cammic

I had to cancel a Melbourne flight with Qantas, and instead of giving me a refund, they issued me with a Voucher. When I wen to use this voucher, I could not use it for my own booking, as the original booking was for two passengers. Event though I was the primary FF and I paid for the original flight using my credit card.....I could not use the Voucher they way I though I should be able to. After waiting for over 35 minutes to speak with an operator, I was told I could split the voucher into two names BUT I had to then pay $77 for "change of name".
I have written to Customer Care for an explanation:
(1) Why can't they simply refund the fare to my credit card
(2) Why do I need to pay $77 for a simple change
It's no wonder Qantas has gone done the list of worlds best airlines!
I'll wait an see what response I get from Qantas Customer Care!

DownUnderFlyer

Welcome to FT and the QF forum, cammic! Sorry to hear that you are having trouble.

Was your original ticket a refundable one? If yes, then QF should of course issue a refund (minus any fee in the T&Cs). If not, then issuing a voucher is fairly standard procedure. Better than some airlines where you lose the entire ticket and get nothing. Many other airlines also issue vouchers (UA for example).

Can you explain a bit more about the issue you had when trying to use the voucher? Was it that your original booking was for two people and when you wanted to use the voucher just for you QF started to complain? The $77 fee sounds like the normal QF fee for some restricted fares.

Dave Noble

If you purchased a refundable fare , then Qantas would have just credited it back to the original form of payment

You have to pay $77 since you chose to book a restricted ticket and the ticket has penalties associated with it

All airlines sell mixture of very restricted to fully flexible tickets. You are lucky that in the domestic market , any changes are allowed. Qantas does sell tickets that are completely non refundable and not changeable at all

Change fees for domestic flights are shown at http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/ama...ARY/index.html

For Red e deals fares

cammic

The original ticket was for two (2) passengers and I cannot recall what restrictions or rules where on the original ticket.
Regardless, I cannot see why QF can't simply refund the value to the original credit card. If I return goods to a shop, they refund the amount!!!
When I tried to use the voucher, because the original ticket was for two pax, they refused to allow me to use the ticket VALUE, but could only split the voucher into two names.
Absolutely ridiculous business practice.

JClasstraveller

With the greatest of respect, I think you have misunderstood the concept of airline tickets and the contracts that they create.

One must always be aware of the cancellation and refund policies of a particular ticket. Each ticket is not the same and is sold on different terms and conditions. If you choose to vary the contract, then depending on the price, QF decides under what circumstances it wishes to amend by placing different cancellation and change fees on it.

This is not a simple clothes shop we're talking about here where the product is available for $X and if it's faulty you can get a refund. The product is a ticket from A to B at a price of $C with terms and conditions attached to the contract. You have chosen to cancel and not use the ticket.

The price of a refundable ticket is almost always a lot higher than a non-refundable ticket because QF is essentially playing off the risk of you not flying (and therefore not paying QF money) versus having to refund you the entire ticket price. If the ticket is non-refundable then they can be a bit more lenient in price as they know they have a portion of the revenue guaranteed.

QF's original contract was with 2 pax. If QF allowed you to use the other passenger's portion for yourself, it would open itself up to a cause of action by the wronged pax to sue as it would not have fulfilled its obligations to the other passenger.

I'm sorry but I don't see anything QF have done wrong unless you booked and paid for a fully refundable ticket.

Dave Noble

You have no entitlement to return goods to a shop just because you do not like them. Some shops will allow it, but many will not.

Go to some shops and unless the goods are faulty/not as advertised, you will get no refund. Buyers remorse is no grounds for refund

With an airline ticket, you are not purchasing an item , you are entering into a contract for carriage. Different fare offerings have different rules

If you had had a refundable ticket, you could have got a full refund to credit card you paid for the flight with

Globaliser

You have clearly forgotten that the restrictions and rules included the fact that the tickets were non-refundable except into vouchers of the form that you have been given.But you had the option of buying tickets which, if you had cancelled them, would have given you a refund directly to your credit card.

QF offers these options, and it's your choice which option to pick. Moreover, QF makes it quite clear when you're buying your tickets which rules apply to which tickets.

So what is ridiculous about that? From where do you derive your sense of entitlement to a cash refund in all circumstances?

maroonone

I am on side of OP with regards to QF restricitng any rebook to being the same two pax - it is certainy not clear when booking that any refund vouchers can only be used by both (or all) originally ticketed pax. The contract is with the individual who purchased and paid - I now often book two tickets for just such circumstances but this plays havoc with the upgrade lottery.

Darylyn Adams

I agree with you, it’s ridiculous.
you should be able to put in a voucher number and use the credit how you wish.
I too have a credit from Qantas and the booking was originally for 3 people, now 1 of those people is my elderly mum and she doesn’t want to fly now but I can’t use the voucher unless I book for all 3 of us.
Mira ridiculous. Like you, I paid for all flights with my credit card so I should be able to use the credit how I like.

Darylyn Adams

I agree with you, it’s ridiculous.
you should be able to put in a voucher number and use the credit how you wish.
I too have a credit from Qantas and the booking was originally for 3 people, now 1 of those people is my elderly mum and she doesn’t want to fly now but I can’t use the voucher unless I book for all 3 of us.
Mira ridiculous. Like you, I paid for all flights with my credit card so I should be able to use the credit how I like.

Dave Noble

Unless tthings have changed, you should be able to split off the 1 person into a separate voucher and use the remaining value for the other 2 passengers