Have I been scammed

[Charltonstrek]

Sorry guys I'm currently worked up into a frenzy been awake all night worrying.
I booked airline tickets through a website called cheapflyshop at a cost of £800.
Ive recieved a booking confirmation email but on reading the details within the email it says e tickets to be issued within 48hrs and states ticket number pending.
It also says they are working with their suppliers to secure my reservation and places are in high demand.
I have since gone on this companies reviews and found that customers are been called and been asked to pay more money for different flights and for extras etc and when the customer has refused they will not refund money etc.
I am so worried now I can't afford to lose this money and cannot pay more.
Help what I do.

Speak to your credit card company to find out their chargeback policy. Usually you have to wait a period of time, and prove that you’ve tried to resolve the issue, but once you’ve done that, you can proceed with the chargeback. I’ve had to use credit card chargeback twice and it’s been straightforward. Keep records of all your attempts at communicating with the flight company.

All 1 and 5 star views on TP is a huge red flag. Contact your bank asap.

Start a chargeback now with your credit card company.

Wait the 48 hours.

if they can provide the tickets at the price you requested, all is good.

if not, request refund and it it doesn't materialise, contact credit card company.

The business model is not untypical and you should avoid if possible.

**

here is a Reddit experience- but like I say,m wait the 48 hours

"Scam Warning: https://www.cheapflyshop.co.uk/

Posting this so that hopefully it appears in searches and helps others, as a vulnerable family member was scammed by these clowns, and it seems they have been operating for years, since at least 2018 in their current form.
Cheapflyshop is a scam website run out of India advertising cheap airfares. Their parent company is registered in the UK as Emeia Travel Mart Ltd, UK company number 11576383 at a suburban semi-detached house in Middlesex. The addresses used for Cheapflyshop itself are virtual offices. Kunal Goer, Nikhil Mohan and Jasper Kaul are registered on their UK company registration with Akash Prashad in place of Jasper Kaul for their Indian operation EMEIA TRAVEL MART PRIVATE LIMITED based in Faridabad - 121003 - Haryana - India.
^^
^Reviews here https://www.trustpilot.com/review/cheapflyshop.co.uk^
Ignore all the fake 4 and 5 star reviews - read the 1 star reviews.
^^
Their scam goes like this:
^^
You search on their site for flights and select them, then fill out a form with your contact details, and/or call or email them.
^^
You speak/email with customer service to 'book' flights and arrange payment.
Then they send a 'booking confirmation' email with their own booking reference number, no ticket has actually been purchased for you.
^^
Within 1-2 days you will receive a call stating your originally requested flights are no longer available at the price you purchased and you need to pay extra. If you press for a refund they attempt to strongarm you by quoting BS terms and conditions. If you pay extra to secure the flight they may actually buy you a legitimate ticket, but will then try to add extra for 'luggage' and 'meals' or whatever else they think they can scam you with.
^^
They make the refund process almost impossible, or attempt to charge you a refund fee.
^^
Cheapflyshop and Emeia Travel Mart Ltd have been reported to the authorities on numerous occasions and continue to operate with impunity. Cheapflyshop and Emeia Travel Mart Ltd are scammers, do not purchase or book through them"

In my experience you can’t start the chargeback straight away. You have to give the company time to do the right thing, and demonstrate that you’ve tried to engage with them.

You may get your tickets in 48 hours, for the agreed price, and everything will be fine. But if they ask for more money, you can say you can’t afford to spend more, so you’d rather have your money back and not bother. If they refuse to refund you, or you just can’t contact them, that’s when you can get a chargeback.
But I would still ring your credit card company today, just so you know what their policy is.

There is probably a reason they are cheap. The cost of anxiety for saving a few pounds is not worth it. I’ve just looked at their website and it is littered with bad wording which would have put me right off if the name didn’t (not because I’m a pedant, but it implies something is not right). Try not fret too much as you paid by cc and should be fine if it goes wrong.

Sky scanner is okay but usually best just to book direct with airlines in my experience.
Good luck

Skyscanner is a flight search engine, not a ticket agent. Booking the flight is done directly with whichever airline you choose.

@Charltonstrek

What email addresses are you using?

I sent emails earlier this morning to both email addresses shown on their website and both went through no problem.

are you doing a reply to a 'no reply' email address?

[email protected] this one provided on the booking confirmation

I've tried another one now.
I am so upset about this can't believe of all booking platforms I dropped on this one.
I can't bear the thought of trying to talk to these people either I hate the phone

I never understand people booking through a 3rd party, even worse when it's one of these "travel experts" that work for themselves at home.
Go direct to the airline or supplier. Cheaper as don't hide costs that develop after booking.

I know that now tbh Im not a regular traveller not that experienced in all of this i wasn't even aware that there are companies who let you book without it even been confirmed I hadn't a clue this was a thing.

I'm so depressed right now

Can you call your bank/credit card? The earlier you call them the better I would think. Be better if you payed with credit card

I think they may ask me what I've done to sort the situation but so far I've only sent a email

I know I should call but if this platform is been operated how I think by people not speaking good English I'm going to struggle I already have a phobia with phone calls

Can't do any harm. If you have been scammed they may be able to help or offer advice

You need to be able to prove to the bank that you’ve attempted to resolve the issue with the merchant before you can do a chargeback. You can’t just ring the bank and say “I want my money back please give it to me.”

Yeah - you’ve typed the email address wrong. You’ve missed out a hyphen!

Here are the two email addresses

OK - MNHQ have removed my screenshots of the email addresses!

My credit card (AA) have twice done an instant charge back on my request and said the retailer will have to prove otherwise, but told them I tried to make contact but they don't respond.

The ironic things is that the tickets where not super cheap there was other platforms offering similar prices. This has ruined my weekend

Cheapflyshop sounds like a complete scam before I even read your post tbh. Maybe you can do an online chat with your bank for advice?