VA flexi refund

[kevrosmith]

You could get clever with words: it's says "$80 refund fee may apply if requesting refund to the original form of payment." So if you paid by Credit card, ask the refund by cheque or direct debit. That's not the original form of payment. Fee no longer applies.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/plan/fees-surcharges/domestic/#flexi

Unfortunately, wishful thinking.

Perhaps another option to get your money back without a fee is to change it to a Business Class full fare and then request a refund. No fees apply to refunds for Business Class (non-sale fares). Or, put it to Travel bank, and then buy the Business Class fare and then request the refund.

 

[NM]

The quoted 20 business days is to ensure that the refund is not paid until the following credit card statement period, so the customer will be "out of pocket" in order to avoid paying interest to their credit card provider. The only reason I can see for delaying a refund by 20 business days is to impose a further penalty on the customer in order to discourage the practice of booking fully refundable fares and then cancelling the ticket and taking the refund.Such practice disrupts load planning for the airline. There used to be cases where people would buy refundable tickets and use them to gain lounge access and then cancel before boarding, or buy multiple tickets on the same flight, reserving adjacent seats and then cancel one after boarding commenced hoping to have a spare seat next to them. The 20 business day refund policy discourages these disruptive actions.

Oh yes, and of course the airline has the use of your fund for an extra 20 business days (4 weeks) without paying you any interest for their use of your money during that time.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Merchants cannot process refunds at their leisure. There are reasonable time limits.

Maybe on the basis that the fee was charged to refund the fare within 20 days and that still hasn't happened after 30 days. Failure to provide the service that the payment was suppose to secure? :?:

Ah, that does make sense. I missed the part that the refund still has not materialised even after paying the fee.

 

[mannej]

Perhaps another option to get your money back without a fee is to change it to a Business Class full fare and then request a refund. No fees apply to refunds for Business Class (non-sale fares). Or, put it to Travel bank, and then buy the Business Class fare and then request the refund.

Generally if you upgrade a fare, the most (I.e original) fare conditions still remain, so not necessarily a way to avoid the $80 fee.

 

[Cryptarcadian]

Given VA themselves say:

$80 refund fee may apply if requesting refund to the original form of payment.

If at time time you requested the refund the GCC confirmed you would get a full refund, then you are entitled to a full refund.

As much as I enjoy traveling with VA, these kinds of dodgy practices are despicable (not to mention reputation damaging), so I do hope you follow this through and take VA to task for it!

 

[a380]

Given VA themselves say:



If at time time you requested the refund the GCC confirmed you would get a full refund, then you are entitled to a full refund.

As much as I enjoy traveling with VA, these kinds of dodgy practices are despicable (not to mention reputation damaging), so I do hope you follow this through and take VA to task for it!

Thanks, I'm glad you agree with me! VFF have refused to pay the full refund, so I have asked instead to transfer to the travel bank.. It's annoying but I at least know I will use the credit at some point. Wouldn't be surprised if there was an admin fee on canceling a refund though!

 

[kevrosmith]

Generally if you upgrade a fare, the most (I.e original) fare conditions still remain, so not necessarily a way to avoid the $80 fee.

If the Travel Bank method was used, I doubt there's any connection to the original fare class... Hasn't been in my experience anyway. YMMV

 

[mannej]

If the Travel Bank method was used, I doubt there's any connection to the original fare class... Hasn't been in my experience anyway. YMMV

Which is moot in the case of the OP and your suggestion?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Which is moot in the case of the OP and your suggestion?

Not at all. kevrosmith gave two suggestions in his post. He is referring to the second suggestion which the OP has now done part thereof.

I have no idea if the suggestion will work (would have to find a business fare for close to the original amount which may or may not be possible depending upon what that amount was), but I'd certainly be keen to hear the result.

Travel bank certainly has an advantage for me personally, but for other pax who may need the cash back or fly very infrequently, I think it's a real con which needs intervention from the ACCC. At the very least, I hope the OP finds time to make an official complaint to them.

 

[mannej]

Not at all. kevrosmith gave two suggestions in his post. He is referring to the second suggestion which the OP has now done part thereof.

I have no idea if the suggestion will work (would have to find a business fare for close to the original amount which may or may not be possible depending upon what that amount was), but I'd certainly be keen to hear the result.

Travel bank certainly has an advantage for me personally, but for other pax who may need the cash back or fly very infrequently, I think it's a real con which needs intervention from the ACCC. At the very least, I hope the OP finds time to make an official complaint to them.

The second suggestion was moot (the OP wanted the refund, not the travel bank anyways) in most cases upgrading the fare class won't get you the flexibility of the higher class. You'd have to check the conditions but generally the most restrictive do apply.

The refund option for the travel bank (I.e no $80 fee) would have been the same for the flexi and for J would it not?

 

[Sojourner]

This is one of the shonky practices I firmly believe VA should be taken to task over by the ACCC. Provided the refund is to the same form of payment (if Visa than back to that same Visa etc) I cannot see why a fee should be charged. They just want to control your money (and quite possibly earn interest on it) by returning it to travel bank. Any shop I can recall I've done a refund with, insists the refund is back to the same method of payment (card to card, cash as cash etc) and no penalty is applied if it complies with their Ts&Cs (ie if a refund is permitted at all) and I'm fairly sure a fee is not charged to the merchant by the card issuer in the case of a refund (others may be able to confirm or argue that statement). A flexi fare is a refundable fare and that fact along with it's flexibility are possibly the only reasons to purchase a flexi.....so to levy a fee when you want a refund, in my opinion, is tantamount to theft. They are taxing a person for retrieving their own money, which is illegal and $80 is a ludicrous amount to pay after already paying a premium to have the refund/flexibility option.

I agree they should be taken to task by the ACCC. A full refund to the layman would be in cash, or whatever form they paid it in. Money in the "travel bank" is the equivalent to the issue of store credit. This is not a refund, you don't get back what you outlayed, but you an an equivalent amount of credit from VA.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The second suggestion was moot (the OP wanted the refund, not the travel bank anyways) in most cases upgrading the fare class won't get you the flexibility of the higher class. You'd have to check the conditions but generally the most restrictive do apply.

The refund option for the travel bank (I.e no $80 fee) would have been the same for the flexi and for J would it not?

Not moot as the suggestion was only step 1 of a two step process. As for whether the fee is the same for J....I cannot answer that. I've never tried, but that was the statement that kevrosmith made and why the suggestion is not moot. As to whether it would work in the real world, I have no idea, but then again it was only a suggestion which may be worth trying (or at the very least reading the Ts&Cs for a J product refund).

 

[medhead]

no refund free for business fares. But note refunds are not allowed on business sale fares.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/plan/fees-surcharges/domestic/#business

Refund from payments made with travel bank must return to travel bank, even for business. http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/plan/fare-types/domestic/#business

When cancelling a booking where form of payment was Travel Bank and funds are returned back to Travel Bank: