Anyone heard of final-flights.com?

[Nigelinoz]

Interestingly it's been several hours since I asked for a quote for PE to LHR and I haven't had a response from them,maybe they are trying to come up with an answer to my questions about their agent license number and travel compensation fund membership!
Cheers
N'oz

 

[samh004]

Thats how i'd do it anyways... and that makes me a bad person

What makes me a bad person is thinking I should create a second* Qantas account, buy some flights through them around Australia in J, and achieve Platinum. Luckily I’m too indecisive to ever do that

I wonder how long it is before the website is taken down… though with a lack of contact details, it might just be replaced with a different site.

*I’d use a second account incase Qantas then suspended my account after finding out the flights were all fraudulently purchased.

 

[mdy_118]

People be warned that final-flights.com is a scam! Do not send money to them.

 

[Mal]

People be warned that final-flights.com is a scam! Do not send money to them.

While we all suspect that the website is a scam (but nobody yet has conclusive proof!), what information do you have that hasn't already been mentioned?

 

[FoFuey]

Well unfortunately the person at QF is quite right. You are a bit audacious in presuming that they would be aware of such a thing or to put the onus of proof of legitimacy onto them.

There was probably no better way to put the response so to call the operator completely rude and a -hole is a bit much. QF wouldn't tell you if any TA - real or not - is reliable, unless it hit national news headlines. And anyone else on the street would tell you the same thing as you heard over the phone. The operator was put between a rock and hard place; not entirely fair.

.

I can understand your response due to the lack of details I provided. My intent was not for QANTAS to confirm if there was a scam happening or not, that was already completely evident - however, to suggest to them that final-flights was indeed suggesting that they were affiliated with QANTAS and to ask who should I talk to and share what I had learned. I thought that I was doing the right thing, however the gentleman at the call centre responded with rudeness, and a "not his problem attitude." - V Australia however, they were great about it.. Very sorry to have offended you - audacious, I was not, nor was I laying the onus of proof of legitimacy onto them. I just wanted to let them know what I had found. I guess in this day and age, it appears that one needs to mind their own business when they suspect there is foul play because one might come across as 'audacious' to others, and that's the last thing that I would like to put across.

 

[oz_mark]

When did police become experts on air travel? How on earth does the policewoman know that last minute tickets are "usually sold at such low prices"? If anything, it's the complete opposite as I'm sure many people here on AFF can vouch for.

With all due respect to yourself, the advice you were given by the police seems about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.

So the police recommend that your Dad leave tomorrow & "see if it is a valid ticket"? Now, just on the off chance the 'agent' has cancelled this ticket & your Dad is left high and dry with a booking only & no valid ticket required for travel, what course of action to the police recommend to recover the funds you have paid out via bank transfer?

Does it then become a police matter & no doubt they they'll be full of helpful advice on how you can obtain the money back from Final-Flights?

What do you expect the police to do? From the look of things, everything has operated like the website said it would, and who are the police to say what commercial arrangements the supplier has?

Now it looks and smells fishy, sure, but from the police perspective, what can they go on?

The approach of contacting Qantas seems best, as they are best placed to understand how the tickets etc are being booked etc.

 

[samh004]

People be warned that final-flights.com is a scam! Do not send money to them.

Let us know how your fathers flight goes tomorrow please.

 

[FoFuey]

Funny how all their "Social Media" links just go back to Qantas as well...

It's too cheap
It's too good to be true
It's a scam
Using a .com address and not .com.au (much harder to get a .com.au address, and anyone can get a .com address)
Postcode for their website registration 6693 does not exist


IMO

Not harder to get a .com.au addy - it's just more expensive than a .com addy

 

[drron]

Very likely it is this scam all over again-
Airline scam 'unlike anything we've seen before'

The scam was one of two credit card-based schemes operating out of South Africa and Vietnam that were uncovered by Queensland police.
However police have refused to reveal how many Queenslanders have been conned by the scammers.
Advertisement: Story continues below
In the highly sophisticated scheme, the fraudsters used stolen credit cards to book legitimate tickets on international flights, before selling them online for a fraction of the usual cost.
Several websites involved in the scam included www.cheapflightsonly.net, www.onlycheapflights.net and www.cheaper-flights.net.au, and www.flisave.com.
In one case, scammers sold a $15,000 first class return ticket to the United Kingdom to one Queensland traveller for just $2000

 

[oz_mark]

Very likely it is this scam all over again-
Airline scam 'unlike anything we've seen before'

Quite possible.

 

[LiamR]

What makes me a bad person is thinking I should create a second* Qantas account, buy some flights through them around Australia in J, and achieve Platinum. Luckily I’m too indecisive to ever do that

I wonder how long it is before the website is taken down… though with a lack of contact details, it might just be replaced with a different site.

*I’d use a second account incase Qantas then suspended my account after finding out the flights were all fraudulently purchased.

I'm free tommorow?

BNE-MEL-CBR-SYD-HBA-ADL-PER return?

It'll be the quickest jump from bronze to platinum in a long time...

 

[LiamR]

Has anyone recieved an email from him yet and traced the IP address to see where the email came from? It wouldn't suprise me if it was from overseas.

