Vietnam Airlines - Refund nightmare
 

I booked a refundable ticket with Vietnam Airlines several months ago. Plans have changed and I've been trying to cancel it since last Thursday. The cancelation fee is about $60 before departure, $90 after departure. Departure date is tomorrow.

Last Thursday I filled out the online cancellation form on the Vietnam Airlines website. It says you'll receive an email within 6 hours to confirm the cancellation. I waited until Monday and received nothing, and the booking still appears active on the website. I submitted the form again, and also called the phone number listed on the website. They told me that they sent me a response confirming the cancellation fee (I never received this), They contacted the email department and they told me they'd send another email (I never received it). I sent an email to the support address listed on the website and filled in the online cancellation form again. Still no response. I've checked all my spam folders, blocked addresses, etc. I do believe that they think they've sent it, but nothing's showing up in my inbox and I don't know why. I called 3 times today and each time they try to tell me the same thing - "We already sent it." "We'll send it again. Wait 15 minutes and check your email. If you still don't get it, call back." I've called back as they've asked me to, but all they can seem to do is tell me the same thing over and over again. The policy seems to be that after a refund is requested, they send an email with a list of the fees and the final amount to be refunded. The passenger must reply to that email to confirm the fees, and then the refund will be issued. Can we handle the refund over the phone? "No." Can I give you a different email address to send the confirmation to? "No. It has to be the email address you gave when the ticket was booked." Is there anything else you can do? "We'll send the email again. Wait 15 minutes." I was finally given the option of going in person to a ticket office. Nearest one is 50 km away with inconvenient hours. Also the departure date on the ticket is tomorrow, so if I manage to go there I'll likely get bumped up to the higher fee. I was told that the reason I need to go in person is because the ticket office would need the actual physical credit card used for booking in order to issue the refund.

Any suggestions for how to deal with this? The policies don't make a lot of sense, and the phone help line has been pretty useless. The extra $30 fee is annoying but I mainly just want this to be over.

I currently find myself in the same situation. Had VN408/409 cancelled on me. Did the email refund request, but I have not received anything in return.

Was this ever resolved for you? Thinking about just taking a trip to their office in Seoul.

We have same problem, refused boarding at Sydney at check in due to covid 19, only Vietnamese. They said to email for refund and have never got back to us. They also left us stranded in Sydney, had to buy a separate ticket back to London. Lets just say I wont be back. Before we flew with them they charged me twice for one booking and that was a pain to sort out. Good onboard service, but terrible at everything else

Do they have staffing currently at VN, given they are barely operating any flights?

I've used their email cancellation prior and it worked fine. My guess is that it is not quite the same currently.

I received a refund last week (also a refundable ticket). It took several emails but the difference was contacting them on Facebook Messenger; they were very responsive and that seemed to hurry things up.

Vietnam Airlines agreed my refund request (for a flight to China that they cancelled in mid-February) in early April; they asked for the last 4 digits of my credit card to know which card to refund to, and I sent them that info immediately. Since then, despite a couple of reminder emails from me - nothing! I don't use Facebook, but have just tweeted them. Will update as and when they respond!

Thanks for the tip PTY1K.I received my refund last week after contacting them on Facebook Messenger.And that was after several emails.

Surprised you guys got responses on FB messenger - I got default system messages as responses on there! Have messaged on Twitter to chase things up to see if that will help.

Apparently it did, I got an email about a refund confirmation for a flight! Let's see if the refund comes quickly. It was processed last night -- for a flight in January that had had a small schedule changed and I emailed asking if that would make me eligible for a refund without penalty and they said yes.

It's in already. Wow.

Different experiences
 

FYI.
I live here in Vietnam, am now a VN elite member (December 2020), and have had quite a few experiences with VN. Mostly good.

Everything must be handled by email or in person. Over the phone... It is always a different department.

The app is poorly designed, riddled with bugs, often out of date, and inconsistent. But it is relatively easy to use, and does have a few nice features.

If I upgrade a flight, (with the cheap upgrade offered 24 hours before departure), it is guaranteed that I cannot check in online. You can upgrade after check-in, but then you just get reissued your Y class boarding pass.

I was double charged twice, and on both occasions after reporting it to ticket desk at airport I was refunded same day.

If in C class the service is generally outstanding, Y class is below average. On board Bamboo Airways is better.

I do now only fly VN and not the low costs because often VN is actually cheaper, and certainly more reliable in terms of delays. VietJet & Bamboo often have horrendous delays, and on top of that they frequently change flight times. Not by minutes, but by hours. I would say that its quite normal if I book more than a month ahead to have at least 3 flight changes.

It does happen on VN too but less frequently, and I normally get a phone call advising me of the change.

The lounges are barely adequate, and feature some very strange things, like plastic wrapped slices of bread. Bamboo's lounge in Hanoi which you can purchase access to if not entitled is the best lounge in Vietnam. Staff there will barely let me carry a can of coke back to my chair.

Updating of my FF account is totally random from next day to 10 days delay, but usually 2 days, so I doubt it is automated.

Hello, I tried emailing the VN customer service desk on EVERYONE of the emails provided for a Singapore based customer. However, I have not heard back at all to any emails. I tried calling as well, but was immediately put on a looped recording of what sounds like Qantas'/ Fiji Airlines/ Air Tahiti Nui's sales pitch, and haven't been able to get through any of the phone lines at all! I've even tried Whatsapp. Is there anyone with a tip on how to get in touch with VN?

When I had to get some issues sorted recently I called the number in Vietnam. Sometimes took a couple of attempts to get someone on the phone but once I did service was efficient.