Warning: do NOT use travala.com any more, if you did.
They directly stole my money.
Here is my response to the customer service agent:
(Customer service agent),
> Sorry for the delay, im ahmed from compliance department, for refund or either processing the booking, the verification is a mandatory step, we require the minimum and basic info for that, and you can pass it easily through the following link :
Let's establish the facts: I have been a regular customer of Travala for years, have done probably a hundred or more bookings through your site - mentioning this *not* to claim some status as a customer (which I do not want, and do not have), but to point out that ZERO times on the website or through any of those transactions was it mentioned that you could simply keep my money and provide no service - i.e. STEAL my money - if I did not pass a verification process -handing over extensive and intrusive personal documents - that you never documented anywhere. And indeed for this booking, again, no such advance warning was given.
So you (that is to say Travala, not you personally!) act exactly as a kidnapper: to give me back the money which is mine, you insist that I hand over security sensitive information. Which I will not do. There are an endless stream of documented violent theft events of cryptocurrency holders, so spreading one's personal information is stupid, and any claim you make to "keep my data safe" is ridiculous, given the equally endless stream of reported hacking events. I do not trust your company with my personal information because I don't trust *any* company with it.
I have been doing Bitcoin development work for over a decade, I will make sure that a lot of people in the community know that Travala steals its customers money, directly, with no apology.
Feel free to pass this message to any management, I would appreciate that.
(me)
