The Fare Masters レビュー 

I attempted to contact United Airlines Customer Service telephone number for seating upgrades and somehow my call was intercepted by The Fare Masters. I kept asking if I was talking to United Airlines and I was repeatedly told they were an affiliate with United Airlines representative and they handled all flight changes, upgrades etc.. I was told the flights were now much more expensive and due to the timing of departure and upgrades, the seats were going very fast and I needed to re-book quickly. I questioned my paying for flights earlier in December and was told the flight was not CONFIRMED because I used Priceline, a third party vendor. My credit card was charged $1689.. They also copied everything in United Flight itinerary and pretended all was well.

I received a legitimate email from Southwest Airlines stating the flight I had reserved was cancelled and I was put on another one. Also, if this flight wouldn't work for me, I should call the number given. I called the number and somehow my call was intercepted by The Fare Masters. I kept asking if I was talking to Southwest and I was repeatedly told they were Southwest's representative and they handled all flight changes. I was told the flights were now much more expensive and due to the cancellation of the flight, the seats were going very fast and I needed to re-book quickly. I questioned using my miles and was told that miles cannot be used for flights that are changed. My credit card was charged $250. I have reported them to the FTC and Southwest.

This company did not have enough info to do what they did to me. I called then like many of you because I thought it was the number of a major airline. I had a six minute conversation with them, in which all that transpired was I asked if my flight credit was transferable. They said no, and that I had to go on my trip before December 31st. All the information I gave them was my confirmation number for my flight credit. Maybe I gave my name and/or email, but I think they already had at least one. They were able to send me a legitimate travel credit certificate from United, or an incredible imitation. I booked two flights the next day on United’s website. I woke up the next morning to an email that one of my flight’s was canceled. I called United (the actual United this time) and they claimed I canceled it but I told them I had been asleep when the trip had been canceled. We were both confused, but I chalked it up to a weird glitch. She was able to rebook me on the same flight for about the same price and she let me select seats at no extra charge. I arrived to the airport several days later for my other trip after United wouldn’t let me check in online or at the kiosk, but was showing the plane as on time and I hadn’t received any communication otherwise (or at all since getting my confirmation and receipt for they trip). I am told at the counter my ticket has been refunded and I have to call reservations for help. They don’t give me a number and my browser won’t load to look up the number, so I go back in my call log and unfortunately ended up calling the scammer back. The guy was incredibly rude and flat out refused to use my flight credit to rebook my flight and insisted I give him my credit card info… now I know why, of course. I refused, and he told me I’d have to call customer service and proceeded to give me a non working number, so I look up United’s customer service and actually get them. This representative tells me what I can do to ask United for help for addressing the situation because by the time I talked to him, it was too late for me to rebook and I needed to travel that day because it was a time sensitive situation. I end up having to call United multiple more times because they rejected my claims and kept claiming that I had canceled my reservation and was receiving a refund so it was no problem until finally someone listened to me and looked into it. He discovered a United agent had changed my FFC (stands for future flight credit, I learned many things today), which is non-transferable to an electronic travel certificate that was transferable. This was emailed to a random person, who forwarded to another person, who started booking flights for different people all over the world from Ecuador. They also canceled my two flights and managed to suppress the email canceling one of my trips, hence how I ended up at the airport and back with this fraudulent company on the line demanding my credit card info - which I only connected because one of the emails was @thefaremasters.com, leading me to look this up and discover this company. They pretended to be United the entire time, and somehow they were able to do things only United employees should be able to do. This company is 100% a scam, but they’ve seemingly got legitimate people at legitimate companies in on it, because there’s no way they should have been able to turn my FFC into an electronic travel certificate without my permission (which they didn’t have because I didn’t know what either of those things were before today, let alone that I could ask for such a thing) with only my confirmation number and name + email. Be really careful, I’m lucky it was just flight credit and that they were just sloppy enough that they weren’t able to steal my card info.

AKA PCM Travels.
They answered when I called the online number for Swiss Air. Never identified themselves as anything except an airline employee. Sent a proposed booking for approval with no mention that there would be a fee for ANY cancellation of the flight even if cancelled within the usual 24 hour period. After credit card was charged, received a confirmation which then (in very small print) listed a service fee of $1398.90 for their services no matter what you later did about your flight booking.
After I cancelled flight directly with airline, I called them many times and was told each time "they are working on it". Still have never gotten a return call.
If you call an airline and get a "consolidator" be careful, there are apparently several of these types of SCAMS.

This company is a complete scam. Charged our account for flight, never gave a confirmation number. Husband called to try and confirm. Spent HOURS on phone, never got anywhere. I just spent 30 mins on the text chat thing, got nowhere, and we're out money for a flight. What a miserable company. Thank you Trustpilot for allowing a space for people to review companies.

