Southall Travel Anmeldelser 17.081

Absolutely appalling experience with Southall Travel — I would strongly advise others to avoid.

My parents-in-law booked flights to India for September 2025. Due to serious illness, the tickets were reissued for January 2026. Tragically, my father-in-law passed away on 13 January 2026, and the trip was cancelled. All requested documentation (including proof of death) was promptly provided.

Since then, it has been nothing but delay, deflection, and unacceptable service.

It is now late April 2026 — over 14 weeks later — and no refund has been issued.

Despite countless emails and calls:

* We are repeatedly told the refund is “with the airline”
* No clear status, timeline, or refund amount has ever been provided
* One refund has allegedly been “approved” but still not paid
* No accountability is taken at any stage

Southall Travel continue to hide behind the airline, rather than taking responsibility as the party we paid directly. This is not only frustrating — it is completely unacceptable, especially given the sensitive circumstances involving a bereavement.

This has added significant stress to an already difficult time for the family.

If you are considering booking through Southall Travel, be aware:

* Refunds can be delayed indefinitely
* Communication is poor and inconsistent
* Responsibility is avoided rather than resolved

We are now pursuing formal legal action to recover the funds.

Avoid

Kunal customer service is amazing he found me the best deal possible

I am very happy with the service provided by Kunal. Very very helpful and polite…

It is vpossible

Kunal
Good service

I'm never one to seriously complain but dealing with this business when things go wrong is absolutely terrible. Selling you a product is smooth, fantastic, best friends on the phone but when your return part of your flight gets cancelled by the airline on 14th February and I'm still waiting for a refund on the 22nd April - and recieving duff answers if they answer the phone that is, it will take 4 weeks, 6 weeks, another 10 days and when I ask how much will I be refunded they reply with I don't know as the returns department deal with that... Then I say put me through to them? They say they don't take calls. What sort of business operation is this? Avoid. I will give them 2 weeks to refund otherwise will ask credit card company to put this down as fraudulent or small claims court route even. Avoid.

Kunal is amazing, he always finds the best prices for us. We have booked 4+ flights with him

This review is a bit late, but after hearing Southhall Travel advert on the radio again, I felt compelled to share my experience to help others avoid a very costly mistake.

In 2023, we urgently booked a flight through Southall Travel following the passing of my husband’s sister in Pakistan. They arranged an itinerary from Islamabad to London via Karachi. However, this involved a self-transfer, which was never clearly explained to us, and the connection time was far too short.

Due to a delay on the first flight, my husband missed his onward connection and was stranded in Karachi for over 12 hours. Given the circumstances, this added significant stress to an already difficult situation.

I contacted Southall Travel to request assistance in arranging an alternative flight, but they refused, stating it was the airline’s responsibility. This was despite the fact that:

- We were not informed that the connection required a self-transfer
- The layover time was insufficient to collect baggage and check in again

In the end, I had to book a new one-way ticket from Karachi to London at a cost of approximately £1600. The only refund we received was just over £100 for the unused portion of the original ticket.

Overall, this was an extremely disappointing experience. We received no followup, no apology, and no support. It felt as though once payment was taken, customer care was no longer a priority.

I would strongly advise others to be cautious. Booking directly with an airline even it means a slightly higher cost and upfront payment - may save you from significant stress and unexpected expenses.

The assistant was very kind and patient. He efficiently completed my travel plans. I have no hesitation in recommending Southall Travel.

Absolutely shocking company avoid at all costs do not book with them.

Myself and my husband booked flights to Thailand which sadly we had to cancel due to my father being terminally ill. His passing was imminent and we didn’t want to be half way across the world when this happened.

Travel trolley the online division branch of Southall Travel were completely inconsiderate regarding the whole situation and at first offered to only pay us £250 for tax back and not the full amount of £1351.72. After many calls back and forth and emails to which their customer service operators (never the same one - our case manager was always on a call when we rang and was going to ring us back) approximately 20+ calls later and several months down the line we are still waiting for his call!!!

We received a few emails from Travel trolley (Southall Travel online branch) each time wishing my Dad a “speedy recovery” and quotes of “get well soon” not sure they understood “terminal- about to pass away”.

After almost 3 months at a stressful time and all supporting documentation being sent forward they eventually stated we would get a full refund.

Then the fun began again. Firstly they asked if the payment could be made via original method of course we said yes!! But then they decided they couldn’t do that as the main person on the holiday was my husband and I had paid. Although I’m on the booking we are married same name, happy to take money from my card but for some reason can’t refund it!!
Next day they said we will send a cheque. A week and a half later a cheque arrives signed and stamped from Southall Travel and guess what the cheque bounces!! No money!

We are still waiting for a resolve Travel trolley say it’s down to Southall travel and vice versa.

Flights booked in March 2025 cancelled in December 2025. Still sat here waiting for a call, cheque, refund some correspondence in April 2026!!

I would strongly advise caution when booking with Away Holidays, part of Southall Travel Limited.

I booked a package holiday to Dubai and paid a £400 deposit. Well in advance of the balance due date (approximately three weeks prior), I contacted the company to understand my options due to ongoing FCDO advice, which significantly affects travel and means I am unable to obtain valid travel insurance.

