When you search for a flight online, you’re quickly confronted with a dozen sites you’ve never heard of.
All of these sites claim to be able to get you a good deal on travel—often better than the one offered by the airline or hotel itself. But how is that possible? What’s the catch?
Sometimes, the “catch” is that these bookings are prone to sudden, holiday-altering changes. For example, one woman booked a stay at a Marriott through Sonder, only to have her reservation suddenly canceled when the two companies ended their partnership.
Now, a woman is issuing a warning after finding a flight through Google Flights—and losing more money than she ever could have saved.
A Flight Booking Gone Wrong
In a video with over 387,000 views, TikTok user Dina Khalil (@dinakhaaa) says that she was recently “scammed” out of $3,000.
According to Khalil, she was booking a flight on Google when she noticed some interesting, cheaper options for her journey.
“I saw that I could save a few hundred dollars on the flight if I book through something called ‘EaseMyTrip,’” she recalls. “So, I clicked it and I booked through them, and I was so happy. I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ Like ‘I’m so smart … What a deal for first class!’”
Soon, however, Khalil learned that this deal was not as it seemed.
“After I booked, it said it was ‘Pending,’” Khalil says. “I didn’t think much into it. I was like, ‘Oh, you know, it’s the process, whatever.’”
“Then, shortly after, I get an email saying, ‘There was an increase of the fare of the flight, so now you have to pay through a different link—$300—for us to confirm your trip.”
Things Get Worse
Immediately after receiving this email, alarm bells began going off in her head. The solution, she thought, was to cancel the trip—but that was easier said than done.
“I emailed them back…like, ‘No. Just cancel my flight, and I’ll book through the airline,’ and no response,” she says. “No emails, no emails.”
“I called the number on their website for an hour on the phone waiting, because there’s no available representatives,” Khalil continues. “I tried multiple times.”
Eventually, she decided to try to resolve the issue with her bank. Her bank informed her that they would have to wait for the transaction to clear before beginning a dispute process. Not only that, but she may not even win the dispute, as she made the payment using a debit card.
“Why am I so stupid?” she asks. “Don’t be cheap like me to save a few hundred dollars. You’re just gonna lose the entire chunk of money.”
Can She Get Her Money Back?
Khalil ends her video asking whether she’ll be able to get her money back. So, will she?
The answer is likely yes, though actually resolving the issue could take some time.
The Department of Transportation says that, if a flight’s details are significantly changed or the service cannot be performed as contracted,” travel agents—a category that includes third-party sites like EaseMyTrip—must refund customers for that flight. An unexpected additional charge of $300 would likely qualify as a significant change.
She can also dispute the charge with her bank. However, doing so with a debit card is usually more difficult than a credit card. This is why many suggest making purchases like these with a credit card—specifically, one that offers travel protection.
What Does The Company Say?
In her specific case, if she did not pay the additional fee and was thus not issued a ticket, it would seem that EaseMyTrip’s policy is to refund the money.
On the company’s website, they write, “In case of increase in the fare in the issuance of the Air ticket , due to airlines, miscalculation in amount due to server error and from the banks payment gateway issue then EaseMyTrip reserves the right to cancel the ticket and forfeit the amount received as Cancellation Charges.”
This means that the service will likely cancel the ticket and refund her the money. That said, how long it will take them to do that remains unclear.
Commenters Have Advice
In the comments section, users shared their own travel booking tips.
“Being cheap isn’t what effed you, it was using your debit card over credit card. That’s the lesson,” wrote a user. “Never use debit card.”
“Oh girl for flights always book directly with the airlines,” suggested another. “it’s easier for changes and cancellations or delays and no scam.”
Others simply recounted their own stories.
“the same thing happened to me (mine was actually worse) & the amount was $2,000,” said a user. “the first dispute got denied but i reopened it the same day and always called just pleading my case basically. the dispute ended up in my favor so i got the money back!”
BroBible reached out to EaseMyTrip via email and Khalil via email.