ComplaintsforKiwi.com, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  11/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a set of airline tickets aboard Frontier and Norwegian Airlines via KIWI.com on January 20th, 2020 (booking #XXX XXX XXX), in a transaction for $755.00. In the almost twenty months since, I have applied for a refund or credit from the company and have yet to receive a resolution. I have received multiple correspondences apologizing for the delay and placing the blame squarely on the airlines responsible for fulfilling the flights, although my transaction was with KIWI. Today, November 6th, 2021, the case has still not been resolved.

  Business response

  11/09/2021

  We can see upon checking this manually that there was at least one refund received from one of the carriers that was not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will forward you the funds received as soon as possible, while continuing the refund process with the remaining flight.
  

  Customer response

  11/29/2021

  To whom it may concern,
  
  Thank you for following up on this case. I am not yet satisfied with the company's response to this matter. The full amount owed has not yet been refunded, rather, a partial refund of less than half of the owed balance was issued. I continue to wait for a resolution to the full balance of my account.
  
  Thank you.

  Business response

  01/05/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/11/09) */ We can see upon checking this manually that there was at least one refund received from one of the carriers that was not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will forward you the funds received as soon as possible, while continuing the refund process with the remaining flight. Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2021/11/29) */ To whom it may concern, Thank you for following up on this case. I am not yet satisfied with the company's response to this matter. The full amount owed has not yet been refunded, rather, a partial refund of less than half of the owed balance was issued. I continue to wait for a resolution to the full balance of my account. Thank you.

  Business response

  10/14/2022

  Dear *********,
  
  We sincerely apologize for the delayed refund process.
  
  In regard to your concern, we have checked your refund application and see that the refund is already sent to you at the original source of payment on 10 November 2021. You can also refer to the proof of refund sent to you at your registered email address. Subsequently, the remaining refund is initiated in the form of Kiwi.com credits on the same day. Kiwi.com credits are valid for 2 years after issuance. Please note that refund solely depends upon the airline policy.
  
  We hope we explained the scenario and addressed your concern conclusively.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Complaints Team
  Kiwi.com

• Initial Complaint

  11/04/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased luggage fees with my reservation and was informed by **** that they couldn't apply my paid luggage fee and I would have to pay for luggage at the airport directly with the airline and was told to submit a refund request. I submitted a refund request/application with Kiwi.com and this was in July 2021 shortly after the trip. I have been unable to get in contact with anybody at the company and keep on receiving a message basically stating to be patient as they do with their influx of requests. This was over $100 worth of baggage fees paid and I'm still waiting for it to be refunded.

  Business response

  11/09/2021

  Upon checking your case it seems like the reason why the refund was delayed is because we have not received the receipt of the payment of the luggage at the Airport, as we would like to make the things as favorable for you as a customer, if that payment is higher than the original charge for the extra luggage (****** USD) please send us the receipt and we will cover the costs. If the cost at the airport was lower, or you do not have a valid receipt for the payment. just let us know and we will refund you the ****** USD payment. We will be looking forward to receive your answer on this matter. Thank you

  Customer response

  11/09/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Response will not be accepted until full resolution is completed and refund received.

  Business response

  10/17/2022

  Dear *********,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to tell us why your experience with Kiwi.com did not meet your expectations.
  
  Addressing your concern, we see that we were unable to add the luggage to your reservation due to technical issues with the airline. Therefore, we asked you to add the luggage directly with the airline at the airport.
  
  Generally, the services are added at a higher price at the airport compared to online purchases. Hence, we were waiting for you to send us the receipts of the payment you made at the airport to add luggage so we can refund you accordingly.
  
  Furthermore, we have checked your refund application and see that the refund is already sent to you at the original source of payment on 10 November 2021. You can also refer to the proof of refund sent to you at your registered email address.
  
  Additionally, if the amount you paid at the airport was higher than the original charge for the extra luggage, kindly send us a valid receipt so we can cover the costs.
  
  We hope we explained the scenario and addressed your concern conclusively.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Complaints Team
  Kiwi.com

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Trip was booked through KIWI.COM for a flight on Sept 10th. The flight was cancelled by airline which is not KIWIs fault. Submitted a request for refund. Kiwi.com claims they have received the refund from the carrier. They sent me a email saying they cannot refund my credit card. I have called multiple time and their phone system directs me to the website. I submitted a request for assistance for this on Oct 20th. Received a message says they will contact me soon. On Oct 27th a sent a second message through their automated system. I have not received any feedback from KIWI.COM on this. I am requesting the refund which is due to me and KIWI.COM has already agreed to.