They’re group scammers. They have different names as well. PCM travels one of them. They are making people fool by offering cheap ticket prices and once you booked the flights they cancel the booking by saying prices are changed now and you have to much higher prices. They’re operating from India and have fake calling numbers. Their customer representatives sound weird accent. Very poor customer service they don’t know how to speak with clients. They cut the phone on my face. Very disappointed.

Total scam, I do not understand how this company can remain in business. It is a shame that our government agencies do not protect us nor do I credit card companies who claim to protect us from fraud.

On April 2, 2023 my wife and I had to cancel our flight with Southwest airlines due to a medical emergency in the family. We were under tremendous pressure and very emotionally upset, we called what we thought was the Southwest airlines desk to cancel a gentleman by the name of Sylvester stone, answer the phone, claiming to be a representative or insinuating to be a representative of Southwest airlines helpdesk. He would be able to cancel our flight and give us credit for a future flight and a cost of $100 per ticket. We explain to him that we did not want credit and we thought that there was no charge for cancellation. We would just like to have our money refunded on our credit card, yes the reason why we were canceling we told him and he said well we could make an exception in this case but it would cost $200 per ticket in order to get a full credit refund. We once again insisted that we thought that there would be no charge for canceling tickets never have been canceled Ed air flight before or ticket. We were not sure whether this was true or not and as we were pressed for time, we agreed it to the charge, believing that it was bona fide representative of Southwest airline. Needless to say as soon as the email came over, we found out we were not speaking to a representative for Southwest airlines, but to a company called PCM travel later my credit card statement showed a charge of $400 from a company called fair masters. We contacted the credit card company Chase and informed them of the situation and that we felt that this was a fraudulent transaction and that we should not be made to pay for something for which there is truly no charge for cancellation of tickets. This has been going on for nearly 6 months we have had a case number with Chase, claim ID: C Dash 20230815–625. The representatives at Chase have been patient working along with us but in the final analysis they claim there is nothing they can do because we OK to charge for a supposed service even though this charge was made under false pretenses I was always under the impression that a customer would not have to pay for a fraudulent charge on his credit card why was the charge fraudulent because it was made by an agent supposedly some PCM travel, which we cannot contact and somehow billed through but received the latest communication from Chase was that we would be responsible for the $400 now just some people $400 is not a great loss however to my wife and I 81 and 79 living on Social Security it is a great loss. One would think that a company like Chase or the US government or someone would put this company out of business before they harm other individuals in the same way apparently apparently there is nothing that will we will be able to do except to pay there’s a balance according to the Chase credit card we did contact Southwest airlines in the beginning they did claim of course that they were not affiliated with any other company so our Southwest credit card which chase bank really did not protect us from fraud so be careful be very careful what you consent to. Apparently it doesn’t matter whether the transaction is done under false pretenses fraudulently or otherwise a scam you will still be responsible it seems because you okayed the payment .

In my mind, this type of situation where you have no protection from your government north on your credit card bar bank only seems to enable in a bit these fraudulent companies they hide behind technicalities they rip off poor people, and nothing seems to be done. I think it is time for some attorneys to get together and bring about a class action suit against this type of operations by companies like their master PCM, travel etc. it’s only somebody would safely sit down and do the research all they have to do is check out this site or the Better Business Bureau or other sites to see exactly what is going on apparently they’re really not interested in it so beware once again who you talk to check it out twice confirm it don’t sign anything don’t OK anything and don’t park with your bunny quickly you won’t get it back .

Frank

Buffalo New York

The Fare Masters, or PCM Travel, or any of several other names of this scam are quite good at stealing money. They place google ads pretending to be Alaska Airlines, or American, or others, and when you call about an existing reservation, they will make claims like due to a flight change, this ticket is now standby and it will cost over $1500 to change back. They are convincing, but since I used a credit card I was able to get my money back. I filed formal complaints with the DOJ, FBI, and my state attorney general's office.

My experience was pretty much like everyone else's, except that I, thankfully, was refunded my money. First, I called what claimed to be a number for Frontier and the person that answered implied that he was a representative. He gave me a great price on a ticket for my flight which was a week away. Then after the tickets never showed up in my email, as he had promised, he contacted me and said that "the ticket price was not accepted" and he would have to find another deal. He found other tickets that were more than double the price, but as the prices were going up on the Frontier website, which were higher than his, I decided to go with it (again, I felt so stupid later). I talked to the same guy multiple times, who sounded so sincere and apologetic that I felt guilty for not believing him. He promised multiple times that after my payment cleared they would email my tickets but they never came. This went on right up to the end when I got a call from another rep, at 11 PM the night before my trip, that my flight had been cancelled and they would have to find me another ticket. I had to insist that this was over and they needed to refund my money. The person finally agreed after trying to pressure me into getting other tickets. At this point, I was not about to pay the exorbitant price for the tickets on the Frontier website, and ended up cancelling my trip. I called my bank on Monday and cancelled my credit card and had to go through the pain of stopping all my automatic payments, etc. on that account. Amazingly though, a refund showed up in my account early that week. I have no idea what their scam is and what they were doing with my money all that time, but I felt like such an idiot for falling for it. In the end, I guess I learned a terribly sad lesson in how not to trust people that sound sincere and act like they care about you and want to help you out.
Side note, all this happened because Frontier no longer has customer phone service. You can only email or message them and even then, I got a message back saying that it may take up to a week to get a response! So frustrating!

