STA Travel UK 

DO NOT USE STA TRAVEL.

They are refusing to give refunds on cancelled flights despite that going against EU Regulations and their own terms and conditions.

If you email them they will just completely ignore your email and when you try to call them they just hang up the phone after you’ve been on hold for ages.

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Edit: they have now said that they have processed vouchers for us because we ‘didn’t get back to them’. I have been emailing them and calling them and they don’t reply, I want a refund... NOT your worthless vouchers.

Good at taking your money. Rubbish at giving it back. Their COVID-19 Ts&Cs update is not incorporated in to their main Ts&Cs rendering it invalid. All it takes is one successful court claim. I have screen shots of the Ts&Cs at the time of asking for a full refund.

Here's bullet points of a conversation I had with Mr Steve Dawson at the Leeds Vicar Lane branch:
"Steve Dawson at 12:38pm on the 19th March 2020. Mr Dawson advised:
• I could not have an email with the pointers discussed
• I cannot have a refund even though it is stated in STA’s terms and conditions
• I would have to go to the small claims court to obtain a refund
• That STA will not obligate their terms and conditions
• That Mr Dawson’s 17 year old brother is at risk of losing his money, which is irrelevant to these matters"

So, G Adventures cancelled the Inca Tour. They said it lies upon STA to refund the cancelled tour. G Adventures requested STA to contact them to arrange the refund for the cancelled Inca Tour. STA refused.

STA’s terms and conditions regards ‘Cancellations and Changes’:
“If we make a significant change to your booking, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, (we will refund any price difference if the alternative has a lower value), or cancelling your booked arrangements and receiving a full refund.”

Mr Dawson sent an email saying they have had a change to their Ts&Cs:

"Update to our Terms and Conditions - Deferrals and Cancellations
Update to our Terms and Conditions - Deferrals and Cancellations

The unprecedented effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) are felt globally in every area. The travel sector in particular, is entering entirely new territory, as global borders are temporarily closing with no clear end in sight.
During this challenging time, we are doing our best to mitigate the impact to our customers and business. In doing so, we have put in place a range of measures to address the situation in the fairest way possible. We have applied the advice and guidance from the UK Government, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and equivalent bodies internationally.

Our policy now is that all refunds, whether related to coronavirus or not, will be given as credit, valid for 12 months, to be redeemed at STA Travel, enabling our customers to rebook at a future date when the situation becomes clearer.

We are monitoring the situation closely and following the guidance as set out above, since this situation is still evolving we will continue to review our position."

I've been travelling solo for just over 10 years now and been to over 40 countries in that time, 32 of them by booking through STA. If that doesn't tell you how amazing they are I'm not sure what will!

The girls in the Durham branch are amazing, from the very first time I visited STA they have given me the confidence to travel solo and they are so friendly, welcoming and informative whenever you pop in whether it's for little queries or to book big trips.

My recent trip to Morocco has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak and STA and G Adventures have been in touch with me the whole time so I know what my options are. Although I can't get a refund I know I'll be able to rebook with no problems when this is all over and appreciate my holiday even more! I also have a holiday booked in November, a three month trip to Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives which I booked with Bethany at STA Durham, I have never had such a good time booking a holiday! She was amazing and organised everything for me so I can just sit back and relax when it (hopefully) comes round to my holiday, she even found flights cheaper than I could find them myself online!

I've used many other travel providers but I've always been left disappointed with either the service or the standard of the booking, so I always go back to STA!

Every company is trying their best at the minute with this COVID-19 outbreak and it's a shame to read all of the negative reviews on here when STA are really a fantastic company but obviously struggling like every other company around the world. I wouldn't let those reviews put you off when this is over and we can all go on holiday again!

Honestly I would give zero stars if this was an option.

After some blatant lies from the online sales team regarding a query I made, I asked for an SAR request to be sent regarding all the personal information the company had on my case, to see if I was correct that they were deliberately trying to mislead me. After over ten times of asking for this, I still haven't received it. And given that this is something I'm entitled to, seems like they have handled the query in a suspicious manner.

They also try to charge cancellation fees per ticket, and not just per booking. So for a trip worth over £1000 they wanted to take over 40% of this BEFORE any airline fees had been taken off. So in total, they quoted a refund that was just 23% of the price I had paid. In fact, the initial quote I received was for just 17% of the original price I paid. Extortionate. I should also mention, that it was never disclosed that the cancellation fee was per ticket (not even in the small print of the booking confirmation), and so naturally anyone would assume that this fee would be incurred per booking.

Then, after cancelling my trip, they are refusing to refund the money and instead offering to re-book with themselves, and given the issues I have been having with the online sales team and the customer care team, naturally this is something I do not wish to do.