  Business response

  11/05/2021

  We can see upon checking this manually that we have already received the refunds from the carrier and were not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will forward you the total amount of the funds received as soon as possible.
  

  Customer response

  11/06/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  I spoke with my bank 11/6. The bank verified that the refund still has not been issued. No contact has been made from kiwi except an email stating that they have "refunded" this. Perhaps there is some confusion in them being refunded by the airlines when they have NOT issued the refund to me. I am requesting that the refund be processed and contact from kiwi.com explaining how it takes months not minutes to process a refund.

  Business response

  08/21/2022

  Dear ****************,
  
  We apologize for the delayed response.
  
  In regards to your concern, we have checked your refund application and see that the refund was already sent to you at the source payment on 5 November 2021. You can also refer to the proof of refund sent to you at your registered email address. Please note that refund solely depends upon the airline policy.
  
  We hope we explained the scenario and addressed your concern conclusively.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Complaints Team
  Kiwi.com

  Customer response

  08/22/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  I am not satisfied with their time frame of responding to events. However this issue can be considered closed.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a flight scheduled from ******, ******* to ********, ** on July 21st 2021, Booking #*** 037 696. I was informed that the connecting flight from ******, ******* to ****************, ******* was cancelled and there would be no more flights in time before the international flight departure on July 22nd. According to Kiwi.com they will cover flights if connections are cancelled, as well as the fact that I was flying with ***** Airlines who had a flexible booking policy due to COVID at that time. Kiwi.com informed me it would take up to 3 months to get a refund for that trip, which I was okay with. It was 3 months on October 21st and I've yet to receive a refund of any sort. As of today, November 2nd 2021, I've tried contacting them twice via email and I've got absolutely no reply. I also tried to contact them via customer support phone number however they will not take the call because the trip date has already passed. They are completely ignoring my attempts to reach out for the refund which I should have already recieved.

  Business response

  11/05/2021

  We are sincerely sorry you have had to wait for so long but, unfortunately, we can't affect the speed of the refund requests with the airlines and aren't able to send the refund to the customers until we have received it. We are doing what we can to escalate these cases with the carriers without overwhelming their queues to a point where it would delay their refund handling.
  

  Customer response

  11/07/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  During the first time I requested the refund, on July 19th, I was told it would take UP TO 3 months. While I thought this was frustrating because I would accumulate interest on my card for the purchase, I was understanding because I knew that it was a chaotic time for travel with COVID. However, it has now been over 3 ************* unacceptable for me to be waiting any longer. Not to mention that according to the ******************************* "If a passenger is owed a refund, an airline, travel agent, or online travel agency must process it within seven business days if the passenger paid by credit card, and 20 business days if the passenger paid by cash or check."
  
  
  Even more frustrating is the lack of **************************** on Kiwi.com's part. I filed a refund request 3 times at this point & have not received even one follow up email. And after each email, I tried to reach out via phone and I'm automatically turned away because my trip isn't "upcoming". And the only way I've been able to get a response was by reaching out to the BBB. This is completely inappropriate on all accounts.
  
  See Attachment/File: Screen Shot 2021-11-07 at 5.27.03 PM.png

  Business response

  11/18/2022

  Dear *********,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to tell us why your experience with Kiwi.com did not meet your expectations
  
  We would like to inform you that due to the Pandemic circumstances, the airlines and Kiwi.com were overwhelmed with refund requests, and it was, unfortunately, taking much longer. We apologize for the inconvenience caused due to the long refund processing time.
  
  Furthermore, even after applying for a refund, we did not receive a refund for a long time. Therefore, we sent you an incentive offer where we would refund you the amount in form of Kiwi.com credit out of our pocket even though we did not receive a refund from the carrier yet. Since there was no response on this the credit refund was sent to you in form of credits. You can use these credits to book flights directly on Kiwi.com's website.
  
  Moreover, the calling timeframe was set in such a way that we can help a passenger with immediate departure times amid covid circumstances. 
  
