SkyAuction

1) I have won auctions with a "free" $100 SkyAuction gift certificate. However, twice when I tried to redeem the certificates when they were about to expire, SkyAuction dragged their feet so long in redeeming them that they did expire and SkyAuction refused to honor them. Never mind that I tried to redeem them prior to the expiration date and pointed that out to them. They are very, very difficult to reach when you try to lodge a complaint with them; it's virtually impossible.

2) I've won auctions twice for hotel rooms that were perpetually "unavailable" when I tried to redeem them, or I got a response from SkyAuction that they were no longer "selling this hotel," whatever that means. Their auction practices are not completely above board I believe.

Skyauction twice did not deliver on two different auctions. Recently, I "won" an auction allowing me to book a room for up to 7 nights in NYC anytime in 2012. I was again told that they did not have my chosen hotel but I can "request" one of two others. This company is a scam.

I now understand their BBB (Better Business Bureau) C Rating. I wish I had researched their company prior to trying to book a vacation. They have negative reviews strewn all over cyberspace and rightfully so. What an incredible waste of my time. Go to a more reliable and honest supplier. I will do business with a company that delivers what they offer. And I will add to the negative reviews everywhere google leads me. They are the epitome of a "Bait and Switch" organization, a tactic that has been around since we began walking upright. They tire you out with their rhetorical statement citing their terms of sale. I have heard that tired old rap enough. All companies have similar terms but, Priceline, Hotwire, Quikbook and others deliver. Skyauction are charlatans.

If you had asked me about skyauction.com two weeks ago, I would have raved about how I love the site, so what happened? About 1 year ago, I purchased a restaurant certificate from the site. I received the certificate, as paid for, but found that the restaurant had gone out of business before I could redeem the certificate. I contacted Skyauction via email about the problem and I was told I would receive a Skyauction credit. Not the ideal situation, but I was satisfied with my prior purchases on the site and I figured that I would find something else to buy but after one years' time I did not.

I contacted customer service via email and explained the situation using the wording "I have not found any other certificates to purchase on the site and I would like to request a refund to my credit card", my response was an abrupt "you can buy more than just certificates". Well, this was not a helpful response so I decided to call customer service instead. I contacted Maxine ** in customer service and began to explain the situation. I barely got half of the story out when I was cut off and asked for my order number. I provided this, thinking that although I was rudely cut off, it may help for her to have the order in front of her. Upon pulling up my order, I was told my credit could be extended for 6 months.

First off, I did not know that refund credits had deadlines. Second, I paid for a product that I could not use due to no fault of my own and therefore should be refunded. This is a basic pretense of customer service for any business. I attempted, again, to explain the situation saying that I paid for something that I could not use at no fault of my own, I was promptly cut off and was told that it was not Skyauctions fault that the restaurant closed and that they lost money too. I was now getting angry and raised my voice because the golden rule of customer service is that the customer is right, this is especially the case when I am having my money essentially stolen from me as I paid for a product that I did not get! Maxine nastily told me that she would have someone look at it and get back to me then hung up! Seriously, she hung up on me.

One week later with no response, I called again and got the lovely Maxine again. I begin to tell my story, as a refresher, and said that I never got the call back that I was promised. I stated that I understand the purpose of a company is to make a profit, then I got cut off again with Maxine rudely stating "we are not making a profit, we lost that money too!" I then said that she is clearly being very rude to me and not letting me speak. I want to speak to a supervisor. Maxine said that she is a supervisor. I then asked to speak to someone above her and she said there is no one above her then proceeded to argue with me that there are no other options or persons to contact, while pounding on her keyboard intentionally. I then asked if they ever gave out refunds and she said "yes, on a case by case basis." Come on! I said I was going to call the President of the company and she said in a really sarcastic voice "okay, have a nice day." Then hung up again.

I am not so upset about not getting the refund I wanted, but I am upset in the way I was treated like a piece of garbage or like I was trying to scam the system. I was given no service whatsoever from a person who has the title of "Customer Service Supervisor." Apparently, she was never taught that customer service is about serving the customer. By the way, my refund is only for $45, nothing that would put a company under. In these tough economic times, it's a lot of money to me as a consumer. If you buy from Skyauction.com, hope and pray that you never have to deal with their service department.

On a trip to Jamaica Sumfest 2010, I arrived at the hotel only to be told they could not honor my reservation because SkyAuction had not paid them. After numerous phone call attempts getting nothing but answer machines, I lost it! Finally, about 7 hours later, I was assigned my "hellhole" room.

And on just last month, July 2011, I was told I won and sent a total to submit. Only to be told that it would be an additional fee at my sending my debit card info to pay for it. Forget it!

What a disappointment. Beware of their ** excuses when trying to resolve any issue. I had used Sky Auction before to book hotels without issues. I will never again use them for any service. I won an auction for a flight to St. Maarten. When I booked the travel dates, I was concerned about the return flight only giving me less than an hour to get through customs for my connecting flight. I wrote to Sky Auction with my concerns and all I got was a standard computer response. I called the airlines directly to see if I could change the connecting flight and was told no! I then advised Sky Auction that since I never received any reply nor help in 7 days from them, I was going to dispute the charges on my CC.

Well this caused me to be billed $438.00 on a flight that I tried to change in January, that was booked for April. The CC company resubmitted the charges on the statement of proof for Sky Auction that I never requested a cancellation nor was granted one! How ** do they think their customers are? It states and I agreed that the trip was non-refundable! Why I was disputing the charges is because there was lack of information shared, no reply to email and no phone numbers given to me to even try to resolve the issue. So a lesson learned, I will never again use them nor advise any other friends or business partners to use them.

Between July 2 and August 8, 2010, I "won" seven auctions. Since I was able to use the first restaurant gift certificate successfully, I was lulled into a false sense of security. The second time I wasn't so lucky. The restaurant told me that the certificate number had expired prior to the date I won the auction. I contacted SkyAuction for remedy and they ignored me.

Yesterday, I went to book the voucher for LimoRes, which states on it's face that it expires on 12/31/2010. LimoRes stated that they could not honor it, since it had expired on 12/31/2009. I purchased a gift for my nieces in California, it was a day cruise out of SF Bay. I looked closely at the tickets prior to putting it in their card, and sure enough, the fine print had 12/31/2009 on it. I contacted the cruise operator and they confirmed invalid status.

I cringe at the thought of my former co-worker going to dinner with her husband at a very nice Italian restaurant in her area, courtesy of the "gift certificate" I gave her. If the restaurant doesn't honor the $100 certificate, they will be stuck with the tab. I checked with the NYC Water Taxi, since I "won" three tickets allegedly valid until July 31, 2010. Wrong, these too are no good.

A pattern has emerged. SkyAuction auctions off invalid "entertainment" certificates, and simply fails to provide recourse to dissatisfied consumers. I can't imagine people who've lost thousands of dollars with bogus travel "winnings".

