Destina.ca - paid for confirmed airline ticket on Westjet for round trip Edmonton-Winnipeg - and received confirmation number - then received telephone call from Destina.ca saying price has increased and asked whether or not still wanted tickets at new, h

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on November 25, 2002:

From:

RE: Destina.ca - paid for confirmed airline ticket on Westjet for round trip Edmonton-Winnipeg - and received confirmation number - then received telephone call from Destina.ca saying price has increased and asked whether or not still wanted tickets at new, higher price

Like many of you, I use the web to find the cheapest fares for both business and personal travel. I mostly use the airline websites but occasionally I use sites like Destina.ca and Travelocity. Last week I used Destina.ca to book a return trip Edmonton-Winnipeg on Westjet. I paid with my VISA credit card and printed the "Receipt" and itinerary which had a "confirmation number". The next evening (24 hours later) I received a call at home from a Destina.ca person telling me that the price for my trip had gone up and asking me whether I still wanted the tickets at the new price. I was incredulous. I spoke to two supervisors to no avail. Destina.ca's policy is that the booking is not valid until they send you an email confirming it. As I found out, this is not a mere formality, even though you "purchased" and "paid" for the ticket and were given a "receipt" and a "confirmation number".

I was told that I could get the tickets I thought I had bought the day before at the new, higher price, if I wanted them, but Destina.ca could not confirm them or assure me that they would not call me again later with a higher price. If you book with Destina.ca, it is not clear how long you have to wait for the email in question before you conclude that your purchase may not have occurred. I asked the supervisor why it took 14 hrs between the time they found out that they could not confirm my trip at the given price and the time they notified me and her answer was "We had many calls to make". Apparently this is business as usual at Destina.ca