Originally Posted by
CMRB
- Confusion between Aer Lingus and Avios: Why does the Aer Lingus website direct me to the AerClub/Avios number, only for Aer Club/Avios to tell me they cannot help? Then when I contact Aer Lingus, they say AerClub/Avios should be handling it? This is utterly contradictory and inefficient.
- Poor customer service: The agent I spoke to at Aer Club this morning simply kept repeating that nothing could be done, with no effort to understand or help resolve the issue. It felt like I was talking to a bot, not an actual person.
- Lack of clear communication from AerClub/Avios: Why didn’t they make it clear when I first contacted them that I needed to amend my booking before the 24-hour window? This was not mentioned on the AL website or during the previous call with AerClub. Had I known this, I would have waited longer on the call to Aer Lingus. Ironically, when I finally reached them this morning, they told me AerClub/Avios should have been the one to change it, so it was a complete useless loop i found myself in
1. Whoever you spoke to at Avios in the UK was wrong, as you'd called the correct number. That agent caused the whole problem, because the only team that handles Aer Lingus reward bookings and cancellations are the Avios team in the UK. Unfortunately, they are ultimately at fault here.
2. Aer Lingus agents can't assist you with cancelling Avios bookings - all they can do is add seats and bags and charge for same. They can't amend or cancel what is a third party booking, and they have no escalation path - all they can do is direct you to call the right area. I can see how you'd find it unhelpful, but they were only following procedure.
3. Very unfortunate situation, but you live, you learn.
As others have said, all award bookings are cancellable for a small fee and you get all your Avios back, up until the 24 hour window when you're out of luck.
I suggest you call the Avios number and make a complaint, explaining what happened on the original call on whatever date you have it as being called in your phone (it will help if you say you called from this number on 10 April at 14:25 or something like that). You may be able to get it refunded as though they'd done it correctly on that call.
Otherwise, if that avenue doesn't work, I imagine you can submit a complaint to AerClub directly and see what happens there.