We bought two RT tickets to Tahiti on Air Nui. When we got to the airport, the rep at the check-in desk told us we had no reservation. I gave her the 6 digit reservation number. She said that only pulled up a reservation but not paid tickets. They spent 30 minutes checking for us and had a manager get involved. Finally, they said there were no issued tickets in our name and we had to buy new tickets. Sky Auction emailed us and told us to send the receipt to them, but they never got back to us or emailed us again. We never got our $2000 back.

I had purchased several items from SkyAuction, and the only ones that I was happy with were the DVDs. I had purchased two Ed Hardy mini race cars that were supposed to climb the walls and "defy gravity." They were junk and didn't work. When I complained, I was referred to the "All sales are final." comment when you purchase something.

Also, the turquoise necklaces and the bracelets are crap. I don't think this is American turquoise but Chinese. I don't recall seeing where it was from, but they were all ugly, even though the pictures made them look good. I had also purchased two cuff bracelets with turquoise, and upon receipt, one was broken and the other was so poorly made I wanted to cry.

I sent them back and wrote them an e-mail, stating that this was junk and that if they didn't give me my money back, I would post pictures of their ugly crap on the internet for everyone to see what kind of junk they are passing off onto people. I also received the wrong order of DVDs. I had e-mailed and e-mailed, trying to get an answer. Finally, I sent a threatening e-mail which received a response. I didn't say anything since it took them so long to get to me. I will never purchase anything from them again. Buyer, beware! You would think that this should be a reputable company, but the majority of their products are junk!

I bid on a flight to South Africa that listed from any of 117 cities. One of the departure cities was my city, Shreveport for only $130. I bid and won. Now, they tell me no flights are available from any of those 117 cities. If I must leave from JFK, I must leave a week prior to what I wanted. The auction is described as: South African Airways to South Africa or Many Cities in 18 African Nations from New York, Washington or many other U.S. Cities: Bid Per Roundtrip Ticket (Auction: 1745065) 1108637.

It does say this: "Reservations subject to the availability of specific classes of service as contracted with the carrier and not every flight or date may be available." But surely not every flight from every 117 cities is unavailable. Plus, there were other auctions leaving from NYC that were much lower in price. If I had wanted to leave from NYC, I would have bid on those.

They will refund my money, but the reason I have to book through them (now paying my own way to and from JKF and the week of hotel while in South Africa before my planned safari) is that I already had a problem with them. I bought another set of tickets and did not make the reservations in time. That auction said that reservations had to be made by 31 March and I called on 9 April. However, for that auction, I had already paid with my credit card and understood from the clerk that I could book anytime. (I knew they could get booked up, so I wasn't going to wait too long).

So now they have $3,172.00 of mine that I must use through auction, no reimbursement. Can you help? I've been calling all day and I've left all sorts of messages. I am willing to get a lawyer if necessary as this should not happen to anyone. And it will, over and over if I don't do something about it now. I am crying as I write this. I am out over $3,000 if I don't accept this flight. But if I do, I must fly to JFK, possible spend the night if necessary and return, plus hotel and food and car for a week in South Africa waiting for my time for Safari. These people need to be stopped.

Previously used SkyAuction on several occasions with good results. However, I bid on a hotel in Galveston,TX, a choice of three hotels listed. Each one was booked months in advance, which is highly suspicious, for the dates that I elected. The following message was sent to me, "We are sorry, but we are unable to confirm your travel submission as requested." The reservations agent has noted below the reason(s): The hotel is sold out on the dates requested.

I won an auction for a round trip hotel with air all inclusive vacation. They were unable to fill any dates I supplied no matter how many dates I gave. I was emailed this note: "As we were not able to fulfill your auction as requested, we have withdrawn you from this auction without penalty." You cannot get any response from them. Be smart don't bite, it is a scam.

I tried to make reservations and was told the hotel was booked and to change dates, which I did and they did not respond to my request.

Bid on roundtrip airfare. Unable to get flights scheduled. Was emailed this note:

As we were not able to fulfill your auction as requested, we have withdrawn you from this auction without penalty.

My reading is that they have canceled my fulfillment bid. Have emailed for clarification, but no response. Have to make other arrangements, and don't want to be billed for tickets we won't/can't use.

I had purchased a Reymond Weil watch from the site for a special event while visiting family in Michigan. They sent the wrong watch and it was very difficult to get information from the company. I was leaving Michigan and had to exchange the watch for the one purchased. After a few weeks they contacted me with a number to call. This was only a message service and I never received a call back.

As I was going home and had to purchase a different gift for the event I chose to use the exchange watch for a Christmas gift instead. I returned the incorrect watch with a request for the correct one to be sent to my home in Florida. I had to pay insurance and shipping to do the exchange for their misstake.

I just found out the watch was sent to the house in Michigan and I have no one to check to see if it is correct except the person it is a present for. This was all explained in a letter to the company when I returned the watch to make sure this situation does not happen. I'm still out the extra $20.00 for shipping.

I purchased two tickets to New Zealand for $3,391 in Sept 2007 it was a Christmas gift for my daughter and me. After speaking to a Sky Auction rep I canceled due to work schedule the rep said there would be an additional charge of $300 per person to reschedule. After canceling the trip I tried to get into my account to reschedule it was impossible. I repeatedly sent emails to Sky Auction requesting their help. They would send the same email back saying I needed to go into my account and schedule from there. Getting more and more frustrated I continued sending emails requesting a representative to help me reschedule & put many calls into the office. Through email the company wanted to charge me double the air fare. And no one would answer the phone. This is unacceptable! I want my $3,391plus interest. This company should be put out of business.

Jul 14 after non delivery and no communication I attempted to phone them but got recorded message it was outside normal hours. Sent multiple emails and received automated reply but no other info. Finally, instructed credit card to cancel payment.

I purchased eight $50 gift certificates for a sushi bar in San Diego (Zensei Sushi) totaling $400. Upon attempting to use them, I was told you could only use one (1) certificate for $50. I had a party of 4 and the bill was $356. Nowhere on the certificate does it state anything about 1 per meal. It says not good for parties over 6. We were 4 people.

There is a new 24 hour Super Sport 5 miles from my house. I purchased an all club membership 3 years ago for a set price and then it would be a yearly fee after the three years. When the new Super Sport opened in Ontario, close to my home, I was told that Super Sport is not included in all sport membership and I would have to "upgrade" and pay the set fee plus an additional $15 a monthly. That is not what I signed up for. I did not want a costly monthly fee. I purchased 3 years in advance and a low yearly fee for economic reasons. This is a way that 24 hour fitness is trying to gain more revenue in this downward economy.

