VA no longer issuing credits to travelbank (or anywhere else)

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Expect a long wait for the refund in points and $ for fees. I called Velocity yesterday about my DL J class reward booking ATL-GIG that had been caNxd.

Guy who sounded like he was in the Phillipines was really helpful but said that the administrators had changed the immediate refund of points and fees to a 13 week wait. Funny, I thought Velocity wasn't in administration?

I am waiting for a lot of refunds, EK, AR, QF, LA - this seems to be the MO now for all airlines, in administration or not, they are keeping hold of cash as long as possible, laying off staff and blaming the sheer volume of refunds that they are dealing with for the delays. Very different from CI and KR at the beginning of this. I waited 3 weeks then for refunds.
 
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I had VA reward seats booked on SQ flights in July, i got all my points refunded a week or so ago, so i can confirm the refunds are happening.

there was a few weeks though where I could see the flights were cancelled but no refund in sight, i'd even called up to ask about it but was told that the administrators hadn't decided what they were going to do yet :\
 
Don't give up. I'm just about to start my disputes with Amex and this thread (plus a few other places online) have been a great knowledge bank.

You should lodge a complaint with Amex via Customer Relations Manager, GPO Box 1582, Sydney NSW 2001. Others online have described a positive response via this method, when they initially had non-acceptance of chargeback requests through the normal transaction dispute pathway online.

If not successful, certainly follow up with the AFCA (ombudsmen). You have nothing to loose but potential to gain.

It has been mentioned that due to the structure of Amex, they would have to essentially absorb the loss themselves, unlike Visa / MC who can seek funds from VA's merchant bank, so then VA's bank has to accept the loss and essentially become the unsecured creditor.

Amex may not like it, but the card schemes are there to protect cardholders and give confidence to use the cards. It has been argued elsewhere online that insolvency proceedings of a merchant do not rescind these chargeback protections offered by the card schemes.

The chargeback reason "goods and services not received" is available to be used, and is applicable for companies that become insolvent too. You can use this document to find details of that chargeback code...Amex Chargeback Codes. The interesting part is for airline merchants, Amex suggests one suitable bit of proof for a merchant to reverse a chargeback from a cardholder in this instance is proof the flight in question was available during airline bankruptcy proceedings...ha!

I could be mistaken but I am wary that the "relationship" Amex has with Virgin could also be a reason that chargebacks are not being found in favour of cardholders in this situation. Certainly the setup of Amex having to take the financial hit with chargebacks with no recourse to subsequently claim from VA's merchant bank would likely be the main reason.

There is also this document..Affidavit in Federal Court. Submission by an accountant and liquidator from Deloitte (VA's Administrator). They mention if conditional credits are not used or not accepted (my understanding is you probably would have to write to VA to say you don't accept them as a remedy), chargebacks are a valid method for customers to claim money back. Might not be the easiest document to read but I think it is useful.

In the end, I think a referral to the AFCA will result in a successful chargeback in many instances...just requires a damn bit of effort unfortunately.
Hi, we used the chargeback with Mastercard 3 weeks today, we got the money back but today VA took the money back. What could we do? just wait until end of Voluntary Administration? Thanks
 
This is not quite the topic of this thread, but does anyone know of any cases where Conditional Travel Credits have been successfully applied to flights *not* in the name of the passenger as originally booked?

I take it as read that they're only meant to be applied against flights taken by the same passenger as originally booked - anyone know of an exception? tyvm
 
Is anyone still waiting for credits to their travelbank? I am yet to receive credits from cancelled flights over Easter
 
Is anyone still waiting for credits to their travelbank? I am yet to receive credits from cancelled flights over Easter
I'm still waiting as well. I had the confirmation that my Easter break flight credits were on hold during the Administration and then the 'conditional credits' email but haven't heard anything since. Bain has allocated money to cover the credits but I don't think there's been any action on that yet and I'm also not sure if they'll go into Travel Bank or if we'll need to call up to use them like to conditional credits.
 
I'm still waiting as well. I had the confirmation that my Easter break flight credits were on hold during the Administration and then the 'conditional credits' email but haven't heard anything since. Bain has allocated money to cover the credits but I don't think there's been any action on that yet and I'm also not sure if they'll go into Travel Bank or if we'll need to call up to use them like to conditional credits.
Has anyone actually redeemed a "conditional credit" and if so, how was it sone?
 
Hope this isn't off topic but when virgin cancelled my $4G worth of flights I put in an insurance claim via my Mastercard Westpac Black card. It usually has helpful insurance but not this time - it was rejected. I know there have rumors of this but I can confirm they are using COVID as reason.
 
Hope this isn't off topic but when virgin cancelled my $4G worth of flights I put in an insurance claim via my Mastercard Westpac Black card. It usually has helpful insurance but not this time - it was rejected. I know there have rumors of this but I can confirm they are using COVID as reason.

I'm really sorry, there are a lot of people with money stuck in limbo with VA1, hopefully once Bain take full 'official control' some money will start being refunded...
 
I contacted Velocity today to cancel a few redemptions I have on DL. No wait for the call centre, guy took down my references and said they were in the queue, expect to see refunds in 3 weeks or so. I asked him to check on some VA redemptions I'd previously cancelled online and it turned out they had not been added to any refund queue yet so he took care of that. Just have to wait now...
 
What's the current go with Conditional Credits? Last time I spoke to VA they said if I wasn't planning to fly during their administration I wouldn't get the, and would become an unsecured creditor.
 
What's the current go with Conditional Credits? Last time I spoke to VA they said if I wasn't planning to fly during their administration I wouldn't get the, and would become an unsecured creditor.

As per one of the FAQs:
https://travel.virginaustralia.com/au/coronavirus-update/conditional-credit
If you do not use the conditional credit, your rights as an unsecured creditor are preserved and what happens with your conditional credit will depend on the outcome of the administration process. Depending on how the business is structured in the future, a new owner may honour these credits after administration.
 
Hi, we used the chargeback with Mastercard 3 weeks today, we got the money back but today VA took the money back. What could we do? just wait until end of Voluntary Administration? Thanks
Goodness thats a bit rich! Dragging it back again.
 
What's the current go with Conditional Credits? Last time I spoke to VA they said if I wasn't planning to fly during their administration I wouldn't get the, and would become an unsecured creditor.
I believe Bain have stated they intend to honour these going forward, so expect they'll likely be rolled into Travel Bank or something similar.
 
So as an unsecured creditor, does each customer with either a conditional credit, or travel bank credit get a vote in the administration process? Could be a nightmare to administer.....
 
Curious whether any bank has done what's right by their cardholders and processed and finalised a chargeback?

My tickets were paid for with an ANZ Visa and have not only had a disappointing reply (declined chargeback) but ANZ didn't even pass on Virgin's response to the chargeback - just closed the dispute, and then I have had to call to find out what they were doing.

My reading of Virgin's refund policy at the time of booking is that I am entitled to card refund; so I will persevere though every level of dispute process until I get satisfaction.
 
Curious whether any bank has done what's right by their cardholders and processed and finalised a chargeback?

My tickets were paid for with an ANZ Visa and have not only had a disappointing reply (declined chargeback) but ANZ didn't even pass on Virgin's response to the chargeback - just closed the dispute, and then I have had to call to find out what they were doing.
I'm going through the same process with ANZ at the moment and expecting the same result - the money is credited then will be re-charged in a couple of weeks.

I'm hoping someone, somewhere will do the right thing. I don't need $3k worth of conditional credit or travel bank.
 
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