Kiwi.com Sucks!!!

Depends on the T&Cs that you agreed to when booking through them. Have you tried getting a refund from West Jet?

Any Help on how to resolve and get refund will be appreciated.

Unless you bought the upgrade offered during the booking process, I suspect you may be out of luck.

I just did a trial booking on kiwi.com and the "No Refund" policy is very clear. There was the option to buy a 'refundable' ticket ( more $$). Unless this is a recent change to their website it seems their unfriendly policy was abundantly clear..

The only other option I see is as CJean suggested, direct contact with the airline

I’m sorry you lost your mother. As someone who’s recently had that same experience it can be stressful.

That said you booked with the worst possible cheap travel broker you could possibly have found. And now you want them to provide service? Sorry it’s not happening and it’s a company. It’s not some charitable organization that cares about the fact that you’re upset because your mother died. no they’re not going to do anything for you. Please consider this a lesson learned and if you cannot find the great airfare on the airline website, take your fingers off the keyboard. Sadly for you this is going to be the tax you pay for learning that. But if you read all those terms and conditions when you were booking the airfare, you would discover that at this point, you are out of luck- you are not getting any money back. It doesn’t matter what the airline would have done had you booked directly.

What Carol wrote.

Understand, it doesn't matter what the airline's policy is about refunds. You didn't book with the airline. You booked with Kiwi.com. They booked with the airline. So, if a refund was issued, it would be to Kiwi.com, not you. The alrline couldn't give you a refund because in their records you didn't pay for the ticket. Kiwi.com did.

I have to think that Kiwi.com offered a great fare and you jumped on it. If there are no problems, it could be a great deal. But if a problem occurs, you're not going to win. Kiwi.com will. That's their business model.

Of course, having to deal with this in your time of loss is no fun.

Lesson learned--and you already know this--book direct with the airline.

Can you claim on travel insurance? Many policies cover death of a close relative, assuming it was unexpected/undiagnosed condition.

Sorry for your loss. It's stressful to have to travel under that sort of circumstance.

Unfortunately it looks like you're out of luck as this is what is stated on the WestJet site regarding bereavement post travel:

https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/flights/bereavement

"This form applies to guests with air only reservations booked directly through WestJet. Reservations made through a travel agent, a third-party points program, or on a third-party website do not qualify for bereavement fares. WestJet Vacations and Group bookings are not eligible for bereavement fares."

So because you booked with a third party, you're not entitled to a refund/bereavement fare, which are issued only as a credit on WestJet Rewards accounts. It's not a service failure on KIWI.com's part but clearly stated as WestJet's policy.

Welcome to the Rick Steves forum!

I'm so very sorry for your loss but really wish you'd done some research into the online travel agent Kiwi.com before you booked. The Trip Advisor Air Travel forum is littered with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of complaints regarding this OTA.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10702-Air_Travel.html

Appreciate your resposes.

Lesson learnt the hard way!!!
I contacted West Jet directly .....response I received " I am Kiwi.com customer , that they will consider making an exception in such cases if Kiwi.com provides them with necessary paper work aka. Death Certificate. Kiwi.com refuses to pursue this matter on my behalf with the airlines. I have provided them with the proof necessary but all to vain.

I am sorry for your loss. So very hard to lose a parent.

This situation is precisely why I avoid, as much as humanly possible, 3rd party transactions. I have had companies make exceptions to policies for me, but always it has been a company that I've transacted with frequently. In the past, Delta has made exceptions for me. However, now that airlines offer changeable and cancellable ticket options, I would guess Delta would be less amiable to bending policy.

Check the credit card you used to see if there is any coverage for you.

Losing a parent is very painful. I am sorry for your loss. I hope you can move past the loss with the tickets and travel again when you are ready.

Now I do book directly with the airline and when I contacted Delta, I was able to get an e-credit and use that for a future flight, which is all I really cared about. I wasn’t really asking for a refund. I don’t know if they would’ve given me one as I knew I would have to do the trip. As a matter fact, I’ll leave Monday on the replacement trip

Honestly, the truth is you’re not going to be able to get kiwi to do this. And even if you did, they would then be entitled to keep a percentage of the fare as a charge for the services they provided. And that percentage would be most of your money. Please, please, please before you book airfare in the future do some research on the quality of the travel agency you are using. Someone posted a link to Tripadvisor. This particular broker has so many bad reviews there (. It’s basically hard to find anybody who has had a good experience. ). I’m Sure you thought you were saving a little money but as you can see the cost of those savings can be substantial. You get this exact same service if WestJet changes a flight, you have to go through Kiwi. Yeah they don’t do that either. They have no motivation to do it. They got a commission paid by the airline. They have done their job once that’s done and they’re finished. And no, the truth is they don’t care that you’re going to leave bad reviews or you’re never going to use them again because unfortunately there seems to be an unlimited supply of people who are willing to book 1st and research later

I think this thread has run its course and all relevant points have been touched upon. I'm locking it. Thanks everyone.