VA no longer issuing credits to travelbank (or anywhere else)

[p--and--t]

The bigger question many people would be asking is how long would this administration period will last... if the brand VA survives this administration period will be in everyone's minds... If possible for credit card charge back.. i would advise so

I think I saw somewhere 120 days. Not 100% sure if it related to the entire voluntary administration period or a subset of it.

 

[tomlee1986]

I think I saw somewhere 120 days. Not 100% sure if it related to the entire voluntary administration period or a subset of it.

hope there will be a good buyer out of this... but from what i heard... it depends on the new buyer whether to accept these voucher credits...

 

[Bell21]

I know there are a few threads that have commented on the topic of VA charge-backs, but I thought I'd post my experience here --- contacted AMEX online travel about 1 month ago (which is who the flights were booked through) who recommended that I take the credit, so that I wouldn't be a 'no show' when rescheduled flights occurred a few days later; I then instigated a charge-back, which was initially accepted by AMEX, and has now been rejected (as they were originally non-refundable) --- I heard from Customer Relations who said that If the airline cannot honour the travel credits in future, then a (charge-back) dispute will be possible at that time.

 

[freebo]

I know there are a few threads that have commented on the topic of VA charge-backs, but I thought I'd post my experience here --- contacted AMEX online travel about 1 month ago (which is who the flights were booked through) who recommended that I take the credit, so that I wouldn't be a 'no show' when rescheduled flights occurred a few days later; I then instigated a charge-back, which was initially accepted by AMEX, and has now been rejected (as they were originally non-refundable) --- I heard from Customer Relations who said that If the airline cannot honour the travel credits in future, then a (charge-back) dispute will be possible at that time.

We our flights cancelled on us while we were away almost leaving us stranded and had to make our own way back at very considerable expense.

We initiated a chargeback with Amex for the return leg about 3 weeks ago and we were credited immediately but have yet to hear anything more.

Has anyone been successful with chargeback and when or how would you know?

 

[bcworld]

We our flights cancelled on us while we were away almost leaving us stranded and had to make our own way back at very considerable expense.

We initiated a chargeback with Amex for the return leg about 3 weeks ago and we were credited immediately but have yet to hear anything more.

How is the refund amount calculated in a case like that? I know that when people have been getting refunds from the airlines they often have their refund calculated based on repricing their itinerary as a one-way and hence the refund amount is very small.

 

[freebo]

Each leg was priced separately (this was a long haul business class flight) so the refund was the cost of the return leg. In our case one way was almost exactly half of the return fare.

 

[Oliver Brown]

My only hope will be CC refund. Apparently the NAB holds the book for all the insurances so look out.

 

[CaptJCool]

A federal court judge has just made what he described as “extraordinary” orders allowing Virgin Australia’s administrators to

AVOID personal liability for most of the debts the stricken airline runs up while in their hands.

 

[cxthomps]

Cancelled a couple of reward bookings today and was informed even refunds for reward booking are on hold at this time (quoting administration etc). The agent even got information from the support team confirming this. I have asked for it in writing so I can cc chargeback but I get the feeling this is unlikely to arrive.
Bit of a mess altogether.

C.

 

[tomlee1986]

Cancelled a couple of reward bookings today and was informed even refunds for reward booking are on hold at this time (quoting administration etc). The agent even got information from the support team confirming this. I have asked for it in writing so I can cc chargeback but I get the feeling this is unlikely to arrive.
Bit of a mess altogether.

C.

I feel sorry for your situation... I have a feeling the mess inside VA is bigger than what we see on the outside

 

[Mattg]

Cancelled a couple of reward bookings today and was informed even refunds for reward booking are on hold at this time (quoting administration etc). The agent even got information from the support team confirming this. I have asked for it in writing so I can cc chargeback but I get the feeling this is unlikely to arrive.
Bit of a mess altogether.

C.

That doesn't sound right and is not what is supposed to be happening right now. The Velocity website still says (my bolding):

The dedicated cancellation form below will allow you to cancel existing Redemption or Any Seat bookings if you booked before 10 April 2020 for travel prior to 30 September 2020 on flights with Virgin Australia or any of Velocity’s partners.

• Cancellations must be requested prior to flight departure.
• This will process a full cancellation of your booking for all passengers on the booking.
• Even if you do not hear from us prior to your departure, your cancellation will still be processed.

What will happen once you submit the form:

• Reward Seat cancellations: Once you have successfully completed and submitted the form, you will receive an online confirmation message. We’ll then process your cancellation within 21 business days and waive the cancellation fee.
• Any Seat cancellations: Once you have successfully completed and submitted the form, you will receive an online confirmation message. You will receive email confirmation within 21 business days of successfully completing and submitting the form when your Travel Credit has been processed. Details on how and when you can use your Travel Credit will be included in the email confirmation.

 

[wxxnxs]

My only hope will be CC refund. Apparently the NAB holds the book for all the insurances so look out.

I have tried, used the NAB signature card to pay for the flight and disputed later on, got knocked back by the bank in the following message:

Unfortunately we will not be able to progress your case through the VISA chargeback process. This is in accordance to the VISA scheme rules for which the chargeback process is guided by.



Transactions involving cancellations and government restrictions due to COVID-19, do not have valid dispute rights.



For these transactions please contact the merchant directly to resolve your dispute.



We regret that we are unable to offer you a satisfactory resolution through the chargeback process.



Currently we are experience higher than usual call volumes, if you required further clarification please don’t hestitate to email us back.

