Paid ticket and i've been scammed?!

[marlyn&kenny]

SO I BOOKED A FLIGHT ON LINE WITH THIS WEBSITE, RANAVENTURE IT IS CALLED LMAO! I WAS SO STUPID AND FOOL, HOW THE HELL I WAS CONVINCE TO PAY THEM GRRRRRRRR
SO AFTER I PAID ON FEB 8, I ASKED FOR MY TICKET NUMBER AND BOOKING REFERENCE AND THEY ONLY GIVE ME REFERENCE NUMBER. SO I RANG THE AIRLINE AND CHECK WITH THEM IF THE BOOKING IS RIGHT AND THEY SAID IT IS BOOKED BUT THEY SAID THAT THE TICKET HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED , SO I RANG THAT AGENCY AGAIN AND DEMAND FOR MY TICKET BUT THEY SAID TICKET WILL ONLY BE GENERATED 5 DAYS BEFORE THE FLIGHT BECAUSE THE DEAL THEY GIVE US.. SO I WAS BIT SUSPICIOUS THEN BUT DONT KNOW WHY EVENTUALLY THEY CONVINCE ME (I AM A FOOL YES AND SO STUPID)
SO LAST FRIDAY , I DONT KNOW WHY BUT I JUST HAVE THE FEELING THAT I NEED TO CHECK OUR BOOKING AGAIN, SO WENT ONLINE AND CHECK OUR BOOKING AND WAS GOBS SMACK TO SEE THIS "SORRY This trip cannot be found. It may have been cancelled. (4649) PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AGENCY . SO I RANG THEM AND ASK WHY AND THEY CAN NOT GIVE ME REASON AND THEY JUST SAY WILL GIVE YOU FULL REFUND BEFORE 6PM.. AND KEPT RINGING THEM UNTIL TODAY THEY KEPT PROMISING WILL BE BACK IN MY ACCOUNT IN FEW HOURS, THEN IN FEW MINUTES BUT NOTHING. SO THEN THEY SAID REFUND WILL SHOW IN MY ACCOUNT IN 3 WEEKS, MY GOODNESS, SO I RANG OUR BANK AND THEY SAID IT SHOULD NOT TAKE THAT LONG, MAXIMUM IS 7DAYS .. SO NOW I AM REALLY SCARED AND SO SO DIS APPOINTED WHAT HAVE I DONE? SO LOOKS LIKE I JUST LOST £1715.. OH LORD HELP...
I HAVE ALREADY REPORTED THIS AGENCY WITH ACTION FRAUD, WITH THE CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU, AND JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE REFUND IN 10 DAYS AND IF NOTHING HAPPEN YET THEY WILL INVESTIGATE. WISH I HAVE BEEN MORE SENSIBLE LOL I WAS SO THICK LMAO

[melovesengland]

im sorry to say but you did really got scammed. your intention to get things cheaper i suppose gone into more expensive holiday. you shouldve checked it before you paid or you shouldve booked using the airlines website. hoping things will get better to you.

[imagine]

if you paid by credit card it is covered for fraud,contact your credit card phone no/on the back of the card, i think most debit cards are also covered

[bigmarco]

Just had a look at their site and am afraid that there are a few alarm bells. Firstly the name RANA indicates indian/Pakistani no abta or atol number on their web page. Plus their flight search function on the site doesn't work. Can never understand why people deal with these 2 bob sites. £1715 is quite a major purchase and as such you need to be careful when handing it over.
Good luck in your efforts to get your money back.

[imagine]

Just had a look at their site and am afraid that there are a few alarm bells. Firstly the name RANA indicates indian/Pakistani no abta or atol number on their web page. Plus their flight search function on the site doesn't work. Can never understand why people deal with these 2 bob sites. £1715 is quite a major purchase and as such you need to be careful when handing it over.
Good luck in your efforts to get your money back.

i been trying that site too, doesnt work right, maybe so that you have to phone them,

[grahamw48]

Fingers crossed you paid by credit card. Contact them immediately !

I'm very sorry to hear about your problems.

[Dedworth]

Ouch as others have said hope you paid by cc. Indian / 'stani angle is no surprise these nationalities have been known for years to be synonymous with dodgy travel operations . Buyer beware.

[purple]

So Sorry to hear that marlyn&kenny.
I think we live and learn in this life. I'm sure you will get your money back with more persuasion.
The amount £1715 is pretty big.
You can check website like moneysupermarket.com for great deals.

We booked our flights for less than £1600 3 weeks ago through opodo. But we went through mysupermarket first to check for better deals. Then we booked it through quidco to get some cashback.

I'm crossing fingers for you to get your money back. It is best to book flights with the accredited websites then you can get a guarantee that they are not fraud.

[KeithD]

If you paid with CC alert them straight away, and EVERYONE should book travel with a CC.

[marlyn&kenny]

hello guys, life sucks, i paid through debit card! how stupid i am! i am already in contact with my bank and they are doing their best to help me, i also had reported this to action fraud, Oh my God, I am so embarrass to be fooled like this, i feel so sick!

[marlyn&kenny]

i think i should get a cc so we have something to use in the future . oh God, its all my fault, i should have know better... im so so stupid :( (this is me marlyn by the way lmao

[grahamw48]

Marlyn, don't be too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes.

I hope the bank is able to help.