The other 24 hour fitness is 12 miles away from my home and this new 24 hour fitness is only 5, close to the freeway. I cannot afford to pay the yearly fee and an additional fee when I supposedly had an all sport membership to begin with.

I won two purses on SkyAuction.com website. I never received them, and I sent four emails, demanding my money back. They never sent my money back and never answered an email. I called, and they don't even answer the phone and had to search the internet for this phone number. This is against interstate laws to take money over the internet and not get your merchandise.

We won a bid on SkyAuction.com for a cruise in Fiji. We paid $450 for a cabin upgrade and $80 for transfers to and from the airport. Neither of these 2 services were given to us and upon our return, they ignored our emails claiming simply that they were investigating our case. This has already dragged on for 4 months and I don't think we would ever hear from SkyAuction again if we hadn't gotten American Express involved, asking them to reimburse us. Even so, SkyAuction's claims are simply unbelievable, saying that we were given compensations like drink credits on the cruise. What a scam! We did not receive services that we paid for, we had a very stressful vacation and SkyAuction refuses to return our money.

They never intended to honor the auction unless it got high enough to suit them. This is false advertising. I contacted my credit card company and they reversed the charge.

I won a Sky Auction for a stay at RCI. When I checked up on the stay when it was time to go, it had been cancelled. I have emailed Sky Auction a number of times, they gave me a phone number to call, but no one answers or calls me back. She said that she emailed me to my work address, but due to the economy that office has closed and I no longer work there, so I didn't get the email. I am out my money because they didn't respond to my current email address or call me.

I am out the $220 dollars and no hotel stay.

First, I have used Sky Auction in the past and had no problems. This time it was different. Like Elaine I won an auction for 6 bottles of wine and on March 27 I recieved an email stating I would be notified when shipped. Two weeks later still no response and they do not return emails or answer any phones. I have now put in a dispute with the credit card company. They definitely have gone down hill.

I won one of there auctions and was offer an upgrade in hotels. I took the upgrade for $920 for a week when I arrived at Hotel I found the price of the hotel to be $130 per night. I try to call Sky Auction and could only get an answer machine. I left my home number and email address and was email back to send my complaint in an email This happen in 10/2008. I have try many times to call and email them with no results.

Paid $920 and did not receive any credit for original hotel

A client called to check to see whether or not a gift card could be used on all services or just a few services. I asked them to tell me more about the card that they had and they said that they had been bidding on it on skyauction.com. We have no knowledge of skyauction.com and NEVER authorized anything of the sort.

Our name was used in a manner we do not approve of. Furthermore, the chance of us having to deal with an unhappy client was very high. We would not have been able to honor the gift card.

I won 3 separate auctions for travel certificates and emailed skyauction customer support asking if they would mail 3 envelopes or just one with certificates. They replied by saying that I still had to pay 3 separate processing fees of $20 per auction so each one would be mailed separate. Well, lo and behold, I only received one envelope!!!! So I refused it and sent it back to formally complain about being charged three times for one envelope being mailed. I finally had to dispute with my credit card, which they could care less about my being charged an extra $40. So in the end, I was charged $60 for no services rendered. I kept each and every email and every correspondence and still will retain it as I feel this is fraudulent business practice. Now the BBB can review the matter.

I have three prepaid hotel items that I won at auction. I cannot get into my account because the system does not recognize my user id. There is nowhere on the internet site to get help for any computer problems other than getting a password, handle name. It is odd that I was sent my password but I cannot get my valid user id to get into my account. The only e-mail contact (NO PHONE NUMBER!) is to a reservation center and they keep ignoring my request to help me get into my account. Obviously there is no computer support or any other way to get help by contacting some sort of computer support or any way to talk to a person since there is no phone number to call for any problem. I have had it with Sky Auction since I will be losing $500+ on items I cannot even access in my own account!

January 12th I bouhgt 3 bottles of wine. The 22nd of January I emailed customer service to find out why I had not received. No response. Again emailed 2 days later and told they would contact supplier. emailed again 27th told I would receive wine by the 30th and they would send me a tracking number. Have phoned and emailed twice since then. No response. It is now Feb. 3rd and still no reponse, no tracking number and no wine.

I have used sky auction happily for travel but will never recommend them again to anyone since I now know how little they think of their clients.

i purchased 4 tickets for a show at the marquis theatre on Jan 24th, 2009 @ 8.00pm with my credit card. i purvchased tkts using a auction bid format. on jan 6th, 2009 i won bid and was advised i can purchased up to 10 tkt for $30.00 each, as i won bid. i decided to purchased 4tkts, sky auction had a schedule of time and seating availability

today jan 14th 2009 i recd en email saying to choose another date and time due tkts on date i chose was gone! NOW IF I PAID FOR 4 TKTS FOR JAN 24TH 2009 WITH AMT DEDUCTED FROM MY CREDIT CARD HOW CAN MY TKTS BE GONE? I NEED TO KNOW

I HAVE ALREADY TOLD MY WIFE AND SONS THAT I PURCHASED TICKETS TO SEE SOUL OF SHAOLIN IN NEW YORK CITY AND PLANS WE ALREADY IN THE MAKING FOR THAT EVENING, I WAS ASKED IF I PURCHASED TKTS, I REPLIED YES WITH MY CREDIT CARD AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR FAMILY.

This company continues to spam me with email and says that I have an account with them. I have never even heard of them. When I contacted them an employee there was very rude and told me to deal with it. I have since reported this company to the FTC, Better Business Bureau New York, the Attorneys General Office for New York, and the FBI

I am still waiting to see what happens with this case.

Purchased cruise tickets from Tampa to Western Caribbean leaving Feb.1, 2009. Received email from company saying tickets are in with link to page to make arrangements for shipping. Cannot reach anyone (link does not work) to get tickets. Paid in full for cruise (1500.00) and have nothing.

Have booked air fare, hotel and car rental to get to Tampa for cruise we may never see. (Over 1200.00) to reach Tampa in time for cruise.

I won an auction for 2 airplane tickets to Florida. My Mother & I were visiting one of her granddaughters, my niece. We got to the airport with the paperwork and found we didn't have tickets for that airline. They sent the paperwork to me and I had the confirmation. We were ready to go so quickly went to another airline and paid twice the amount and flew with them. That was the second time I got hosed by Sky Auction. I did a lot of business with them several years ago and had nothing but good service. They wouldn't do anything for us on this venture. I would not recommend them.

Had to paid double for tickets. My Mother is 89 and to get packed and to the airport was draining. To tell her I had to stay home and fight for tickets and go another day wasn't an option.

I had a wonderful experience with SA,I bid on a Tahiti vacation with airfare during christmas and I had a great vacation,everything I wanted was available and I saved a few thousand dollars also.It was my second trip there and the first time was expensive and it was through a travel agent.

