Expedia is dead to me.
For 20 years I have used the online travel agency to book all of my travel plans. It was my go-to site when I was in school in Atlanta and New York. I always appreciated how easy it was to book on its platform and everything seemed to run like clockwork.
I admit that I have never had an issue with Expedia until recently. But, after my recent experience during a trip to Dublin, this company is dead to me.
Before heading to Ireland, my brother and I were on Expedia looking for fun and unique things to do. We came across Vaults Live. It billed itself as Dublin’s “most exciting new tourist attraction,” which is inspired by Irish history. It features six infamous characters from the country’s past. Well, reading all of that got us super excited.
So, we booked the Wednesday show. Expedia took our money and sent us a confirmation.
When Wednesday, September 25th came, my brother and I caught a taxi to Vaults Live’s theatre. When we showed up, we met doors locked. So, we walked around the entire property, which is huge, looking for a door to open. Nothing. We walked around a second time, completely perplexed as to what was going on.
Finally, my brother walked up the glass door and saw the sign that says it’s closed Mondays to Wednesdays.
Total Disbelief
We couldn’t believe that Expedia had sold us tickets to an event that was closed. As we were travelling from The Bahamas, our phones did not work in Ireland, so I couldn’t call Expedia.
I figured I had done so much business with them over the years, surely they would correct this oversight. Never mind that we had paid money for our taxi to get there.
When I returned to Nassau, I contacted Expedia to let them know what had happened. I spoke to an agent who identified himself only as “Sam.” I asked him for his last name, he told me he “doesn’t have one.” After a brief back and forth with me calling BS on his claim of not having a last name, he put me on hold for 10 to 15 minutes trying to get a hold of Vaults Live. He was unsuccessful. Because I wouldn’t back down, he got a supervisor involved and she told me they would reach out to Vaults when they opened. Again, I figured this would not be a big deal. After all, Expedia was a reputable company, right? They’d handle this. Or so I thought.
Request Denied
The next day, Expedia hits me with an email saying there is nothing they can do due to Vaults Live’s policy. By now, I am enraged. I ask them what is the policy. They never explain.
I promptly reply and let Expedia know that I am going to tell everyone about my experience with them. All of a sudden, a new email pops up telling me that they will look into this matter. I don’t like publicly exposing companies, I use that as a last resort. But, ok. I decide to wait to see what Expedia has to say. The next day, they hit me with another email repeating what they told me in the first email. By now, I am livid.
This is crook behavior. Expedia should have forced Vaults Live to refund me my money, or they should refund me themselves considering that they sold me the tickets. They erred and they should make it right.
I have seen friendships, business relationships and family break up over money. But, you know what, it’s never about the money. It’s about the principle of the matter.
Expedia doesn’t care that I am a longtime customer. They don’t care that I was inconvenienced. They don’t’ care that I’m angry. They expect for me to take that loss and move on with my life. Oh, and they also had the nerve to say, “we hope you will book future events through us.” They can go to the eighth circle of Hell, which I understand is the Hell of the fraudulent and malicious. I will never use them again in life.
As for Vaults Live, they are a bunch of crooks. They are dead wrong for not refunding me my money. I will never ever give them another chance.
Buyer beware.
