought was a simple case of receiving restitution for correct cancellation within all rules has turned out to be a lot mental toil. I have contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge (as I said I would to the the agent ***** ). The smartfares never made a booking with the airline as their email in point #4 shows. Therefore I never received the product advertised at all, let alone cancelling within the ****************************** the rules.I will take this up in all available channels as well (legal, state attorneys general) if I need to because I feel this is blatantly false advertising.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Dear ************************, we do show you fully refunded at this time. We show you reaching out initially for seat refunds which was the first refund, and subsequently cancelling the tickets in full triggering the full refund. We understand you were unable to  wait the processing time for your tickets to be issued creating the need for refund, and we apologize. Ticket processing times can vary and are depending on factors that can be out of our control. Our audit shows  TP-TAPAIR PORTUGAL  issued TKT #************* and 0477935824875 14JAN23 for both you and your travel companion. The audit shows these tickets both were subsequently voided when you cancelled and that triggered your full refund. We will have an email sent to you with a copy of the receipt for refund. We apologize any stress the ticketing processing time caused however the tickets were issued as booked as could have been used for successful travel. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that the refund of the amount has been initiated.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  For the record, the other portions of what the business said does not stand scrutiny. I received absolutely no written communication about the refund until January 24th, 2023.

  Secondly if the airlines do take some time to issue a ticket then the cancellation policy should be 24 hours from the time the airlines issues the tickets (since that is what typical airlines policy is). A customer should have a reasonable (24 hours, 1 week, etc) to change their mind about a product that has not been used. That policy should be clear. When I called the agent *****, initially he said the 24 hours cancellation policy does not apply to international tickets and could refund me only a small portion of the fare I paid. When I insisted that the policy had no caveats he agreed to refund the full amount. As you can see from the conversation I had no way of knowing whether SmartFares would renege on this.

  In future, smart fares must be clear and transparent and provide written communication regarding confirmations.

  In addition I will be writing to *************************** about increasing regulations on Airlines and OTA's. My experience with airline travel (from the point of making a reservation to actual travel) has only become worse and worse over the years with all kinds of tactics to confuse the customer.

  
  Kind Regards,
  
  *********************************
  
   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/23/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was purchasing tickets last minute due to a funeral in another country, after looking for flights I found one on smartfares. I wanted to get refundable tickets incase me or the people who are flying with me wouldn't make it. I only purchased these tickets because on the website in a bold green banner it clearly stated "review and book in confidence- you can cancel for free within the next 24 hours!" So I booked with confidence knowing in the next 24 hours I can cancel if needed and I won't be charged. The rest of my party wouldn't make this flight so I called the company for a refund for the rest of the party traveling with me which is 3/4 people and leave my ticket alone. I paid ******* for 2 adults and ****** for 2 lap children. These tickets were purchased on 01/22/23 at 22:19 and I called the company on 01/23/23 at 14:33 and they offered me a $600 refund for an adult and 2 infants. With the promise of a free refund within 24 hours I feel like I'm owed a refund for $1,582.68.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  Thank you for letting us know so quickly , we regret customer service team could not resolve for you and we will investigate. Escalations team will reach out to you shortly with resolution, you are correct, the website this booking came in on does allow for 24hours cancellations. This case should close quickly.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2023

  waiting for the company to reach out with an official resolution 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2023

  Dear Mr.  ******, we see ****** from Escalations sent you an email yesterday approximately 6pm PST when she was unable to reach you by phone. The email confirmed in writing your refund. Please allow 3-5 business days for the funds to appear on your side as with any refund processing. We regret the confusion when you decided to cancel your tickets and trust you received your email advising refund, If not please provide an alternative email or phone number where you can be reached. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/27/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My Wife and I , ******** and ****** ******** booked 5 tickets to PV Mexico on December 1st for a total of $2333.75.
  
  The flight reservation code was OGGZDU, and the sun Country reservation code was P42IJF.
  
  We used our capital one card ending in ****.
  
  Additional passengers were ****, *******, and ****** all same last name.
  
  Today, less than 24 hours before departure we tried to check in and were told our reservation was cancelled due to nonpayment. However I have verified the funds have been deducted from my capital one card ending on **** on December 1st, and I have not received a refund.
  
  I have also verified that I received no communication that my tickets were canceled.
  
  When we called smart fare to discuss this I was told by Malcom to “think Logically” and that I should have done my “due diligents” and he stated that it was “my Fault” this happened.
  
  I have also received an email from you that the refund was processed on December 1st, however I have a statement from capital one that it has not been refunded.
  
  After 2 hours on the phone with someone I was eventually put on hold an then the call was lost.
  