I bid on a hotel package in Mexico. 6 six days passed and I get a heavy-handed letter from SkyAuction saying You have not paid for your winning bid and are not honoring the terms of the agreement....blah, blah, blah.

Per their own agreement, they are supposed to advise me when I've won an auction - I never received a word from them. Hey, it's your rules, SkyAuction, play by them!

After reading the reviews on this site, I count myself lucky that I didn't pay. These people are Internet Pirates.

I own 2 certificates for a one week any where condo yet when I bring up the availability there is zero properties based on the certificate alone, there is an extra charge of $3-400 a week that is not what Ive ever signed up for or paid for let alone the idea that its not a great price or deal of any kind..when did this change? [We] have referred so many people to this site that we are embarrassed that all of a sudden surcharges are added to those properties that were at face value--certificate only. Please advise.

I have read with interest all the complaints regarding SkyAuction. I have over the past several years bid on and won trips to all parts of the world (South America, Asia, USA, Europe etc) Approx: $20,000 in trips.

I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with this company.

One time they did book me with a too close connention out of Houston to Nassau and I did miss my flight.

HOWEVER, they gave me SkyCredits with not a discussion, for the full amount of this trip to be used whenever I bid on another trip.

I have also had the one experience of calling the company and talking with the President, Michael whom was pleasant to deal with and helped me in anyway that the company could.

I do agree that with any company there will be problems etc, however, it is also in the way that the client addresses the problem to the company that the company can deal with this.

I just wish that more companies operated on the same level of service that this company does.

As a matter of interest, I am the CEO and Chairman of the Board of a major company so I do know what it is to get both shoddy service and great service.

SKYAUCTION gets my vote for good work!

I won an auction for 7-nights at any worldwide resort at a cost of $200. It turned out to be through RCI - a timesharing company. I have tried for four months to book in Europe, Asia, New Zealand, even prime spots in America with differing dates, to no avail. I then tried booking to less-desirable spots in American, again to no avail. I feel that I have been scammed because even though I know it is subject to availability ... nothing is available at any time or place. I even sent a detailed email with no response. I then tried calling customer service, no response.

$200, plus my time and effort in having to deal with Skyauction. If there is any chance of a lawsuit against Skyauction, I would be more than willing to participate. $200, plus my time and effort in having to deal with Skyauction. If there is any chance of a lawsuit against Skyauction, I would be more than willing to participate.

We had won an auction for 2007 - 2008 Bid Per 7 Nights Stay at the Luxurious 5-Star ALL INCLUSIVE Royal Hideaway Playacar by Occidental in Playacar with Roundtrip Air to CANCUN, Mexico via the services of a US Carrier! Skyauction states that they booked us on ATA prior to ATA bankruptcy. We did not have a choice of airlines. Skyauction never notified us that ATA went bankrupt. We were able to secure another flight last minute through Frontier, but had to drive to Indianapolis from Chicago.

Skyauction is claiming that they have no responsibility to us, although the auction clearly states that theybare providing roundtrip air. They state as long as they booked on ATA they met their obligation. We feel we did not have any choice regarding ATA and therefore they did not provide roundtrip air. Do we have any legal ground here?

Roundtrip Air fare from Indianapolis to Cancun was $362.31 each total $724.62.

Bid on a 7 night package at a resort of your choice, instructions said you could check RCI website. I had to pay first, and then try to make the reservation. After paying, it didn't give me the option of dates or resorts. I emailed Sky Auction. Haven't heard back from them.

I have previously booked hotels in New York City, with no problem. I had no used SkyAuction for some time. For an upcoming vacation to Europe, I bid on, and was successful in winning two auctions...one for a hotel in Paris, the other for a hotel in Venice. When I tried to book, both times the dates were not available. Both auctions are posted on an on-going basis. While I cannot prove so, I believe that the auctions are only granted if a predetermined bid amount is reached. If not, the successful bidder is simply told that the dates are not available. In both my auctions, I was fortunate to win both auctions with relatively low bids. I think that SkyAuction should be investigated for the process by which auctions are actually won.

I won a bid with skyauction for a hotel in Cancun in Feb this year. It took me 14 emails to ask them to send the confirmation. It was only when I threatened them with legal action that they moved. STAY AWAY FROM THIS FIRM. Too many people have lost their money.

I had to book a separate flight to Mexico and I could have gotten a cheaper one had they sent the hotel confirmation earlier.

I 'won' my bid for Matzalan, Mexico hotel but found out my original hotel was 'unavailable' and was given the hotel BALBOA. I got down there and even the cab driver told me it was a dump-really, really in need of renovations. But that's not the worse, I came home one night around 9pm and was follow up to my room by the security employee of the hotel - he was lurking at me from the adjourning balcony in the dark! I reported it and checked out!

SKY AUCTION never returned my mail nor calls and I lost my vacation and my money plus I had to book an early flight back home and get the heck out of that disgusting Matzalan!

Sky Auction. I bid on two Home and Away vacations and won. I cannot find any place offered that coordinates with my vacation time. I e-mailed Sky Auction and asked if I could use the money I paid on another auction. The reply was no. I lost my money and would advise anyone to avoid the Home and Away vacations--they are very limited.

Loss of funds for 2 vacations paid for.

Where do I begin? After several back & forth emails regarding my confusion with the charges, I left it alone and was looking forward to my vacation. Well, the resort that SkyAuction described as newly renovated was disgusting. The following day after my return, I called SkyAuction and spoke with a rep by the name of Chris who stated that I should send an email describing my stay. I then sent a 4 paragraph email describing my stay and requesting a refund since I had to check out and pay for another hotel. I received an automated response stating that someone would address my email, that was November 28, 2007. I have since sent 3 more emails and left 3 voice mail messages and NOTHING.

We checked out of the hotel and stayed at another resort which cost $200/night. The additional cost of my stay was $462 plus the original cost of the SkyAuction of almost $600.

First, I have used Sky Auction in the past and had no problems. This time it was different. After several unsuccessful attempts, I booked a stay at the La Jolla de Mismiloya Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The deal was I could stay 1 to 15 nights at the bid price per night. What I wasn't aware of was that they required payment within 3 days. Not being sure if I could get air, it took me 4 days to figure out when I could go, how many days I wanted and if air was available. They sent me an Email at that point and warned me that I could, I repeat, could lose it if I didn't pay for it at once. I gave them my charge # and they accepted it .

Two days later they contacted me and told me that since I didn't pay them in three days, they will not honor my deal. Several e Mails later they refuse to honor the deal. This particular hotel offers this every four days on the Sky Auction site so why should it be a problem taking care of me. Luckily I used an Amex card. I asked them for an immediate credit.

Obviously, once they accepted my charge, they were honoring the arrangement. This miss Gallagher sent me today, what I considered to be a short, nasty E mail telling me NO WAY. I've since then notice that I'm not the only person who's filed a complaint against Sky Auction. Sorry, I do not know there address since they keep that a secret however their 212 area code indicates they are in New York.

