CS
Chris S
Active since Dec 2011
19
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0
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Reviews
19 reviews9 months ago
KLM shocking service - Avoid them at all costs
Below is the nightmare experience we had with KLM. Despite numerous attempts to get a response from both KLM Europe as well as their South African offices we have had zero response. I have had read receipts for my emails so I know they were received. 1. We were booked on Flight KL922 to Amsterdam at 06h00 on the 10-07-2025 for our return to Johannesburg via Amsterdam and Paris, a party of 4. 2. We arrived at Edinburg Airport at approx 02h45 on the 10-07-2025 and were 3rd in the baggage Check-in counter when it opened at approx 03h40. 3. We approached the Check-in and were served by a lady Check-in clerk who took passports and tickets and proceeded to attempt to Check us in. She encountered some difficulty and called her supervisor a young gentleman who then took over. He also experienced challenges. Apparently there is some obscure EU law that blocks two transit destinations in the EU. However he said that this was not normally an issue as our transit in Paris was only 1 hour and that KLM could overwrite the block and get an exemption from what we were experiencing on the KLM Check-in portal as out transit in Paris was only 1 hour. He tried numerous times to contact KLM to have this matter resolved. He could not contact KLM so he tried to rebook our flights via other destinations and was also unsuccessful. He explained that Swissport were simply agents for KLM and consequently he had no access rights to the KLM booking system. He eventually asked us to go to the Swissport counter and/or use a coffee shop and the internet to contact KLM to get the issue resolved as there was a queue of passengers waiting to board. (He gave us an email and contact No for KLM). We went to the Swissport counter and nearby coffee shop as asked. 4. The staff at Flight Centre who had booked the flights had also reiterated that we would not require a Shengen visa to transit Europe as we were not going through immigration at any of the transit airports and were told that KLM would take care of any transit requirements, this was confirmed by the Check-in Supervisor who assisted us at Edinburg Airport. 5. The Clerk at the Swissport counter was surly and totally unhelpful saying that they could only help Qatar Air passengers and explained that there was no KLM help desk in Edinburg Airport and suggested that the only help I could get would be from the Check-in staff. I returned to the Check-in counter and was told once again that the the Swissport counter was the only place I could get help. I returned to the Swissport counter and once again approached the unhelpful clerk who became rude and aggressive insisting that he could only help Qatar Air passengers. I sat down and started drafting emails and WhatsApp since the contact number I was given for KLM was never answered. I got Zero response from either KLM channel despite expressing the sense of urgency and explaining why. I received a read receipt for the email I sent so clearly it was received and read but still no response. 6. I then went back to the KLM Check-in counter but it had closed and there was no one there. I went back to the Swissport counter and once again was confronted with the unhelpful clerk, who eventually told me to go to Aer Lingus Check-in as they apparently ran the airport and could get a supervisor to assist. 7. I went to Aer Lingus and one of the Check-in clerks obligingly called her supervisor who listened to the problem and agreed to assist. I asked for him to give me aletter or email stating thet we had presented ourselves in time at the check-in. He stated that this was not company policy but that he would email KLM and set the record straight. He asked for my passports so asked him to wait whilst I returned to the coffee shop to get them ****erally 3 minutes) on my return the supervisor had disappeared and told that Check-in lady to tell me that he could not assist. 8. None of the staff wore identification or were prepared to provide names or contact details so I could reference them later. 9. I returned to the Coffee Shop and spent the rest of the day until approx 17h00 trying to contact KLM and Flight Centre to get the issue resolved. 10. KLM offered no communication to assist and after spending the day trying to find a contact number or functioning email at KLM I still had no success 11. We now had no flight and no place where we could get flights rebooked as KLM have no help desk in Edinburg Airport. I tried to purchase new tickets but because my mobile phone had no international roaming I could not authorise payments 12. I then contacted Flight Centre in South Africa to get them to re-book the flights. They were happy to assist however they came back to me stating that KLM had locked our profile as "No-Show" clients and consequently forfeited the tickets. Complete obstruction by KLM. This despite the fact the we were 3rd in the queue at the Baggage Check in counter well before and cut off time. I explained this to Flight Centre who passed it on to KLM, who then responded that they needed a letter of proof that we were indeed at the Check-in well prior to cut off, something that they clearly knew would be impossible because of both KLM and Swissport company policy.....yet further evidence of KLM's deliberate pattern of obstruction. 13. I provided copies of my email correspondence with KLM with time stamps indicating that this whole debacle occurred well before cut off time for the Flight KL922 to Amsterdam at 06h00. To further strengthen the sense of urgency I also provided my wife's doctors letter showing the booking for emergency surgery to remove a tumour in her eye. Failure to keep the appointment would result in forfeiture of approx US$ 30 000 and would result in us having to reschedule the surgery with the additional risk that she could then possibly loose her eyesight in that eye as a result of the delay. These factors made absolutely no difference KLM(who were copied in on this be email) who clearly could not have cared less. 14. At about 16h00 I by pure chance ran into the Swissport Supervisor who tried to Check us in at 03h30 who remembered the incident and I explained that I desperately needed help to provide proof that we were at the Check-in prior to the flight and that we were declined boarding because of some obscure visa requirement that could be overruled by KLM and that the "No Show" on the system was incorrect. He promised to send an email explaining this to his KLM point of contact. 