David Cleaver

It all started well. Easy office to find. Right at the terminal. Lovely welcome. Paperwork and payment was quick and convenient. It would have been a 5* review but the rep clearly appeared to be trained to cause subtle anxiety to the client by pushing Bargain’s own additional insurance. They even claimed that the company’s extra insurance that we paid for (Discover Cars) wasn’t suitable for a list of issues that could occur. I’ve hired many cars over my many years and I’m used to a little pressure (it’s standard in the business) but this was (as I said) carefully, cleverly and subtly applied. It ultimately made the transaction unpleasant. The car itself was fairly clean. We paid the extra for a full tank to bring back empty (all ok and a decent deal) the recorded paint chips and dents were correct - although a few extremely small paint chips were recorded - meaning one tiny chip from a passing vehicle could result in them keeping your deposit and the process to recover that could be a nuisance. Lastly, my deposit of £250+ disappeared and reappeared several time over 9 days since we returned from our trip. That could be our credit card company to be fair. Would I use them again? Probably unlikely.
EDIT: I checked with my credit card company and they say it’s not them, it’s the company who keep ‘reauthorising’ the payment to keep it active. That makes me more concerned that they’re looking for an excuse to find something wrong 9 days after returning the car in perfect condition.

I’ve used Airalo all across Asia, Europe and Australia. Almost always it’s been 100% reliable. Their support team are excellent with a very quick response to any queries.

I have noticed a very slight decline in my signal here in Queensland, Australia. I would contend that Telstra may be a better network than Optus. Still, I’ve not had any major issues.

I immediately see why Virgin Australia airlines has a 1.2 rating. I complained to fair trading after Virgin denied my claim for a refund for the purchase of 4 seats on a flight from Bali to the Gold Coast. Fair Trading took the word (LOL) of a VA rep who cited many pages of small print. VA even admitted they had not made it as clear as they should around seats that don’t recline. And after that admission they still wouldn’t refund a paltry $80. It begs the question around how fair trading so easily capitulated on my behalf. Makes you wonder what goes on behind closed doors. Anyway, it’s the same old story with any Virgin company. Branson didn’t become a billionaire by being nice

I have consistently asked trustpilot why my iCloud account was shut down. I have never made an inappropriate review/comment. You simply cannot get through to these guys. I use my gmail account as I like to give praise when due and also give a poor review when appropriate. I rate them poorly here in the hope they might listen to me 🤷🏼

Their messaging ‘service’ almost always shows ‘we’re making improvements so the service isn’t available’. Their ‘X’ social media team are hamstrung by complicated hoops to navigate through and still you can’t get an answer to basic questions. I closed my Barclays current account after 48 years due to awful service. I have a credit card and can’t be bothered to switch to an alternative but I will get around to it.

I’ve been using Airalo for my eSIM’s for almost two years. They’ve been my go to all through south east Asia, Australia and the United States, also in Italy and Indonesia.

I don’t recall a single problem. I have asked customer service for some advice on a couple of occasions (non fault related) and their response is fast, friendly and very helpful. In a very competitive market, for me Airalo is highly recommend.

Edit:
Complaint into a second month. They insist the problem is around the exchange rate. I don’t expect to be charged £31.63 more than was quoted when I booked my holiday. They do not warn customers that the rate can change with international monetary exchange rates.

I have a complaint that is over a month old. They took money almost two days earlier than quoted and took £32 too much. Their customer service is truly awful. I have sent no less than 5 separate emails and also separate messages with evidence. They are infuriating. I am a so called ‘genius’ highest level customer so goodness knows what the basic customers have to deal with.

Trustpilot suspended my old account quite some time ago. I initially wrote to them twice over a period of a month as I didn’t receive a reply. I still haven’t. I have absolutely no idea why my account was suspended. As I recall it was soon after I wrote a 1 star review and of an airport restaurant where the service and coffee were truly awful. It wasn’t offensive or inappropriate. Other than that I can think of nothing that would affect my account.

