My first choice would have been British Airways (R4,000) but they seemed way too expensive and I couldn’t see much difference between Mango (R3,100), Kulula (R3,200) or SAA (R3,477) so I decided to opt for an airline that was trusted to arrive on time and booked my two tickets with SAA.

When I received the confirmation of the booking via email I noticed that my father-in-law’s surname was not correct and had been replaced with my full name. So, it looked a little like this ROBERT JUSTINHARTMAN on the confirmation slip. I immediately called the SAA call center to have this surname changed.

To cut a very long story short SAA do not change surnames on tickets that have been paid for. Had I not paid my ticket straight way I would have been able to edit these details but being a good customer is actually a negative thing in SAA‘s opinion.

The error allegedly occurred as a result of me adding in my own frequent flyer number in the booking form at the time of booking. By doing so the SAA booking system automatically updated the surname in my father-in-law’s text box with my full name and as a result I now had a ticket that was totally and utterly useless.

The result: I have to cancel the old ticket and rebook a new ticket under his real name.

The caveat: I have to pay again and I’ll only be refunded the airport tax from the original ticket – SAA keep the airline fee.

I fought with two different consultants and their supervisor for a little over two hours. The bottom line. I’m screwed. SAA refuse to back down even though their system is flawed.

I gave up at the time and just booked a new ticket. This means that instead of R3,477 I have now paid R5,352 less my airport tax refund of R895.00 for this system error and I’ve lost just short of R1,000 in the process.

I feel robbed by these twits and totally helpless but the more I’ve thought about the events that transpired the more I realise that I need to stand up for my rights. I personally wouldn’t do business like this so why should I stand for it? This is simply consumer extortion.

As of this morning a letter of complaint, demanding a full refund of my original ticket purchase price, has been sent to Dr. Khaya Ngqula – CEO of SAA and the customer service department. I’ve only ever written one other complaint before which was to BMW and I had success with it so I’m hoping for much of the same.

Having said that though I’m not optimistic for a positive outcome. Unlike BMW I have come to realise that SAA couldn’t give a flying **** about their customers and I can’t see them doing a turn-around now.