QANTAS: NO Customer service at all !

[offshore171]

To be honest, there’s not a huge amount of difference between Qantas’s behaviour and AMP’s fee for no service scandal.

This thread needs to be put on Alan Joyce’s desk. Failing that, the ACCC needs to get involved. It’s clear that it’s entrenched behaviour and the public are wearing the cost.

 

[love_the_life]

My experience has been quite different, though perhaps I was lucky in that I was cancelling the flight in Japan where it was originating and booked from (on the QF AU site which then took you to the Japanese site and charged in yen). I had to ring the Tokyo office (not call centre) to cancel and the money was back in the account within 3 days (over a weekend). The woman I spoke to was excellent. Maybe I was just lucky?

 

[JohnK]

Well, that’s a possibility isn’t it. But that’s the effect. But I suspect it’s just lack of follow up or a will to do the follow up, with IT. If it meant a loss to Qantas and not the customer then it would be sorted.

This should be one of the top issues with IT to get fixed.

 

[BenSQ380]

I've had to cancel/change a few times and one time it was a QF points booking on EK metal; $1,100 in taxes never came back to me. I got bounced around between QF AU and EK Dubai and CBA. I suspect EK were the ones playing funny buggers because they sat on the original refund and then kept insisting it had been processed even though CBA had no record.

I gave up on the $1,100 in the end, which I guess is what 'they' want. At the end of the day though the entire booking was a bucket load of points and $3k for what would have otherwise been a $33k booking if all cash. I've scored a few op-ups over the years so still consider myself in front.

Unless I missed it the OP hasn't stated whether it was a QF metal booking - not that it should make a difference - but it would be interesting to see whether another carrier makes it harder.

Best of luck to PaulDQLD

 

[Strategic Aviation]

My experience has been quite different, though perhaps I was lucky in that I was cancelling the flight in Japan where it was originating and booked from (on the QF AU site which then took you to the Japanese site and charged in yen). I had to ring the Tokyo office (not call centre) to cancel and the money was back in the account within 3 days (over a weekend). The woman I spoke to was excellent. Maybe I was just lucky?

You didn't need luck. Customer service has genuine meaning in Japanese culture. Possibly more than in any other country.

 

[odysseus]

My experience has been quite different, though perhaps I was lucky in that I was cancelling the flight in Japan where it was originating and booked from (on the QF AU site which then took you to the Japanese site and charged in yen). I had to ring the Tokyo office (not call centre) to cancel and the money was back in the account within 3 days (over a weekend). The woman I spoke to was excellent. Maybe I was just lucky?

Or you just got Japanese service.

 

[Pushka]

Or you just got Japanese service.

Or, service in fact.

 

[Jack_OC]

I have had two recent experiences with QF cancellations:
1. A classic award booking for 3 people. Cancelled and got a refund of the correct number of points, but only 1/3 of the cash component. Had to phone multiple times before it was resolved - but it was eventually. This seems like a kind of similar situation to the OP - i.e. they did provide a refund, but for the wrong amount.

2. Last week I cancelled a cash fare (J to the US). Fare was ~$7,400 and cancellation fee is supposed to be $600, so I expect to get $6,800 back. Nothing yet, after 8 days .........

Just an update. I called QF, and was told the refund had not gone through, as they did not have my credit card details on file to process it. Seems a bit weird that QF would not have brought that to my attention, but perhaps it just sits in limbo until the customer chases up. Anyway, I have now been assured I will have the cash within 3 business days. Needless to say I will be keeping a close eye on this!

 

[Thrawn]

I spent 6 months chasing up a Qantas award points cancellation reward last year.

On a different case, I was given completely wrong information on the eligibility criteria of some Qantas credit. Which meant I was unable to use it when I tried to book.. and I didn't have sufficient time available before credit expiry before I can book anything else. When I placed a complaint, completely ignored.