I’ve used Airalo multiple times in Thailand, Australia, Italy and the USA and every connection has been flawless. Set up can be a bit fiddly and perhaps more user friendly but overall, if you’re reasonably phone tech savvy you’ll do just fine. Any problems and their support is excellent.

Nice welcome from the representative. It all started quite well. My only concern was I felt pressured to take extra insurance even though I had already paid the provider for a refundable excess. I was told by the rep I wasn’t covered - when I clearly was. There was even a further push from her which I disliked. I had to insist more than once. This definitely soured my experience.

The return representative was delightful. Happy and smiling and thankful for my custom.

The car wasn’t very clean inside; it was ok but ideally needed a deeper clean.

Norse charged me $85 because my backpack didn’t fit in their personal item cage. I proved with my ticket that I was permitted a cabin carry-on and that it met the size requirement for my backpack.

The staff at check-in and also at the gate were wholly disinterested in the issue and were rude and stand-offish. I was made to feel like a second-class citizen and essentially ignored. Even during discussions the person was looking over my shoulder and was completely disconnected from my issue. Others heard my complaint and asked why they were also charged and their complaints were brushed aside, too.

Overall, a disgusting service. Clearly I would never travel with them again. No wonder they have a 2* rating. I would say that the Cabin crew were very pleasant to be fair.

In the unlikely event that Norse reply to me on this platform, please remember I have no way of counter discussion. While they’ve been quick to blame a 3rd party booking company, it was Norse who ignored my absolute proof that my ticket was valid for a bag larger than a personal item. The 3rd party get their information direct from Norse in order to be able to sell tickets.

UPDATED: you can now see a Norse reply weeks after my complaint and review. They have blamed my ticket type yet ignored what I’ve said. My ticket CLEARLY showed I was entitled to a carry on bag of the size that DID NOT require extra cost. They’ve justified their point by blaming the type of ticket I purchased and attempted to make me look ‘cheap’, ignoring the facts. Talk about adding insult to injury. A 2* star company at best.

Brief (kind of) summary:
Since mid-December I have had several prompts from EDF to read the meter. Each time I have done so on the same day. Then they send an estimated bill!
I have a full and complete record of the readings and conversations on the EDF What'sApp platform (including pictures of the meter readings) yet they still send another estimated bill. I have asked them several times via their What'sApp number 'please send a bill based on my readings/photos' This gets ignored. The off-shore call centre staff try their best but their efforts are thwarted by a dreadful EDF system. Lastly, with due respect, it's difficult to understand the call centre folk because of a simple lost in translation issue. The call centre ambient noise in the background makes it even harder to hear/understand.

UPDATE: an hour after my conversation I re an updated bill which was STILL ESTIMATED and IDENTICAL to the bill from yesterday. Their system is clearly flawed.

UPDATE 2:
After seeing my review I received a text soon after from EDF asking me to contact them via a return text message. I immediately took the opportunity and sent all they asked for. 5 hours later I’ve heard nothing. When I re-texted to ask why the delay I discovered they were closed. Their ‘service’ is truly awful on every level and every platform 🙄

Took my money 14 days ago, then took 14 days to respond to my secure message - their system say 5 days to reply but hopefully quicker.
All I've been trying to do is set up a basic direct debit. Their system failed to recognise my perfectly legitimate bank account/details!
On their instruction, I then sent another secure message with all the pertinent details 'manually' precisely as instructed.
14 days later I get a message telling me they want a 'wet signature'. Who the hell uses that terminology with a customer? Why does this company assume everyone has a printer/scanner? I've already sent what they requested as instructed, now yet another instruction is requested. We are 2 days from the end of the tax year after which my SIPP could be invalid as they've taken so long to deal with an incredibly basic task.
I will say the 4 differenbt people I've spoken with on the phone have been very pleasant and have tried but their good work has been hampered by the company's system. Incredibly frustrating experience.
UPDATE 5th April.
Received a call from Millie who was charming and knowledgeable. She has assured me that the DD delay issues will not affect the SIPP application for the tax year 23-24. Two stars added.
Thank you.

