Payment Issue with Saudi Airlines (page 5 of 7)

And when was it, when they contacted you?

Two days ago, I verified through a Canadian number and a number displayed as their customer service in Germany

No change for us—the tickets are still confirmed, customer service says everything’s okay, and no written response from support yet... I’ll post an update as soon as I have news! 😅

Thanks Koko for the update. Did you cancel, or was it the airline’s decision?

They confirmed that the only solution was to cancel the tickets and rebook them, and that I couldn’t get the same price. I went ahead and confirmed the cancellation to book with another airline

When’s your departure? Didn’t you book any other tickets either?

Hello,

I don’t think it’s the airline’s fault—they have no reason not to sell their tickets. I’ve bought tickets through PayPal with them five times and never had any issues. However, I did have a similar experience with another Chinese airline: I paid via PayPal, received the PNR so everything seemed fine, but I never got the bank confirmation of the debit. I checked my account—no PayPal debit. Then I went to my PayPal account, and surprise, they asked for ID to access it, which they don’t usually do. I provided my passport, it said OK, and then I saw the purchase hadn’t gone through. I called PayPal, and the rep told me to try again because they’d had a glitch. The problem was the price was no longer available. Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining—I found a cheaper option the next day with another Chinese airline.

Our departure is scheduled for late July. And no, no other tickets in sight...

Hi everyone, I’m in the same situation and, of course, never any concrete answers about what’s going on. Our departure is in less than a month, and I’ve already sent 5 or 6 complaints with different responses each time. I don’t know what else to do. I’m even thinking of going directly to CDG to see a real person from the airline and try a "message in a bottle" approach …

I just got off the phone with someone else from customer service, and they told me that all tickets paid via PayPal have been canceled. Okay, fine, but we have no record of the cancellation. If anyone else has heard anything since...

Hi,

So it’s PayPal not sending the funds, not the airline.

Okay, so if I understood correctly how it works: PayPal makes the money available to the seller or merchant for 30 days, and it’s up to them to collect it from PayPal. After that period, PayPal is no longer involved in the transaction, and if the seller hasn’t claimed the money, we aren’t charged. Maybe others can add their info on this topic.

That said, today I’m still stuck trying to pay for my tickets, while on the other side, the merchant can’t even send a payment link. All they’re offering is to buy new tickets. (As of now, they’re nearly 4 times the price I paid initially in February.)

It's true that it's complicated because there are so many different factors—did you buy directly from the airline's website or through an online reseller? What does it say on your PayPal account about this purchase?

I bought flight tickets directly from Saudia (I almost never use resellers), and at the payment stage, I selected PayPal. The transaction appeared fine on PayPal—the total amount and everything were as usual—but after 30 days, the money is no longer available, and PayPal has stepped out of the transaction between the buyer and the seller. I still plan to stop by the airport during a Saudia check-in to ask to speak with the person in charge and find out how things have gone for others in this situation, since apparently there have been quite a few, according to someone from Saudia customer service.

In this case, it means your bank account wasn’t debited, so the money never reached the airline. When PayPal finalizes the purchase, your bank account is directly debited, and the money is made available to the seller. If your bank account wasn’t debited, it means PayPal didn’t take the money to make it available to the seller (minus PayPal’s small commission taken from the seller on the paid amount). So, it’s normal for the airline to cancel the booking due to lack of funds. This has happened to me before (see above).

Yes, I understand. But it really does seem like a PayPal or airline bug—otherwise, it would’ve gone smoothly. Do you think we’re justified in asking for financial compensation?

At the airline level, no, because they never saw the money. Any unpaid booking is canceled. When your bank account isn't debited by PayPal after purchasing a ticket, it means the sale wasn't completed. In this case, you should call PayPal to find out why your account wasn't debited even though you received a confirmation from the airline. If that's the situation, PayPal will cancel the transaction, even though it seems fine on your end. PayPal isn't a credit company—they don't advance funds. No money debited from your account means no ticket, even if you haven't received any info. The airline will tell you to check with the intermediary (PayPal) who should have made your money available. Airfare prices change from one minute to the next, up or down. Next time this happens with any airline, call PayPal right away. In conclusion: no debit from your bank account, no ticket.

What I really don’t get is that PayPal always makes sure the funds are available before approving a transaction with them. Because I had to try several times to complete the PayPal payment with the airline since I didn’t have my bank’s authorization—my spending limit was exceeded. Even after my bank raised the limit, PayPal approved the payment for Saudia. Anyway, none of that changes the situation now; as far as I’m concerned, it’s Saudia who didn’t collect the money that was made available, and today I’m still pretty stuck with this whole mess.

Yesterday, a 20-minute call with PayPal confirmed it wasn’t their fault. The merchants have stock, and when there’s too much demand, well, the merchant doesn’t validate some orders—which is what happened to us. For my part, my tickets were canceled by the airline yesterday (my trip is in December). I don’t want to hear about Saudia again, even if our case might be minor. I booked new tickets with Etihad for 250 € more. And in one go! No more 4x without fees. Best of luck to you all

Hi, It’s always the same thing—they’ll pass the buck back and forth, and in the end, it’s the customer who pays the price. It happened to me with a Chinese airline, and I think it happens with others too. The "4 payments with no fees" option is set up by PayPal, not the airline. If you pay directly with a credit card, you clearly won’t have this issue because with a card, it either goes through or it doesn’t—you’ll know right away.