Oman Air - waiting, waiting

[MEL_Traveller]

That's very good to hear. There may be some hope for me then, when I initiate a chargeback with Amex next month.

BTW, I recently initiated a chargeback with Bankwest for an airline-cancelled flight, KUL-CMB, on Malindo Air. However, Bankwest flatly rejected it, stating "as the Australian Government has imposed travel restrictions and social distancing laws that has seen the cancellation of events, the bank is unable to initiate a chargeback against the merchant at this time under Mastercard/Visa rules as Government regulation and/or law supercedes our dispute rights".

Sounds like nonsense to me, but rather ominous if other Australian banks are also trying this on.

Agree. Doesn't sound right. If this was a booking KUL-CMB then Aussie law probably wouldn't apply as it has likely been issued in Malaysia. Now, under Malaysian law, a chargeback might not be allowed, but that has nothing to do with Aussie travel restrictions.

If this was for a flight leaving Australia, the VISA rules posted elsewhere state that the VISA rules do not and cannot override national law. So in the case of flights within or out of Australia, Aussie consumer protection law and standard contract law applies. In most cases, airline contracts state you are entitled to a full refund if they cancel, and that's what you should be able to get!

 

[nickykim]

This link was posted in another forum re Mastercard COVID guidance - may be it will help.

https://www.mastercard.com/content/dam/mccom/global/covid-19/covid19-drm-faq-public-version-05.01.2020.pdf

 

[clifford]

This link was posted in another forum re Mastercard COVID guidance - may be it will help.

https://www.mastercard.com/content/dam/mccom/global/covid-19/covid19-drm-faq-public-version-05.01.2020.pdf

Thanks, that's very useful. It would appear that Bankwest is making up its own rules and blaming it on Mastercard. However, they're still adamant that my case doesn't qualify for a chargeback.

 

[Mattg]

Today the chargeback changed from Open to Closed with the $ now permanently against my account the text says “INQUIRY STATUS DETAIL:As a result of our investigation, we have credited your account. This adjustment can be found on your next statement.”

Glad to hear this is resolved.

So Mattg - once this credit is on my issued statement, which charity would you prefer I donated to as a ”Thanks for your help”?

That's very kind of you! You don't have to do that, but if you would like to donate a part of the refund to charity, I would nominate Headspace, an organisation that supports youth mental health.