 

[extracta]

I asked for a quote for a flight BNE BKK in J a day ago and got the following response. I have gone back and asked for further information but they have not come back yet. I wouldn't even contemplate sending these people any money.

Good evening Andrew,

Thank you for your flight request, we appreciate your inquiry, and we hope we can answer any questions you may have and assist you in finding the cheapest airfare! We are able to book flights from Brisbane to Bangkok at $2,199 return per person – Business class - this is inclusive of all airport fees and taxes and also includes full comprehensive insurance. There are no other fees to pay outside of the price we quote you, insurance is included at no additional cost to you as an added bonus, and we also provide this to ensure security and peace of mind for all our passengers.

Please let me know if this suits you, and if you'd like us to go ahead and book your flights. If you have any particular preferred times of travel on the day these can be arranged as well, but bear in mind that flights at certain times of the day tend to be more higher priced, the quote we have given you is the cheapest on the day.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance!


Best regards,
Andrew Vezeley
Final Flights support

Final Flights
..anyone, anywhere, anytime
www.final-flights.com

 

[beardoc]

Anyone wanna see if the person is smart enough to use the OW Booking Tool to book an AONE4? (I'm not serious).

The other thing I was wondering about - if you request a ticket, and they book it for you with a stolen credit card, and then you refuse to pay because they refuse to accept a credit card payment (for your own protection), they're hardly likely to come and prosecute you for non-payment given they're completely not a reputable business, are they? And you have a ticket in your name....

(Seriously, I am not suggesting any of this -if you book knowing it's likely fraudulent, you're culpable - the best thing for everyone is when this site goes away, hopefully before many are hurt)

 

[mdy_118]

My most recent phone call to QANTAS, they told us that the ticket was a fraudulent ticket. At first, it was being investigated and on my second phone call, they told us that it was in fact fraudulent. (Although I very much think that they only found out that the ticket was fraudulent because I called 5 times). Hence I'm stating with confidence that Final Flights is a scam.

In any case, it would have been risky for my dad to go. Even though I would imagine that he would have arrived safely with the ticket and possibly come back using the ticket, there will be a follow - up. QANTAS had his details and would chase him up. Plus, considering my many posts on this site, approaching the police etc shows that we are skeptical and doubtful about this site and purchase. Therefore, if we were to be chased up, we can't claim that we were just merely innocent purchasers. Had we made payment without question and fell into the scam, then we would have had a stronger case.

Anyway, once the bank told me that the bank account belonged to a child's account, I did email Andrew Vezeley to verify the account details with him. He never replied. I sent about 3 emails already and frankly, since the flight is leaving tomorrow, he is not at all concern that we haven't made payment! The ticket remained valid still and he never chased us up for the payment.

 

[mdy_118]

Oh and btw, I do agree with the poster regarding the poor customer service at QANTAS. I felt that they weren't at all trying to assist customers in detecting a scam or even try to look into it, nor did they want to listen to my concerns or explanations. All they wanted to do was identify the booking reference number and say that it's a perfectly valid ticket. I told them exactly how purchase was made etc, none of them were concerned! It was only my 5th phone call where they took my concerns seriously and that's only because I got through to the Reservations team through the Security line.

They were rude and unfriendly anyway. Even if I did not have a concern, it was certainly a intolerable customer experience. I was yelled at numerous times and when you ask a question, they are more annoyed than helpful.

 

[gumpy]

To resolve all this I have sent them an email asking if they are a scam...

Will let you know of the response.

 

[gumpy]

On a more serious note, damn the site is dodgy... though I am secretly hoping it's a real site =)

 

[samh004]

Anyone wanna see if the person is smart enough to use the OW Booking Tool to book an AONE4? (I'm not serious).

The other thing I was wondering about - if you request a ticket, and they book it for you with a stolen credit card, and then you refuse to pay because they refuse to accept a credit card payment (for your own protection), they're hardly likely to come and prosecute you for non-payment given they're completely not a reputable business, are they? And you have a ticket in your name....

(Seriously, I am not suggesting any of this -if you book knowing it's likely fraudulent, you're culpable - the best thing for everyone is when this site goes away, hopefully before many are hurt)

I was thinking possibly an AONE5 or 6 in the next week actually, may as well go for broke… unfortunately I don’t have much free time at the moment

 

[goldenhorn]

Anyone wanna see if the person is smart enough to use the OW Booking Tool to book an AONE4? (I'm not serious).

The other thing I was wondering about - if you request a ticket, and they book it for you with a stolen credit card, and then you refuse to pay because they refuse to accept a credit card payment (for your own protection), they're hardly likely to come and prosecute you for non-payment given they're completely not a reputable business, are they? And you have a ticket in your name....

(Seriously, I am not suggesting any of this -if you book knowing it's likely fraudulent, you're culpable - the best thing for everyone is when this site goes away, hopefully before many are hurt)

I have $26,000 worth of tickets booked in my name now as I booked economy and then business and am realising that he didn't even make changes, he just bought new flights with (I'm guessing) stolen credit cards. All confirmed with insurance and e-tickets issued.

I didn't pay as I realised it was a scam before transferring money.

What would you do? Can't say I haven't thought about cancelling them for QANTAS credit...