Amanda J.

My husband and I are using Chatdeal for the very first time via Kayak, which apparently is the fourth party search engine for flights and car rentals. We booked our flight to Peru for our honeymoon, and everything was going smoothly until we received a notification from the airline that the flight itinerary has changed, and we will be flying into Chile for a 12h layover, not arriving to Lima, Peru until the next day. This unfortunately will not work for our schedule and itinerary, but LATAM is offering a no cost to us change of flight itinerary and full refund if desired. We started the process to complete the cancellation and refund through LATAM, but because we went through a third party dealer, we have to go through Chatdeal for the refund. When we initially reached out to Chatdeal, it took us a while to get a hold of someone who could help us with the refund. We would not have been so upset if someone would have told us that someone would reach out in 24h, but they had us keep waiting on the chat line, which wasted our night. Then through the saga of customer service, we had many different answers to the same question. And they told us there would be a $200 processing fee for an involuntary change. My husband and I were very confused about this as their website said their would be a $50 processing fee/passenger on the cancellation/refund section of their website. $100 would be frustrating, but the price quoted was double. This was infuriating since this was an involuntary change, not our fault, so we reached out again for clarification. The hold times are long, which is generally the case with most companies these days, but we were able to get a hold of someone. After reaching out multiple times, Chatdeal has been responsive to our concerns and questions, but they cannot change their cancellation/refund policy. I get this, but it does not make us ever want to go through third parties again unless I know exactly what will happen if something goes wrong. The pandemic has obviously created a lot of stressors, but companies like Chatdeal need to be more explicit with what will happen in the event of a cancellation prior to booking. I wish as a consumer I did not have to be a jack of all trades and go to multiple areas on a website to find the fine print and the cancellation/refund policy. We completely understand the cancellation/refund policy in the event that we would cancel for a different reason, but in this case it was involuntary, not our fault for the airline itinerary change. Because of the improvements in customer service we have received since our complaints, I am changing my review from a 1 star to a 3 star since Chatdeal is trying their best to work with me after I was able to get a hold of them. The wait time can be 2 to 4 wks though for refunds since it has go through the airline, Chatdeal servicing company, and my credit card company, so I will update my review as I find out more information related to this event. As of right now I am satisfied with the attempts by Chatdeal to connect with me and clarify details related to the refund. Unfortunately though, my husband and I will not be going through third parties after this. We want to involve as few people as possible in our affairs. When there are too many cooks in the kitchen, things fall through the cracks and the experience worsens.

Update: Chatdeal was able to work with us to get our full refund with the $50 processing fee waived. I still maintain my review, but their customer service was much improved over the course of our interaction.

My husband and I previously have used Kayak with much success, but COVID-19 and resulting flight changes has made using Four party websites difficult to navigate with limited available staff and customer service. This causes undue stress on both ends. We recently purchased tickets to Peru via Kayak & Chatdeal. LATAM had to change the flight times, resulting in an involuntary change and an arrival change to a day later. Because we are going through Chatdeal via Kayak, we have to get the refund through Chatdeal. When we first reached out to them, customer service was spotty. We had to call, message, and email in order to get an adequate response. I am usually very understanding since staffing and pressures from the pandemic have really placed stress on all of us. But when it comes to $1500, I am a little less willing to compromise especially when LATAM is allowing a full refund d/t the flight change. Since we reached out many times over the last 48h, Chatdeal's customer service has been better. And they are trying to work on getting us the full refund. My husband and I will be choosing to go directly through the airline from now on because of this experience even if we have to pay more for our tickets. Our recommendation is to use Kayak to find the best available flights/rentals and then go directly through the company to involve as few people as possible. Yesterday, I gave Kayak a two star review, but the service has gotten better, plus I have had more sleep since I am coming off of night shifts.

Update: Chatdeal was able to work with us to get our full refund with the $50 processing fee waived. I still maintain my review, but their customer service was much improved over the course of our interaction.