G'day All 
I would like the opinion of Members on this situation.
- I booked a flight with a TA and asked "can the return date be changed?"
- The answer was "yes"
- I asked a few more times before paying and each time the answer was "yes".
To be fair the phrase "subject to seat availabilty" may of been used once or twice, but no further explanation other than that.
When I went in to re-book the return flight, I was told:
- We have to pay an extra approx $2,000 for the exact date we wanted
- An extra approx $1,000 for a later date (spanning 3 weeks)
- Nothing more but the return date would be 3 weeks later than what we wanted
Obviously I was shocked to say the least, I had asked several times "can we change the flight?" and was only told "yes" or "subject to availability".
At no point did the TA or the Branch Manager explain to me that there could be a substantial extra financial cost or that the fare booked (as I have now found out) was actually a "Special Fare" with limitations on travelling. That would have influenced my decision and I may of selected a different return date to start with or paid more to have the flexibility required.
The Defence used by the Branch Manger when I protested was "it's in the Terms and Conditions" (shrugging his shoulders as he said that didn't help my frame of mind). As I have found out that seems to be the bottom line.
It now comes down to "he said, she said", "I should have known" and the fact that I signed the Terms and Conditions. I feel duped because I took the TA at their word.
So my question is:
If you asked a TA a direct question would you expect the answer you got to be full and complete or am I being Naive and this is common practise???
Personally I feel that it's Ethically wrong (at the least) to give me a Half Answer and then when I needed to change the dates inform me of the Full Answer (extra costs or a delay) and then use the "Terms and Conditions" as it being my own fault.
Regards
John :evil:

I would like the opinion of Members on this situation.
- I booked a flight with a TA and asked "can the return date be changed?"
- The answer was "yes"
- I asked a few more times before paying and each time the answer was "yes".
To be fair the phrase "subject to seat availabilty" may of been used once or twice, but no further explanation other than that.
When I went in to re-book the return flight, I was told:
- We have to pay an extra approx $2,000 for the exact date we wanted
- An extra approx $1,000 for a later date (spanning 3 weeks)
- Nothing more but the return date would be 3 weeks later than what we wanted
Obviously I was shocked to say the least, I had asked several times "can we change the flight?" and was only told "yes" or "subject to availability".
At no point did the TA or the Branch Manager explain to me that there could be a substantial extra financial cost or that the fare booked (as I have now found out) was actually a "Special Fare" with limitations on travelling. That would have influenced my decision and I may of selected a different return date to start with or paid more to have the flexibility required.
The Defence used by the Branch Manger when I protested was "it's in the Terms and Conditions" (shrugging his shoulders as he said that didn't help my frame of mind). As I have found out that seems to be the bottom line.
It now comes down to "he said, she said", "I should have known" and the fact that I signed the Terms and Conditions. I feel duped because I took the TA at their word.
So my question is:
If you asked a TA a direct question would you expect the answer you got to be full and complete or am I being Naive and this is common practise???
Personally I feel that it's Ethically wrong (at the least) to give me a Half Answer and then when I needed to change the dates inform me of the Full Answer (extra costs or a delay) and then use the "Terms and Conditions" as it being my own fault.
Regards
John :evil: