Update on my previous blog on Orbitz

I had posted about Orbitz charging extra for tickets in one of my previous blogs. My wife had written a strong letter to Orbitz the day I published the blog. Well she got back her money the next day. But she got an email from Orbitz saying that

"If your reservation has not gone through and yet your credit card has been charged, then it could be a soft charge.

A soft charge is a temporary authorization that will automatically drop off your account within seven days, if not sooner. A soft charge is when Orbitz ask for funds from a credit card / debit card company but does not actually charge the card. By doing this the funds are taken out of the available credit on the card but not included in the balance that you need to pay to your credit card / debit card company."

Okay! But then that does not explain why they should charge twice for the same ticket. And then they write

"We value you as a customer and look forward to serving you again in the future."

Yeah right! Now that you know she has enough money to buy another ticket, she is of course a valuable customer! :).

I hope this thing stops in the future.

Does Orbitz misuse Credit Card information?

This is a non academic blog entry. But this is a serious issue, as it concerns all of us who use plastic money to buy things over the net. My wife's latest experience in this matter has been very bitter.

She was buying a ticket to come to India. She was looking at various travel agents from whom you can buy a ticket online. So she checked Orbitz too. It was quoting quite reasonable and cheap fares. We decided to go for it. So she paid online using her Debit card as a Credit card. All was fine till then. She promptly got an email notification about her itinerary. The shock came when she checked the bank account. She had been charged twice for the same ticket. Now a round trip ticket to India is not something cheap. And paying it twice is a financial shock. She called up Orbitz. They said that they don't know of the transaction and that she must contact the bank. When she called up the bank, they said that the transaction is not recorded yet and she has to wait till it does. Now it is two days and she hasn't got even a little bit of cooperation - neither from her bank nor Orbitz.

This brings me to the question, who is responsible for this? Is Orbitz safe? A google search gives an idea it is. A closer search reveals the following site http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff170312.htm . Now, these people also had negative experiences. Well is it Orbitz or is it that the whole process of Credit card transaction is flawed?