cmiller11101

I'm a Miles&Smiles Elite member and am trying to buy a revenue ticket, round-trip business class from Asia to Europe on TK. The cost is several thousand dollars and the departure date is tomorrow. I entered submitted my credit card details on the TK website, but was told that the transaction was unsuccessful. I double-checked and tried a second time, but with the same result. I then contacted my credit card company and they told me no transaction was attempted on my account. So the problem is clearly with TK's credit card online processing system.

I was given a PNR as an error code, so I think the booking was made just not ticketed as payment was not processed.

I called TK call center (US number) and explained the situation. I was told that the agents cannot accept payment over the phone without an extra fee, and that I must use the "Feedback Form" on their website to contact customer service. I was told that the estimated response time for the "Feedback Form" is 7 days. I pointed out that clearly that wouldn't work since the departure is in just over 24 hours and suggested that they waive the fee and accept payment over the phone so my ticket can be issued, otherwise I would have to fly with their competitor -- they would lose a full-fare business class revenue passenger.

The agent (whose name is Metehan) continued to refuse to offer any type of assistance or look into my issue whatsoever. He was very dismissive, clearly more interested in moving on to his next call, and in general was outright rude. By far the worst customer service experience I've had with an airline.

What the hell kind of airline is this? Has anyone had this happen before? They can't accept payment over the phone? I find that hard to believe. What is going on here?

BobFF68

Did you try to call the city sales office in the country you're staying? They often are much more helpful and professional than call centers, they should also have their own email address. In Indonesia where I'm, staying the Jakarta office was very good is helping with a multi city/ mided class booking, they also did not accept credit card by phone but they accept online bank transfer, useful if you're in hurry.

cmiller11101

No, I didn't even think of that... why would that even be necessary? Good idea though, I'll give it a try.

But seriously, what the hell?

max_kolesne

Why don’t you just pay the call-center fee and then claim it back using the feedback form later? For a ticket costing thousands of dollars, the extra fee should be very minor compared to the ticket price. TK customer service agents really don’t have much authority to waive fees, and I do think the agent you talked could not waive it. The real authority to make decisions such as waiving fees is in the “back office” and you can only access them via the feedback form.

cmiller11101

Why should I pay a fee and be burdened with the hassle of proving their site is broken in the hopes that maybe the fee is refunded later? Are the call center agents so incompetent and poorly trained that they cannot be expected to have proper judgement about when to waive fee? Come on.

max_kolesne

i am not refusing the fact that many TK agents are incompetent. What I am saying is that TK phone agents probably did not even have the option to waive the fee over the phone. Even if you HUACA’d and have the best agent on the phone, I believe they don’t even have the chance to waive the aforementioned fee. That’s why I proposed booking the flight, paying the fee, and claiming it back as it looks like an urgent purchase.

ISTFlyer

Unfortunately all around the world, regardless of which number you call, TK uses third party call center companies and the agents that you speak on the hotline are not TK employees. They just do business for TK so they wouldn't have the authorization to waive fees. As mentioned earlier in another post, a city office may be helpful.

In addition, if you want to buy a full fare Business ticket, you could always buy it via an OTA for cheaper than turkishairlines.com

If you need to fly tomorrow and if the Turkish Airlines website does not accept your credit card; pay the hotline the extra fee and ask for reimbursement via the feedback form, purchase the ticket via a reputable OTA such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc… or fly another airline.

Must...Fly!

Very poor. ISTFlyer's advice is good, try and find the same fare via an OTA of good repute such as Expedia. Good luck OP.

SK AAR

Why not just buy the ticket from an OTA? Most likely you will also get a discount compared to the fares that you find on THY.com. To name one option: Expedia.co.th (assuming that you are in TH and want the fare to be prices in THB). Otherwise contact the TK ticket office in BKK - very competent and fast responding staff (I have contacted this ticket office via email several times).

Often1

Because your flight is tomorrow, it is presumably important as you are prepared to pay a last minute J fare and you know what you want.

You are jeopardizing your trip by delaying and all for a small sum of money which will presumably be refunded to you in due course. You run the risk with every passing minute that others else will purchase whatever remains in J and that you will be stuck in Y or that there won't be any availability at all.

Whether it is right or wrong is immaterial. Pick up the phone, call back, book the ticket, object to the fee again and if the agent insists on collecting it, pay it. Or fly another carrier or go to a local TA you trust and have them issue the tickets (avoid OTA's like the plague).

gr8pirate

OP is preaching to the choir here - we know the TK website and phone line can use a lot of improvement.

I’ve often had cc payments blocked for security reasons, but usually a quick phone call to the cc company fixed this. Some adaptability/flexibility would have found the OP a workaround.