Cheaptickets Steals Money Internet

 I booked a flight to Japan to repay my friend for a debt I owe her. Cheaptickets emailed me to inform me that I had to call them to "reconfirm" my booking. After contacting cheaptickets and verifying that all was ok, my friend went to planning her trip. Just a few days ago I checked the confirmation link just to get the flight number for my friend and there was a notification saying "Sorry your trip didn't work out, we know these things happen. We're happy to help you rebook when you are ready", as if I had cancelled the reservation myself! I had my friend call them to find out what the deal was (since she was the person flying). When someone finally answered (after her attempting to call for a long time) they sent her from department to department...and each department gave her a different story.

One person told her that it would just take 3-7 business days to get the money back. Another person said that the bank probably froze the money in my account and that I'd have to deal directly with the bank (and I am currently having issues with the bank since I live abroad and must call the English help line for which they have very few reps and it only operates during working hours, so I must take time out of my work day to do this, making it even more difficult!). Cheaptickets should have gotten it right in the first place. It did not say that the flight had been cancelled, they just randomly decided to cancel the reservation!

This is unacceptable. Working people do not have time to deal with these kinds of ridiculous mistakes. Their customer service department was rude to my friend, they've greatly inconvenienced me, and they are causing me to spend even more money than I originally owed my friend because I have to wait for the problem of the refund to be solved before booking another flight. I am absolutely livid. That plane ticket was over $800, and now I have no idea where my money is. I will *never* use their terrible service ever again and I'd advise everyone else to avoid them, unless you'd like to potentially have your money stolen or have your reservation cancelled for no reason.