Flight Centre issue....

[qiktune]

Ok so the issue is just you though it was all included, its just the bundles which you now know is extra.

Yes...thank you

So I should just suck it up and put it down to experience? I don'twant this young lady to get her backside kicked for it by making a huge deal with her Boss or going to social media....I just wanted to know whether I should pursue it as I went in there thinking we were bothclear about what I wanted but that didn't materialize. I guess I was putting it out there also to see if anyone had similar experiences and whether they pursued it. I'm suck a noob at this points thing and every single one counts :-(

 

[Mattg]

Yes...thank you

So I should just suck it up and put it down to experience? I don'twant this young lady to get her backside kicked for it by making a huge deal with her Boss or going to social media....I just wanted to know whether I should pursue it as I went in there thinking we were bothclear about what I wanted but that didn't materialize. I guess I was putting it out there also to see if anyone had similar experiences and whether they pursued it. I'm suck a noob at this points thing and every single one counts :-(

I don't think you should just "suck it up and put it down to experience". The Flight Centre employee made a mistake and has failed to rectify it satisfactorily. Yes, the Jetstar bundles cost extra but not the amount they tried to charge you! Flight Centre should add the bundles and charge no more than the difference that you would have had to pay at the time of booking.

 

[SuzieQ68]

As frustrating as it is, I think you may have to chalk this one up to a learning experience - and I've had plenty of those!

It all comes down to interpretation and expectation - what you requested appears not to have been interpreted correctly and the result is that your expectation wasn't met. I definitely appreciate how annoying this can be. If the points are important, then I think in this instance (and only my opinion) I'd just pay the additional dollars and let it go - knowing full well that a) you probably won't use this travel agency again and b) you'll make sure that any future bookings are 100% what you want before you hand over any payment.

That's the best part about AFF, you're always learning and even if you're not about to travel, you can gain such an insight into the wonderful world of travel - and all the pitfalls that can come with it. I've learnt so much and I hope that over time, I'll be able to give back much more.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hello collective genius,I'd like to ask a question as relates a Flight Centre experience last Friday and pick your brains as to what I should do.

I had a $75 Flight Centre gift voucher which I received last Christmas and after a quick check found it could only be redeemed instore. I decided to do my first ever mini points run, which would also give me opportunity to do some aviation photography. I made an appointment and preempted the appointment with an email outlining my requirements...."airports I'd never photographed at before as well as points accumulation". I also included in the email a current Jetstar promo including the cost of upgrades in order to gain some points. The consultant replied with an affirmative.

I went along to the appointment and discussed further what I was after. We sorted out a route which would go Sydney>Melbourne>Christchurch>Brisbane>Sydney in just under 32 hours (be nice, it's my first so it looked like fun). I was given the price, I paid, handed over my FF cards (Qantas and Virgin - 2 sectors each) and just as I was saying goodbye I asked her to give me a quick tally of points for the trip. The response was "you won't actually earn any points on the first 2 sectors" - WTF!!??

She did a check and offered an upgrade on both Jetstar flights at a cost of $230. Needless to say I refused and have since been emailing back and forth as to how to resolve it.

Sundays email stated that Jetstar couldn't really budge. My question to her was "how is this a Jetstar issue? And I refuse to pay a cent more since at the time of payment you knew what I wanted and I was under the impression that that was what I was paying for."

I'm waiting on a response as to what resolution can be offered.....what do you guys and girls think?

With the benefit of hindsight which is always a wonderful thing it would probably have been a better idea to give FC the easiest itinerary to redeem the $75.00 against ie something simple that didn't require adding bundles ie the VA airfare CHC/BNE/SYD where points accrual is automatically included in the fare. Then you could have booked the JQ fares yourself via the JQ website ensuring you added the bundles correctly.

The $230 is the price for an upgrade bundle only (the cost of the flights are not part of it) which would entitle me to collecting points on the 2 Jetstar sectors. She didn't mention anything about fees. When she told me that I'd need to now pay this additional sum I asked "why wasn't it included?" she said she wasn't sure and then asked if I'd like to go ahead and pay the extra. I said "that's a lot extra for something which I thought was included in the price I just paid" and she replied with "that IS a lot, you don't have to decide today we can add it later". I told her I wasn't happy and needed it rectified as it wasn't what we discussed....what I paid should have included those upgrades to begin with. She said she'd follow it up and get back to me.

I'm waiting......

It's not worth paying $230.00 for a few points and SC as this would be about three times the prices of the actual bundles if they were added at the time of booking. What they've quoted you is the cost upgrade to the next highest airfare plus the cost of the bundles. You'd be much better off doing a separate return domestic fare to get the SC you need which you could do for less than $230.00. Not sure whether you needed a specific amount of SC or you just wanted to earn points on all the flights you take.

The fact the the TA says she "has to follow it up & get back to you" shows that she's out of her depth and is trying to buy times because she's not sure how to deal with your situation which would not have been covered in her extensive 3 week FC training. All she had to say was that the price she quoted was minus the bundle so she basically didn't listen to your requirements or you might have given her way too much info about the trip to digest that she got sidetracked.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I do not consider this acceptable on the part of Flight Centre. Their responsibility is to book what you, the customer, asks for. If you specifically told them you wanted to earn maximum frequent flyer points, they should have taken this into account at the time of booking. They can't turn around and blame you for their mistake.

