ORLANDO,Fla. — An Orange County man claims a top online travel site won't honor its best price guarantees, and he's not the only one complaining about Expedia's pledge to match any price and pay you a bonus.
Action 9's Todd Ulrich investigates how consumers have been denied better prices and what you can do about it.
Tuan Ton books vacations online. But now he's having second thoughts after buying a trip on Expedia.com then asking the company to honor its best price guarantee.
"I think it's the game they're playing. You'll do this to the point you're frustrated and you'll just give up," he said.
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Ton found a five-day Las Vegas vacation for $1,500 and booked it. He said that 40 minutes later he found the identical trip on Expedia for $1,345.
He called and asked Expedia to follow its best price guarantee and grabbed screenshots showing the new price. Ton submitted his claim for a $160 refund.
“Everything's the same. Same package, same flight and same hotel,” he said.
Ton said he was denied because there were hotel and air cancellation fees. He claims that's not in the guarantee's fine print and challenged it.
“I'm still waiting for a call back. I've not heard anything,” Ton said.
Expedia guarantee complaints can be found on most consumer complaint sites.
At the Better Business Bureau, it’s an A rated member but there's a pattern of complaints. The bureau found customers buying travel had common complaints on advertising, billing and refund issues. Expedia told the BBB it was working to correct those.
Half of its complaints came in just the past year.
Holly Salmons, president of the Central Florida BBB, said there are a few things consumers should know about travel site guarantees.
“You may not qualify based on their fine print for that discount or that reimbursement. You don't want to depend on that for your cost savings,” she said.
Ulrich contacted Expedia about Ton’s complaint. The company said it's investigating his case.
“Just honor what you’re advertising,” said Ton.
If you're buying travel online, use a credit card not a debit card if possible, so you have up to 60 days to challenge a price that was not honored.