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Priceline

Priceline • Air Travel • Wrong Airport! • Cruises • Hotels • Rental Cars • Compassion Policies • Cancellation Insurance • Disputed Charges • Defenders • Insider's View --- • Priceline Faces Class Action Suits

The idea of Priceline is appealing. It presents itself as auctioning off unsold seats, beds, etc. But the reality can sometimes be quite a bit different, as the complaints below illustrate. You may be able to get better arrangements for the same price by planning ahead and shopping around. Priceline tends to book travelers on flights that leave at odd times and that require multiple connections.

Other things to be aware of:

• There is little customer service when you are a Priceline traveler. If your plans go awry, it's not likely a quick call to an 800 number will help.
• The airline will not help you and will absolutely not let you exchange your ticket. You don't own the ticket, Priceline does. Even if the airline wants to be helpful, there's not much it can do.
• Priceline fees and surcharges are sometimes higher than those charged by travel agents and airlines, so you may end up paying more even if the ticket price is lower than you might find somewhere else.

Also, remember that Priceline's "secret" is that while the customer specifies what price he is willing to pay, he must commit to pay that price. There's no backing on once the other party accepts the offer. It's important to understand this upfront and to do your price shopping before you enter a bid on Priceline.

We have tested Priceline and found it to be a good way to get cheap airline tickets with just a few days notice. But if you have plenty of time to shop around and live near a major airport, you can probably do better by using Orbitz, Travelocity or a local travel agent.

Amongst all the complaints, we've heard from some Priceline defenders, and a Priceline employee.

Just be sure that what they're selling is what you want to buy -- and be sure you're not paying too much for it. Remember, nothing is free.

A few of the most recent complaints:

Donald of Las Vegas, NV October 3, 2009

I, too, have had a bad experience with Priceline. I booked a rental car and then found I would have to cancel my trip. I called Priceline within 72 hours from my booking and the closest I got to satisfaction is to file a dispute with my credit card company. After reading others' experiences I don't expect any response.

carlos of greensboro nc, NC September 29, 2009

i bored a flight ticket from the company pricelibe they getme a itinerary completly out of my range so i can use,i call then but they dont want helpme or re inversme my money. i have to get another ticket and i am loosing 343.00 wich is not fear

Tabatha of Bonney Lake , WA September 25, 2009

I booked 3 airline tickets and a hotel throught the priceline website. I had no problem with the airline tickets but a few days after booking the hotel I recieved a phone call from my sister in law saying that my hotel had somehow been charged to their credit card!! When I purchased the flights and the hotel I used the same card for them all. I did not come into any contact with my sister in laws card or number for that matter. I thought to myself well maybe since we go to the same bank we somehow switched cards?

That theory doesn't work either since both of us still have our own cards in our wallets also you have to enter the name on the the card, a billing address and a 3 digit code from the back of the card and I don't know any of those things, true that I do have access to find out her address but don't you think I would remember calling her to ask for it? When I called priceline they kept simply telling me that it wasn't possible and that I must have typed in all of her information!! I WAS THERE!! I have spent over 2000 on this trip, why in the world would I try to steal 158 for a night in a hotel from my own family!!

I had to recieve an embarrassing phone call from my family asking/accusing me of stealing. We are a close family and it truly hurt to even have someone think that I could even possibly steal from them! Priceline kept me on the phone for over 40 minutes telling me that there was no possible way that they could've made such a mistake. I know it sounds weird or crazy and highly unusual... BUT IT DID HAPPEN! I have never even been accused of stealing money from anyone at anytime. What a horrible thing to happen to have someone doubt my integrity. It brought me to tears.

philip of cedae rapids, IA September 24, 2009

i booked a car rental with priceline.com we agreeded on the car price then they came backand changed it by a little higher price.i accepted this price. then asked if i wanted insurance onthe car, i said yes they told me the price and i accepted the price. when i got to the rental company they also asked if i wanted insurance. i told them that i already ordered it on line from priceline.com and they said they show no insurance. i gave priceline my card number to pay for the insurance because they said it must be prepaid. i want priceline to pay me the 33 that they charge me at the time of ordering the car and the insurance. the car rental was very good, the insurance has been a nightmare. i used to respect priceline, but try to get in contact with them to correct this is also a nightmare.

Regina of Derry, NH September 22, 2009

I booked a trip to Las Vegas for (2) in July and took my trip. In August, I received a bill for GreatFunSite.com a online buying service which I did not want. I do recall being asked if I was interested in GreatFun and clicked to see what it was but assumed that I didn't buy anything since I did not answer any billing questions and closed the window before filling out any order form. Now I see by reading the full Privacy Policy of Priceline that the ship my credit card information over to GreatFunSite.com obviously without my having truly purchased the product. THIS SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW. I cancelled but not before they billed me and were reluctant to cancel. Finally called back and insisted that they cancel it.

Jalissa of Olympia, WA September 17, 2009

I bought 2 tickets with my credit card for me and my boyfriend to go back east on United. 6 weeks before the flight we broke up, and I did realize that I was not going to be able to get a refund, but I did want to put the ticket into my name for a future use. I called Priceline and they said it was a United problem, I called United and they said it was a Priceline issue.