Not far off AMP fee for no-service case.. in fact I think its worse because not only was there errors made, but Qantas is not willing to deal with it.

 

[Pushka]

Just an update. I called QF, and was told the refund had not gone through, as they did not have my credit card details on file to process it. Seems a bit weird that QF would not have brought that to my attention, but perhaps it just sits in limbo until the customer chases up. Anyway, I have now been assured I will have the cash within 3 business days. Needless to say I will be keeping a close eye on this!

I’ve also had the credit card issue and it seems to just sit in dead space

 

[PaulDQLD]

Ok all, the latest. I got a call from "Qantas Executive Services" today. Lovely lady, but was bent on getting me to admit that I somehow saw the refund conditions in the original booking. Something about holding my mouse over the something area which then shows the refund conditions. Hmmmm. did'nt see that but as I politely pointed out, if I had of I would have not booked with Qantas as who would actually ever book, knowing that the booking if cancelled for any reason and at any point, even if it was 1 day later, I would loose $1200 ! Really Qantas, you think this is fair and reasonable conditions. I was not booking a $5 Jetstar seat in row 235, I was booking a $6,000 seat at row 2.
Some of you have likened this type of gouging to the AMP fiasco. Well I'm here to say its worst. At least AMP have admitted (albeit under oath) that they did steal their clients money. Qantas and Mr Joyce know full well whats happening and despite this and in a time of customer revolt and government inquiries, thumb their noses at what could only be called unjustifiable and unconscionable theft. I call on Qantas and Mr Joyce to tell the customers of Qantas exactly what is the $600 "cancellation fee" for. Is it a penalty, is it a cost recovery, is it a charge for service ? What is it cause I'd love to see him justify the $600 per person cancellation fee on any international booking. I might well be ignored, but someone one day will be asking this question and those in authority will be listening. And so will the customers. Virgin could well do some good here and reduce their cancellation fee across the board to just $1. Just think about the numbers of unhappy Qantas customers heading for the purple doors.!

Ill keep you all up to date with the struggle. But I commit to you all I will not be silenced and the Qantas refund Ripoff will end.

 

[oz_mark]

To be honest, there’s not a huge amount of difference between Qantas’s behaviour and AMP’s fee for no service scandal.

Plenty of difference actually....

 

[Jack_OC]

Ok all, the latest. I got a call from "Qantas Executive Services" today. Lovely lady, but was bent on getting me to admit that I somehow saw the refund conditions in the original booking. Something about holding my mouse over the something area which then shows the refund conditions. Hmmmm. did'nt see that but as I politely pointed out, if I had of I would have not booked with Qantas as who would actually ever book, knowing that the booking if cancelled for any reason and at any point, even if it was 1 day later, I would loose $1200 ! Really Qantas, you think this is fair and reasonable conditions. I was not booking a $5 Jetstar seat in row 235, I was booking a $6,000 seat at row 2.
Some of you have likened this type of gouging to the AMP fiasco. Well I'm here to say its worst. At least AMP have admitted (albeit under oath) that they did steal their clients money. Qantas and Mr Joyce know full well whats happening and despite this and in a time of customer revolt and government inquiries, thumb their noses at what could only be called unjustifiable and unconscionable theft. I call on Qantas and Mr Joyce to tell the customers of Qantas exactly what is the $600 "cancellation fee" for. Is it a penalty, is it a cost recovery, is it a charge for service ? What is it cause I'd love to see him justify the $600 per person cancellation fee on any international booking. I might well be ignored, but someone one day will be asking this question and those in authority will be listening. And so will the customers. Virgin could well do some good here and reduce their cancellation fee across the board to just $1. Just think about the numbers of unhappy Qantas customers heading for the purple doors.!

Ill keep you all up to date with the struggle. But I commit to you all I will not be silenced and the Qantas refund Ripoff will end.

