Brown Noddy Expeditions

Stay away! We were scammed by this company!

I recently booked a safari with brown noddy expeditions, based on the 5 good reviews on this platform. However, looking back, these reviews seem to be written by company staff themselves. Also the fact that there are only very view reviews, while the company claims to be an established tour operator, should have been a warning sign.

After booking my safari, I first received an invoice via email with a request to pay the 40% deposit. After the money was transferred, brown noddy expeditions said that they forgot to include the price for 2 accommodations in their first proposal and that I have to pay additional 500 USD. I refused, as it deviated from the agreement. Then, they said they could waive the 500 USD, but then I have to pay the full amount of the safari in advance, i.e. also the remaining 60%, which actually were agreed to be due upon start of the safari. I refused again and expressed my dissatisfaction with the whole process. They apologized and said that we can stick to the initial proposal, but that they haven’t received my 40% deposit payment yet. However, my bank confirmed, that the transfer went through. After confronting brown noddy expeditions with this confirmation, they claimed to have been hacked and that they have nothing to do with the bank account, which was sent from their company email address.

While admitting to have been hacked, they stated that they will not reimburse me, since they are a small company.

First of all, I doubt that they actually were hacked. Second, I believe any legit company would reimburse their customers in such a case.