BBB warns consumers after 'Fly-n-Fare' tickets cause $2,500 travel loss

BBB warns consumers after family's $2,500 travel loss

Fly-n-Fare is a third-party flight booking company that has received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is currently the focus of fraud claims after a Dallas family missed a wedding due to flagged and incorrectly rebooked tickets.

A Dallas family went through an airfare nightmare after booking tickets through a third-party company claiming to be based in Irving.  

The Better Business Bureau says third party sites can be legitimate, but you do have to use caution.

What we know:

Two Dallas cousins were trying to attend a family member's wedding in Las Vegas.

But after an airline flagged their tickets bought through a company called Fly-n-Fare. They ended up missing the wedding and were out a total of $2,500. 

Shamira James jumped on the opportunity to get tickets for five family members to fly to Las Vegas for her cousin's wedding. 

"I saw FlyNFare, where we could all get a one-way ticket for $625," said James.

"She's like, ‘No, these were flagged as fraud, we can't let you get on the flight.’"

But once at the check-in desk for Frontier Airlines, a fun trip turned into a costly 24-hour nightmare.

"I was like wait a minute and started calling FlyNFare. They kept forwarding my call to voicemail,’ said James.

Dig deeper:

Frontier Airlines proceeded to book a new flight for James and her family. 

"Ran upstairs to catch the flight. Tamara was like, ‘It doesn't have your connecting flight,’ I thought maybe they would give it to us once we got there," said James.

But there was no connecting flight. James, her cousin, Tamara Burton, and her family were all in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nearly 2,000 miles away from Las Vegas.

Outside the 24-hour window to cancel their hotel and rental car, Burton says they were out a total of $2500. 

What they're saying:

"We missed the wedding," said Burton.

"When I contacted you all later that day, the customer relations manager apologized to me and said they would accommodate for everything."

Frontier Airlines told FOX 4 in a statement that the booking was flagged by their system because of concerns about the Fly N Fare site. 

He said Frontier regrets its mistake of booking tickets for the family to Cincinnati in error.

"... To make this right, our customer service team is issuing a full refund for the flights purchased at the airport ($1,289.60), along with vouchers for future travel. We are also working directly with the customers to review receipts for hotel and other out-of-pocket expenses so they can be reimbursed."

Big picture view:

Fly-n-Fare has not responded to our four emails. No one answers the phone number listed on their website. The company has an "f" rating from the better business bureau.

Monica horton with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says while some third-party sites can be legitimate, it is good to do your research before booking. And if you do have a bad experience, you should document your complaint.

"Our complaint data is shared with a consumer sentinel database that is accessed by law enforcement organizations, like the Federal Trade Commission," said Horton.

"Sometimes we will refer cases to those law enforcement organizations as we gather information."

What's next:

While they still missed their cousin's wedding, Shamira and Tamara are thankful to at least be getting some of their money back. 

"Thanks to you, Frontier came in and picked up the ball and are giving us our money back," said Tamara.

The BBB also recommends making purchases with a credit card, so if you do suspect fraud, you can dispute the charge and file a fraud report.