15. Shortly after this fortuitous meeting Flight Centre indicated that our profile had been unlocked but that we would have to pay a substantial amount to rebook the flight. In light of the emergency we were facing we agreed to pay this fee and claim it back later. We were now at least booked on a flight all be it a delay of 48 hours, making it a real possibility that my wife could miss the scheduled surgery. At no stage did we receive any communication from KLM other than a couple of ridiculous WhatsApp communications from the KLM bot that were absolutely useless a couple of days later. 16. As a result of this we incurred considerable expenses in |Airport transfer costs and the cost of two additional nights accommodation in Edinburg whilst waiting for the flight. We also had to pay considerable costs for re-booking flights. 17. When we arrived at Edinburg airport at 03h00 on Saturday 12 June for our 06h00 flight to Amsterdam the Check in went smoothly. We waited for boarding and were called to the gate on time and we were loaded onto buses. The buses departed the terminal for the waiting plane. We were no allowed to exit the bus for about 15 minutes and eventually the pilot captain came down from the ****pit to address us to explain that when the plane was parked the evening before the prescribed security screening for the aircraft had not been performed(a clear failure by KLM staff to supervise this process) and as a consequence we would have to go back to the terminal buildings and await a new boarding time until the security screening on the aircraft had been completed. This resulted in a 1hr30 min delay. We had a 2hr connecting flight transit time at Schiphol. This meant that we would only have 30 minutes to debus and move from arrivals to the connecting flight on the other side of the airport before the the boarding gate closed almost impossible. 18. We literally had to sprint from one side of the airport to the other and just made the boarding on our connecting flight. My wife and I are both well over 60 years old. 19. During the flight to Johannesburg I communicated to the Bursar on the flight explaining what we had been exposed to and he also agreed that the refusal to allow boarding was completely unnecessary in the first place and that he would write a report(which he showed me and I approved) which would be sent to KLM and that someone would contact me on Monday 14 July to deal with this whole debacle. I am still waiting on this call. 20. The flight to Johannesburg was uneventful and we arrived on time and cleared immigration and went to collect baggage. We then discovered that one of our suitcases had been lost in transit. On enquiry they said that they found the suitcase in Schiphol and would forward it the following day 24 hrs later. We received the suitcase on Monday 14-07-2025. 21. My daughter and her Fiance we also booked on the same flight as us on Thursday 10-07-2025 and were notified that their flight had been cancelled whilst standing in the queue at Edinburgh with us waiting to Check-in. Clearly this flight had been significantly over booked by KLM and they were looking for people to bump off the flight. If this was not the case, then when we were removed from the flight two seats became available and my daughter and her fiance could have been placed in these seats. This was not the case, a clear indication of the fact that the flight had been significantly over booked. My Daughter and her Fiance were then re-booked on the same flight as my wife and I on Saturday 12-07-2025 at 06h00 and also had to cover the cost of additional Airport Taxi's and 2 additional nights accommodation in Edinburg. I had to pay significant re-booking costs to make these new bookings.
0 replies
14 months ago
Very bad service from discovery
I submitted a claim for a burst pipe and decided to to the repair with my own contractors. They assessed the damage and approved the claim. The repair has been done and paid for by myself. I have been trying to get the claim paid out now for over a month. To get the assessor or claims administrator in charge of the claim to respond to emails takes over a week. Simply unacceptable. I have noticed similar decline in the level of service from Discovery Medical aid as well. I am concerned that this company may be in trouble
53 replies
14 months ago
Arrogant attitude of a staff member at Chamberlains Kyalami
I am building an entire Kitchen and large BIC in a bedroom and need white melamine boards cut. I make most of my hardware purchases from Chamberlains as I find them reasonable and helpful. When I checked pricing I found Builders Warehouse substantially less expensive per board than Chamberlains and they included cutting for free. I decided to approach the person at Chamberlains who handles the board sales and cutting and discuss the huge price differential. I was met with an arrogant attitude and "We only sell Bison boards" if you don't like the price go to Builders Warehouse. No offer to possibly offer a less expensive product for those who want it. Builders here I come.......I will probably purchase much of my other hardware there at the same time!!!!!!!!! What a pity because mostly the staff at chamberlains are very helpful
0 replies
18 months ago
Avoid Clayville bricks at all costs
I ordered 18m3 of paving brick and it took them ages to deliver a load that they claimed was 6m3. When I measured it it was clear that it was only a 3m3 load. I knocked in pegs and ran string on the pegs 6mX1m at a height of 1m and the load did not come close. I looked like a half load ie. 3m3. I immediately contacted Amgeline and complained about the short load and she made excuses of investigating and left it at that. After numerous threats she sent out Lyzen to investigate and he confirmed it was a short load of 3m3 and promised to get it resolved. A week later they delivered a load this time supposedly 12m3 and when I asked when they were going to deliver the balance of the 3m3 I just got excuses and no reply to emails, I have asked that if they cannot deliver the full amount to please remover the bricks and refund me. No reply. Avoid doing business with this company they are not reputable and will try and cheat you at every turn
0 replies
18 months ago
Very bad service for Online car parts
I ordered a selection of parts and paid for them all online. I selected that I would collect the parts from their Randburg offices despatch. The following day I traveled from Midrand. and spoke to Tracy. The parts were not ready and Tracy said that they would deliver the parts to my office the following day. Nothing arrived. I called and she promised me again that the parts would be delivered the following day. Nothing has been delivered. When I try and call Tracy my call no longer gets answered. Really bad client service. I need the parts to fix a vehicle that we need to use.
