Kiwi.com

On a two-way trip from New York to Berlin via Amsterdam, Kiwi.com managed to get me stranded twice on Amsterdam airport:
On the first flight they "forgot" to pay KLM for the flight ticket Kiwi.com should have purchased for me resulting in me having to buy another ticket for that flight 1 hour before departure (you will know how costly that was) and I'm still waiting for my refund.

On the way back, the first flight was delayed (Kiwi.com probably hasn't any fault in this) resulting in me missing the follow-on flight. However, they were not willing/ able/ capable? To book my on the only other flight to New York that day (despite the fact that I had informed Kiwi.com 4 hours prior to departure of that other flight about my delay). Now being stranded in Amsterdam without my luggage, Kiwi.com instead offered me a refund of my flight to New York (which was ca. 20% of the price of a new flight at that time) or a new flight the next day with a 1-night stay in Amsterdam ("All paid for by Kiwi.com).

Having arrived at the "airport" hotel, I realized it was 15 minutes taxi drive from the airport (of course I had to pay for the taxi) as well as a 40 minutes drive to Amsterdam city center with no other restaurants or activities close by. Then, Kiwi.com had promised to pay for breakfast, dinner and the hotel room - none of this was the case! I had to pay for all myself (reimbursement is filed but as they have so far not reimbursed me for my first flight 4 weeks ago, I am certain I will either not get any reimbursement or it will take weeks).

Last but not least: The original ticket price was just 5% cheaper than if I would have booked it directly with the airlines. I am 100% certain, I will never use Kiwi.com again and cannot recommend it to anyone - not even to save costs as in the end, you will pay more! And you will waste a lot of your precious lifetime waiting on airports and speaking to (10!) customer service agents that are all very friendly, but seem to have no flexibility or rights to make decisions. Also you have to call them as they "cannot" (or don't want to?) call you back. Of course it's not a toll-free number so you will also have additional costs here.

All in all: Using Kiwi.com saved me 5% vs. the alternatives on the ticket price, but so far I have paid at least 15% more due to the additional costs that Kiwi.com promised they would be paying, but didn't. For me this company sounds like scam and everyone who ever thinks of using it, think twice!

IF YOU SEE THIS REVIEW, TRUST ME, SPEND THE EXTRA FEW DOLLARS AND BOOK ANYWHERE ELSE BUT THROUGH KIWI.COM
ANYWHERE ELSE!

ABSOLUTE CROOKS! Do not do business with this company! They don't deliver what you pay for. You WILL be sorry!

I booked a flight and paid 1600 euros.
It was a flight with 2 stops on my way there and on my way back home.
Because of a delay from Amsterdam to Dubai, I couldn't catch my next flight. Kiwi.com asked me if I want a refund or an alternative flight, I choosed for the alternative flight and paid 400 euros extra. This is the first problem, it was a delay and I have the right for a new free flight.
Second problem was that I paid it and waited hours for the paid flight but just 1 hour before the flight I received an email and it said that kiwi.com couldn't book the flight. And I had to ask for a refund. I did it and I received 500 euros. I arrived at my destination
The third an worst problem after this was my way back home. I came to the airport and they told me I had no booked flight. I contacted kiwi.com and they just responded with the automated response without helping me. I was stuck at the airport and kiwi.com finally said that the flights are cancelled because I asked for a refund (?)( the refund was for the flight on my wau to here because of the delay?). But kiwi.com didn't told me once that my flight was cancelled, I had to ask it by myself. I asked for help several times but they didn't help me, they just said ask for a refund when you arrive at your destination…. Good technique because they give you the feeling like you can just spend you money and they will help you with the refund. Luckily I had some money and I booked new flights for 1200 euro.
Once arrived at home, I asked for a refund and kiwi.com said we already gave a refund…. We can't help you anymore. I am still busy, now 3 months and I still don't get any refund or help. I did everything I could do but I just got nothing. Kiwi.combsays that they gonne try to ask a refund by the airline. That's not the airlines fault, kiwi.com cancelled it and didn't let me know anything. I want my money just for the extra costs of the tickets and I don't get it from kiwi.com even it's their mistake. I didn't even ask for all the other costs like extra hotel, medicine because of the longer stay, taxi, food etc. Still I have to wait and there happens nothing.
So, my advice, PEOPLE WATCH OUT WITH KIWI THEY WILL SCAM YOU INVE THEY CAN.