  We hope we explained the scenario and addressed your concern conclusively and We are sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused you.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Complaints Team
  Kiwi.com

• Initial Complaint

  10/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I sent a request to get a refund from my booking, it's been 4 months

  Business response

  11/15/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2021/11/01) */ We can see upon checking this manually that there was at least one refund received from one of the carriers that was not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will forward you the funds received as soon as possible, while continuing the refund process with the remaining flights. Consumer Response /* (2000, 13, 2021/11/15) */ HI, I've received my refund/ I don't know whether your intervention has impacted them? Thanks ****

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My flight to BNA from PHL on 7/1 was canceled by Frontier Airlines. The tickets were booked through Kiwi.com. Frontier processed a refund for the roundtrip tickets but Kiwi never returned my money. Seeking a refund for the full $309.96 that Frontier refunded but Kiwi kept.

  Business response

  10/29/2021

  We can see upon checking this manually that the refunds received from the carrier that were not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will send to you the funds received as soon as possible.

  Customer response

  10/29/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Kiwi is trying to refund me less than the full $309.96 that I am owed. See the documentation already provided.

  Business response

  12/03/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 3, 2021/10/29) */ We can see upon checking this manually that the refunds received from the carrier that were not yet forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will send to you the funds received as soon as possible. Consumer Response /* (3000, 5, 2021/10/29) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Kiwi is trying to refund me less than the full $309.96 that I am owed. See the documentation already provided.

  Business response

  11/15/2022

  Dear Passenger,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to tell us why your experience with Kiwi.com did not meet your expectations.
  
  In regard to your concern, this case was already worked and all the issues were addressed by our Customer Relations agent. 
  
  Just to summarize, the refund was not sent to you due to a technical issue, since you disputed the transaction a partial amount was settled in your favor, and a refund that we received from the carrier was sent to you through Paypal.  Furthermore, a voucher was also issued to you to cover the remaining portion.
  
  We hope we explained the scenario and addressed your concern conclusively and We are sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused you.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Complaints Team
  Kiwi.com

  Customer response

  11/15/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked a travel on Kiwi.com from BOS-SGN. The booking is XXX XXX XXX The travel is Nov 7, 2021. However today Oct 28 Kiwi.com notifies me the carrier has cancelled the flight. The flight is from Bos to SGN but transits to IST and KUL. The last part of the trip was cancelled. They offered me on the website 1. Rebook on the same date with the cost about XXXX-X,000 USD. As alternatives on that date which I do not want to pay more, my original ticket was 749 USD. The second choice was to get a partial refund . I called kiwi.com twice. First time they told me it will be partial refund and will take 90 days or more. Then they say "I cant' hear you" after I stated that I want credit or refund to book another trip due to covid-19 policy which they stated on their site "more option including a kiwi guarantee". I asked that I use the kiwi guarantee because my destination I cannot just go to Turkey or Malaysia because my final destination is SGN which was cancelled. They say "sorry" the options are partial refund or book alternative as stated. The alternative is 3,XXX-XXXX USD I cannot book. I called the second time, another person picked up. They did the same thing. They say "are you there", and "I can't hear you" after I entered and say my name. Basically they are unprofessional and will not honor refund due to carrier cancellation. My trip is NOV 7. It is not my fault that a carrier cancels a flight. It affects my full flight because I do not plan to stay in Turkey or Malaysia nor have visas . Basically I told them my final destination was cancelled by carrier.. They say I only have 2 options as stated a partial refund or book more. I request a full refund as a kiwi.com guarantee states if it is affected by carrier cancellation during covid 19.

  Business response

  10/29/2021

  Upon reviewing you case please be informed that we will be requesting from the carrier the refund of the cancelled flight and we will provide you with the refund for this flight as soon as we receive it. In regards to the rest of the flights, unfortunately you did not purchase the guarantee at the time of the booking and therefore the rest of the flights were not protected by it. If you want us to apply for the refund of these flights, please send the request in the Manage My Booking section of the Reservation. However, the refund amount (if possible) will be based on the airline's decision as we can not influence their policies.

  Customer response

  10/29/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Hello I booked the flight to my destination of SGN. If I accept your proposed solution, I would A) Be stuck in ******** because I have no **** or be transferred back to America and pay for all the fees because I do not have a ****. ******** was supposed to be a transit point only.
  