This company is a TOTAL scam and they STEAL your money!!!

I found out my Southwest flight was being delayed, and I would miss my connecting. So I googled Southwest customer service number and called it. They SPOOF the real customer service number and you end up at fareshope.com. I was in such a frenzy to rebook my flight, so that I made sure I got home, and these disgusting people took advantage of that. The number I originally called where “agents” stated they worked with Southwest Airlines as “an overflow booking agency” was 1-844-202-6335. The name of this “agent” was “Benjamin Austin” and the number he provided me to “call him back directly if there are any issues”, was 1-845-719-4550. The receipt to my credit card showed a charge from “PCM Travel Agency” (Thetravelmakers) where the email came from The FareMasters.com. all a total scam. When I arrived to the airport a few hours after booking, I was told there is no flight booked in my name, although I was charged as well as my original flight from Southwest being canceled by these people. I called the number back and asked for Benjamin, totally irate, and was basically laughed off the phone and then hung up on. When I called the actual Southwest Airlines customer service number she told me that in fact they were not related with that company or anyone impersonating a Southwest airlines agent (I know that now, duh). What I am most angry about is that I originally called what I thought was Southwest airlines customer service, and was somehow rerouted to these scumbag people who took my money. I doubt that the bank is even going to reimburse me since I had to click a subsequent email link where I “authorized” this charge.

Anyone here interested in consulting a lawyer if we can't get refunded? I, like the other customers below, was also scammed out of $401 and can't get refunded because they provided a "service" booking my flight. Yes, by pretending to be United, and telling me that this was part of what the flight cost, and by unauthorized access to my Mileage Plus account.

Someone also stole my identity while they were at it and pretended to be me calling my credit card company to say that I was no longer contesting the $401 charge. If this is a rogue employee at Fare Masters, shame on them, but reading these other reviews it seems more likely that this is their deal.

I filed a complaint with the BBB since I can't get a refund from my credit card company, since I "authorized" the charge (when I thought it was legitimate to pay for my tickets). I would encourage everyone on this forum to do the same if in the US/Canada - not sure in the UK what the equivalent entity would be.

Charged my special needs elderly brother $200+ "service fee" to simply book his flights for him. When I explained that he was mentally incompetent, it took me two months and over 25 phone calls to get a partial refund.

READ THIS ....I BOUGHT MY FLIGHT WITH DELTA JAN. 30, 2023. I CALLED DELTA TO CONFIRM MY FLIGHT ON MY 30TH 2023 AND WAS TRANSFERED TO THESE PEOPLE. I DID NOT KNOW THAT I WAS DEALING WITH A THIRD PARTY COMPANY THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH BENJAMIN SAID HE WORKED DIRECTLY FOR DELTA WHEN I WAS TRANSFERED. I HAD TO FLY OUT THE NEXT DAY FROM SAN JOSE CA TO DESTIN FLORIDA FOR MY BIRTHDAY AND FOR MY BROTHERS TO MEET MY FIANCE. BENJAMIN ACTING LIKE HE WORKED FOR DELTA AIRLINES TOLD ME MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED BECAUSE I BOOKED IT THROUGH PRICELINE AS A STANDBUY....REALY WHO BOOKS AND PAYS FOR A STAND BY FLIGHT 5 MONTHS IN ADVANCE..I WAS BUSY WITH WORK AND DIDNT HAVE TIME TO RESEARCH. I KNOW I THOUGHT I WAS TALKING TO A DELTA EMPLOYEE THATS WHERE I WAS LIED TOO AND DIDNT HAVE TIME TO RESEARH. HE SAID I WOULD HAVE TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL 319.00 ON TOP OF THE 636.00 THAT I PAID IN JAN 5 MONTHS IN ADVANCE. JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS TRUST ME I BOOKED DIRECT WITH DELTA HAVE NOT BOOKED ANYTHING WITH PRICELINE IN TWO YEARS IT WAS ALL A LIE.. MY FLIGHT WITH DELTA WAS NEVER CANCELED JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH THEM THIS MORNING. NOTHING CANCELED THEY JUST SCAMMED ME FOR AN ADDITIONAL 319.00 STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY THEY WILL SCREW YOU OUT OF MONEY ....THIS IS THE FIRST POST BAD REVIEW I HAVE EVER PUT ONLINE... BUT EVERYTHING I WROTE IS 100% TRUE TRUST ME

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! TOTAL SCAM-THOUGHT I WAS DEALING W DELTA. MY FLIGHT HAD BEEN CANCELLED, CALLED TO RESCHEDULE & WAS CHARGED $300 MORE FOR FLIGHT. NEEDED TO GET HOME, STAY AWAY FROM FAIREMASTER!!!!