I booked an unrefundable fare on Alaska airlines. $736 for two of us.

I purchased through Skyauction two vacations for Orlando at Rosen Plaza and Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. These purchases occurred on July 27 and 29, 2007. I have followed instructions and have not been able to schedule reservations. I must use both vacations by December 20, 2007, or lose my money.

I will lose over $800.

For the past 3 weeks I have been watching Skyauction.com for buy-now and auctions for cruises from Honolulu. Several times I went through the process to purchase (including my Credit card #) a Category BB (balcony) cabin at the advertised purchase price total of $2500 for 2 people (this included insurance). I would notice site not available. Finally, a rep called in response to why can't I book. Said cabin was available but would cost $2952. They twice would not respond to e-mails and finally responded with $400 increase in price to book. It is still being advertised on the website at a total of $2500.50. This is truly a BAIT and SWITCH.

I've delayed booking trying to purchase from skyauction buy now and probably will not be able to get the cabin I want.... Something needs to be done about them.

I bid on an auction for a seven day cruise from Seattle to Alaska, on Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Pearl. There were 5 sailing dates listed with premiums for most dates. I won the auction, completed the fulfillment information for the auction and selected the August 26'th sailiing which had a premium payment (no problem with that). I then purchased my airfare on Trevelocity. The next day I receive an email that August 26 is SOLD OUT. I inqured why they would advertise for sold out sailings. Even after my auction ended, they relisted the exact same offering to other bidders, with the exact same dates advertised, knowing full well that dates are unavailable.

What kind of nonsense is this to knowingly advertise for product that is clearly not available?

Their response was as follows:

exceptional values.

occasion specific dates become unavailable.

withdraw at no charges to you.

I won a 2 Night Stay for 2 at the Paradise Island Harbour Resort on Paradise Island thru Skyauction's Charity Auction--Caribbean Hotel Charity Auction. After the auction closed, I was informed by (via the site) that I had won the auction. But, there has been no response from Skyauction or the Caribbean Hotel Assoc as to how I book this vacation. I have sent each one of them 3-4 emails. I contacted Skyauction's support site and have received no response.

after learning i bid on a trip and won i contacted skyauction thru numerous emails to arrange payment. after going thru the document and after giving my credit card number i was to list a promotion code which i did not have. There was no contact to me when i emailed and phoned to asked for this code. why tell people they won a trip on a bid if they do not provide the proper information needed?

Skyaction.com cheated me. I won an auction for a Los Angeles area hotel at a little more than half of the regular rate, plus taxes and service charge. My dates were confirmed, I excited my family and inked in my vacation time. A few weeks later Skyauction emailed me and canceled the whole deal saying it was the suppliers fault. I understand things can go wrong sometimes but what bothered me it they still continued to run this auction for other fools like me bid on. Futhermore they offered no apology or restitution.

When I emailed them expressing disappointment with the way it was handled they sent a rude message saying I should have read the terms it clearly state subject to availability. If they would have been nice and offered me even a $5 coupon on future aution I would have been okay with it, but these guys were total jerks.

Skyauction.com has cheated on me. i had won an auction on this site which said that i can have a 7 night stay at a resort of my choice anywhere in the world & they had listed asia in there site. but once i had won the auction they denied any stay in a resort in asia & moreover as they could not help me in this case, they are not refunding my $300.

I won the bid for a trip to Germany. On every page they show best price guarantee They will pay the difference plus a $50.00 voucher for future travel if you find the same travel arrangement for less within 24 hours. So I thought it cannot miss. I won the auction, but found the same trip on Expedia.com the same day for $79.00 less. Upon filing a claim for the best price guarantee they told me it does not apply to this auction. I have not found anywhere on the website where it states that this guarantee does not apply.

So any bidder be aware. There are lots of hidden fees that you do not know until you get to the final page when you make the payment. That's when you find out you have been duped. This company should be held to more regulations and state fees and other costs upfront. When you place your bid, the bid does not include those fees, so they will be added later, sometime double the price of your bid.

Skyauction agents are rude. They hung up on me when I called to resolve an issue with a booking. I booked a flight to my gradation through skyauction.com. I made a mistake on the dates when booking. I notified them of the mistake. I was told it would cost $150.00 plus to change each of the three tickets. I accepted the fee, but then called the airline only to find out they only charge $100.00 change fee. The new travel that skyauction came up with required a red-eye flight for more than 50 percent more than I had already paid. Not only that, but when I called to see if I could get a better flight, they hung up on me after making a very wise-crack remark. I spoke to three people today. They were all very rude and insensitive to the much higher fee I would be required to pay.

I have already paid over $1,100 for three tickets and will be reqired to pay over$600 more~

Last month I won a auction for a 3-night stay at Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York. I'm to be leaving in 2 weeks and yet still no confirmation. I finally got their telephone number and after numerous attempted calls and emails, I finally got a hold of someone today and when I tried to explain my situation they hung up on me. Every week they keep posting the same auction and fools like myself are wasting their time bidding on something that apparently doesn't exist.

Four of my family booked a 10-day, air and hotel trip with SkyAuction to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The advertsied trip we bid on said breakfast was included with the booking. Our Hotel Travel Voucher clearly indicated that breakfast was included with our package however when we checked into the hotel, we were told SkyAuction was no longer honouring this arrangement. The hotel clerk, Rio Othon Palace, sent an email to SkyAuction on Nov 8 advising them that we had arrived with a voucher saying breakfast was included and asking, "Please, inform us if SkyAuction will invoice the breakfast or the guest will pay direct at hotel."

SkyAuction sent a four-word response that same day saying, "Breakfast is NOT included." The hotel provided me with a hardcopy of this email which I scanned and sent with my email complaint to SkyAuction. This problem involved four of us: myself, my sister, and my brother and his wife. The cost of breakfast at the hotel was 25.00 per person per day -- that's 100.00 for our group of four per day for 10 days -- $1000.00! When I received the hardcopy of the email the hotel had initiated on 8 Nov, I tried to contact the same person using my hotmail account -- two separate tries on 10 and 11 Nov -- nobody responded.

It has been more than 1 1/2 months since I complained to SkyAuction and I have hastened them twice -- no response. The irony of all of this is that we each paid $120.00 extra to upgrade to this hotel compared to the one they advertised -- that is another $480.00 -- while my mother, aunt and uncle, having booked the same trip at the same time, stayed in the hotel offered at which they DID receive breakfast as advertised. Unlike some fo the other complaints I have read here, I will NEVER book with SkyAuction again and I will advise anyone who asks my advice to stay away from them. It is simply just too hit and miss as to whther what you book is actually what you receive as is evidenced by all the emails on this complaint site.