Most fraudulent travel company ever, with a sophisticated scam artist approach. SCAM 1: While booking, they let you believe you are 100% covered by their "Guarantee" - nothing can ever happen, we got you covered, no problem ever, BUT you are never covered!:-). SCAM 2: A while after booking confirmation is done and settled (beware of SCAM 3: they never issue Booking Confirmations from the airlines, but only their own), they tell you "Some Major Changes Happened But It's Not Our Fault The Bad Airlines Did It".: They present some many hours delayed (in my case 17hr) flight connections, and you lose even a connecting flight ("Sorry But Not Our Fault") - It's so bad that you actually can not travel as initially booked. SCAM 4 is offered: Option 1: "Hey, We Found Beautiful New Routes and Flights for You, of Course Guaranteed no Problems this Time, for ADDITIONAL Cost of Only the Same Money That You Paid Initially. Please Pay Here SMILE". Option 2: "Get 1/5th of Your Initial Payment Back To Redeem In The Next Booking With Us - No Real Money Refund Of Course". Option 3: "Get a Refund from The Carriers With Our Quick Expedite Service Help for Only 20 EUR But That May Take 60 days And Maybe You Do Not Get The Refund At All". Option 3: Try To Get A Refund From The Bad Carriers Within 90 Days, But Hey: You Might NEVER See Any Money of It At All, And Maybe The Carriers Carry Charges for That Refund, So Better Do Not Do That Option". You get the picture of how shameless, crookedly and deceitful KIWI.com operates? They purposely temper your booking (because nothing is confirmed yet with the airlines) and try to hoax you to buy new offers from them, or at least keep your initial payment without giving any service back. I lost about 300 Euros to Kiwi.com. But I know of many many many others who fell for these KIWI crooks and bandits and lost thousands of Euros or Dollars.

This is for upper management how do you ask your customer for more money to put in a request to cancel a flight when the government has told everyone not to fly or
To leave there homes and you guys still charge extra money to do a canceliton tell
Me how that's okay? After all ready paying your company I spoke to one of your mangers look up my booking number 111 757 129 he should be re trained or not doing be in the position he's in very simple you can listen to are
Conversation he also made a few comments that he didn't hold his word to every time I tried geting a hold of him he sad he's not available that poor service expshily comeing from
One of your managers me personally I supervisor for a livening and he would have been fired. No question asked for him
Not doing his job right and for him not handling this issue the right way I won't my full refund on the flight I was supposed to take but didn't because they government shut everything down and now you guys think it's okay to keep all my
Money or to ask
Me for more money or I can't be helped or do have to deal with unprofessional management and when I call a Canadian number I expect a Canadian to pick up the phone not my call geting going India this service has been very poor and I we'll continue to talk with other air line not to have this company recommend.

Sent from my iPhone

Dear all,

To not use KIWI.com.

I made the mistake to use it beacouse skyscanner send me to their website and I decided to try it.

I made the reservation and put my ID details for allow them to make the check-in 2 months later for my flight.
A day (still more than one month before my flight) I check my reservation and I saw that they put a wrong nationallity.

In order to charge my nationality they charge may credit card for 10 Euros and they said this ammount was used to inform the 3 airlines about this charges.

I contacteted directly Ryanair, Volotea and EasyJet and as the check in was not done there was nothing to pay on their web site appart my name there was still nothing to charge.

I asked Kiwi to refund me because for sure I did not put I wrong nationaly and they said that as they cannot check if is their fault I had to pay and that's it.

The customer care is inexistant, people from the call center do not answer your questions and they do not care abour any issues.

I will not use any more this web site I can do their "job" myself.