At no point did the company proactively contact me regarding my booking. Given the circumstances, I would have expected clear and accurate communication. Instead, I was left to chase for information, with responses to my emails consistently slow and requiring repeated follow-up.

The responses I received were often unclear, inconsistent, and in some cases incorrect. I was given conflicting information regarding my rights and how any refund would be handled, including being advised that I would need to claim via travel insurance, despite this being a package holiday where responsibility rests with the provider. However, due to current FCDO advice, I am unable to obtain valid travel insurance, and the company’s own terms state that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure appropriate insurance is in place. This further added to the confusion and made it unclear how I could reasonably proceed.

I also escalated my complaint to senior management via both Away Holidays and Southall Travel. However, all responses continued to be issued under the same name (Dave), and when I queried whether my case had been reviewed at a senior level, I was advised that it had been reviewed, but that senior management responses were being relayed on their behalf. I was also informed that managers do not communicate directly and remain anonymous. This lack of transparency further added to the confusion and made it impossible to know who had actually reviewed my complaint.

Despite raising my concerns early, I was told that no decision would be made until 14 days before departure, while still being expected to pay the full balance. This placed me in an unreasonable and uncertain position.

As the situation remained unclear and unresolved, and my request for a refund had not been properly addressed, I did not feel it was reasonable to proceed with payment.

I then contacted the company by telephone to seek clarification and was informed that my booking had been cancelled due to non-payment, with the £400 deposit retained. At no point was I informed that the booking had been cancelled prior to this, and there was no prior warning that this would occur. All written correspondence suggested that the booking remained active. This directly contradicted earlier written confirmation that my £400 deposit would be protected. Despite requesting written clarification of this inconsistency, the company has not responded and has ignored my emails.

I was also previously advised (19 March) that it may be possible to postpone the balance due date depending on conditions closer to the travel date. However, this option was never followed up or offered despite my earlier contact.

It is only when something goes wrong that you find out how a company really operates. In this case, the handling of the situation has been inconsistent, unclear, and not what I would expect from a reputable travel provider.

I also note that many other travel providers have taken a different approach in similar circumstances, including cancelling holidays for comparable travel dates and those well beyond mine, which raises further concerns about how this has been managed.

I made every effort to resolve this directly and acted well in advance, yet this was not met with clear or reliable guidance. As a result, I have retained full written records of all correspondence and submitted these to my credit card provider as part of a Section 75 claim.

Based on my experience, I find it difficult to reconcile the level of service I received with their current Trustpilot rating.

Very disappointing experience and not one I would trust or use again.

This has been my first experience with this company and, based on how this situation has been handled, it will also be my last.

I will update this review once the matter is resolved.

Excellent customer service by Norman
He helped me with planning a family Holiday and looking at all the options .He was very flexible with our requirement and also very patient in dealing with my queries.
Great work

The ease of booking with Ruchika and competitive prices made the booking very easy .

Me and my family travelled to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi as part of our Easter holidays to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. We had the best time ever. Although everyone scared us by sending us TikTok videos and news articles regarding the war. We took a chance and had one of the best holidays ever. There were no signs whatsoever regarding war there. Apart from two alerts on our phone and better customer service than our previous trip. Thank you Southall Travels for making this a memorable family holiday.

Kunal was very professional at his work and did help get what we were looking for and explained in details in easy steps would definitely recommend southall travel to others , me and my family are with southall travel over 18 years and always happy with their travel plans and services

Excellent service. Kunal who helped me book my travel was very polite and helpful.

I was put on Premium line costing me £18 for 3minutes on January 31st
Number I was connected to was 08709003000
I have complained and requested some answers.
It is now 3 months without any response or resolution.
Latest excuse is they are very busy with current Travel restrictions and claims.
Major company like Southhall travel should show some customer support and care.
There was no booking made. Only it was inquire for quotation to travel when I was connected to premium line.
Several email were sent to Mr Ross customer supported service .

Anish was very helpful and polite with the booking related queries and also helped with exploring several options to find the best deal. Thank you for your help.

I had a very poor experience with Southall Travel in relation to a package holiday to Zanzibar costing over £3,000. After Qatar Airways cancelled the flight itinerary, the package I had booked could no longer be provided in the form originally agreed.

I explained that I did not want to travel on an alternative airline, as that was not the package I had paid for, and I requested a full refund. Instead, I was told that £280 would be deducted in order for me to receive any refund. I did not consider that fair in the circumstances.

I was also unhappy with how the matter was communicated to me. Some of the wording in the emails gave the impression that I had chosen to cancel, whereas my position was that the original package could no longer be fulfilled because the flight arrangement had changed following the airline cancellation.

Customer service was, in my experience, poor throughout. I was repeatedly told that only the original booking agent could deal with the issue, which made matters unnecessarily difficult. I had to chase repeatedly by phone and email, and promised callbacks did not happen. This caused a great deal of avoidable stress.

There were also errors during the original booking process, which took several emails and phone calls to resolve. I overlooked those at the time, but in hindsight they reflected the wider lack of care I experienced later.

Overall, I felt unsupported and poorly treated as a customer. Based on my experience, I would not use Southall Travel again and would not recommend them.

I have also sent them a in-depth complaint and they will also be able to see the booking invoice attached to this review, doing the right thing is still and option open for them. I don’t hold any hope but be careful is all I say.

Good experience