We paid to upgrade to a hotel that notified us SkyAution no longer honoured the contract we had -- that was about $500 -- and then we had to pay ourselves for the meals that were advertised we included -- another $500.

On Saturday Sept 10, 2005 I booked a cruise on Legend of the Seas departing November 26, 2005 from SkyAuction.com. It was advertised as "Buy it Now" and no bidding was required. The price was $442, plus $30 in taxes, $15 booking fee plus $40 for the Nov 26 date for a total of $520 per person. It was advertised that there were 18 cabins left at that price. On Monday Sept 12, 2005 I received an e-mail stating that this inside cabin price was not available but that for $100 more per person I could get an ocean view.

I sent them an e-mail saying this was ridiculous and that we should not have to pay additional money. If that particular cabin price was not available then it should have been removed from the web site. Also, maybe some of the problem is theirs since it took them until Monday to try and book it with Royal Caribbean. So I should get it at the origianl price. I also, told them that I noticed that the e-mail was stating a departure date of Dec 10. I had chosen the Nov 26 departure since that was the only time I could go on the cruise.

I accused them of "bait and switch" advertising. I received one e-mail saying that my cruise was unavailable - thats it. I received another e-mail saying that my issue was going to be forwarded to a cruise manager. I have not heard from her as of today Sept 18. Its very frustrating to receive these generic e-mails. You can not talk with someone live because there is no telephone number available on SkyAuction's web site.

I then tried to notify Royal Caribbean. I called and spoke with customer support. The woman was rude and told me to send an e-mail. She would not even let me tell her what happened. I sent Royal Caribbean an e-mail explaining the situation. I received an e-mail back saying to call them. I returned an e-mail saying that I had called and was told to e-mail. I feel that Royal Caribbean should take some responsibility. They must have some contractual agreement with SkyAuction which allows them to offer these cruises at prices that are lower than anywhere on the internet. I was also hoping that they would hold SkyAuction to the price since my mother is an Crown and Anchor member. They don't care.

When I booked the cruise I called my mother and she was very excited. She has cruised on Royal Caribbean 4 times in the past and was not sure she would be able to cruise again do to poor health. We are unable to go on vacation together now.

Sky Auction is just as described by your other complaints. We booked a stay at a "so called resort" in Hawaii. The place was disgusting and we moved to Holiday Inn as soon as possible. We complained about it for a refund at the hotel and were told we could only get a refund through our " travel agent". That being of course Sky Auction on the internet.

We wrote numerous letters complaining about this awful experience and told them we had to leave and stay at a decent place. We were never offered anything and finally gave up. I will never advise anyone to use Sky Auction. They conveniently do not give out telephone numbers or anything else so anything can be possibly resolved. I notice they still advertise this awful hotel on their site. I purchased insurance and was told it would not help getting a refund either.

After several e-mails describing what we went through..no offer for amends in any way were given. I would never stay at any place on their site, no matter what they say.

I "won" an auction, and provided the same day all needed details for the trip. The trips for hotel only, so I promptly verified the trip and price for the air trip which was not included. Despite several requests to the vendor for confirmation that the dates which I had provided were indeed available, al I have received is an automatic response stating that I would hear from their customer service promptly. NO SUCH RESPONSE HAS EVER BEEN RECEIVED. Since having promptly provided all needed information concerning "My Vacation" , the price of the non included airlines portion which I wanted to purchase( but in the absence of any response from SkyAuction I could not because such was not refundable ) has gone up over $200. Still no response from SA. Would YOU want to deal with such an unresponsive outfit ?

Still no response to my latest email. I wonder if they are still in business. I am at least out the $200 price differential. I have requested that they either cancel the auction "winning", or reduce the auction price to offset the cost increase caused by their lack of timely response. still lacking even the courtesty of a response...........

I won an auction, paid the total amount, tried for five weeks to get my airline tickets .three days before departure skyauction indicated by email that I had to pick up tickets at los angeles airport about 1000 miles from my home at midnight. Skyauction blocked my computer from any reply.

I won a skyauction on first class on malaysia airlines for $3965.00 and paid by master card on february 15, 2005.It has been over one month waiting for tickets and seven emails/ calls to speed them up.The departure is five days off.Both parties indicate that the tickets come from the other.

I purchased air tickets on Alaska air from home to lax depurture point for $521.00 to catch this flight- non refundable ticket.I cannot wait longer for tickets to arrive from skyauction.plus hotel cancellations, loss of time ect.

Prior to booking a cruise with Skyauction, I asked what cabin I would get. They clearly stated a guarantee category 7 cabin(which means, minimum category 7 but possibilities of category 6, 5 or even better). Upon receiving my travelling documents, I see that I have gotten a category 8 (which is a CAT lower). I emailed them and pointed this out and asked them to correct this but they emailed me back with no solution. I then emailed them again proposing they either still issue me a category 7 or refund me USD$1600 (which is the category difference in value between category 7 and category 8) so I can go get a category 7 myself on the day of embarkation at the pier. They have ignored me ever since.

As a wedding gift, my father told my new husband and I to pick our honeymoon. We went to skyauction.com to get a good trip at a lower price. We won the bid on the following item. We sent the dates we wanted to travel and were told they were not available, even though they were listed in the check in and check out dates available. We tried numerous times and all were turned down. We requested that skyauction tell us when dates were available and we would take them as we can travel anytime. They told us to keep trying they can't help us.

My husband sent emails asking for a phone call or if there was a number he could call to discuss this as we bid and won fairly and now it seemed that since we won this auction at such a great price, that they were going to lose money and just didn't want to deal with us and hoped we would go away. My husband looked on skyauction a couple of days later to see if anyone had responded to our latest sets of vacations dates and found that the same item was now listed on auction again! Now if they wanted a certain price to be met, why did they only start the bidding at 1.00? We just wanted to take the great trip that skyauction put up for sale and save my father some money in the meantime.

I think that skyauction has some very shady business practices and should be shut down!

I entered an auction to bid for a 7-day So. Caribbean cruise on Monday, 10/18, for the ship to sail on Sunday, 10/24/04. I won the auction and filed the appropriate docs with SkyAuction after I received the e-mail. After the cruise info was filled in, another webpage popped up to book the hotels and air. I followed their lead and started searching for airfare and hotels. On the evening of 10/18, I booked my hotel room and on Tuesday morning, 10/19, I booked my air reservations.

Shortly after I booked my air, Skyauction emailed me to tell me that the cruise ship was booked for the 10/24 sail date. I am very upset of this situation. I then searched the Skyauction.com web page again, and wouldn't you know it, the same cruise that I won was posted again (item # 900708)!!! They were selling the same thing that I won even though I won it for a great amount.

I e-mailed them since there was no phone # and told them that this re-selling is NOT acceptable nor is it legal. Within minutes of my e-mail to them --which they never replied to, they took off this item # (900708) in which the bidding was set to expire on 10/20/05 @ 5:00 p.m. EST. This item is no longer on the auction list.

