Pickpocketed in Bangkok: by Qantas

[NM]

Possible I guess, but it would be unusual way to deal with a simple date change on a flex ticket.

Not at all. The normal way to deal with the date change is for the agency that issued the ticket to make the change. The Qantas agents at the airport would have limited ability to modify the booking that was made by an agent.

Certainly shouldn’t be done this way without the passengers consent or the passenger requesting it.

That is likely part of the communication failure and not requesting and receiving proper "informed consent". They may have taken the passenger's request to change their flight as being consent to do whatever needed to be done to make the change. The staff may have thought they were "doing a favour", not realising or understanding the additional level of separation between passenger and travel agent in this case.

Isn’t there some provision that once the itinerary has commenced, then the airline doesn’t have to deal via the TA?

No. There may be some options in certain cases such as irregular ops or once the actual flight has been transferred to "airport control", but as the originally booked flight was still more than 24 hours away, it is very unlikely it would have yet transferred to airport control.

These calls are recorded. If there’s a dispute OP can request QF to review what he asked the agent to do.

It seems much of the communication between passenger and Qantas was face-to-face at the airport when it was found the original change requested via phone had not resulted in the ticket being issued (likely because only the original travel agent was able to make the change). So, yes, the recording of the original call to make the change may help provide context and the passenger's original request to make the change, it would seem that change was never auctioned and once at the airport it may be that the only way the airport staff were able to get the passenger booked onto the desired flight was to cancel the original ticket, refunding residual value to the TA and then make a new booking. If that is the case, then its poor communication indeed.

 

[NM]

I wondered that also, but it doesn't seem logical that Qantas would cancel a perfectly legitimate booking that had already been updated instead of just pushing a button to issue an e-ticket.

It might seem logical to the Qantas staff trying to deal with your situation and not able to modify the original ticket due to restrictions with who is able to modify a ticket issued by a TA.

Last reply from Qantas (24 Feb) for the record:
"We have reviewed your case for [the original booking] and can confirm that the amount of INR 980.00, which had been deducted for voluntary change, will be reversed back as no documents were issued. Additionally, we can see that you have not utilised your tickets. Should you wish to discuss this booking further, please contact your Travel Agent for assistance.

Perhaps the airport staff were not even able to cancel the ticket and expected that you would contact the issuing TA for them to cancel and refund the remaining value of the ticket? Again, if that is the case, and it was not clearly communicated, then that is very poor communication from the Qantas staff you were dealing with. That reply from Qantas does suggest to me that the original ticket has not been cancelled and refunded, but may still be able to be cancelled and refunded based on the evidence you have regarding the process.

However, for [the new booking], we can see that this booking was created directly on the website. As you have successfully flown on these tickets, we are unable to process a refund."

It's not clear to me from the above that Qantas has issued a credit for the part of the original booking not utilised. I've reached out to the organiser, as I don't have a direct line to the TA.

It does sound like they have not yet issued a credit for the unused return ticket. I suggest you contact the issuing TA and ask them to seek the refund and pass it on to you. Hopefully it will be sufficient to come close to the amount you were charged for the new flight booking.

Again, I am in no way defending Qantas in this matter, just providing some ideas about what may have transpired from Qantas' perspective. If this is correct, then I will say again that it is very poor communication from Qantas' staff both on the original call implying that they could make the change for you, and at the airport for making a new booking without full explanation as to why and how to seek a refund from the original TA.

And this will be even more complicated because you did not pay the TA for the original booking, so they may be unwilling to forward the refunded value to you and may insist that it can only be sent to the person/company originally requesting their services.

I feel for you - its is likely going to a lot of work and quite difficult chasing up all the parties involved. As other have suggested, easiest way would be if the CC provider accepts a charge-back request, but it seems from Qantas' reply that as far as they are concerned you purchased a new ticket and flew on that new ticket. In their mind there still an unused return ticket with flexible terms that may hold some value, but the only way you can access that value is likely to be for the original TA to request a refund of unused value from Qantas.

 

[FlyingScotsman]

it may be that the only way the airport staff were able to get the passenger booked onto the desired flight was to cancel the original ticket, refunding residual value to the TA and then make a new booking. If that is the case, then its poor communication indeed.

This feels like the most likely explanation. Despite the fact I think Qantas' handling of my situation was incompetent and poorly communicated, I've got some (perhaps unfounded) belief that their processes would detect double-dipping and ensure payment receipts matched inventory.

Still, it is inexcusable that my card was charged without consent (in any scenario). It's tantamount to theft.

In their mind there still an unused return ticket with flexible terms that may hold some value, but the only way you can access that value is likely to be for the original TA to request a refund of unused value from Qantas.

If this is the scenario I'm dealing with, I will just have to suck up the inconvenience - so long as I get my money back and a sincere apology from Qantas acknowledging their litany of failings

 

[FlyingScotsman]

Thanks everyone for your input and questions.

I've decided to pursue a credit card chargeback as a first course of action, as I was misled (most likely intentionally to quickly solve a problem and move to the next customer) by a Qantas representative - resulting in a transaction taking place without my knowledge or consent. By definition, this is theft.

Will post an update when it's hopefully resolved.

I hope this acts as a cautionary tale to anyone who may face a similar situation in future.

 

[FlyingScotsman]

Thanks everyone for your input and questions.

I've decided to pursue a credit card chargeback as a first course of action, as I was misled (most likely intentionally to quickly solve a problem and move to the next customer) by a Qantas representative - resulting in a transaction taking place without my knowledge or consent. By definition, this is theft.

Will post an update when it's hopefully resolved.

I hope this acts as a cautionary tale to anyone who may face a similar situation in future.

Hey everyone,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of airborne adventures.

I forgot to circle back to this - not to take a victory lap, but to encourage everyone facing a similar situation with Qantas (or any large corporation) to keep persisting when faced with constant denial, template CS responses and weeks between those responses - especially when the facts are in your favour. The below response came from Qantas Customer Care a full 4.5 months after I first raised the complaint:

"Thank you for your continued patience, and we sincerely apologise for the delay in addressing your concerns.

We fully acknowledge the distress and confusion caused by the circumstances surrounding your duplicate booking, and appreciate the detailed information you’ve provided.

Having reviewed your case, we acknowledge that the booking under reference [redacted] was created and charged to your Visa card without your clear authorisation at the time. We take full responsibility for the actions that led to this and are genuinely sorry for the inconvenience and frustration this has caused.

As a gesture of goodwill and by way of resolution, we will be arranging a full refund of [redacted] via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). This will be processed through a secure reimbursement platform via a link that will be provided to you shortly. Please note this is being offered as a one-time exception.

We appreciate your long-standing loyalty to Qantas and regret that this experience has fallen short of the service standards you rightly expect. If there’s anything further we can do to support you, please let us know."

I lost count of the number of CS representatives I spoke with or wrote to but want to give credit to the team members at Qantas who demonstrated genuine empathy and excellent service despite having their hands completely tied by a bureaucratic PR machine unwilling to admit its failures (see "goodwill" above)

Despite this most recent experience, I have more Q1 flights pre-booked with QF than ever. Stockholm syndrome or objective cost-benefit analysis I'm not sure, but Qantas will still come out ahead in the long-run.

 

[bam71]

It’s ridiculous it’s taken this long…