stephen p.

I made the mistake of using Booking.com to book my flight from London to Istanbul. The outward and return flights were cancelled due to Covid. Booking.com's partner, Gotogate informed me that they had requested a refund from BA. I was surprised when they also informed me that I would only be refunded when they themselves had been refunded by BA. For the next three months Gotogate sent me emails informing me that their refund request has still not been processed by BA. After nearly four months they sent me an email telling me to contact BA myself and tell them to process the refund. If they did not receive a refund in the upcoming weeks they would no longer be able to help me. Unbelievable that they would take $522 dollars from me yet not refund me. So, I contacted BA who told me that they had received no refund request from Gotogate and so could not process the refund. They also confirmed my opinion that Booking.com are legally obliged to refund me since it is they who I had paid my money to, not BA. It seems, therefore, that the refund policy of this company may be illegal. When I recontacted Gotogate they insisted that they had made a refund request but were unable to provide me with any proof such as a request number. Beware their response "I will escalate this matter" because it is their way of getting you off the phone. You will not hear anything more.
So, I have now asked my credit card company to help me but I have no guarantee of the outcome.
If I had booked my flights directly with BA it would have cost me the same amount but I would have avoided many hours of calls and enquiries with no guarantee I will get me refund.
There really are NO advantages of using this company. I for one have learned my lesson and will never use a third party reservation service again.