QANTAS security breach-2 separate flights were cancelled without Authorisation by my ex-husband through his QFF Account on-line.

[Rich]

This action perpetrated by my ex husband is a security breach and QANTAS need to be held accountable for it.

I am very sorry for your situation, it must be an awful thing to be going through.
However it is not a security breach. A breach implies someone has hacked your account or their systems, which is not the case. Him having your surname and booking reference is the same as you sharing your username and password for something. No doubt you've had a lot on your mind and these joint bookings were not forefront, but the outcome was there waiting to happen.
As others have said it is pretty standard protocol and it is convenient e.g. my wife often books flights and leaves me to deal with details of seat selections etc.
It would have been decent if QANTAS were understanding of your situation and helped you out, but it is hard to find someone in a call centre anywhere that can work outside of the standard script. Maybe you can find something in the domestic violence snippet someone posted earlier, but otherwise I would cut my losses.

 

[justinbrett]

I have some sympathy with the OP.

Banks and credit cards separate out the primary and secondary card holders, with the primary having more a control over the account. You could have the primary (paying) and secondary passengers in a booking.

If hotels followed the same logic as airlines, imagine if a single employee was able to cancel the reservations of the whole company going away for a conference.

Airlines do have it both ways. If you book through a travel agent, the airline won’t touch the booking. Yet here the OP has paid, but they’re are willing to deal with the person who has not, and give that person full control.

Airline practices are often outdated, and it doesn’t make them ‘right’.

There’s a difference in saying procedures should change, vs blaming the airline for following extant procedures that have been in place for decades.

You have to operate with the procedures currently in place. That means taking steps to modify the booking and removing the other passenger. To use your analogy, it’s similar to them having a credit card linked to your account. Wouldn’t you be cancelling that card as a matter of priority? Not only do they have access to modify/cancel your booking, but you’re going to be seated together on the same flights. Crazy (IMO).

I don’t think it’s helpful to involve group bookings into the discussion, as they work fundamentally differently both in the hotel and airline context.

 

[elanshin]

I do agree that airline method of identifying the customer and their intentions are outdated, but that would be a whole totally different thread.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There’s a difference in saying procedures should change, vs blaming the airline for following extant procedures that have been in place for decades.

You have to operate with the procedures currently in place. That means taking steps to modify the booking and removing the other passenger. To use your analogy, it’s similar to them having a credit card linked to your account. Wouldn’t you be cancelling that card as a matter of priority? Not only do they have access to modify/cancel your booking, but you’re going to be seated together on the same flights. Crazy (IMO).

I don’t think it’s helpful to involve group bookings into the discussion, as they work fundamentally differently both in the hotel and airline context.

With group bookings, it’s suits hotels and airlines from a commercial perspective that the person who organises and pays controls the booking. They don’t want to lose the business of a group booking.

Just as it suits airlines to not touch bookings made by travel agents, even if that disadvantages the passenger travelling.

Sure, the airline and passengers work within the rules as they are now. I don’t agree with the OP that this is a security breach, but that doesn’t preclude sympathy for a system that is outdated.

It also doesn’t stop airlines working with the passenger to fix the problem. Nothing in the rules prevents that.

 

[justinbrett]

With group bookings, it’s suits hotels and airlines from a commercial perspective that the person who organises and pays controls the booking. They don’t want to lose the business of a group booking.

Just as it suits airlines to not touch bookings made by travel agents, even if that disadvantages the passenger travelling.

Sure, the airline and passengers work within the rules as they are now. I don’t agree with the OP that this is a security breach, but that doesn’t preclude sympathy for a system that is outdated.

It also doesn’t stop airlines working with the passenger to fix the problem. Nothing in the rules prevents that.

The extant procedures actually work in OP’s favour, assuming they don’t want to travel with the other passenger.

