VA flexi refund

[a380]

Hi guys

So i recently purchased a return domestic fare on VA, and paid (quite a bit) extra for flexi as I knew I may have to cancel. Checked with the GCC who said fine to do this and to expect a full refund (I of course then booked online rather than thru the call centre ).

24 hours later I had to cancel the flight. Noting this was well before (a day before) departure. Again the GCC said no worries, and since you are unable to cancel this flight yourself online and a WP, there will be no fees. You will receive a refund in 20 business days.

Firstly, 20 business days seems a bit excessive to me. But casting that aside, it seems they have deducted $80? Looking at the fare conditions I note it says a refund fee "may apply" if you choose original form of payment rather than travel bank. But surely that should have been explained, if not waived as per the GCC?

Just wondering if you guys think I should pursue further.

Thanks and happy new year
a380

 

[bullerdude]

If the GCC said full refund then you would expect full refund. I would follow-up and make sure you get it back.

 

[kevrosmith]

It's one of their gotchas... If you put the money to travel bank, you'd get the full amount. If you want the money back to your credit card, they charge a fee. I reckon there's a mismatch between the fare conditions and the definitions of "refund" on their fees pages. I'll try to find a link to the info tomorrow for you. I reckon it's worth disagreeing with their definitions.

 

[Bagpuss]

It's one of their gotchas... If you put the money to travel bank, you'd get the full amount. If you want the money back to your credit card, they charge a fee.

It is pretty consistent from what I can find that a full refund is to Travel Bank and any other type of refund may incur charges.

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/plan/fare-types/domestic/#flexi

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

 

[a380]

Thanks all. I guess my confusion is when they say refunds 'may' incur charges, and that these are then not properly explained, even when asked.

 

[Jousams]

But isn't the $80 fee only when you cancel a saver?

 

[bullerdude]

Check on the VA site the the official line is "$80 refund fee may apply if requesting refund to the original form of payment." for Flexi Fares.

Now given that the GCC did not say there would be a fee then you should ask to get it refunded.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

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.

 

[stoneman]

My sentiments exactly :-(

 

[yohy?!]

this changed last year I think to apply the fee if the refund doesn't go to the travel bank - helps their cash flow enormously i suppose

 

[a380]

Check on the VA site the the official line is "$80 refund fee may apply if requesting refund to the original form of payment." for Flexi Fares.

Now given that the GCC did not say there would be a fee then you should ask to get it refunded.

Thanks all for your replies/PMs. I will reach out to the virgin rep here and see if they can help sort this out and provide some clarity.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Thanks all for your replies/PMs. I will reach out to the virgin rep here and see if they can help sort this out and provide some clarity.

I you have no luck there, why not sign up for the class action against VA/JQ. It's not the exact rip off, in fact it's worse, but they may be able to cast a wider net.

 

[NM]

In my opinion, the term refund should only be applied to returning the funds to the original source. When the value is returned as a credit as it the case with travel bank) then its not a refund but a credit for future payment of services. There should be a clear distinction and careful use of the correct terms.

As for the 20 days delay to receive the refund, I believe this is an arbitrary obstacle imposed to discourage abuse of purchasing fares and then cancelling. Just as a payment can be processed immediately, so can a refund. There may be some internal auditing requirement for approvals, but its not going to take 20 days to process, just 20 days waiting for a clock/counter to expire to cause enough inconvenience to discourage abuse.

 

[a380]

In my opinion, the term refund should only be applied to returning the funds to the original source. When the value is returned as a credit as it the case with travel bank) then its not a refund but a credit for future payment of services. There should be a clear distinction and careful use of the correct terms.

As for the 20 days delay to receive the refund, I believe this is an arbitrary obstacle imposed to discourage abuse of purchasing fares and then cancelling. Just as a payment can be processed immediately, so can a refund. There may be some internal auditing requirement for approvals, but its not going to take 20 days to process, just 20 days waiting for a clock/counter to expire to cause enough inconvenience to discourage abuse.

Thanks NM, completely agree on both points.

Not to mention the time period is 20 business days, which with the recent Xmas/NY holidays, will mean well over a month.

 

[a380]

Update: Received a PM reply from the VFF rep: "Unfortunately, the $80 refund fee on Flexi tickets does apply since the refund was processed back to the original form of payment."

The bank have said they can likely do a chargeback as it's been longer than 30 days since I requested a refund. But still.. it shouldn't come down to this on a fully flexible fare for a WP (or SG for that matter).

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Update: Received a PM reply from the VFF rep: "Unfortunately, the $80 refund fee on Flexi tickets does apply since the refund was processed back to the original form of payment."

The bank have said they can likely do a chargeback as it's been longer than 30 days since I requested a refund. But still.. it shouldn't come down to this on a fully flexible fare for a WP (or SG for that matter).

Ridiculous... of course you want it back to the "original form of payment". Is that not implied with a refund?

Can't believe they still call it a refund when you put the value into Travel Bank. That's not a refund, that's a credit. What a lie.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The bank have said they can likely do a chargeback as it's been longer than 30 days since I requested a refund.

How can his be the case? VA have stated it's a fee owed to them (regardless of how immoral it may be), so how could a bank charge it back given the service was requested and used by you and VA supplied said service. I would think a bank is obliged to honour the transaction.

I believe it would be a matter for the ACCC or the courts to decide, not a bank.

 

[a380]

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

 

[medhead]

How can his be the case? VA have stated it's a fee owed to them (regardless of how immoral it may be), so how could a bank charge it back given the service was requested and used by you and VA supplied said service. I would think a bank is obliged to honour the transaction.

I believe it would be a matter for the ACCC or the courts to decide, not a bank.

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? :?:

 

[Fiches Mouser]

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

Generally, they should be able to process a refund instantly if the payment was made with a CC. It's just that it's up to the banks as to how long it takes to appear back on the customer's card. And that shouldn't be much longer than a week, let alone 20 or 30 days.