Jetstar refused hot meal despite Plus bundle

[apollobp]

Hi all, this is my first post, I hope I'm in the right forum for this:

I recently booked two return flights PER-DPS-PER with Jetstar from their website and added the Plus bundle (40$ each flight pp, $160 in total), which said it would include the ability to collect QF points/status credits and a hot meal. Everything went fine on the flight to Bali, but on the return flight, the stewardess refused to give us the entitled meals. She said there was no record of it on the manifest and the "Plus" option on the boarding pass and itinerary does not mean that a meal is included.

After a lengthy and embarrassing discussion in front of the other passengers, making us feel like we were scammers, we eventually agreed to purchase the meal and drinks.

I called the customer service hotline today to explain the problem and seek a refund for the meals we were forced to pay for. The representative was quite rude and treated me like an idiot and insisted that I only booked the meals on the flight to Denpasar but not on the way back. It was only after I convinced him to go on the website himself and go through the booking process and clicking on the Plus bundle that he agreed that it says "hot meal". He said this was a "web error" and he couldn't help me with it.

Has anyone else had problems with this? Am I missing something? Thanks for your advice!
Tom

 

[markis10]

Did you pay for your meal with a credit card, I would suggest in this instance a chargeback may be the best option, explaining that it was a duplicate charge. I would also lodge a complaint using their web form:

Customer Guarantee | Jetstar

 

[apollobp]

Yes I did pay by CC. Not sure about the chargeback, I don't want debt collectors chasing me for this or risking a bad credit rating. I'm not so much concerned about the few extra bucks I had to pay, more that I booked and payed for a service that I didn't receive and was treated rudely on the plane and on the phone. Curious if this is a known problem with Jetstar or a one-off misunderstanding.

I will fill out the complaint form as you suggested though, thanks!

 

[mannej]

Yes I did pay by CC. Not sure about the chargeback, I don't want debt collectors chasing me for this or risking a bad credit rating. I'm not so much concerned about the few extra bucks I had to pay, more that I booked and payed for a service that I didn't receive and was treated rudely on the plane and on the phone. Curious if this is a known problem with Jetstar or a one-off misunderstanding.

I will fill out the complaint form as you suggested though, thanks!

Why would you get Debt Collectors chasing you for charging back a service that you did not receive. Best to contact your bank about that one.

 

[straitman]

Yes I did pay by CC. Not sure about the chargeback, I don't want debt collectors chasing me for this or risking a bad credit rating. I'm not so much concerned about the few extra bucks I had to pay, more that I booked and payed for a service that I didn't receive and was treated rudely on the plane and on the phone. Curious if this is a known problem with Jetstar or a one-off misunderstanding.

Why would you get Debt Collectors chasing you for charging back a service that you did not receive. Best to contact your bank about that one.

As mannej says, there will not be an issue if you have paid twice. You are only claiming back what is yours to claim.

....and welcome to AFF

 

[apollobp]

...and welcome to AFF

Thanks for the welcome straitman

As mannej says, there will not be an issue if you have paid twice. You are only claiming back what is yours to claim.

Maybe I didn't explain it well enough (sorry, I'm not a native English speaker):

I added the Plus bundle to the booking which (amongst other benefits) had a free meal included. This increased my overall booking cost by 40$ for each flight per person. Surely I can't claim that back from my bank because it was part of the overall ticket cost and I received some of the benefits (like the points).

On the flight I was refused the free meal I was entitled to, as well as a cold and hot drink. So i bought another meal and 1 drink. While I could charge that amount back from my bank, I'm not sure if I'm on the legal side here since I purchased and received that meal. I didn't get charged twice for that purchase, although I should have never had to pay for it in the first place. I don't know, maybe this is just a technicality but I'm German and we are very particular about such details

But like I said: It's not so much about the money than about the fact that the Jetstar website says "hot meal included" with Plus bundles and Jetstar staff (both on the plane and telephone support) claim that this is not the case.

So maybe my question is: Is a hot meal included on Jetstar economy fares with Plus bundles like it says on the website?

 

[Sprucegoose]

Another reason to be wary of LCC!

 

[munitalP]

or am I reading the original post incorrect? <I was>


munitalP

 

[Sprucegoose]

or am I reading the original post incorrect? <I was>


munitalP

OP paid $160, $40 per leg for 2 pax. Outbound was fine. Issues are with inbound.

 

[ScottWebb]

Holy cow,

Jetstarairways is paying attention... They just tweeted austfreqflyer about this.

Wonders will never cease.... But then again... Will anything happen

Sorry... It's the sceptic in me

 

[markis10]

Clearly the tweet is an automated response.......I hope it is!

 

[medhead]

Here is my simple take. You paid for the plus bundle including meal. When it came to collecting that meal on board they insisted that you pay again for the "same" meal. So you charge back the second payment as you had already paid for a meal in the plus bundle. Airline meal - double charged. Simple, IMO.

The card company will give jetstar the ability to say why the charge should stand. A charge back should accelerate a response from Jetstar.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Here is my simple take. You paid for the plus bundle including meal. When it came to collecting that meal on board they insisted that you pay again for the "same" meal. So you charge back the second payment as you had already paid for a meal in the plus bundle. Airline meal - double charged. Simple, IMO.

The card company will give jetstar the ability to say why the charge should stand. A charge back should accelerate a response from Jetstar.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

Yes... The facts will speak for themselves......

 

[awilcockson]

Agreed with the above. If Jetstar's final answer is "no" then I'd go the chargeback route. If nothing else, it should get their attention.

 

[serfty]

medhead is correct - there would be two separate charges on your credit card in relation to this.

One for the original purchase including the 'plus bundle' and a second where you were forced to repurchase your meal.

It's the latter you would be looking to "charge-back'.

 

[JohnK]

Perhaps I am missing the point.

The OP paid $160 for 2 x Plus bundles on a return flight and Jetstar FA and subsequent calls to customer service do not acknowledge that they have paid extra for a return flight. How much clearer do they need it to be? So Plus printed on a boarding pass is not enough? It is situations like this where I would do everything I could possibly do to ensure these people in "customer service" find another job quickly.

Something is seriously wrong with this airline and the people working for them. More reasons to never have to set foot in one of their aircraft....