Mushtaq Travel continue to receive calls from consumers who have been defrauded or scammed by companies offering cheap flight tickets to Pakistan, we strongly advice anyone looking for a ticket to Pakistan on pia, air blue, emirates, etihad, qatar airways or other major airlines or if your travelling to anywhere else for that matter to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate business. Most people we speak to who have been very unfortunate and caught in a trap or defrauded by rogue website’s purporting to be travel agents, one of the main reason’s for doing business with them was due to the price offered by the agent/agency. We cant mention any web addresses on our website for legal reasons.
Consumers looking for flights should do some research before handing over your hard earned money, make your own inquiries if the price is too good to be true it probably is, make use of the internet and do a Google search, check for reviews and other information about a company or their website, a legitimate business will have numerous citations about them i.e. independent websites offering information about a business, a simple search i.e. reviews about mushtaq travel or mushtaq travel reviews will bring back many searches and references / citations about a business. Its a good idea to check reviews on independent websites such a reviewcentre.com, it takes a few moments thanks to the internet and will buy you some peace of mind.
Another good feature of Google Maps is the street view, if a business claims to have a retail office, this should be pretty easy to verify, if things don’t add up or if you have any doubts it will be best to avoid doing business with them.
Due to the vast number of websites using Google adsence to promote their website it is very easy to stumble across a website promoting cheap flights, many of the ads displayed on Google are genuine businesses however there are a few scam websites using this techniques to lure customers to their websites by offering cheaper fares than their competition, therefore you should try and get a few quotations from other websites or business to get an idea, especially during busy seasons where average fares to Pakistan are around £700 to £1300, if you were to be offered a bargain and not too sure about the people or business try asking more questions to find out a little about the business, you should keep in mind that because your offered a better price than elsewhere it is not necessary that they are not a legitimate business or that they are trying to scam you out of your money, there are several other reasons why you may be getting a better price than elsewhere.
A genuine travel agency will always offer to send you a provisional booking with the exact details in the itinerary as you would normally expect these days thanks to email. Ask to see a copy of the reservation this will normally be in the form of an itinerary which should display the airline reservation code along with the travel agencies name, address and telephone number etc. This itinerary is usually the exact same booking that converts into an electronic ticket which will display a 13 digit number which is your e-ticket number, each passenger is assigned a different e-ticket number, however certain airlines such as ryan air, easy jet, flybe and other budget carriers may only have a reservation code they don’t currently use the 13 digit e-ticket number. Almost all long haul airlines use the 13 digit eticket reference number and you should check to ensure this is displayed on your itinerary as soon as you receive your ticketed booking by the travel agent.
The normal practice for travel agents is to ensure the details are accurate and no spelling mistakes have been made on the reservation and check to ensure it is accurate as per your intended travel plans. This is a very important procedure as it covers the travel agent against any future complaints from the consumer and will also ensure you are getting the best level of service. A genuine travel agent will be very eager and try and cover every aspect of the booking and provide you with the best advice as they would not want any negative feedback about their business.
A screen shot below is a good example of what to expect in the search results when trying to research on your own, it displays a page with the business web address and web addresses directly referencing the business in question, a new feature is the Google plus page, a business will normally display their logo, contact details or relevant information for the consumer. This is sometimes displayed on the right hand side and also within the search results which sometimes includes a map of the business.
Remember a credited travel agent will always display the IATA or ATOL log on their website, and provide clear and accurate information about their company including their IATA no or ATOL no which can be verified by visiting the following website http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=490&pagetype=65&appid=2 a competent travel agent website should also have an about us page which should have more details about the company or business including any relevant trade or industry membership details i.e. ABTA membership which is the association of British travel agents, a contact us page with an official email address corresponding to the website with the domain should normally be cited in the contact us page along with any other contact details for out of office hours, a skype i.d live chat, after sales support contact etc. Avoid websites that don’t provide sufficient information about their company/business, look for other pages i.e. terms and conditions, complaints, privacy these may contain more details about the company including a facebook page, twitter page and other social media business pages.
There is currently no legal requirement for a travel agent in the UK to be either accredited by IATA, ATOL or ABTA registered, therefore consumers should be very cautious when doing business with a travel agency not registered with any of the above independent trade bodies as you may not have any recourse to compensation or an independent complaints procedure other than the courts. It is also important to note that if you purchase a package holiday your travel agent must hold a valid ATOL licence as this is a mandatory requirement for tour operators and travel agents selling package based holidays.
Remember you should receive your e ticket confirmation immediately and certainly within 24 hours after making your payment to the travel agency.