When they want to dodge a query, they have a habit of passing the matter onto several members of the team, you just end up going round in circles and getting nowhere. They are banking on their customers to either be none the wiser, or to just give up.

Was booked to travel to the USA in a week and a half. They had asked that I don't contact until 72hours before trip due to people needing help more urgently which was understandable. Received an email today saying I can rebook but if its cheaper not get the difference back or pay higher for new flights or go through insurance. Obviously it was going to be cancelled but how can you refuse to refund for something you are not provided? Copy & paste email responses, calming everyone off by the looks of things. Sent me a link saying terms and conditions had been updated but was not what was in place when I booked. Been told to email someone else in customer care. Now am super limited in trying to resolve before travel date. Have used before but NEVER again.

Our flights got cancelled and we were told by Bristol ‘you can only email us’. Three weeks later we finally got a reply. We didn’t wait three weeks because in all honestly we didn’t expect a reply at all as they have been terrible from the start. We rang lots of other STA’s and they spoke to us but were not interested in finding us a new flight to get us home even though we would have been completely isolated in Australia with no home and not a lot of money. We sat in an Airport for hours outside the ‘flight centre’ waiting for flights to appear from people cancelling themselves. We were so fortunate to get these flights and get home by this company. STA was meant to be our travel agency and didn’t care about us at all! Even from day one they tried to charge us for extras which were free and trying to just scab money constantly.

Our flight we booked with STA that got cancelled was with Emirates. Emirates are offering ALL of their direct customers the choice of a refund or credit. STA are offering us credit only. We are not accepting and we will take it further as we believe we are legally entitled to a REFUND from STA. We are not happy with credit only as we all need the money as individuals right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if this company goes bust soon! (Which means no credit either). They don’t deserve to still be in business. We will be calling citizens advise and anyone else who can help during this stressful time.

STA are disgusting with the way they have treated us and nothing but money grabbing thieves. Will NEVER book with them again.

Do not book a trip with sta!!! They refuse to give refunds even though it quite clearly states on their website that if a trip is cancelled a refund will be in order.

Absolute horror show.

We booked a US road trip via STA travel. Our flights were cancelled due to the current situation and they are refusing a refund even though financially we need the money returned - things are so uncertain that we cannot wait to know if we can travel again. Legally they are obliged to give refunds but are so unresponsive and unhelpful. They sent us back to the airline who said they don't have our money and we have to get it from STA. The government needs to step in on this company and make them act appropriately.

Worst company ever.
All the good reviews clearly coming from staff to save face.
You deserve to go bust for what you’ve done to so many people! Stranded, abandoned and robbed of hard earned money.
Travel credit is only being offered to try to keep you afloat which isn’t going to work.

I don't think STA should be getting all these negative reviews. Its a hard time for every business right now. I have had a round the world trip booked now since last year, I was meant to be going away this week. It has obviously all been cancelled. STA have said I cannot have a cash refund but they will change the dates and even the name on my tours if one of my friend wants to go on the trip instead. They are just trying to do there best to save the company and the employees. If they were to give every single customer a refund they would probably go bust hence why they are offering everyone travel credit. If people could understand this and not write there negative reviews all over the internet. I am sure the same people would not right a good review if they were to have a good experience with STA. We all need to stick together in this crisis and re plan our trips/travel plans to a new date and have something to look forward to after this is all over.
BA, Emirates, Easy Jet are all offering travel credit as well its not just STA.
STA manage to spend days getting my friend home from New Zealand when even the embassy could not help her - I have told her to write a good review on here too. I can imagine the staff at STA have never had to deal with something so big like this and they are all working there best to try and get customers home from abroad and at the same time dealing with angry customers who want there money back. I too would like my £6000 back but I also know that I will spend that money again going on holiday so rather than complaining I am just sitting tight for now, and I have something to look forward to next year, keeping a business running at the same time. Thank you STA for doing your upmost best at the moment despite this crisis and any one reading these reviews, please don't let the negative sway your decision booking with STA as all their travel experts are all so knowledge, helpful and understanding -I could not have booked what I booked with them online myself at the same price. Most of them have also probably got trips planned that have been cancelled so they are in the same boat as us.

DO NOT BOOK THROUGH STA
Their customer service has been terrible amid the COVID-19 outbreak and they have been refusing refunds. It's obvious the company didn't have a crisis plan in place, so there in no consistency with what each travel agent advises. They are doing everything they can to make sure they don't refund people and it's completely illegal. I'm happy that this event has ensured I will never book with them again, as they can't be trusted and don't value their customers. So in the long run, this has worked in my favor, as I will not use them for future holidays over the next coming years. :)

I booked a flight to Vietnam in February and I am now not permitted to enter the country due to the Coronavirus. I was supposed to be flying through Qatar Airways who's policies state that if my travel is affected by the virus my third party company, (STA) HAVE to offer a refund. However, they are refusing to do this and are subsequently profiting from a worldwide pandemic which is frankly disgusting. I have been constantly turned away and I feel sorry for the call workers there who must be receiving endless abuse due to the greed and callousness of their seniors. Avoid STA at all costs as they will STEAL your money at any opportunity.