This company intervened my call to united and took all of my info including debits card number. They are a scammers

Fraudulent company - you will call them thinking you are calling your airline - they will act as if they are your airline - they will take your credit card information - they will tell you you can't use award miles for a flight - they have an answer for everything - scammers have become very sophisticated. You need to question everything. The Fare Masters and PCM Travel are fraudulent companies - they also go by other names as well. Don't let them persuade you otherwise. If you are scammed, contact the FTC complaint office on FTC website and share your experience. Leave reviews on sites like this.

Do not book a flight from PCA TRAVELS/ US THE FAREMASTERS
I am still waiting for my refund of $400US.
Simon Smith is the person I consulted with

I MADE A RESERVATION AFTER CALLING JET BLUE' INSTEAD I WAS CONNECTED TO FARE MASTER. WITHOUT KNOWING ,IT WAS FARE MASTER WHO I MADE THE RESERVATION. THIS OCCURRED ABOUT MAY 3RD 2023. WITH MY WIFE IN THE HOSPITAL I COULD NOT FLY SO I CANCELLED THE RESERVATION WITH JET BLUE. BUT, THEY DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR $ BANKING ON FUTURE FLIGHTS. AFTER INVESTIGATING I FOUND I MADE THE RESERVATION WITH FARE MASTER. ON MAY 20 2023 I TRIED TO REACH YOU. AFTER 6 BUSY SIGNAL CALLS I FINALLY REACHED A LADY WHO SPOKE IN SUCH LOW VOLUME, I HAD DIFFICULTY HEARING AND UNDERSTAND. I ASKED HER TO HOLD ON AND WENT TO REDUCE BACKGROUND NOISE. SHE HUNG UP. STILL NO SUCCESS IN REACHING YOU...BUSY SIGNAL. SO I CALLED JET BLUE AND CANCELLED THE FLIGHT...CODE TXXSJX. ON 5/23 AGAIN AFTER 6 TO 10 TRIES WITH BUSY, I FINALLY REACHED JOHN AT 8457953589. JOHN WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AND HE HAD ME REAPEATMANY TIMES. HE COULD NOT FIND WHO MADE THE RESERVATION. I NEVER RECEIVED ANY PAPERWORK FROM YOU, ONLY FROM JET BLUE. HE WANTED A COPY OF THEJET BLUE DOCUMENT WHICH I COULD NOT MAKE. NOR, DO NOT HAVE A CELL PHONE. HE SAID THE MONEY IS LOST AND HE WOULD HAVE THE AGENT MAKING THE RESERVATION CALL ME BACK WITHIN 24 TO 48 HOURS. I PRAY HE DOES. THE AMOUNT IS $1150 FOR TWO PEOPLE

I had the unfortunate experience of speaking with Enzo Brown at FareMasters. To start, I thought I called United Airlines and mis-dialed by one digit. When he answered the phone saying "Flight Reservations." I asked point blank "Did I call United Airlines flight reservations?" and Enzo Brown confirmed I did. So I went ahead and booked tickets. He even walked me through approving the fraudulent charge text message I got on my phone saying "United Chase credit card and United Airlines don't talk with each other." Nonetheless, the next morning I realized my flights that I thought I booked were totally different and the premium economy seats I thought I booked were not. United let me cancel the fight, but FlightMaster stuck me with a $526 fee for lying to me. DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM, THEY LIE AND ARE A FRAUDULENT COMPANY.

Sherry, the agent who booked our trip gave us premium seats with our baggage paid to Greece from jax. When we got to the airport on 4/7/23 we found out every leg of the trip our seats were changed and in some instances we weren't even together. No notifications from faremasters nor the airlines. When I called Sherry she said, go ahead and go on the trip and call me when you get back. We paid over 250 dollars for luggage to and from greece. It was supposed to be included.The biggest lie told was that the 12 to 13 hr flight from atl to athens we were told the airlines changed planes. We were supposed to be in row 28 and ended up at the back of the plane. Our friends who booked through orbitz were on that same plane in row 22. I did write to Sherry I haven't even got an apology! Do not use faremasters! Ive been booking flights for 45 years. These 2 tickets were over 4500.00 and we were slammed. Dont do it!