WARNING Bad Airport Car Site.

[Kellie Poodle]

Apologizing in advance for the rant, but I want to save others from my fate.

I feel it is my duty to warn all of you against using a booking site called "Easy Airport Taxi" If you make even the slightest change to the original submission before finally submitting it, the dates revert to "default" which is 3 days after you enter it. I stupidly gave this site my credit card number to hold the reservation (like a hotel) only they charged me for not being there at the date that their booking engine selected. I had booked for August 2013 and they had me in London in September 2012, 3 days after the got my credit card on the reservation.

Easy Airport Taxis sends the bookings to other car companies. I wound up with London Airport Cars. These people were dishonest with me.

I offered them the option of keeping the payment and supplying me with a car on the August 2013 date, but they refused. They threatened me with law suits, their solicitor, insults and any number of not very nice trade practices.

I disputed the charge with the credit card company. London Airport Cars then sent me an email dropping the protest on October 1, 2012. While I was on a cruise in Europe in mid October, London Airport Cars contacted the credit card company and disputed my dispute. I was not home and missed the window to respond to their false representations. I was stuck paying $216 for a car I never entered and never intended to enter on the date that they dispatched it.

This has been a horrible fight for me. I'm a senior citizen and I know that I was not at fault for this mix up. I even have an email from the car company telling me that when I changed from 1 person to 2 people on the reservation, it reverted to default. I never saw the confirmation and didn't expect it as we were arriving 11 months later. I learned about the mix up when someone called me from London on my cell phone at 6 AM wanting to know where I was.

I know that there are people who will read this and find a way to determine that it was my fault, and for all I care, have at it, if it makes you feel important, but my 'i's' were dotted and my 't's' were crossed and I have the emails to prove it.

I have filed an email complaint with a UK consumer protection agency and I hope that they do something about this practice. It's bad for tourism and it's downright dishonest.

My credit card company, had kicked in some credit and air miles to compensate me for my loss, but I'm angry that this company feels it can threaten and intimidate people when it's their own booking engine that is "defective".

[phabric]

Thank you for the information.

[dogs4fun]

Thank you!

[KirkNC]

Sorry for your experience but thanks for the warning!

[aminey]

Sorry to hear of you experience, but it is all too common as most of these site's having been set up by people lacking in character.
You may want to contact trading standards and or the taxi licensing authority for the area where the car was sent from which I am guessing was London.
You can lodge a complaint with trading standards regarding the website and its faults, whilst making a complaint against the taxi company to the taxi licensing authority.
I hope this helps.

[LHT28]

Just wondering when you booked the service?
Was it before the date this year that corresponded with next year

I had a problem with a hotel in Italy I had booked for May 1st 2010 but it was still April 2009
When I got my cc statement there was a charge for "no show"...even though my reservation confirmation had the correct date
Their system did default to the current year
Took me months to get a refund & lots of emails
My lesson learned ..do not book until AFTER the current date has past for future services

[Globaliser]

Originally Posted by LHT28

Just wondering when you booked the service?
Was it before the date this year that corresponded with next year

It sounds like it was in September 2012, for August 2013.

Unfortunately, this is the sort of cautionary tale that has me checking and re-checking the date before clicking the "Buy" (or whatever) button. It is very easy to overlook the date for which you are actually booking at the moment you click that button; and there are very many websites on which a date selection is not sufficiently "sticky" if you make changes to other details in the booking.

One tip for websites that show you the day of the week (which Easy Airport Taxis does not): check the day. If you make a mistake with the date, there's a six in seven chance that checking the day of the week will alert you to that fact.

[LHT28]

Originally Posted by Globaliser

It sounds like it was in September 2012, for August 2013.

Yes even the best intentions can go wrong
In my case I had emailed the hotel directly to get a room since I heard on May Day it can be very busy but the hotel system kick in for the current year

[Kellie Poodle]

I'm glad I can be of help to my fellow travelers.

I surfed the web and did find the UK "consumer protection" site and lodged an email complaint with them. Someone on another thread also gave me a link to a BBC Show that defends consumers. I sent them my information.

The web site was recommended by a TA from a very large online travel agency that helps book vacations. I sent her a warning as well and advised her to inform her colleagues.

[LHT28]

Thanks for the update