 

[WLGFlyer]

That doesn't sound right and is not what is supposed to be happening right now. The Velocity website still says (my bolding):

I am in the same boat. Cancelled a reward flight and was told no refunds for now. Luckily I paid the taxes with points so not really out of pocket - still annoying though.

 

[Bell21]

We our flights cancelled on us while we were away almost leaving us stranded and had to make our own way back at very considerable expense.

We initiated a chargeback with Amex for the return leg about 3 weeks ago and we were credited immediately but have yet to hear anything more.

Has anyone been successful with chargeback and when or how would you know?

My experience was that my charge-backs were credited immediately, but I only received notification from AMEX 1 month later that my charge-back was now 'rejected' and would be added to my account when next statement is due.

 

[freebo]

My experience was that my charge-backs were credited immediately, but I only received notification from AMEX 1 month later that my charge-back was now 'rejected' and would be added to my account when next statement is due.

Thanks, that's what I'm afraid of. Did you cancel the flight or was it VA?

Don't see how it can be rejected based on "failure to supply" if they cancelled on you, any chance of disputing with Amex?

 

[Bell21]

I don't honestly remember who instigated the cancellation (I think the flights were rescheduled potentially but not cancelled, but it was also during the 'you can only leave home for essential reasons' period and this was leisure travel) --- I recall talking to AMEX (booked via AMEX travel) a few days before the flight and they advised me (which they have on file) to take a travel credit before the flight, so that I wouldn't be considered a 'no show'. The Customer Relations team have offered to contact me via phone, but I don't see much point, as they've been v clear and consistent in their messaging, so I'm not sure what new information I can provide to get them to change their mind at this stage.

My interpretation is they don't see it as 'failure to supply' yet, whilst there's still some slight possibility of using the travel credit

 

[equus]

You need to remember who is liable here. Everything going on is to do with who will end up paying, given VA is in VA and doesn't have much cash left.

When a chargeback is successful, if the money can't be recovered from the company (VA in this case), then the institution that provided the merchant facilities to the company is the one that ends up paying. For Amex and Diners, they both acquirer and issuer (acquire merchants, and issue cards). Hence any successful chargeback granted by Amex they will probably end up out of pocket.

For VISA and MC, the issuer and acquirer are often different. If the bank that issued you your card is not also the one providing the merchant facilities to VA, then your bank will not be out of pocket if the chargeback is approved - it will be VA's bank.

With the obvious differences in exposures, some institutions are more likely to be diligent in checking the validity of a chargeback (checking actual eligibility) than those that have nothing to lose.

In the case of VA tickets, this is where people are in a bit of a bind - and also why the administrators were so keen to get court approval to issue "credits" for which they were not liable. The tickets purchased were for flights - subject to the contract and conditions of carriage. In the case of the VA flights, the contract provided that in the event of cancellation, a credit voucher would be provided - and this applies to cancellations by the customer or by VA (a big difference to the CoC for QF - where refunds are to occur in the event of cancellation by QF).

So for VA tickets, if a credit is issued by VA, there is no breach of the contract for the provision of service as that was what was agreed up front. With no breach of the contract, then there is no failure to supply, and no charge back right - as yet. This is why the Administrators were keen to be able to issue the credits - as if they did not do that, then the contract was breached, and thus charge back rights would be available. However, if the credits were issued, and they were liable for them, then that would obviously be an issue - hence the need for the court decision.

It would appear that the position of those issuers that there is no breach due to provision of a credit is technically correct (even if it is an interpretation only being applied by those facing losing the money). If the credit is then not honoured, then things might change. What would become really problematic is if new owners decide to put conditions on honouring credits (as is very likely). If the "credits" are "honoured" but with a condition like "credit voucher can only be used for a maximum of 10% of the value of the airfare" (so that they get 90% paid in cash), and all the fares are bumped up so that they are 20% more expensive across the board, have the "credits" been honoured. Technically they are redeemable, they have not been discounted at all, but in reality, they are effectively worthless, but would a charge back be available ?

 

[nickykim]

I am very interested in what is going to happen with Velocity Points that are currently sitting in flight redemptions. I have a points booking for business class early August Melbourne - Singapore (4 nights) - Fukuoka (10 nights) - Melbourne (210,000 points). I think there is a high probability that the flights will be cancelled with Singapore sending the points back to Virgin. So wanting to follow what is going on with other people’s points either when the flight is cancelled by third party airlines or proactively cancelled by the passenger. I note that my Amex travel insurance doesnt cover cancellations due to government actions but doesn’t exclude cover for insolvency/administration.

 

[tomlee1986]

I am very interested in what is going to happen with Velocity Points that are currently sitting in flight redemptions. I have a points booking for business class early August Melbourne - Singapore (4 nights) - Fukuoka (10 nights) - Melbourne (210,000 points). I think there is a high probability that the flights will be cancelled with Singapore sending the points back to Virgin. So wanting to follow what is going on with other people’s points either when the flight is cancelled by third party airlines or proactively cancelled by the passenger. I note that my Amex travel insurance doesnt cover cancellations due to government actions but doesn’t exclude cover for insolvency/administration.

if that is the case, it is probable you are out of luck... but prefer it is not the case for you

 

[nickykim]

Schedule 2 of the Order specifically says:

“3. This proposal does not apply in respect of any Velocity Reward Seat ticket.“

Appears to apply only to “redeeming Velocity Frequent Flyer points for a Velocity Any Seat”

So MattG is correct...your points should be going back into your Velocity account.

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/finance/insolvency/virgin/deloitte-au-fa-virgin-sealed-orders-130520.pdf