  I have now had to rebook a new flight 16 hours before takeoff for over $5000, when I originally booked for $2300, and I still do not received a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  Dear Mr. ******** thank you for reaching out  to the teams yesterday we are aware of this extreme situation and can confirm the ticket refunds were also processed yesterday. The escalations desk will respond to your email you had sent us directly with further resolution.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2023

  I was told refund happened on December 1st. What other compensation will you be offering? My flights cost double due to me booking less than 24 hours away. Why was I not informed of the cancellation 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  Dear Mr. ********, please see email sent from our  Escalations desk earlier today ( 2:16pm PST) to email in record *************************, we can of course resend to the email used here. This email addresses your questions and asked when you have time to submit receipts for the tickets the new tickets as well as credit card statement of interest also mentioned earlier as work for resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I booked a flight ticket for travel at 1:15pm on 01/20/2023 however my plans were interrupted and I needed to cancel, so I called at 11:00pm on 1/20/2023 in order to get a refund as it states on the website on every single page of the booking process that there is free 24hr cancellation including the title on the review page "REVIEW & BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE YOU CAN CANCEL FOR FREE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS!".However the agent I talked to stated that I could not cancel because that is the airlines policy and that the 24hr cancellation is "just a disclaimer". This is not mentioned at all during the booking process, please resolve this matter and issue a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  Full  refund shows  already issued, submitted 21JAN23 by quality control team. Allow  5-7 business days to appear on your bank card side. While  the agent may have been correct the airline has penalties, but incorrect about your refund. You are entitled to full refund on this website.  You will have a receipt for the refund emailed this week , email will be sent to the email address used in your booking. Thank you for letting us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a flight ticket on Dec 31st, 2022 in full of 611 dollars, the fare that included a flexible ticket advantage for which I paid 103 dollars which claims: FREE Rebooking! Avoid all airline or agency change fees and penalties. We will rebook your ticket for different dates at no cost other than the fare difference if any.Today I chat online and over the phone, with smartfare agents asking them to change my flight ticket under the condition they sold me a flexible ticket. Agents were not able to provide any option for any date. I asked for any option on how can I use the flexible ticket, but they only found tickets with an additional charge of fares for 370 dollars. I kept finding cheaper fares they offer on their website for that exact class, airline, and destination, they didn't want to book it for me under various explanations: it's not the same economy class, the baggage fee is 370 dollars, etc.They have tons of flight options on the relations ********- ***. they told me they cannot find any ticket cheaper than my original one.Attached is the purchase of the ticket, the screenshot of the PayPal charge, and the screenshot of smartafare website selling tickets for the same class, airline, and destination and refusing to rebook my flight purchased with the flexible ticket. Attached is the chat where they refuse to do it.The customer rep. online told me his name is *************************, with extension number ****, for reference.I'd like a refund for the full price of the ticket. As I am not intending to use the services of the smartfare agency and I can't use this ticket. I feel humiliated and cheated. Please let me know if you can help. Smartfares cant has an option for flexible tickets on their website if they cant fulfill it.Thank you,********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/20/2023

  Hi, yes is is frustrating for us as well, changing a ticket does have a myriad of restrictions of what the ticket can be applied toward, that said we will have escalations desk call you in hopes of locating a flight with less of a fare difference. The new fare is dependent  on when you want to travel, and what this airline is permitting the ticket to be applied to. The **** add on your purchased  as you know eliminates any service fee or airline penalty attached to this fare basis, however you will still be using the original ticket credit which means we must stay with this airline. Please allow escalations to reach out and review with you. It is the fare difference and only the fare difference you would have to pay and that is what they will work on, maybe shifting dates will help. Thankyou for letting us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased airplane tickets from smart fares for $2519.53 on September 22nd 2022. The day of the flight comes around (Nov 15, 2022) and my sons (*************************) covid test came back positive so I called smartfares and had the reservation changed to a later date, about a week after the original trip. I was charged $1179.16 for the flight change. The day of the trip comes around again and I take an Uber to ************* which is where my flight is flying from (I live in **********) and once I get to the airport check in they tell me that my tickets never got confirmed. Long story short, I missed my flight because the tickets were never a thing. I got a hotel in ************* and called smart fares to get a refund for my bookings. They agreed to give me a full refund of $3698.69 and all was good. Its been 2 months and I havent gotten any refund or heard back from them. Today I called them to see what the hold up was and each representative gives me a different answer. One said that the refund was still processing, another said she could give me a refund of $2050 and hung up on me, another rep answered, I explained my situation and they just hung up on me. I am seeking assistance in getting all my money back like smartfares promised ($3698.69). They should also have the call recordings of when I was told that I will receive a full refund. I also called Royal Jordanian on the day of the incident at the airport and they said that I didnt have to pay an extra $1179.16 and that they havent even received that amount from smartfares.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  Dear ******, thank you for the documentation. This is clear,  the ticket supplier was unable to process the exchange, apparently one of the  airlines involved  did not allow the change due to fare basis. Regardless the exchange was not issued and this charge should not be part of the pending ticket refund. It has been refunded today , you will receive an email from the escalations desk with a receipt for the exchange refund. The original ticket, is a different matter this refund is still in process for cancellation. We show the ticket supplier submitted for refund on November 20th , generally the refunding  airline(RJ) is taking 60 days , we expect this refund on this months statement result being your refund issued this month. You will receive notice from escalations desk via email as well.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/20/2023