0 replies
20 months ago
SPCA Randburg a shocking experience please avoid at all costs.
I received a notification of a Black GSD rescue from associates that was at SPCA Randburg. I immediately reached out to them as I was very keen to adopt. I was told both telephonically as well as by messenger that I must come to the branch. I left and drove 40 minutes to the branch. I met the dog and spent some time with her. She was a very shy girl but warmed to me very quickly. I have worked with GSD's my whole life. I decided that I would adopt her as she would fit in with my other dogs. I conveyed this to the reception and would have loved to take her. I was immediately told that I had to bring my dogs for a meet and greet. At no stage during my communications with them was this communicated to me as a requirement. This meant that I now had to drive home, pick up my dogs and drive back, essentially taking up my whole day. When I explained that I have had years of experience with GSD's and understand how to introduce a new dog into a pack I was arrogantly accosted by a lady and told that if I don't like the rules I must leave. I was understandably furious as I had taken the trouble to drive a considerable distance with the best of intentions to adopt this dog. This branch of the SPCA clearly have no understanding of what is best for the dog and make a mockery of people who have decided to support the "adopt a dog" mantra pushed by their organization. My advice is to stay away from this branch they do not have the best interests of the dogs at heart. clearly they feel it is better to euthanize dogs than get them into good homes. .
53 replies
24 months ago
Discovery Broker Theo Van Der Sandt
I have been the recipient of shocking service from Theo Van Der Sandt(Discovery Broker) who has handled both my medical and insurance. I have received terrible service in respect of resolving any queries or claims I have had queries over. Theo has a bombastic and arrogant approach to dealing with any valid complaint and generally does not provide complete answers to direct questions. Instead he answers in a cryptic and unhelpful manner that leaves you disillusioned. He has from time to time had some really helpful staff that have assisted but they never seem to stay for long which simply exacerbates the problem. Please avoid at all costs be warned.
106 replies
47 months ago
VODACOM Terrible service
I visited Vodaworld Customer Care on 15 June in person on so that I could take care of the business I needed to change. I had to wait for 30 minutes before being "helped" by a reluctant consultant. I had my ID documents with me and I have a long record of business with Vodacom (over 25 years) you have copies of all business transactions on file. This consultant was unable and unwilling to assist despite my warning that if I left with my issues unresolved I would not return and that I would then move my business to MTN. There was no change in attitude or any endeavor to try and assist. I returned to the office and immediately logged in to the Vodacom Customer Care portal where I logged the problem. I received an automated message that I would be contacted within 48 Hours. That time has come and gone with no effort to contact me. The level of service and total indifference of ALL their support staff is absolutely shocking. I would not recommend them to anyone and I would encourage anyone doing business with them to move their business as soon as possible.
402 replies
62 months ago
Shocking service from Discovery
I have been paying for the Vitality benefit for as long as I have been a member(approx R300 pm) I have derived absolutely no benefit from it. I have tried on numerous occasions to get support on how to use the system and more pertinently how to claim the benefits. To date I have had zero response from Discovery. I have even sent a formal email requesting the cancellation of my Vitality subscription. I have read receipts of the email but had no response at all from anyone. The service is shocking, they are quick to deny you benefits but ignore you when you want assistance to claim benefits
168 replies
63 months ago
Outsurance what a Scam
I have just had the most unpleasant experience in submitting a claim with Outsurance. They have done everything they can to reduce the value of the vehicle that was insured. The vehicle was delivered with factory fitted add ons that were reflected on the original invoice. As this vehicle was financed by Wesbank and as such the vehicle and extras have to be insured and I would have had to provide them with proof of insurance. Outsurance refuse to acknowledge the extras in an attempt to reduce the value of the payout, essentially defrauding me of significant value. I have insured many vehicles(Business and personal) over the last 20 years with Outsurance. I currently have about 8 vehicles insured with them. There is clearly no goodwill only a complete ruthlessness to defraud their clients as much as they possibly can. I will begin the process of moving all my business from Outsurance. For anyone else considering doing business with Outsurance, be very careful. They are all smiles and politeness when they want your business bur completely ruthless when it comes to paying out the correct value
183 replies
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