UPDATED 24th May

Despite several assurances this company has again failed us. Their system has let them down once again. While it was perfectly capable of taking money from our nominated bank account to set up a SIPP, it refuses to acknowledge the very same account when the time came to withdraw our money.

Their staff seem pretty good (save for the two people who confirmed our account is set up as it should be)

Now we have to make yet another call to them to figure out what next. Very, very frustrated with this company.

5 of the easiest stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ever. Absolutely fantastic company. I’ve used them / they’ve helped me
numerous times. Ultra fast customer service / response to emails. 👏👏👏

The guest apartment was spotlessly clean and communications with the Development Manager, Jay were excellent. He was a really decent guy, approachable and helpful throughout.

Received a dodgy looking email. Didn’t trust it for a second. How they have got their stars on Trustpilot is a mystery - presumably using fake reviewers. Recent genuine reviews appear to agree with me. The most important thing is, I’ve not even had a PPI refund so it’s not relevant - which makes the whole thing even more ‘scammy’.

Scoot airlines. They sound OK, operating out of Singapore. But, no. their app simply does not work. My reference was not recognised so that was futile. I discovered upon checking-in that )without notifying me) Scoot had operational issues and cancelled my flight leaving me stranded at Singapore overnight without accommodation. They would not assist with booking accommodation and their refund will take, quote, '30 business days (that's 6 weeks in laymans terms) to be returned to me. So they take my money instantly upon booking a flight and then to add insult to injury will take 6 weeks before I get my money back. I would say it's likely I'll need to chase them when the refund fails to appear in the promised timescale. As I say, avoid avoid avoid.

Took over from those other like-minded grifters, Bulb. They send emails bragging about how wonderful they are. Ask for your refund when you disconnect their service and then wait…wait…wait longer. What a scam. I asked for a refund 5th April. They said wait 10 working days. I checked on the 11th be sure all was in the pipeline. They said refund was not approved. I checked on the 15th and they said it was approved on 13th - wait 10 more working days. I checked on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th working day and nothing. No refund. I was told the money is with my bank and it’s their fault. I checked and my bank can see no refund. I complained and now I’m told wait 5 more working days as refund approved 27th. I still have no refund to date. No wonder people despise energy companies making their massive record-breaking profits. Their staff are trained to lie. They obviously keep customers’ refunds to boost their own coffers for as long as possible. It’s beyond a disgrace to say the least. Don’t forget, if they offer a counter claim to mine, it’ll be full of untruths. UPDATE: did you read their futile apology? Yes, a team leader contacted me - but only after I pestered the comp with daily emails and Twitter messages and actual tweets. Remember, it took from the 5th April all the way to 5th May before I got my refund, that’s 30 days. That’s 6 working weeks. Dreadful.

EDITED a few weeks after booking:

While the below review is wonderful, in the few weeks that have passed since I wrote it the company have been pretty awful.

Basic questions either have not been answered or have been misunderstood and I’m left with my problem unresolved. As with so many companies across the world they blame a pandemic. It’s nothing to do with the pandemic - Destination2 have, like thousands of other businesses let staff go to save money. Shame on them.

I have advised this company 5 times to not phone me as I’m already in Mexico and can not answer a call but to please email me. They have ignored this. I have asked them to WhatsApp me so I can speak to them but this is too much trouble to them.

They pester you for a great review at every opportunity and are great when they are selling something m, but the after-sales service is awful. Follow them on Facebook to get a good idea of reality.

***

First off, good and bad reviews come and go. I can only tell you that Nadine’s response times, her advice and assistance at every stage of our reservation was second to none.

It was a pleasure to deal with someone who understood all our concerns and was able to answer every question with 100% clarity and understanding.

OUTSTANDING and 100% recommended. Thank you, Nadine! 😊

...for us, Roy at Anywhere was excellent. It was pricey but no regrets. Great recommendations and overall service. No problems at all. I would use these guys again without hesitation.