  Ive received the refund for the original tickets ($2,519.53) what about the $1.179.16? I never received any email showing the refund receipt. Please resend it

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/20/2023

  We have now resent the refund receipt for the $1179.16 , originally sent  18JAN23 203pm . It does appear you have used more than one email , you may need to check both your inboxes.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 23 2020 I purchased 3 tickets from ************* to Tongatapu from Smartfare through their web site for $3123 + insurance fee. Since covid 19 epidemic my flight were cancelled and so the border of our destination were closed too. Tongatapu border just open last September of 2022 which I didnt plan to go at that time. Since then I been calling Smartfare and requesting a credit or refund and they keep telling me to wait for little longer. I feel they are stealing from me. I need help.My reservation V2YNC9 I spoke with numerous agents ****, ****** including supervisor name ****. All I want is my $ back and no one to go through this . Their phone ************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  We agree this has been too long, thank you for escalating to DOT we have now submitted your BBB statement  as well as DOT attachment to FJ AIR sales office stateside with expectations of resolution. We will be reaching out to you from our escalations desk.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They charge my credit card and I have nothing

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  We are unable to locate any booking request or session under this email , do you have a confirmation of any type ? Was a different email used to search fares or make the booking? Likewise we can look under passenger names .  Our customer service desk is emailing you shortly to assist.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/15/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We bought plane tickets from ********* to ***** through Smartfares on 01/11/2023. The flight was schedule for 01/13/2023 at 4:44 am. When we came to the counter of the airline to check-in, they told us they didn't have any reservation and thus lost our flight. When we called them to change the ticket they never delivered, they told us that if we wanted to book another plane it would cost us 1800$. We completely got scam, because we bought our plane tickets 603$ they never delivered and then try to extortionate 1200$ more from us saying that it was our last opportunity to take a flight. We bought tickets from a different company but they still charged us with 603$ (562) for tickets we never received. This is unacceptable.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2023

  We do not see a booking  number in your complaint we believe this to be booking#2VXXJM and have audited the online fare session and the post booking fare quote. The  fare offered by **** was $652.60  online , you had an online discount triggered resulting in fare of $603.66 which COPA failed to confirm . We can see this in the session history, best we can do is have one of the agents look for lowest fare that will confirm in in the travel agent system, which is generally higher and it appears that was done. Fares are volatile , particularly last minute. That you were able to confirm the online rate with another provider is surprising but we are glad. Discounts are capacity controlled by the airlines and come and go rapidly. More advance notice our agent would have likely been able to locate a better option for you, we regret this was not this case and will send  this to COPA IT teams. It is our goal to have every booking confirm online at the best rate possible and have no need for you the traveler to reach out , we are sorry this occurred for your ***** flight.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/18/2023

  This response is completely incredible. I booked a flight with your company and you failed to deliver the tickets. The fact that you are still charging us 603$ while we could not fly because of YOU is just a shame. We paid for airplane tickets period. Stop trying to put that on the airline or anyone else, this is on you. How can you still be in business with this kind of methods? There is nothing legit in what you are doing. We paid for something you never gave us. We want a full refund and nothing else.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  We are sorry you have had this experience.  It is not  our goal to have flights fail to confirm, you have been completely refunded, this is  not in our best interests to have a booking fail. We  constantly monitor carriers for their unconfirm rate, if it becomes high we have to make the decision to block them from site. It is a difficult decision as often these carriers have the best fares when they do confirm. Again we regret your experience with this last minute booking we can understand your frustration, however we have audited the case and stand by the findings, as unpleasant as they are we rely on the airlines to confirm the information they are passing through to us and you the consumer.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/12/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I searched for the air tickets on skyscanner.com. It gave me the best option to buy a ticket on smartfares.com which I did on 12.18.22. The ticket was for a flight on Frontier airlines. SmartFares sent me booking confirmation number #7Z2CHW on 12.18.22 and charged me $238.54 on 12.19.22. I got email from ****************************************** on 12.19.22 advising that airline (Frontier) was unable to confirm my flights and I will get the full *************, 1.12.23, I still have not got a refund and all my emails to this agency go unanswered. How is it possible for the agency to hold to the customers money for so long without providing the airtickets they charged the customers for. They should have refunded the charge the same day as they did not confirm the booking.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2023

  We regret Frontier Airlines failed to confirm your flights and have audited your booking.. $238.54 shows refunded back to the original form of  payment- bank card ending ****. Please reach out to your bank if you do not see this on your statement. Meanwhile we will have a receipt sent to you from the merchant system this should provide details your  bank may need to locate the funds. Thank you for letting us know.