It's stories like these that remind me why I will never set foot in a Flight Centre store.

Re bold text - it's not clear that's what the OP asked for. They wanted airports they hadn't photographed before, and points 'accumulation'.

FC delivered on at least some of the 'accumulation'. I think trying to rely on an email sent the day before, when the agent would likely have seen many customers in between, has resulted in the confusion that eventuated.

I do however think it would be good if JQ ad a policy where they could add the bundles retrospectively in the event an agent was to ring and plead their case. But sadly that's not the case.

 

[Moopere]

I don't think you should just "suck it up and put it down to experience". The Flight Centre employee made a mistake and has failed to rectify it satisfactorily. Yes, the Jetstar bundles cost extra but not the amount they tried to charge you! Flight Centre should add the bundles and charge no more than the difference that you would have had to pay at the time of booking.

This is probably the most realistic outcome. Like any disagreement, compromise is likely the key. So, you wear some additional cost and so does Flightcentre. From your perspective they have made a booking error, they will likely cling to the idea that you agreed (by paying if not directly/verbally) to a modification of the original written request. I'm not familiar with Jetstar bundles, but from the posts above it sounds like there would be some sort of change fee involved of around $100, flightcentre should pay this and you'd have to pay what it would probably have cost if they'd booked the bundle in the first place ... around $100 as well.

People make mistakes, businesses understand this and I wouldn't have thought it a sacking offence - unless there was a pattern, but in any event, this is not your issue and not one you should have to pay for. Have a polite and reasonable chat with the owner/manager of that Flightcentre store, describe, including your email (printed if need be), your original request and that you'd reinforced this when meeting with the sales agent (provided you _did_ actually do this). Any reasonable manager should be able to make a decent decision in about 5 seconds. It doesn't even matter in the scheme of things (to him/her) who may or may not have been at fault.

The agent _knew_ you were chasing points, so, though they may have made some professional decisions on your behalf that included some non earning segments, this should have been explained, segment by segment, to you at the close of the sale to avoid any ambiguity.

 

[harvyk]

Chalk it upto experience as to why FC should not be used. Yes you said earn points, as MEL_Traveller has said they did earn you points, just not at AFF levels, so you'd be hard pressed attempting to fight any such things. Besides is your time to fight it truly worth a few thousand points?

Whenever I use FC I am very exact in my request (aka this flight this class) and am purely using them to do bookings which I can't do online for whatever reason. I know of many horror stories with them, and they've even stuffed up with me. As others have said, the good FC staff don't hang around for very long, and the bad ones can stuff up a very simple booking.

 

[qiktune]

Just received the following in an email.....maybe they will get ut sorted.



I just wanted to let you know that I have heard back from Jetstar and it looks hopeful but I am just waiting for the final confirmation before I can reissue your ticket.


I'll let you know as soon as I do. Have a good night!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Just received the following in an email.....maybe they will get ut sorted.

I just wanted to let you know that I have heard back from Jetstar and it looks hopeful but I am just waiting for the final confirmation before I can reissue your ticket.

I'll let you know as soon as I do. Have a good night!

Why does FC need to contact JQ to fix up their own mistake ie not adding a bundle to a starter fare.

Sounds more like the TA is waiting to hear back from their own management as to whether they'll cough up the adcoll.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Why does FC need to contact JQ to fix up their own mistake ie not adding a bundle to a starter fare.

Sounds more like the TA is waiting to hear back from their own management as to whether they'll cough up the adcoll.

Well... it could be that FC is going the extra mile not to fix their mistake, but to try and accommodate the OP at as low a cost as possible.

If FC is not to blame (which is a possibility), why should they fork out a dime? They could be negotiating a good outcome for the OP.

 

[clazman]

Before you forked up the money, FC agent didn't show you a itinerary?

 

[Milboo]

In the chalk it up to experience and know what to look out for next time.

I would have read your email as points accumulation as being a secondary consideration. If it had been fundamental to any contract you entered into, it should have been expressed as such i.e. All flights must be eligible for frequent flier points in Qantas FF or Velocity FF.

There is also an onus on you to ensure you are getting what you need given agents get you to check your itinerary before it is locked in. The question for confirmation of points earn should have been asked then - especially if it was a key consideration for you.

I would not place a strong reliance in remedies under the Consumer Law in this instance if I was in your shoes.

 

[JohnK]

I'd chalk it up as a learning experience but at the same time I would push to get what I wanted.

 

[qiktune]

Just received the following email. Thank you all for the input and opinions, I'll definitely know to triple check everything next time (should I ever use FC again!).

Hi Brett,


Good news, I have fixed it all. I am just waiting for Jetstar to send through your new, confirmed itinerary and then I will email everything through to you including the booking reference numbers so you can log in to check everything if you wish.

 

[qiktune]

Before you forked up the money, FC agent didn't show you a itinerary?

Yes I was given the itinerary to look over but I've never actually seen one that stated miles/points before....this one included.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Seems like a good result... are they doing this free of charge? or for the cost of the bundle as it would have been if made at the time of booking?

I would have expected the itinerary and/or fare information to show that a bundle had been purchased.