The airfare and hotel accomodations have been booked. How can they sell something that's sold out --without doing the due diligence check with the cruiseline that it is still available before posting the item for sale. On top of that, how can they resell an item 2X. I am sure that they tried to resell this item again cause I got the cruise item very cheap in the auction. Please help me cause no one from SkyAuction will. Their phone # that I got was 212-355-3660. They stated that this is their standard practice to selling. I find that hard to believe!

Sky Auction.com posted a hotel package for Ixtapa Mx. I was the only bidder and was notified I won and given the choice 3 hotels and arrival until Nov. 13th. After I submitted my request, my choices were narrowed to one date and one motel. No real damage, except the same package I won is being advertised again!

Since it has been a year I don't still have the exact details but I can tell you what happened. In January 2003 I won an auction for a 5 day cruise through skyauction on Regal cruises (no longer in business). The cruise was for Feb 2003. We paid for a plane ticket for my sister in law to come to our home and babysit our three children while we were gone. At 9pm we returned from picking her up at the airport. We were scheduled to fly out the next morning at 6am.

At 11pm I decided to check my e-mail. I usually only do this 2-3x per week. I recieved an e-mail that had been sent on wedensday(it was now friday) in which we were notified that our cruise had been cancelled due to engine/mechanical failure. Even had we discovered the message on wedensday I hardly think three days notice is adequate without compensation.

We were offered the chance to reschedule which did us no good since our plane tickets had been booked seperatley and were non refundable. We both lost a week of vacation time, paid for my sister-in-law to spend a week at our house for no reason, rebooked our plane tickets at a fee for use elsewhere, and after four months of haggling and registering a complaint with the online Better Business Bureau, we were finally reinbursed for the cruise. I have just booked another cruise through skyauction-- this time on Norwegian. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this boat will float.

I do not wish to be contacted or anything. I just saw your website and thought I would share our disaster vacation in case you wanted to post it.

In Sept 2003, one an auction for a trip, which we scheduled for 3/18/04. At the time of payment of the $1668, we purchased their trip insurance for an additional $89. In December, due to my companion's seriou illness & my upcoming surgery, I emailed them asking for a change of date(which would have been beyond their auction's parameters) or, failing that, to apply for refund from insurance.

The email was ignored, my fax was ignored, phone contact with them was impossible--it just rang & rang. Finally contacted American Express to dispute the charge in January 2004. Skyauction responded to my claim on March 15, 2004, with complete lies, showing copies of emails to my changed email address(that address does not exist as per AOL). They lied, made bogus copies & altered documents, and did all this conveniently too late to apply for insurance. This place should be closed down.

American Express has reversed the temporary cred to my account, and I have been billed $1668 for a trip that couldn't be taken

Before we bid on a cruise we emailed skyauction and asked if we were successful in our bid could we bring our daughter. We were advised that it was not a problem as long as we paid the same price as our bid for the third person. We were successful in our bid but they could not guarantee that our daughter could come but to leave them with our credit card number. We did not. It took them 10 days to tell us that if we wanted to bring our daughter we would have to pay extra to book a single room plus single room surcharges and have the family broken up as they still had no way of telling us where the other room was.

It is a sleep depriving totally frustrating and depressing experience, the nervousness of bidding, the excitement of winning, and the utter disappointment and shock of being told you didnt win anything. We had the opportunity to experience these emotions three times. If this happened to us on two out of two different auctions, we can not be the only ones.

I successfully bid on nights at the Playa Grande Resort in Cabo San Lucas Mexico in a 1 bedroom suite with round trip air from Oakland CA departing May 18, 2003. I was informed by skyauction two days later the trip was no longer available because there was no space in the hotel but they could sell me airline tickets for $300.00 per person instead.

I wrote back to them via email (they do not provide a phone number) to tell them we would take a reservation at a later date and received no response for that email. Later that same day, as i was browsing the skyauction web site, I noticed the exact same trip on the exact same date being offered for auction again.

This seemed very odd to me as I have an email from skyauction stating there are no hotel availabilities at any hotel in the region with whom they do business for check in on May 18. I wrote to skyauction telling them I felt it was fraudulant of them to offer the same trip when they themselves have admitted to me in writing there is no way they can fulfill the trip. I have also written the CA state attorney generals office to inform them of this and the department of consumer affairs in New York.

As I stated I wrote an email to skyauction voicing my disappointment and my concerns over their less than honest business practices and the only response I have received in 4 days from them is an email telling me my email was received and had been forwarded to an agent for response, I have not received a response to date, May 12. In the last email I requested the Reservations Manager call me personally to respond to my complaint.

This trip was to be a surprise honeymoon trip for my daughter and her new husband who will marry on May 17, 2003. Fortunately, I did not tell them of the trip because I was not sure about the actuallity of the trip coming to pass. Good thing, I however am terribly distressed over the entire incident. I have not checked my credit card bill as yet to see if I were charged for the trip I will do that today.

I won the auction for 7 Night Winter Package at your Choice of Resorts on Grace Bay in Turks & Caicos with Roundtrip Air from the US and Canada!! on January 20th, 2003. I was told that the hotel and air travel would be confirmed withing 2-3 business days. However, they did not confirm it till February 4th, 2003. I made several attempts to get an update, but the customer service was terrible and I after about a week or so, I was told that they would allow me to cancel out of the auction if I wanted to. The 2 week period was very unnerving for me since I did not know if I was going on the vacation or not.

Because of the delay by the merchant, I ended up with a flight with bad connections and my baggage was delayed

I got two cruises from them this year.First one went well until the ship got called in a day early because of "Hurricane Lili". Carnival told us that we would be given a one day rebate. It took me two and a half months to finally get my refund from them and I only got it then because I threatened to turn them over the the Better Business Bureau, had to call and complain about them to Carnival.etc, etc.

Phone calls and emails totally ignored. If you need customer service and things go wrong, they have NONE! Obviously, the refunds was made out to them in one check I assume instead of being made out to individuals as they should have been!

The other cruise I got just 6 weeks after the other one and I had NO idea I was going to have so many problems with them or I would never have gotten this one from them. I paid for the cruise via my credit card OVER two months before we sailed but I never got any cruise docs and when I emailed them when they bothered to answer they just kept saying they would mail them when they got them from Carnival. This went on until three days before we cruised and I got Carnival on line and they got Sky Auction on line. Carnival said they mailed our documents to them 3 days after I paid via credit card. Sky Auction claimed they did NOT get ours?

So we had to do that pier pickup thing. I never got my AARP discount either time after I faxed the AARP number to them both times as they told me to and told me I would get an on board credit. I told them how VERY unhappy I was with them and their total POOR service but not once did they EVER APOLOGIZE! I also told them I would NEVER do business again with them and I wont not even for FREE! I have heard of others getting their cruise documents AFTER they returned from their cruise but I NEVER got mine at all! BEWARE when dealing with this company!!