I'm a bit confused now. I thought your complaint was that the refund you received was incorrect, i.e. you did not get the amount that you should have received after deduction of the cancellation fee. Now it seems that your complaint is that they are charging a $600 cancellation fee - is that correct?

While I don't think anyone likes paying cancellation fees, Qantas does not hide the fact that these fees exist, and the fees they charge are similar to those charged by many other airlines that I am familiar with. In fact, some airlines do not provide any kind of refunds whatsoever if you decide to cancel a booking. I have no idea why you think Virgin might reduce their cancellation fees to $1 - there is no chance of that happening.

With regard to why cancellation fees are justified - if they did not exist, flights could be cancelled at the last minute, leaving the airline with nothing, and little or no time to re-sell the seat. Obviously fully flexible fares do exist, which allow you do to cancel without penalty, but you pay substantially higher fares to compensate the airlines for this flexibility. Hence most of us never select the flexible option, but the trade-off is the fees payable when plans change.

 

[Falcs]

I call on Qantas and Mr Joyce to tell the customers of Qantas exactly what is the $600 "cancellation fee" for. Is it a penalty, is it a cost recovery, is it a charge for service ? What is it cause I'd love to see him justify the $600 per person cancellation fee on any international booking. I might well be ignored, but someone one day will be asking this question and those in authority will be listening. And so will the customers. Virgin could well do some good here and reduce their cancellation fee across the board to just $1. Just think about the numbers of unhappy Qantas customers heading for the purple doors.!

It's a tad high but understandable, it's basically the key differentiation between "cheap" tickets and expensive (more flexible) ones in any cabin class.

Airlines would basically stop selling cheap tickets if cancellation fees were discontinued.

Anyway, wasn't your issue that your refund was less than expected not that you're complaining about a $600 cancel fee?

 

[mannej]

I share the same confusion Jack3193 with the latest post from the OP

 

[offshore171]

I call on Qantas and Mr Joyce to tell the customers of Qantas exactly what is the $600 "cancellation fee" for. Is it a penalty, is it a cost recovery, is it a charge for service ? What is it cause I'd love to see him justify the $600 per person cancellation fee on any international booking. I might well be ignored, but someone one day will be asking this question and those in authority will be listening. And so will the customers.

Ok, starting to get messy. Be careful not to go overboard with your complaint. Stick to the main issue. It's an accepted part of the airline business model that a range of different fares are available that have different levels of flexibility, and the cheapest fares have the highest change fees. It's not unlike insurance policies where you can get a cheaper premium in exchange for a higher excess.

QF charges a cancellation fee for certain fares because your booking of that seat has tied up stock, which they may not be able to resell at the last minute.

 

[Pushka]

I’m confused too. It’s just the $600 pp cancellation fee? If so, then that’s as expected then. But your first post suggested you’d lost a couple of thousand more. Pretty much every ‘Agent’ charges cancellation fees. It’s part of doing business. If that’s all your complaint is then it isn’t valid.

 

[serfty]

Maybe it's time to review the OP:

Ok so I've spent about $8K. I cancelled my booking 2.5 months out from the travel date. My refund was ...... wait for it.... $2.5 K.

The last post was confusing but it seems the OP was saying the Qantas lady was trying the tell them that were going to lose $1200. They knew that, but still ranted about it being unfair.

IMHO thats gone, they should stop wasting time on that and concentrate on the missing $3500 (at least).

 

[Pushka]

Maybe it's time to review the OP:
The last post was confusing but it seems the OP was saying the Qantas lady was trying the tell them that were going to lose $1200. They knew that, but still ranted about it being unfair.

IMHO thats gone, they should stop wasting time on that and concentrate on the missing $4300.

Well no because that $600 relates to the mouse hover thingy which was the major issue with their most recent post update.

 

[serfty]

Well no because that $600 relates to the mouse hover thingy which was the major issue with their most recent post update.

As I posted they should stop worrying about $600 mouse hovers and concentrate on the missing $3500+ ($4300 maybe less possible change fees).