BestJet in Administration

[Must...Fly!]

So Zuji started with Travelocity, then sold to Webjet and then ended with bestjet?

I thought they were still Travelocity. There you go...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Zuji and even Expedia had some really good deals for routings one couldn't find/book on QF site. Not so sure about Webjet.

The $50 surcharge on all bookings by webjet puts me off - 'service fee' and the 'fare lock guarantee'. The latter should be optional, or banned IMO.

 

[cvmceg]

You might be lucky with an Aug booking that it has been paid for.

Big thread on Whirlpool with cancellations from a variety of airlines. From
Bestjet - Air Travel - Travel - Whirlpool Forums

appreciate the link. thanks.

No precedence with Air NZ, but yep my timing looks alright

 

[JohnK]

The $50 surcharge on all bookings by webjet puts me off - 'service fee' and the 'fare lock guarantee'. The latter should be optional, or banned IMO.

Agreed. I don't use Webjet. I preferred Zuji to Expedia and they've both had good airfares that I've been able to use.

 

[Virgin Bart]

The facts:

• Booked through BestJet
• Booked on 31 October, got e-ticket 31 October
• MEL-LAX-MEL booking on VA, VA ticket (795)
• Called VA to reconfirm yesterday (19/12)
• Ticket was "refunded" on 18/12
• VA say booking is "refunded but not cancelled and not ok to fly" (whatever that means)
• VA can't tell me if refund was from them to BJ, or from BJ to me
• I'll give it a week, if no refund on my CC then I'll do a chargeback
• BJ phone number, website and physical address are all shut.

Update - VA have advised they'll honour the flight cost (as a new booking). But this is at VA's version of the rate, not the ~$80 cheaper BJ rate, which is fair enough.

Also Qantas Money (Citibank) have reserved the transaction while they investigate.

Quite thankful to VA for this. They didn't have to.

 

[Littlevoice]

Update - VA have advised they'll honour the flight cost (as a new booking). But this is at VA's version of the rate, not the ~$80 cheaper BJ rate, which is fair enough.

Also Qantas Money (Citibank) have reserved the transaction while they investigate.

Quite thankful to VA for this. They didn't have to.

Hi Bart. I called them yesterday and was advised that 2 of my domestic bookings were cancelled by Bestjet. I contacted Commonweath to initiate a chargeback and then booked new tickets immediately (only one of them through VA again, the other is through Tiger).

Should I call them again to ask about a refund or should I wait for the chargeback?

Also just received a “calling for action” email this morning from bestjet.

 

[Virgin Bart]

Hi Bart. I called them yesterday and was advised that 2 of my domestic bookings were cancelled by Bestjet. I contacted Commonweath to initiate a chargeback and then booked new tickets immediately (only one of them through VA again, the other is through Tiger).

Should I call them again to ask about a refund or should I wait for the chargeback?

Also just received a “calling for action” email this morning from bestjet.

I'm certainly no expert! In your case, assuming the flights were similar price you've done the right thing. In my case I didn't want to / couldn't just book new flights because they were over twice as expensive!

 

[moa999]

called them yesterday and was advised that 2 of my domestic bookings were cancelled by Bestjet

Seem to be a lot of reports of this.. I suspect however it's mostly tickets that haven't actually been paid for by Bestjet being voided from the airline end, given they now won't get payment

 

[Littlevoice]

Seem to be a lot of reports of this.. I suspect however it's mostly tickets that haven't actually been paid for by Bestjet being voided from the airline end, given they now won't get payment

I booked 3 lot of tickets on 10/12. According to VA, my domestic tickets were cancelled on 11/12 (of course I had no knowledge about this). My international ticket with Vietnam Airlines was confirmed though.

Anyone has any experience with chargeback? How likely one might get a refund through them. CBA was very helpful but I still feel a bit uneasy.

 

[laffer]

Just a warning for those with BestJet as they have gone into administration. Reports of flights being cancelled or not ticketed. If you have a booking with them please be careful.

 

[serfty]

[moderator hat]

Threads merged​

[/moderator hat]

 

[Virgin Bart]

Just got this bizarre email from BestJet:






BESTJET ALERT

IF YOU BOOKED WITH BESTJET PRIOR TO 11 DECEMBER 2018 YOUR BOOKING SHOULD NOT BE CANCELLED.

HAS YOUR BOOKING AND E-TICKETS BEEN CANCELLED?
Bestjet used CVFR consolidation to issue e-tickets on behalf of numerous airlines. This is due to Bestjet getting better commissions from CVFR than from the airline direct.

If you booked prior to 11 December 2018 and received your e-ticket your booking and e-ticket was confirmed, the airline has received your funds from IATA and your booking should NOT have been affected. If your booking has been cancelled you need to take action immediately.
CVFR has worked with airlines to cancel your booking so they can get a full refund but the WON'T refund the money to you, they are also covered by insurance. CVFR will keep your funds and make you submit a charge back even though your booking is confirmed, e-tickets have been issued and the airline has received your funds. IATA does not permit this and the airline should never cancel your booking unless advised by you.
CVFR IS ACTING ILLEGALLY, SHOULD NOT HOLD AN IATA LICENSE AND SOME AIRLINES ARE SUPPORTING THIS. HELP US STOP THEM ACTING ILLEGALLY & MAKE THEM HONOUR YOUR BOOKING.

Airlines which were ticketed via CVFR:
Emirates, Etihad, Singapore, Virgin Australia, Malaysia Airlines, China Southern, Cathay Pacific, Hawaiian.
These airlines should honour all reservations booked prior to 11 December 2018 where the customer has received e-tickets as IATA has collected the customer funds and paid the airlines.

