This is a review of my experience as a customer with Trip.com (also known as CTrip.com) when I booked flight tickets from London to Kuala Lumpur (return) with Singapore Airlines.
After booking my flight tickets with Trip.com I had a domestic situation which necessitated the need for me to change the dates. What I was then informed of is that the terms and conditions prevented me from doing this with the outbound flight. I managed to gain the support of Singapore Airlines to change the outbound flight but Trip.com appeared to make it nigh impossible for me to do this and in the end I had to let go. This is a bitterly learnt lesson about booking with an agent – not something I would enter into again – booking directly with an airline has its benefits.
When I initially contacted trip.com about changing my outbound the response was simple – the airline’s terms and conditions prevent them from rescheduling the outbound flight. So I contacted the airline through Resolvr website who, as a discretion agreed to direct the Crystal Travel in London who were ticketing agency. There would be a fee for the upsell. However the London agency refused to get involved and I had to go back to the airline to explain about Trip.com to them.
Eventually, Crystal Travel acknowledged Singapore Airlines request and then Trip.com did offer to amend my outbound flight. Trip.com sent an email to me in the middle of the night with a one hour turnaround to change my flight. I don’t know whether the timing was deliberate but the restricted timing to change the flight certainly was. And the random arrival – no notice – was also deliberate. Who can check their email every hour? Trip.com’s system appears deliberately set up to make life as hard as possible for the customer.
So I had to go back to the airline on Resolvr and plead with the airline again who again said they would talk to Trip.com. I also opened up a Resolvr account with Trip.com and pleaded the same case that the airline had directed Trip.com to change the outbound flight. I tried Twitter and ended up down another rabbit hole – being given the same message that the airline’s terms and conditions prevent them changing the flight. Finally, after Singapore Airlines contacted Tirp.com again, Trip.com sent another email to enable the flight change but they appeared to charge me for the full flight cost which was different to paying a fee that the airline said I would have to pay. So I let go of that and went back to Trip.com to spell out what the airline had directed them to do. Again.
What I learned about Trip.com is that their terms and conditions are not obvious, not visible, and not worth the discount. To offer marginally cheaper fares they make it impossible to change the booked flights. It is impossible to get past their customer service – there is no escalation, if there is a complaints process it is hidden. It is anti-customer. Whilst Singapore Airlines were reasonable they were reluctant and eventually informed me they were not interested. When I escalated the matter within Resolvr they ignored me. Not helpful when I have had better experiences with other airlines.
What I learned is about Trip.com is that they put profit before the customer,, otherwise they would have followed the airline’s advice.