  If I choose for a partial refund, which will take up to 90 days as you said it does not make sense because this is airline cancellation and your part. I booked through you. So it will not make sense to lose money and wait.
  
  I see that Turkish Airline does have direct transfer flight to HCM from BOS-IST-SGN from Dec1, Dec 5, and Dec8. I want that as my alternative. The airline does have flights to HCM, rather cancellation my ticket, I want you to adjust it with Turkish Airline. You would not have to refund me. But rebook my ticket with Turkish airline from BOS-IST-HCM.
  
  I don't want a partial refund and wait 90 days. I don't want to cancel my ticket to lose money. I want you to rebook my flight on Dec. 1 or Dec. 5 when Turkish airline does have those flight.
  
  I don't want to wait for partial refund. I want to use all those credits to book it on the available date to save money, not lose out money. And should turkish airline cancel I will deal directly with them. At this point, I still want to fly to HCM, if the current date is unavailable because of flight cancellation.
  
  I want to use my current credit and your help to rearrange those flights for me. From BOS-SGN on Dec1 or 5 through turkish airline instead of cancellation. I do not wish to cancel or ask for a partial refund. I don't want to waste money or wait 90 days. I want to travel.
  
  On Kiwi.com you do say because of covid-19 you will give customers more options including a kiwi refund because of covid 19 if airline cancels. If you can't give me a kiwi refund I want you to rebook my flight with turkish airline (don't cancel my ticket with them, ask them to switch to the available date) on dec 1 or dec 5.
  
  Why cancel a flight with Turkish Airline? When you can easily transfer the ticket with them to the available date ? I want to use my full credit of 749USD which was paid to kiwi to book the turkish flight!
  
  Thank you and I hope that you will honor what you said on the kiwi.com site, A give me the Kiwi full refund, B rebook my flight and transfer my credits to Turkish Airline on Dec 1 or 5, 2021 as my new travel date.
  
  

  Customer response

  11/05/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Hello thank you for responding, .
  
  According to https://www.kiwi.com/**/help/search/article/155/
  
  1. You will give a kiwi guarantee in the event of cancellation by a carrier that affect the customer's trip during the ********. But then you say that I did not buy the kiwi guarantee. Even though your site say specifically that in covid-19 etc.,.... You did not honor that.
  
  2. A cheaper alternative, my original purchase at your site was 747 ish USD. The price for the alternative at your site, at the date of my respond was 728 USD. Which was cheaper, and from the same airline. You refuse to offer it free. Even though it was cheaper, rather you gave me 3,000-4000 USD choice to "buy more". I said no...then you lowered the choices to about 1,8000 USD for a new itinerary. Which makes no sense. To this day, I can still purchase my alternative for under 800 USD for the same carrier "Turkish air" for Dec.1 ...and you still refuse to give it for free, as a cheaper alternative or about the same.
  
  3. On my purchase of your ticket, you say KIwi protection transfer if the airline cancels the ticket! On the alternative you offer now...it say the same thing as my original ticket! "Kiwi protection transfer" "We will provide a free alternative" if the carrier cancels.
  
  So my first case you did not HONOR "Kiwi Guarantee", Free alternative even though my first ticket cost more, when I asked for it you still did not give it! NOW, there's 1 thing left.
  
  Either you honor your terms , kiwi guarantee which is a full refund, or free alternative since my original ticket cost more at the time I wrote to you on Dec1, Turkish Air cost only 728 at your site, now its still less than 800 by searching everywhere "skyscanner and kiwi" ....
  
  On the current (now) alternative you say "kiwi transfer protection" will give the customer a free alternative if carrier cancels...Why did not honor it first when it was your policy??
  
  NOw the alternative ticket say that too.
  
  So kiwi guarantee was not bought, but was not honored even though policy say so. How about Kiwi free "alternative" many times...will that be honor too ? Why should I trust you and pay more, when my original ticket was 747, and the new price was 728 when you did not give that as free ?
  
  Why will I trust you now, that your alternative ticket say "kiwi transfer protection" will give free alternative, when my original case you did not?
  