I won a 7 day stay in Oahu with air fare. When I contacted the hotel I was told that the reservation was for 6 nights. I contacted skyauction four or more times and they keep telling me that the reservation is for seven days. I called the hotel two more times and am told that the reservation has not been changed.

I had to pay for the first day's hotel stay myself.Also, the telephone calls were long distance. Skyauction does not have a toll free number.

It is unfortunate that this company is able to cause such problems for people who are spending their money to enjoy the travel presented on their website. To accept winning bids for travel that they do not possess and have no intention to honor if the bid price is not sufficient to meet your cost objectives is a fraudulent and deceptive practice and one that should not continue.

The auction concept is one that infers that the winning bidder will be awarded the product. This is obviously not the case with SkyAuction.com. I am looking for additional ways to insure that others are aware of the fraudulent practice being perpetrated by Skyauction.com. Although I am continuing to pursue legal remedy for my circumstance through the small claims court system, I would also be interested in participating in any class action litigation that other complainants might want to pursue.

Additonal costs incurred to book the cruise directly through Carnival Cruise Lines, $1409.40. Costs to travel to New York to sue SkyAuction.com in small claims court estimated at $1200.

I won a bid and since then I have been upable to get any information to confirm my cruise. Carnival has no record of me and thus I cannot buy airline tickets as I am not convinced I have a place on the ship (no reason to throw more money away). I've contacted SkyAuction several times by email and they say not to contact Carnival because they get mad. This is ridiculous. Do not use SkyAuction!!

I won the following auction item on Skyauction.com Item #: 682387 SuperClubs, the Caribbean's only Super-Inclusive Resorts, has a resort that's just right for you! Depart anytime thru December 18, 2002 via the services of Air Jamaica or American Airlines from Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica! GRAND LIDO SANS SOUCI For couples, singles and adult families 16 years & over At luxurious Grand Lido Sans Souci the emerald green mountains reach all the way down to the white sand beach. In true European fashion mineral springs bubble in hidden grottos.

Relax with a complimentary massage, facial, reflexology and body scrub. Enjoy 24-hour room service, then work it off in our fully equipped fitness center. Discover whirlpools, hammocks for two, and a beach bar where premium cocktails flow endlessly while tasty treats sizzle on the grill. I booked the trip effortlessly, and got a confirmation for the airfare and the hotel with confirmation numbers.

I called Grand Lido San Souci where we are confirmed for the nights of May 9-12 to prebook my included Spa Appointments per the listing on the auction thatI won Relax with a complimentary massage, facial, reflexology and bodyscrub. I was told that spa treatments are only included with stays of 4 nights or longer and I would have to pay full price for them.

The complementary spa treatments were the reason I booked this resort. This trip is completely paid for, and as you see in the description, it clearly states that the spa treatments are complementary, and this is a 3 night package up for auction. When I tried to contact Skyauction (by email, they do not give out a phone number)I was told that they will not handle this matter until I book other trips that I have successfully bid on. I will not do this until I make sure that I will get what I pay for. This is paid in full on an American express card.

This is a suprise birthday gift for my husband. I would not have paid this much or even chosen this trip if I had known this.

Last year purchased an all-inclusive vacation package from Skyauction. After checking with the hotel, we found out that the hotel did not offer all-inclusive packages. Skyauction stated that it was a misprint on their part and refused to honor their own travel voucher. We could not back out because of the airline arrangements. We had to foot the bill for food and beverages despite what we were sold. Purchased another trip in October to Cozumel for spring break. We never received a travel voucher after repeated e-mail and phone contacts to them. We now are demanding a refund but they do not respond to e-mail or phone calls.

Our all-inclusive misprint cost us an additional $700.00 for food and beverages. This trip we have paid Skyauction $1,143.00 and we do not have any travel documents or any idea if they intend on refunding our money.

This is the second time I have used skyauction in the last year and both times I have encountered bate and switch tactics. Last year I bid on 4 tickets to Orlando for a certain time period, after winning the bid I was e-mailed back that the dates I had bid on were not available, I was offered alternate dates which were not in the same time period. This time I won a bid on 3-11-02 for a seven night Easter week friend and family package at the all inclusive Karisma Villa Del Mar Resort in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic with air fare from New York departing 03/30/02 and returning 04/06/02.

I received an e-mail two days later from sky auction saying that the Saturday to Saturday dates were not available. It takes two days to get an answer to my e-mails. I got a very nice lady that informed me that my the only flight that was available for me my wife and 3 small children was one that arrived on 120am in the morning of the 4-1-02. This was not acceptable because the hotel is 45 minutes from the airport. But when she explained that this is the only flight that skyauction has available over the Easter weekend, I said that I would accept it.

Because Both my wife and myself had booked our vacation time after winning the auction. After I accepted the bad flight the agent went to confirm the hotel. But then came back on the phone and told me the the hotel was not available e for the Easter weekend. But of course offered me a lesser hotel with one room for my whole family (5 people). The auction that I had won was for a 2 bedroom villa in a all inclusive with a kids club and babysitting. To win that and then be told that we can arrive in a one room hotel at 3 am with a 6year old and a 3year old and a 8th month old was to say the least bait and switch.

Skyauctions terms are that you have to register with your credit card and once you bid you can not revoke your bid. The lady said that I can chose not to proceed. But how can they sell you something that they do not have. This is 2 years in a row that I have won something that they do not have. When I tried to call back today and ask for the lady that helped me. I was told that she was unviable. I then asked to speak to the supervisor and I was left on hold for 45 minutes and when I tried to call back the phone went unanswered.

I won an auction last June 2000. Round trip flight from Tuscon, Az to Newark,N.J. A week later I found out my guest couldn't make the trip to visit us, I called skyauction to ask for a refund or to change the ticket to Las Vegas. I was told that they could change the ticket but they have a no refund policy. I looked all over thier web site, but could find no mention of a no refund policy. I was then informed that I had to dend them a $75.00 ticket change fee, on top of the $408.00 I havwe already paid for the original ticket. I complied, mailing the payment the next day.

After a few weeks, I called back to get an update and was told that I could not change the ticket,and they would refund the payment,less the $75.00 fee. I spoke to the office manager,Maxine on 3 different occasions to each time be assured that I would receive a refund. She told me that it would take up to 4 months to get the refund. I waited patiently and then decided to call them back in late november. I was then told that I was getting a $148.00 refund and the balance was a penalty fee. I feel that Skyauction has not treated me fairly and that I am entitled to a further refund. These people appear to be crooks!.

I have not received my refund,nor do I have any proof that they credited our credit card the $148.00. I have been ripped off for over $408.00 .