++Scam warning++ Cheaptickets de - fraud, embezzlement, lies

++Scam warning++ Cheaptickets de - fraud, embezzlement, lies

Caution is advised with the travel provider Cheaptickets. Not only did we receive many reports of abandoned travelers as well as emergencies, strokes of fate and desperation in foreign countries, but one of our editors was not only abandoned by the travel provider in a foreign country on the other side of the world, but was also demonstrably cheated by Cheaptickets of the money for the trip in question.

Many people are familiar with the normal procedure for a canceled flight: the travel provider provides a replacement flight and ensures that the airline, airport and employees ensure that your paid trip is successful. If necessary, the costs for canceled flights will be reimbursed if there is no other option so that you can find another solution yourself and pay for it.

Sometimes such a process takes a long time. You are often stuck at the airport for several hours, but it rarely lasts for days. The travel provider Cheaptickets is extremely noticeable in this regard, with a waiting period of over 2 years now and there is no end in sight. How can something like this happen? How can this happen to so many people?

AtCheaptickets, it is not the opinion that the traveler should be assisted in any way if a flight has to be canceled. After all, you've already received the money and returning it would be bad for business, even if you have travel insurance.

Our editor was stuck in the middle of Southeast Asia. The flight home was canceled and he initially asked every hour, later daily and now weekly. The costs continued to rise. Hotel, food, healthcare, taxis, etc. cause costs to skyrocket. But Cheaptickets plays dead. No new return flight, no assistance, no reimbursement. There is no help whatsoever from this travel provider. On the contrary:

The reaction & lies from Cheaptickets

When we confront Cheaptickets about this, they tell us made-up stories about who is responsible and who should be liable. Original quote from Cheaptickets support:

"We cannot refund the money because we have already paid the money to the airline. Please contact your airline responsible for the flight."

But the reality looks different. We ask several airlines and travel agencies and the answer is the same every time:“The airlines only receive the money after the aircraft of each individual flight has taken off.”Accordingly, the costs of a canceled flight were not paid to the airline and the travel provider Cheaptickets is now trying to use these excuses to appropriate the traveler's money.

It should also be mentioned that we have never heard an excuse like this before.“We can’t pay because we’ve already given the money to someone else.”Regardless of whether it's a lie or not, that's not a valid explanation either. After all, you can't order a cupboard in a shop and not pay for it after delivery on the grounds that you've already given the money to your neighbor and it's now gone.

It should also be mentioned that this sentence was said to us not just once, but more than 10 times in the same wording. So it seems to be the norm at Cheaptickets that you cheat your customers, let them down, keep the money and then pass it on to others.

Airlines confirm Cheaptickets scam

The airlines (in our editor's case it was Aeroflot) confirmed to us that they have not received the funds for the flights and therefore cannot do anything. When we confront Cheaptickets about this, all communication is stopped. Our letters, emails and calls are ignored.

Our editor had a total outstanding amount of €1,185. With the increasing costs of the trip and the circumstances resulting from the lack of assistance from the responsible travel provider, the final costs amount to over € 9,000.

Since we have already had the same situation described to us by several people, it must be assumed that it is the regular business practice of the travel provider Cheaptickets to capitalize on canceled flights and stranded travelers, blame others and then play dead.

The proof of fraud

Cheaptickets is clearly guilty of fraud§ 263 Criminal Code fraud investigated:

• Wer in der Absicht, sich oder einem Dritten einen rechtswidrigen Vermögensvorteil zu verschaffen, das Vermögen eines anderen dadurch beschädigt, daß er durch Vorspiegelung falscher oder durch Entstellung oder Unterdrückung wahrer Tatsachen einen Irrtum erregt oder unterhält, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft.
• Der Versuch ist strafbar.
• In besonders schweren Fällen ist die Strafe Freiheitsstrafe von sechs Monaten bis zu zehn Jahren. Ein besonders schwerer Fall liegt in der Regel vor, wenn der Täter

1. gewerbsmäßig oder als Mitglied einer Bande handelt, die sich zur fortgesetzten Begehung von Urkundenfälschung oder Betrug verbunden hat,
2. einen Vermögensverlust großen Ausmaßes herbeiführt oder in der Absicht handelt, durch die fortgesetzte Begehung von Betrug eine große Zahl von Menschen in die Gefahr des Verlustes von Vermögenswerten zu bringen,
3. eine andere Person in wirtschaftliche Not bringt, …

This approach is not only open to debate under civil law, but also under criminal law and therefore, in our eyes, Cheaptickets is more than just a criminal enterprise. Because if a company enriches itself by causing the customers who trust it to get into trouble and then not only let them down, but also cheat them, everything else is overshadowed.

What a lawyer says about it

When we asked our lawyer, he confirmed that it was not the airline that was liable, but the travel provider with whom the tickets were booked. Cheaptickets is the contact person, responsible person and has to pay for the damage.

If you have also been harmed, be sure to file a criminal complaint. If you are still planning your trip, avoid this provider, as they will obviously steal from you, abandon you and lie to you even at the slightest problem.