Allowing the pax who paid to unilaterally cancel bookings doesn’t solve the issue. We could be reading a very similar post. Imagine the partner paid for the person to travel to spend Christmas with their parents, then days before cancels the ticket leaving them stranded with either sold out or very expensive flights. The fact it was on their card, which could be joint or even the other persons funds, is irrelevant.

And if each passenger has to permit changes, not only does that make it onerous on the airline, but could actually prevent the person removing a dangerous ex partner from travelling with them.

Any way you slice it, it’s going to be messy. It’s not the airlines job to get involved - we aren’t talking about bookings being hacked, these are travelling companions having access to joint bookings. There was a very easy way to solve this issue, unfortunately for whatever reason, OP did not think to do it. Certainly doesn’t warrant a pile on because it sounds like they’ve got a lot to think about, but it’s the kind of mistake you’d only make once.

 

[oz_mark]

If hotels followed the same logic as airlines, imagine if a single employee was able to cancel the reservations of the whole company going away for a conference.

Group bookings are handled differently.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Firstly, I'm very sorry to hear about your predicament @Trudie22 . As others have already suggested, this is - on the face of it, at least - an unfortunate reality in terms of how bookings can be managed and QF are not strictly on the hook here.

I can appreciate that this is an exceedingly frustrating scenario, however as one of the QF agents with whom I was speaking last night said, "...you can often catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar." QF agents have the ability to make all sorts of things happen, so if you haven't already done so, I would be inclined to try and calmly explain the situation to an agent and see what can be done to assist you in this matter? If you go in "guns blazing" then they will understandably get very defensive and be less willing to assist you. In fact, their supervisors will likely fully support them refusing to engage further with you.

At the very least, I would be expecting that the points cost for the award seats would be refunded to you (minus any change/cancellation cost in points, although under the circumstances, you would likely have a good argument for getting that waived), and as has already been pointed out, you are entitled to a refund of cash taxes/fees. That would be the baseline acceptable outcome IMHO. From there, you may find that Qantas are willing to compromise given the specifics of your circumstances and as a good faith measure, reissue you your original reward booking(s).

I highly doubt you'll get this resolved in one call, and you will likely need to escalate. But if you can remain calm, stick to the facts of the situation and be clear about the minimum acceptable scenario and your entitlements if the bookings are indeed cancelled, then you'll at least have a baseline from which to work in trying to see this issue through to some form of acceptable resolution.

Best of luck

@Trudie22 I think @DejaBrew has put forward some sense in this situation.
I feel for you in this position and understand your frustrations. It is a very difficult time for you personally.

Not sure where you are at with this or particularly what you hope to achieve now ,but my thought would be to email Qantas Customer Care [email protected] stating calmly your changed domestic situation and your intention to still travel but you have encountered difficulties in getting this sorted due to the booking not being split. Keep it simple.
Then, "respectfully request consideration of" ...... re instating your flights without penalty and waiver of the cancellation/change points fee - or whatever it is that you want from Qantas.

As others have mentioned, not a security breach as such.

This is a very supportive and knowledgeable community and hopefully you are able to move on you get some resolution from Qantas.
I have found them to be responsive to emails.
If you don't get a response that is satisfactory for you, it may be something you just have to let go and focus on your well-being and future.

I along with others here, wish you well.

 

[Spamam]

I think the way to deal with QANTAS has been dealt with here and I fully concur with the suggestion to try and work with QANTAS support on what can be done in such a distressing situation. I can only suggest that others in a similar situation call QANTAS if they are on the same booking as an abusive partner.

You should also report the event to the police so it is documented for the court hearing. I am not a lawyer nor am I qualified to offer legal advice so I cannot say if this will or won’t count as a breach of court conditions.

I am currently in a separation process and the price of a flight and some points is pennies compared to everything else that’s happening and being negotiated over. I advise on separating everything you can as soon as possible to prevent other abuse. Freeze joint accounts by talking to the banks., ditch joint CCs and protect yourself. Move off his private health to prevent tax surprises. In the bigger scheme the flight is a minor worry.