I wish i could give them 0 stars!

We have flights to America booked (and now cancelled due to coronavirus), been in touch with the airline and they say there should be no reason why STA are not giving you full refund for this.

Spoke with 4!!!! people at STA after being passed around so much and they are refusing to give us a refund. They have updated their T&C's without making anyone aware, and think this is reason enough not to give us our money back.

You just have to look at their Facebook page to see the negative reviews and comments they are getting through this time. I understand it's a difficult time but it is NOT acceptable to hold our money. Will NEVER use them again and will never recommend them to anyone I know.

Having used STA travel in the past for some of my big trips alone and with my partner, we decided to enquire about possible honeymoon locations with STA travel. After months of looking at every destination we could think of online and not getting any further, I went into Manchester Deansgate branch and Melissa was on hand to help. From the moment I walked in (as well as prior to this via email) she was informative, knowledgable and helpful to a tee. She suggested a destination that had everything we wanted and was closer to our price range and it was amazing. I went in for ideas and came out having booked the trip of a lifetime. We are obviously now not sure whether this will go ahead in the summer.
However, in these uncertain times, we have been in contact with Melissa and she has been amazing at answering any and all of our questions! Regardless of the outcome, we have received wonderful customer service all the way through this process. We would recommend Sta travel and will definitely be using them again in the future for our bigger trips or adventure holidays.

A few months ago I booked the trip of a lifetime; Travelling through multiple Asian countries. I went to STA travel to try and help me book some of the flights in between locations as well as accommodation between my planned tours. However due to the rise of a certain virus, this has been made very difficult as a lot of these countries have been closing borders and making it very difficult to fly anywhere.

It's times like these where I was glad that I went to a company such as STA travel to help me book these, as I am still new to travelling. I have been dealing with Nicole throughout this and she has been absolutely brilliant at keeping me up to date with anything from chasing up airlines to contacting different hotels and hostels.

This is a massively stressful time for everyone involved. Not just in the travel industry, but in this country as a whole. I really do admire how prompt STA have been in terms of answering e-mails and phone calls, despite the current situation.

I would definitely continue to use them as a company in the future.

We had a India tour booked, upon contacting them as we found out the borders were closed we were offered a full refund or a 110% voucher with G Adventures who our tour was with. We asked for a full refund, this was agreed. Several weeks down the line we get contacted to say that due to the trip being cancelled our credit is on file and we have to use it within the next 12 months with STA. We emailed and rang up to state that was not the agreement, but were told that due to the policy changing they couldn't give us a cash refund. Absolutely disgusting! You can't offer people their money back then refuse to give it to them once you have received it from the tour operators!

I did not book with STA travel for my trip however I have just returned from an Intro Bali Experience tour which unfortunately due to recent events had to be cancelled after 5 days. I wanted to write a review however because Lara Davey who works for STA travel was luckily on my tour. I just wanted to say how fantastic she was from the second we found out our tour was cancelled to when we finally managed to get on a plane home. She helped with sorting fights, making phone calls, making sure we had the correct information and most importantly keeping us all calm! Thank you so much Lara xx

Book a family trip to Australia after it was cancelled we have been offered a voucher or rebook at a later date we want neither in a nutshell they have stolen our money

I don't normally book flights though a travel agent, I get them directly from the airline, but I'm so glad I did this time! Steven was really great when we were figuring out and booking our trip last year anyway. But now that we had to cancel it due to the coronavirus situation, we've been so grateful for his help, especially when they must be so busy! We couldn't get refunds from the airline in this case, but Steven sorted us with a credit note with STA for the full amount. So that means if the airlines we previously chose are no longer the best option when we eventually do get to go, we could pick whichever ones suit us - or worst case if we can't do the same trip for any reason, we could go wherever we are able to go to at that time. I had a lot of questions about it all and Steven answered them all. I'll definitely be using them again and I highly recommend!

I have to thank Rachel (Edinburgh office) as she has literally been absolutely amazing. She son’s flights home from NZ were cancelled I was lucky enough to get through to her. She worked so hard to find a route home and kept us informed all the way through the whole process. There were times when I was so worried but Rachel never gave up searching for flights and even when routes were cancelled she was totally on top of events which were changing so fast. Thank you Rachel from the whole family. When Covid 19 is over we look forward to coming in to thank you in person! Take care xx