  So things on your website about covid-19 cancellation is fake? Your kiwi transfer protection in the first case was not protected and was not given, now on the new ticket it say "kiwi transfer protection" ...is this also fake now ?
  
  If it is real, my travel date is near. I demand that you do what is right, help your customer, give the free alternative!
  
  I am not asking too much. I am asking FAIR. Since my alternative for Dec1 was through the same airline "Turkish" which was price lower or now a bit higher a few bucks higher than when I first purchase through kiwi.com ...should it be free in the first place?
  
  I will not pay another 250 ish or 350 ish on an alternative now. Even though first it was offered 3,000-4000 on Nov 7, and then down to 1,8000 ish...now you are offering me my alternative. But in the first place, should it be free? Because it was cheaper than my original ticket????
  
  And I did requested that via writing and calling you many times. And you did know it, but did not offer it until now. But now its not free...even though the fare differences is less than what I first paid for!
  
  Are you going to honor your "free alternative" or transfer protection? Or is that just fake?
  
  Thank you.
  
  

  Business response

  11/05/2021

  Following your request, we have checked with ******* Airlines and sent you two options for the requested itinerary ***-IST-SGN, please proceed to your Manage my Booking to review the options. As the change implies a cost with the airlines we will proceed with the change as soon as we receive the payment for the cost of the new flights. Please accept the request as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours from the time our offer was sent.

  Business response

  11/17/2021

  Answering to your questions, the article that you mentioned explains that we will offer you an alternative and then continues: "The price will depend on the situation. If you have the Kiwi.com Guarantee, we'll cover as much as we can for you.". The information that appears regarding the protection in your Manage My Booking, is a transfer protection while at the airport, however this do not apply to the changes occurred days or weeks before the flights. (as specified during booking, in MMB and in the attached electronic ticket)
  
  Regarding the high prices of the ****************** (costing thousands of euros), this is due to the system automatically searching for new flights, without necessary using segments from the old itinerary, however once you specified the dates of the new flights and our booking department could check manually into the changes with the airline, we were able to offer you two alternatives for 218 EUR and 299 EUR respectively (price that airline requested to do the necessary changes) . Unfortunately you chose to do not take any of the options. At this point, once the flight is flown we will just be able to offer to you the funds that we might be able to recover from the Airlines. we will keep you informed.
  See Attachment/File: kiwi1

  Customer response

  11/17/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  I went to ******, they did not let me fly anywhere, Stuck at the airport for 2 days and 1 night ... unable to go to my final destination.
  
  I had to buy a ticket back to *******. Costs over ***** USD. I think if I knew, ***** might a few good money spent ********* .
  
  Anyway. At this point I think you will offer me a $100 USD refund right? Or nothing at all.
  
  Anyway. Transfer protection, at the airport...you probably knew that I was stuck at the airport in Turkey without a ticket to my final destination right?
  
  At this point I am really tired, and out of money. ...I don't think I will use you again, very very tired.
  
  