After a week of going back and forth on this issue, I realized that neither company was willing to work with me on this issue! I called closer to when I was leaving and finally was told that if the seat was going to be used then I could request a refund, since they already received their fare on that seat. So I get on the plane, it is completly full and the seat I paid for was sold to someone else!!!!! And no, now that the flight is over, I cant get Priceline/United to committ to give me a refund on that ticket. They are scammers, liars and I will NEVER do business with them again. I paid 243.00 for that ticket. I am only asking for half of that back cause my return flight was scarce and they didnt re-sale my seat.

Nick of Parker, CO September 15, 2009

In July I visited priceline.com to book a trip to Mexico, I started the booking process online, but had questions about room options so I called in. A young lady offered to book the trip for me after answering my questions, that was fine. A few minutes after booking my trip, I checked orbitz.com and noticed their price was cheaper, I called back and spoke with a young man who stated that they would honor the cheaper price, and would credit my credit card back.

After a week no credit appeared so we called back, after a weeks worth of phone calls, and speaking with several supervisors the credit was finally issued. A few days later I realized I was not offered trip insurance when I booked the trip, so I called back. I was told that you can only get trip insurance when you book online, ok, I asked why I wasn’t told this when I called in, they said I didn't ask for it at the time of booking. Why is it my job to know their policies???? If it's not offered/available when you call in it needs to be stated when you call in, and clearly marked on the website. It took their rep 15 minutes to work through the website to show me where the policy is. I asked them to add insurance that I would pay for it, again I was told no, that it can only be added when the trip is booked.

Again several days and hours have been spent on the phone. I wrote to their executive team asking for help, again told the same thing. This was not my fault, the rep who booked the trip never offered it, and I was never told anything about it period, or that it couldn't be added it you book over the phone. All I want is to add insurance to my trip. I have asked the company to cancel the trip and rebook it online and add the insurance, that was denied, I have asked for my money back, denied. They have been totally uncooperative. I am willing to pay for it, my trip isn’t for another 4 months!!!!! This is ridiculous. Please help.

In a nutshell - Trip Insurance was never offered nor mentioned in the first call or any call thereafter, until I requested it. Priceline.com is misleading consumers by not bringing this option to our attention on the first call. This is not first call resolution and needs to be corrected. I know this is not the only complaint that has been received for an issue like this with their customer service. We are not asking for anything free, we just want the opportunity to rebook our trip with the same price we have already paid, plus the cost of the trip insurance which we are happy to pay for.

Mary of Jonesborough, TN September 10, 2009

This was my first and last experience with Priceline. I needed a rental car reservation in orlando, fl. We were flying into Sanford Airport which was the smaller airport right outside downtown Orlando. When I made the reservation, I put in the code for SFB which is that airport code. I made my bid and it was accepted. However, when I reviewed my reservation, it was at Orlando International Airport not Sanford which I needed.

I called Priceline within 5min of making the reservation. I was told that when you put in a bid for an airport with more than 1 in the area, Priceline will check the area not just that airport. When I asked how I was expected to get from Sanford Airport to Orlando Airport, I was told by the unhelpful representative that she didn't know. She did cancel it after 10 minutes of arguring with her because I just made the reservation but I was charged a penalty of 1day.

We had to save for months to take this vacation since we live from paycheck to paycheck. We haven't taken our children on a vacation in years because we couldn't afford to but this year we were determined to. Having to pay for the 1day on this rental may not be much but it was something we didn't have the money to waste on especially since it wasn't our fault. We put the correct location we needed but priceline felt the need to change it. I will never use priceline again.

Mary of Englewood, FL September 10, 2009

Had ticket from TPA connecting to Cincinnati,Oh. conennting ti Albany,N.Y.. The Delta team informed I had no such flight. It eas never confirmed by priceline. After 25 minutes they put me on a fight to Atlanta to Albany. STAND BY!!!!!, that right bought a ticket in April to by jacked around and put on stand by. When I did call them there was not one person there who even knew my crrect flight. They all refused to let me talk to a supervisor. Very rude woman who needs to become a prision guard. No one wants to stand up and say they made a mistake. I have to pity the slobs.

Karen of White Lake, MI September 9, 2009

In March 2009, I booked 6 flights to Orlando, FL for a Disney Vacation with Priceline.com. The air provider was AirTran. Air Tran made several flight changes, which we understood could happen, but each time they did, Priceline would adjust our flights to something drastically different then we original had. They would add hours to our layovers even when other flights closer to our original itinerary were available.

After months of attempting to resolve this with Priceline, on 7/30/09 I asked for my money back. The travel specialist, Lindsay, contacted AirTran who agreed to refund the cost of our flights. Lindsay provided me with a refund confirmation number of 21879557, and told me it would be 5-7 days for the refund to come through. Believing this, I purchased another 6 tickets on another airline. As of this date, 9/9/09, we have not received our refund.

I have contacted Pricline numerous times to try and resolve the issue, but keep getting different answers each time I call. I told one supervisor what the previous supervisor told me, which he is that he assured me that the refund would be in our account two weeks ago, and the supervisor actually said that the previous supervisor had lied to me.

My last discussion with Priceline was on 9/3/09 with "Patrick" who was supposed to be a supervisor. He told me that I would be getting the refund in 7-10 business days, and then told me that it should appear on my credit card within in the next 1 or 2 billing cycle. How can it be 7-10 days and on the next 1 or 2 billing cycles at the same time? Please note that I contacted AirTran who confirmed that they did send my refund to Priceline on 8/24/09, and even though Priceline has the money from the airline, they refuse to tell me when or if I will get my money back.

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