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An attractive offer for a trip to Bangkok on daily deal website Deal.迷你倉com.sg caught Ms Michelle Lin's eye two years ago. The 23-year-old student immediately snapped up the voucher, along with hundreds of other travellers.She bought the $188 deal for a four- day, three-night trip to the Thai capital through Connection Tours and was given a choice of five airlines and five hotels. She chose Singapore Airlines and the five-star Amari Watergate hotel and went to the travel agency to book the trip.While waiting for an e-mail confirmation from the agency a few days later, she decided to Google it. "I found many poor reviews online about the hidden costs incurred and how they didn't give buyers any of their preferred choices".She adds: "Many buyers posted negative comments on the deal website's Facebook page to air their grievances."She decided to retract her booking and wrote to both the deal website and travel agency to ask for a refund.She received an e-mail a few days later confirming her booking but she had been issued a flight on budget carrier Jetstar and a three-night stay at a small hotel called Tai Pan Hotel, half the price of Amari Watergate. She was asked to pay $300 more for associated taxes and fees not disclosed in the original deal."I felt cheated but thankfully, since I wrote in before the confirmation e-mail was sent, I managed to get a full refund on the voucher," she says.Mr Robert Khoo, fself storagermer chief of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas), says it is important for consumers to always get a black-and- white commitment from travel providers on what exactly they are paying for."It's quite common for travel agents to change hotels because sometimes, the promised hotel is full. If they give a hotel of equivalent quality, that's fine, but to change to a low-cost hotel is too much."If you have proof that you did not get what you were promised, you can lodge a complaint with the tourism board or Case. And if it's a lot of money, you can even sue the travel agent as it was a breach of contract," he says.If the errant travel agent is a member of Natas, the association will usually try to help resolve the issue, adds Mr Khoo.In addition, packages usually list the airline and hotel name, or the information can be obtained by a call to the agent, says Ms Patricia Auyeong, group acting chief executive of Natas. "Refusal to disclose the airline and hotel is usually a red flag."Once the name of the airline and the hotel involved in the deal voucher have been obtained, travellers should call the specified hotel and airline to check that they indeed are offering this deal."This will help determine if the deal is legitimate or not," Ms Auyeong adds. "Asking for credit card details or other sensitive information even before you make a commitment to buy the product is also a red flag."迷利倉