  Business response

  11/18/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/29) */ Upon reviewing you case please be informed that we will be requesting from the carrier the refund of the cancelled flight and we will provide you with the refund for this flight as soon as we receive it. In regards to the rest of the flights, unfortunately you did not purchase the guarantee at the time of the booking and therefore the rest of the flights were not protected by it. If you want us to apply for the refund of these flights, please send the request in the Manage My Booking section of the Reservation. However, the refund amount (if possible) will be based on the airline's decision as we can not influence their policies. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/10/29) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Hello I booked the flight to my destination of SGN. If I accept your proposed solution, I would A) Be stuck in Malaysia because I have no visa or be transferred back to America and pay for all the fees because I do not have a visa. Malaysia was supposed to be a transit point only. If I choose for a partial refund, which will take up to 90 days as you said it does not make sense because this is airline cancellation and your part. I booked through you. So it will not make sense to lose money and wait. I see that Turkish Airline does have direct transfer flight to HCM from BOS-IST-SGN from Dec1, Dec 5, and Dec8. I want that as my alternative. The airline does have flights to HCM, rather cancellation my ticket, I want you to adjust it with Turkish Airline. You would not have to refund me. But rebook my ticket with Turkish airline from BOS-IST-HCM. I don't want a partial refund and wait 90 days. I don't want to cancel my ticket to lose money. I want you to rebook my flight on Dec. 1 or Dec. 5 when Turkish airline does have those flight. I don't want to wait for partial refund. I want to use all those credits to book it on the available date to save money, not lose out money. And should turkish airline cancel I will deal directly with them. At this point, I still want to fly to HCM, if the current date is unavailable because of flight cancellation. I want to use my current credit and your help to rearrange those flights for me. From BOS-SGN on Dec1 or 5 through turkish airline instead of cancellation. I do not wish to cancel or ask for a partial refund. I don't want to waste money or wait 90 days. I want to travel. On Kiwi.com you do say because of covid-19 you will give customers more options including a kiwi refund because of covid 19 if airline cancels. If you can't give me a kiwi refund I want you to rebook my flight with turkish airline (don't cancel my ticket with them, ask them to switch to the available date) on dec 1 or dec 5. Why cancel a flight with Turkish Airline? When you can easily transfer the ticket with them to the available date ? I want to use my full credit of 749USD which was paid to kiwi to book the turkish flight! Thank you and I hope that you will honor what you said on the kiwi.com site, A give me the Kiwi full refund, B rebook my flight and transfer my credits to Turkish Airline on Dec 1 or 5, 2021 as my new travel date. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/11/05) */ Following your request, we have checked with Turkish Airlines and sent you two options for the requested itinerary BOS-IST-SGN, please proceed to your Manage my Booking to review the options. As the change implies a cost with the airlines we will proceed with the change as soon as we receive the payment for the cost of the new flights. Please accept the request as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours from the time our offer was sent. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2021/11/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Hello thank you for responding, . According to https://www.kiwi.com/us/help/search/article/155/ 1. You will give a kiwi guarantee in the event of cancellation by a carrier that affect the customer's trip during the covid-19. But then you say that I did not buy the kiwi guarantee. Even though your site say specifically that in covid-19 etc.,.... You did not honor that. 2. A cheaper alternative, my original purchase at your site was 747 ish USD. The price for the alternative at your site, at the date of my respond was 728 USD. Which was cheaper, and from the same airline. You refuse to offer it free. Even though it was cheaper, rather you gave me 3,XXX-XXXX USD choice to "buy more". I said no...then you lowered the choices to about 1,8000 USD for a new itinerary. Which makes no sense. To this day, I can still purchase my alternative for under 800 USD for the same carrier "Turkish air" for Dec.1 ...and you still refuse to give it for free, as a cheaper alternative or about the same. 3. On my purchase of your ticket, you say KIwi protection transfer if the airline cancels the ticket! On the alternative you offer now...it say the same thing as my original ticket! "Kiwi protection transfer" "We will provide a free alternative" if the carrier cancels. So my first case you did not HONOR "Kiwi Guarantee", Free alternative even though my first ticket cost more, when I asked for it you still did not give it! NOW, there's 1 thing left. Either you honor your terms , kiwi guarantee which is a full refund, or free alternative since my original ticket cost more at the time I wrote to you on Dec1, Turkish Air cost only 728 at your site, now its still less than 800 by searching everywhere "skyscanner and kiwi" .... On the current (now) alternative you say "kiwi transfer protection" will give the customer a free alternative if carrier cancels...Why did not honor it first when it was your policy?? NOw the alternative ticket say that too. So kiwi guarantee was not bought, but was not honored even though policy say so. How about Kiwi free "alternative" many times...will that be honor too ? Why should I trust you and pay more, when my original ticket was 747, and the new price was 728 when you did not give that as free ? Why will I trust you now, that your alternative ticket say "kiwi transfer protection" will give free alternative, when my original case you did not? So things on your website about covid-19 cancellation is fake? Your kiwi transfer protection in the first case was not protected and was not given, now on the new ticket it say "kiwi transfer protection" ...is this also fake now ? If it is real, my travel date is near. I demand that you do what is right, help your customer, give the free alternative! I am not asking too much. I am asking FAIR. Since my alternative for Dec1 was through the same airline "Turkish" which was price lower or now a bit higher a few bucks higher than when I first purchase through kiwi.com ...should it be free in the first place? I will not pay another 250 ish or 350 ish on an alternative now. Even though first it was offered 3,XXX-XXXX on Nov 7, and then down to 1,8000 ish...now you are offering me my alternative. But in the first place, should it be free? Because it was cheaper than my original ticket???? And I did requested that via writing and calling you many times. And you did know it, but did not offer it until now. But now its not free...even though the fare differences is less than what I first paid for! Are you going to honor your "free alternative" or transfer protection? Or is that just fake? Thank you. Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2021/11/17) */ Answering to your questions, the article that you mentioned explains that we will offer you an alternative and then continues: "The price will depend on the situation. If you have the Kiwi.com Guarantee, we'll cover as much as we can for you.". The information that appears regarding the protection in your Manage My Booking, is a transfer protection while at the airport, however this do not apply to the changes occurred days or weeks before the flights. (as specified during booking, in MMB and in the attached electronic ticket) Regarding the high prices of the first alternatives (costing thousands of euros), this is due to the system automatically searching for new flights, without necessary using segments from the old itinerary, however once you specified the dates of the new flights and our booking department could check manually into the changes with the airline, we were able to offer you two alternatives for 218 EUR and 299 EUR respectively (price that airline requested to do the necessary changes) . Unfortunately you chose to do not take any of the options. At this point, once the flight is flown we will just be able to offer to you the funds that we might be able to recover from the Airlines. we will keep you informed. Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2021/11/17) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I went to Turkey, they did not let me fly anywhere, Stuck at the airport for 2 days and 1 night ... unable to go to my final destination. I had to buy a ticket back to America. Costs over 1,500 USD. I think if I knew, 1,500 might a few good money spent elsewhere . Anyway. At this point I think you will offer me a $100 USD refund right? Or nothing at all. Anyway. Transfer protection, at the airport...you probably knew that I was stuck at the airport in Turkey without a ticket to my final destination right? At this point I am really tired, and out of money. ...I don't think I will use you again, very very tired.