What to do if your booking and e-ticket are cancelled:
Email your Bestjet Receipt along with your e-tickets to the following emails advising that your tickets should remain and not cancelled. The airlines should honour your e-tickets.

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Please email all CVFR & IATA email address along with your airline your reservation is with. If your booking has been cancelled please send an email to all parties and then call the following numbers:
1300 244 777 or 0408 883 367.

If you booking has been cancelled please immediately contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission: 1300 302 502, www.accc.gov.au

All prices indicated are subject to availability and may change or be withdrawn without notice. Price is not guaranteed until full payment has been received and you have received a confirmation and E-Ticket from Bestjet.com. Every effort is made to ensure the information provided is up to date and correct. In the event the advertised price is no longer available, is incorrect or withdrawn Bestjet.com may refuse or cancel any purchases placed for an airfare which may have been affected. If this occurs Bestjet.com will make every effort to source a comparative flight and fare to replace the original selection. *Prices in AUD and include taxes and fees for payments made with Visa Debit. Card surcharges, Paypal 1.5%, Visa Credit & Mastercard 1.9% Diners & Amex 3.5%. Fares exclude any local taxes that are payable at the airport. You have received this email as you have signed up for the Bestjet.com newsletter.

 

[moa999]

Gets more bizarre.
From Facebook page - Bestjet Fail Bestjet Scam.

Reported email from the Administrators (got no idea of the legitimacy of anything at present)

 

[Scott K]

Gets more bizarre.
From Facebook page - Bestjet Fail Bestjet Scam.

Reported email from the Administrators (got no idea of the legitimacy of anything at present)

View attachment 147790

I got the email too. This is getting weird. Really weird.

 

[jase05]

Thankfully I dodged a bullet and it sounds like we we’re one of the lucky ones. Luckily no more bookings with them. I do feel sorry for those affected but I guess it’s the risk you take with OTA’s.

 

[tdimdad]

Just got this bizarre email from BestJet:
CVFR IS ACTING ILLEGALLY, SHOULD NOT HOLD AN IATA LICENSE AND SOME AIRLINES ARE SUPPORTING THIS. HELP US STOP THEM ACTING ILLEGALLY & MAKE THEM HONOUR YOUR BOOKING.
[part of the content removed]
What to do if your booking and e-ticket are cancelled:
Email your Bestjet Receipt along with your e-tickets to the following emails advising that your tickets should remain and not cancelled. The airlines should honour your e-tickets.
[email addresses removed]
Please email all CVFR & IATA email address along with your airline your reservation is with. If your booking has been cancelled please send an email to all parties and then call the following numbers:
1300 244 777 or 0408 883 367.

Wow, what a great example of an unprofessional way to do things! Asking individuals to email individuals, including CEO's. No wonder if the company struggled...
BTW, if the aggregator behind them was acting illegally, why did BestJet use them in the first place? Too good to be true...

 

[Scott K]

Wow, what a great example of an unprofessional way to do things! Asking individuals to email individuals, including CEO's. No wonder if the company struggled...
BTW, if the aggregator behind them was acting illegally, why did BestJet use them in the first place? Too good to be true...

Really gives you a sense of the kind of cowboy operators that were behind the business.

 

[ktraveller]

We got stung. Return to LAX in July next year. Booked at the end of Nov. Called VA - Cancelled. Got the eticket back in Nov but apparently this means nothing, since as a previous comment indicated, VA actually doesn't receive the money from the intermediary until the flight occurs. I think this is IATA or CVFR. They act as a sort of Escrow or something...
Just called QBE, who we organised travel insurance through, and of course... they don't cover when the travel company goes belly up! Only if the company you work for goes into insolvency.
We did a direct money transfer to pay for the ticket, so have submitted a trace and refund request to the bank to see if the transaction can be reversed, but this may take up to 6 weeks to get an indication of being successful or not...

 

[TomVexille]

We got stung. Return to LAX in July next year. Booked at the end of Nov. Called VA - Cancelled. Got the eticket back in Nov but apparently this means nothing, since as a previous comment indicated, VA actually doesn't receive the money from the intermediary until the flight occurs. I think this is IATA or CVFR. They act as a sort of Escrow or something...
Just called QBE, who we organised travel insurance through, and of course... they don't cover when the travel company goes belly up! Only if the company you work for goes into insolvency.
We did a direct money transfer to pay for the ticket, so have submitted a trace and refund request to the bank to see if the transaction can be reversed, but this may take up to 6 weeks to get an indication of being successful or not...

Welcome to AFF.

Hope you get a good result from the bank, but a good reminder as to why purchasing with a credit card offers consumer protection in these cases

 

[oz_mark]

We got stung. Return to LAX in July next year. Booked at the end of Nov. Called VA - Cancelled. Got the eticket back in Nov but apparently this means nothing, since as a previous comment indicated, VA actually doesn't receive the money from the intermediary until the flight occurs. I think this is IATA or CVFR. They act as a sort of Escrow or something...
Just called QBE, who we organised travel insurance through, and of course... they don't cover when the travel company goes belly up! Only if the company you work for goes into insolvency.
We did a direct money transfer to pay for the ticket, so have submitted a trace and refund request to the bank to see if the transaction can be reversed, but this may take up to 6 weeks to get an indication of being successful or not...

If all avenues fail, you might need to look into registering as an unsecured creditor. Might get something back, if not everything, although it can take a while...