Very unhappy with plat customer service

Status
Not open for further replies.

n17

Intern
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Posts
58
I'm very, very disappointed with VA customer service. I took a flight last week under the impression that I would get double SC (under the March offer). However I was informed by the Premium service centre today that I was not eligible or did not register for the offer.

I certainly registered, even though the premium rep questioned this. I later found that my wife sent the link to me, admittedly I did not read the TC but now understand that the offer was targeted, I'm now 10 Sc short from re-qualifying for plat on June 8th.

I asked the plat service agent to explain the offer and was informed that yes indeed the offer was targeted and I must have got the link by mistake which seems to be the case. However when I made the case that the system allowed me to register I was told by the Rep “ oh you know what computers are like, your email address was not on the list” well I'm sorry Virgin your system registered me, if your site was not so backward and Babage-esk it should have simply said sorry you are not eligible for this offer, given this information I would have ensured that I re- qualified by another route

As I was under the impression that my flight would re-qualify me I asked if they could waive the 10 Cc required on this occasion as I'm flying out to the US(on VA reward seat) on the 2nd June and would not be in a position to gain the 10 SC’s required. The rep told me that she would discuss the issue with her supervisor whom may make a decision based on my spend! ( so plats are now ranked on their spend, nice touch)

I received a call back an hour later and was informed that the 10 CC would not be waived. Great, well thank you VA not only do you serve me up an dried out cruddie old Mrs Mac sausage roll in J last week but you have also shown a lack of understanding and fairness.

This flight was booked in good faith, I did not purposely try to circumvent any conditions. However you have graded me and obviously I do not spend enough earn any kind of flexibility on your side. Sorry VA you are slowly becoming the same monster as the established Godzilla. I will be writing to the JB over the next few days


Sorry to bore you all I just needed to let off steam
 
Do you have a screenshot of being registered ?

Do the T&C's clearly state that the offer was only for targeted customers ?
 
Do you have a screenshot of being registered ?

Do the T&C's clearly state that the offer was only for targeted customers ?

I received the DSC offer and the bottom of the email states:

"This offer is exclusive to you and is non-transferable."

edit: Added screenshot

Exclusive double Status Credits offer.jpg
 
Last edited:
I received the DSC offer and the bottom of the email states:

"This offer is exclusive to you and is non-transferable."

This was pointed out to me by the Rep but who reads TC's these days. Unfortunately I did not grab a screen shot I wish I did as the plat rep doubted that the system registered me, I did point out that I'm not in the habit of making things up.
 
I would say there is a good chance, that if you clicked on a link from your wife's email, then it is your wife that you registered.
 
Last edited:
This was pointed out to me by the Rep but who reads TC's these days. Unfortunately I did not grab a screen shot I wish I did as the plat rep doubted that the system registered me, I did point out that I'm not in the habit of making things up.

Well you clearly read the email that was NOT addressed to you, and read it further to enable you to click on the offer.

Yes the system should perhaps not have registered you, and a screenshot would have helped your cause a little.

However, the T&C's which are in a normal sized font on the email that was sent out, say the offer is not transferable!

It seems they are addressed to Mr/Mrs/Dr/Miss Surname

So if you had 2 x Mr Surname in your household and registered, you could easily argue that both Mr Surname's should get the extra SC's

In your case you are pretty much out of luck IMO

I also find it a little hard you didn't realise that your wife forwarded you the link VS it coming from Velocity FF or Virgin Australia etc etc
 
This was pointed out to me by the Rep but who reads TC's these days. Unfortunately I did not grab a screen shot I wish I did as the plat rep doubted that the system registered me, I did point out that I'm not in the habit of making things up.
How is this VA's problem :?:

You were not entitled to this and you blame VA. Their system should not have registered you but that does not actually change anything. Does it :?:
 
It is not poor customer service that VA did not comp you Platinum because you missed out by 10SC's.

If the offer was targeted, what do you want VA to do for you? Whilst I agree that their systems should recognise that you were not eligible (as per what QF does with this type of thing), you are trying to circumvent the conditions of the offer by trying to get VA to over-ride the conditions of the promotion.

This was pointed out to me by the Rep but who reads TC's these days. Unfortunately I did not grab a screen shot I wish I did as the plat rep doubted that the system registered me, I did point out that I'm not in the habit of making things up.

As it has been pointed already, that is VA's fault how?
 
I would say there is a good chance, that if you clicked on a link from your wife's email, then it is your wife that you registered.
Clicked on the link, used my number and confirmation - your registered
 
Clicked on the link, used my number and confirmation - your registered

You are forgetting the facts that the terms were very clear in this case. Sorry but you are out of luck.
 
