Check the name on the ticket. Every letter

Loading player...
Brett of Durbanville watched his son be refused boarding at check-in because his surname had been left off his ticket.

The travel agency couldn't fix it there and then. Their only option was to buy a new ticket, which meant paying for four more legs at double the original cost. The replacement tickets came to R47 566,80. Three weeks later he got R23 304 back of the original R29 604, after the agency and the airline had each taken their cut.

The airline told him this happens all the time.

So, the moment your electronic tickets are issued, open them and check every name against the passport, letter for letter. Not the day you fly when it’s too late for a free fix
24 Sep English South Africa Education · Self-Improvement

Other recent episodes

Selling your home? Tell your bank first

When you sell, your bond has to be cancelled. A buyer can't take ownership while your bank still has a claim over the property. But this is what catches people out. If you haven't given your bank three months' written notice that you intend to settle, it can charge you…
16 Oct 1 min

Where there's no will, there's a formula

Two thirds of us don't have a will. That’s what emerged from legal insurance company LAW FOR ALL’s recent survey of 1800 South Africans. And plenty of us are wrong about what happens next. Four in ten believe a spouse automatically inherits everything. Not so. Without a valid will, the…
15 Oct 1 min

"Duty-free" doesn't mean charge-free

A listener imported a car radio and got a R412 bill from the clearing agent. Car radios are duty-free, he says, so what's this for? Here's the thing. Duty-free refers to one line in the SARS tariff book. Car radios also sit in a category which attracts a 9% ad…
14 Oct 1 min

Never let anyone talk you out of claiming

A security company employee reverses into your stationary car in his response vehicle and admits fault. Surely the company or its insurers should pay for the repairs, not your own insurer? That instinct has cost a Durban pensioner six months and half the repair bill. She lodged a claim with…
13 Oct 1 min

Buying a car privately? Beware - you have no safety net

A woman bought a car from a private seller six months ago. It has given her serious trouble ever since, and the seller's answer is one word: voetstoots. He's right. Voetstoots means "as is", or “with all faults” and it means no recourse. The Consumer Protection Act protects you when…
12 Oct 1 min