I assume any positive review of this company is fakecheck other websites. NEVER buy a ticket on kiwi.com--they are completely fraudulent. When I made a booking through Kiwi.com, there was only one baggage purchase option available for 15 kg, which I purchased. There was NO other purchase option for a larger bag on the website or at any time after, which would be available if you bought from the airline. When I arrived at the airport, Easyjet charged me 90 Swiss Francs for my bag because it was 5kg beyond the limit (had I been informed of any issue in advance or that there was no way to pay the normal difference in fee, I would simply have brought a carry on bag, which easily would have fit 5kg).
The employee at Easyjet check in, Ehsan, and his manager, Suzanna, refused to wave or reduce the fee. But Ehsan directly admitted that Easyjet knew there was a problem with the Kiwi website and that many customers had complained, but "not enough" for Easyjet to bother to do anything about it. He admitted explicitly there was no other way to purchase the larger baggage option on the Kiwi website (you would have to know you need to download an Easyjet app, and then use the app, which is not an option ever disclosed). Eshan also said I could have bought two bags at 15kg, which is absurd, as there is no way to know that Easyjet would allow you to combine them for single bag, and also would have been more expensive than the larger bag option which was never made available.
This is the legal definition of fraudit means Easyjet is allowing or encouraging Kiwi to sell its tickets in a fraudulent manner so it can charge passengers exorbitant amounts at check in and Kiwi.com is defrauding countless customers. Kiwi.com's response was beyond fraudulent--it didn't even address the issue, its website, the information I was given, nothing. This company is a fraudulent enterprise.

If I could give Kiwi.com zero stars, I would. Our family's ordeal with Kiwi.com has been nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to share our story to caution others.

Imagine the excitement of planning a trip, only to have it crumble before your eyes. This was our reality when Kiwi.com incorrectly booked our family flight a whole month early, a mistake we discovered only at the airport. Picture the scene: two small children, aged 1.5 and 3.5, bewildered and restless, as their parents grapple with the shock and scramble to find a solution.

Kiwi.com's solution? A convoluted alternative that turned our direct journey into an arduous trek with an unnecessary layover and an overnight wait in a cold airport. Promises were made – hotel accommodations, food vouchers – yet none materialized. There we were, a family stranded, with our children sleeping in our arms, shivering in the cold, their comfort and safety compromised.

The additional financial burdens, from unexpected baggage fees (promised to be refunded but never were) to out-of-pocket expenses for meals never compensated for, added insult to injury. Despite our patience and multiple attempts to seek a fair resolution, Kiwi.com's response has been disappointingly inadequate, refusing to offer any form of substantial compensation for their litany of errors and unkept promises.

This experience has been emotionally and financially taxing, and the lack of accountability from Kiwi.com has only added to our distress. Our story is a stark reminder of the potential consequences of entrusting your travel plans to a company that may not deliver on its promises or take responsibility for its mistakes.

To those considering Kiwi.com for their travel needs, I urge you to think twice. No family should have to endure what we did, and no traveler should be left feeling abandoned and undervalued. Our quest for a simple, joyful family holiday turned into a lesson in frustration and disappointment, all courtesy of Kiwi.com.

Consider this not just a review, but a warning. Your travel plans, your comfort, and your finances deserve better protection than what we experienced. Choose wisely, and remember, the true cost of a trip is not just in the euros spent, but in the memories made or missed.

We booked our flights for 5 persons to Marrakesh at kiwi.com. Everything looked ok at first glance. However they send you the boarding pass very fast around 48 has upfront. 5 people, completely spread on different seat. But ok, if flights are relatively cheap, this can happen. We had to print our boardingpass, a bit strange for a digital company, but ok.

The real problem starts with your luggage. It was printed that only a small bag was allowed and that we had to pay for additional cabine luggage. We did not understand that, since Ryanair is saying that you can have one handbag and a trolley of a certain size below 10kg.

So we went to the airport: bingo. Had to pay 20 at the gate. Makes 100,- for 5 persons.

Of course we were not amused. The flight back consists of three flights, so that might become a fortune.

The day after our arrival, I called to contact Ryanair to upgrade my flights back. Not possible, since I did not know the e-mail adress kiwi booked at Ryanair. I only could arrange that with Kiwi. Site did not work for buying luggage, app did not work for this option either. Finally called, after first attempts only computer, Finally a very bad speaking lady. After I made myself clear they promised me to send an e-mail with payment link. Not received any email. Than tried again via website. Seems to be only possible within 48 has timeframe. The "buy luggage" button did not respond. Finally I was able to send them an email with my question to upgrade my luggage. And for the answer that this service is not available.

So my conclusion: you can hardly reach them, there is no service, and intentiously they do not allow you to check in your luggage. How on earth can you spend 6 days with only a small handbag. They know you have more luggage (at least a small trolley) but you can not do anything about it. Worst case I have to pay additionally 450 for just my luggage.
We will fly back tomorrow and will find out what the final damage is. If the damage is as high as I expect, I will bring them as a case to the Dutch TV in a consumer program. So at least Dutch people will not use these rippers.