Avoid Booking Flights Through Agoda — Two Layers of Intermediaries and Endless Demands for Proof That Doesn't Exist!
I had to cancel my flight due to a sudden illness, so I contacted the airline directly. The airline cancelled my booking and processed the refund on the same day. I initially assumed the refund would go directly back to my bank account, but I later discovered that Agoda uses an intermediary between itself and the airline. The money apparently needs to pass through this intermediary before Agoda can refund the customer. Agoda then asked me to provide proof that the airline had issued the refund. I contacted the airline again and requested an official written confirmation, but the airline told me it could not provide such a document. Instead, its customer service advised me to submit screenshots of our conversation so Agoda could forward them to its intermediary. Initially, Agoda indicated that the screenshots would be sufficient. However, it later changed its position and told me that the screenshots could not prove that the refund had been issued. It then demanded further official proof from the airline, even though the airline had already explicitly stated that it could not provide such a document. I have already submitted the relevant chat records, including the airline's explanation that it cannot issue the requested certificate. Yet Agoda continues to insist on documentation that is impossible for me to obtain. How is a customer supposed to resolve this issue when the airline says it cannot provide the document and Agoda refuses to accept the available evidence? Why should I be repeatedly sent back to the airline to request the same impossible document instead of Agoda coordinating directly with its own intermediary? The entire process is exhausting and unreasonable. Booking through Agoda means dealing with an additional layer of intermediaries, while the customer is left to bear the burden when communication breaks down. Rather than taking responsibility and finding a workable solution, Agoda keeps asking me for more documents that simply do not exist. Based on this experience, I strongly advise other travellers to think carefully before booking flights through Agoda. When something goes wrong, resolving a refund may become far more complicated than expected, and the customer may end up caught between multiple parties with no clear resolution.