It is not poor customer service that VA did not comp you Platinum because you missed out by 10SC's.

If the offer was targeted, what do you want VA to do for you? Whilst I agree that their systems should recognise that you were not eligible (as per what QF does with this type of thing), you are trying to circumvent the conditions of the offer by trying to get VA to over-ride the conditions of the promotion.



As it has been pointed already, that is VA's fault how?

How is this VA's problem


You were not entitled to this and you blame VA. Their system should not have registered you but that does not actually change anything. Does it


I tend to agree, my main beef is the response from the plat team and the inflexibility in waiving the 10cc, I moved from QF years ago because I was sick of the below average service. VA claim to be different, but there seems to be an equilibrium in they way they respond to their customers.


To clarify, I was not aware I was not entitled, and yes It does change everything, I could have flown an extra J leg or made another business trip to ensure re-qualification therefore if the system only allowed targeted clients to register my choices would have different.
 
Geez - give the guy a break - it seems he's fully aware NOW that he wasn't entitled to the offer, but i can understand given the circumstances why he's a little peeved - especially if the system let him register and believe he was gonna get the double SC's

Also surprised there isn't any flexibility for someone 10SC short for requal - given how freely Virgin gave out status matches (and renewed people) with little or no flying.

Not a good way to treat an obviously loyal flyer (Flies in J, and obviously a fair bit of flying to get 790 SC's in a year)

Might be worth an email to [email protected]
 
But you still have nearly a month to earn the 10 SCs... don't you?
 
Yep I'd just book 2 x $79 fares and get 20SC's and be done with the issue for $170 or thereabouts!
 
Technically it was your wifes offer not yours. (I later found that my wife sent the link to me, admittedly I did not read the TC but now understand that the offer was targeted, I'm now 10 Sc short from re-qualifying for plat on June 8th).

So how is this VA's problem? Easy fix to your lack of points to re-qualify problem.

Do what a lot of us do here, a status run, and your problem will be solved.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

I feel sorry for the OP as they were under the impression they were registered. Personally I would spend the money on a simple return somewhere to get the required SCs for Platinum.

It is not poor customer service that VA did not comp you Platinum because you missed out by 10SC's.
It is not poor customer service but VA only has themselves to blame when they comp someone else 10 SCs short and that is plastered all over the internet.

If you do it for them why can't you do it for me?
 
It is not poor customer service but VA only has themselves to blame when they comp someone else 10 SCs short and that is plastered all over the internet.

If you do it for them why can't you do it for me?

I don't have any arguments regarding the virtues of comping status.

There are two issues here. First of all is the ignorance of the T&C's by the OP, however the second issue is the failure of the system to not recognise the OP was ineligible. Try doing the same on QF and you will receive a sorry but this promo isn't for you message.
 
There are two issues here. First of all is the ignorance of the T&C's by the OP, however the second issue is the failure of the system to not recognise the OP was ineligible. Try doing the same on QF and you will receive a sorry but this promo isn't for you message.
Yes telling you that you are excluded at time of registering would be the minimum requirement I would have thought for these promotions.
 
I received the same promo I think and clicking on the link took me directly to a "Thankyou for registering". No sign-in required.
I agree that VA could be a little bit more flexible as you are only 10SC short however if it were me I would just spend the cash and get the extra 10SC and save myself the stress of having to deal with it.
 
There are two issues here. First of all is the ignorance of the T&C's by the OP, however the second issue is the failure of the system to not recognise the OP was ineligible.

The second issue you mention, is not just restricted to this promo.

The big problem is "the failure of the (VA) system". Full stop right there. The VA system also fails to send emails to a whole swathe of us (previously) loyal VFFers. I didn't get the email, but that's not to say I wasn't eligible for this promo as I know their system failures mean I do not get emails from them. Who's to say the OP isn't the same? He registered and the system accepted the registration. It can not ever be argued with VA promos that a VFFer should have know they weren't eligible simply because they didn't receive the email. Logic like that is a foreign concept when we discuss VA IT.

On top of that, it's very poor form for VFF to comp all and sundry (including most likely the neighbours cat) and then throw additional freebie SCs and status at all the disloyal VFFers (which has happened ad nauseam in the recent past) and then arrogantly refuse a reasonable request on reasonable grounds for some leniency toward a genuine VFF status flyer who has made an understandable miscalculation for which VFF system failures are partially responsible. The fact the OP is 10SCs short of plat says to me he genuinely flew enough to achieve 790SCs and certainly the minimum 8 flights on VA metal.......what is VFF thinking?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..

Recent Posts

Back
Top