[joebloggs]

Domain Name: RANAVENTURE.COM
Created on: 30-Jan-13
Expires on: 30-Jan-14
Last Updated on: 30-Jan-13

looks like this website\domain is only a couple of weeks old

Registrant:
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

[Dedworth]

I would contact Trading Standards and the Police.

I just called them and gave them a line that the website wasn't working and where in London were they as I'd call in and buy a ticket. To my surprise the indian sounding guy said they were in Reading - when I asked for the address he said Davidson House, Forbury Sq, Reading RG1 3EU. Googling shows this to be a Regus rent an office site http://www.regus.co.uk/locations/bus...forbury-square

[marlyn&kenny]

this their address they claimed to be their office.. i rang the police and toild me to ring trading standards.. oh dear Lord please help me...

I would contact Trading Standards and the Police.

I just called them and gave them a line that the website wasn't working and where in London were they as I'd call in and buy a ticket. To my surprise the indian sounding guy said they were in Reading - when I asked for the address he said Davidson House, Forbury Sq, Reading RG1 3EU. Googling shows this to be a Regus rent an office site http://www.regus.co.uk/locations/bus...forbury-square

[Michael Parnham]

Sorry to hear of your dillema Marlyn, hope it gets sorted. Just for future ref: STA travel tel, 08717029845 very reliable, been around many years and probably one of the cheapest around.!

[BoholoX]

I've coincidentally just done a google search for cheap flights and they are still one of the sponsored advertisers at the top of the page - beware....

[Dedworth]

this their address they claimed to be their office.. i rang the police and toild me to ring trading standards.. oh dear Lord please help me...

You could always see if Reading Borough Council Trading Standards would visit the premises

Phone 0118 937 3737

[marlyn&kenny]

thank you.

Sorry to hear of your dillema Marlyn, hope it gets sorted. Just for future ref: STA travel tel, 08717029845 very reliable, been around many years and probably one of the cheapest around.!

[marlyn&kenny]

thank you for the number i will ring them now.

You could always see if Reading Borough Council Trading Standards would visit the premises

Phone 0118 937 3737

[marlyn&kenny]

i have lost hope
i have rang Reading office of Trading Standards and they would not go and check i feel im sinking

[marlyn&kenny]

I would contact Trading Standards and the Police.

I just called them and gave them a line that the website wasn't working and where in London were they as I'd call in and buy a ticket. To my surprise the indian sounding guy said they were in Reading - when I asked for the address he said Davidson House, Forbury Sq, Reading RG1 3EU. Googling shows this to be a Regus rent an office site http://www.regus.co.uk/locations/bus...forbury-square

i rang the police but they just want me to ring trading standard ...

[Arthur Little]

i have lost hope
i have rang reading office of trading Trading Standards and they would not go and check i feel im sinking

i rang the police but they just want me to ring trading standard ...

Grr! Talk about "passing the buck"! Strikes me as being typical of an all pervasive, couldn't care less ... ... attitude among so-called "Public Services" nowadays.

[grahamw48]

I thought New Scotland Yard were supposed to have an anti (Internet) fraud dept.

This is a lot of money to lose, and of course will be the tip of a large iceberg.

[Dedworth]

i have lost hope
i have rang reading office of trading Trading Standards and they would not go and check i feel im sinking

If you feel this outfit have acted fraudulently and are unwilling to come up with the air tickets then go into your local Police Station and report it as a crime, make sure you get a reference number from them - I'd expect they then have to pass the details to Thames Valley Police and / or Metropolitan Police as it is a London phone number

[Arthur Little]

Grr! Talk about "passing the buck"! Strikes me as being typical of an all pervasive, couldn't care less ... ... attitude among so-called "Public Services" nowadays.

... and the thought of anyone losing such a LARGE amount of money to rogue traders is enough to create a hollow feeling in the stomachs of most of our members here I'm sure, Marlyn.

Some have suggested your BEST form of redress rests with your bank, and

[Doc Alan]

I am so sorry to read about this Marlyn and Kenny.


We all sympathise and hope this will be resolved quickly. Good advice has already been given.


Don’t limit yourselves to phone calls. You should visit the police station – with Kenny – and insist that you wish to make a full statement to a detective. He ( or she ) should then make an appointment to visit you at home. If there is not significant progress then write to the police, stating that if they do not reply within 10 working days, you will issue a formal complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission ( http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/en/Pages/default.aspx ).


No one has been injured but this nonetheless appears to be economic crime and deserves to be treated seriously.

[KeithD]

You need to contact Google Adwords and inform them of the ad fraud to prevent others getting done.

The laws changed with regard to debit cards last year in your favour, so the bank will help, just make sure you have spoken with their fraud department.

Tell them the UK Police, UK Trading Standards, and the bank are dealing with the issue.

As this company has all your details cancel your debit card asap, and keep an eye for identity theft.

[andy222]

hello guys, life sucks, i paid through debit card! how stupid i am! i am already in contact with my bank and they are doing their best to help me, i also had reported this to action fraud, Oh my God, I am so embarrass to be fooled like this, i feel so sick!

If it is any consolation I did the same. You are luckier than me though.I didnt find out until the day of my flight when I went to check in. Luckily I had a spare £750 to buy another ticket. My bank did sort it out eventually 6 months later. I got all my money back.

[jakeob]

I would be pinning my hopes on the bank at this stage,,, I would be asking your bank if they will cover the loss YES or NO????? If like others have said your now covered on a debit card then your ok...