  Business response

  11/03/2022

  Dear Passenger, 
  
  I am contacting you from the Customer ******************** at ********************** regarding your booking you had with us, after I also read the message you left on Better Business Bureau. 
  
  I had the opportunity to go through your booking and see all the communication you had with our team so far. You stated the Kiwi Guarantee on several occasions even though you never paid for it, and therefore you had no possibility of using it. 

  Nevertheless, is also true that it went through a lot of time since we did not update you about the refund and because of this reason, I think is only fair to offer you the full refund of the booking in the form of Kiwi.com Credits that you will be able to use for the next two years in our website. I am offering this because we are not going to receive any other refund as the airlines stated, it was up to their policies towards refunds and sadly, they did not offer anything. 
  
  I will be waiting for your confirmation if you would like me to create this amount in Kiwi.com Credits and attach them to your email, after this, the query can be closed. 

  Best regards.

  Kiwi.com 

  Customer ******************** 

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Kiwi.com booking number: XXXXXXXX Reservation number (PNR): ****** Original booking was made for flight Boston-Paris 04/19/XXXX-XX/23/2020 with Kiwi. Emails from Kiwi were received informing that the issue with flights cancellation due to Covid-19 were in progress and to wait for updates. Automated messages were sent until 06/2020 to wait for progress update. In June 2020 a request was sent by Kiwi to apply for refund and wait indefinitely for a refund that cannot be guaranteed or use Kiwi's Assisted Refund service to maximize refund for a fee of $95.00. I paid the fee and waited for a refund. Last email from Kiwi was received on March 6th, 2021 stating that the refund is still in process due to airlines slow response to refund. I reached out to Kiwi on May 18th, May 28th, June 18th, August 10th and September 30th of 2021 but I have not heard back. I also tried to call them but the reservation number and/or booking number provided are invalid per Kiwi's and my call gets discontinued.

  Business response

  10/27/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/25) */ We can see upon checking this manually that we have received the refunds from the carriers and the funds received will be forwarded to you. We are trying to automate this process as much as possible and the vast majority of the refunds we are sending are actually fully automated. However, for various reasons, such as the carrier sending the refund without any additional information as to which reservation the refund pertains to, we are not able to automate 100% of the refunds we are receiving/sending. Thus, there is a separate queue where the refunds that were not automated successfully fall into and we have a significant number of agents working on processing these refunds manually. We are sincerely sorry for the delay, we will forward you the funds received as soon as possible, while continuing the refund process with the remaining flights. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2021/10/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Refund received

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