mikalee

I booked a domestic Business fare that in the end I didn't need and decided to have it refunded rather than a credit. The fare is fully refundable without penalty, however the Card Payment Fee of $8.09 was not refunded.

Is it the fare that is refundable or the ticket total? I have a good mind to alert the ACCC. Am I wasting my time.

I can't be bothered chasing Qantas up I see it more an issue of public good.

Thoughts?

Dave Noble

When you purchased, you paid for the fare which was refundable and you chose to pay by a method for which a non refundable fee applies

When cancelling , you will only get the fare back - if you wanted to be assured of not having any outlay, you should have used a fee free payment method

There is no point contacting the ACCC - what QF has done is perfectly correct - the costs of a card purchase were incurred at time of purchase and will not be returned to retailer when it processes a refund

lokijuh

I'm trying to find out where, in the booking flow, it indicates the payment fee is non-refundable. It's probably there, but not immediately obvious, so couldn't find it.

Dave Noble

It was a fee for making a purchase by credit card - this has occurred and fee charged - nothing has happened that has changed this

The ticket purchased was refundable

DownUnderFlyer

Typically the merchant fee the vendor (Qantas) has paid is not refunded to the vendor my the payment processor if a credit is issued to the customer. Depending on negotiation the vendor might even be charged another fee for processing the refund transaction. I am not surprised about the payment fee not being refunded by Qantas. After all Australia is the land of payment fees.

lokijuh

Perhaps it should be clearly stated when paying by that method? QF should not make assumptions that people know the fee is non refundable, they should, and could simply state it when you choose that method of payment. No complex programming required.

OP's case is not that the fee was not refunded, simply that it was not disclosed that it would not be refunded.

Dave Noble

Why would there be any expectation of the fee being refunded - there was a charge applied for the choice he made to use a credit card for payment ; this was agreed to at time of purchase - did Qantas ever make any representation that the fee would be refunded? The service for which the charge applied was provided regardless of whether the person chose to refund later

I believe that if QF was to cancel a flight and a refund given due to the company not providing the service that it would have to refund the fees charged , but this is a voluntary cancellation

It isn't the airline's fault that card companies are charging it fees - the airline does off options where the fee can be avoided

lokijuh

Why would someone expect that it wouldn't be refunded? Most consumers wouldn't have a clue about the the intricacies of merchant/credit card provider relationships. Many might assume, that when the fare is refunded then so would the fee for making the payment as QF might get that refunded as well. It could easily be dealt with by a simple statement when paying by that method of payment "in case of cancellation by customer, card fee will not be refunded" . Clear, transparent, simple.

Dave Noble

For the same reason that there is no reason to expect the telephone service fee to be refunded - since the service purchase has been provided and consumed

mikalee

Yeah I consider myself a reasonably intelligent flight purchaser. Maybe a 4/5. In my mind I paid for a fare that was refundable. The price I paid is the total in my mind, not the fare plus the payment method. I agree with Dave Noble that I technically have incurred a fee by choosing a particular payment method, however I feel that as a consumer the cost of the fare is the total of both the fare plus the fee. In my mind the whole total was expected to be refunded, not just the fare element.

Now I imagine QF has it ducks lined up in that it is correct in contract law. I agree that I have not "noticed" that the fee is non-refundable. But is Qantas correct in consumer law?

Is this behavior misleading under Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) ?

Thanks Greg Carter

Is it reasonable for a consumer to expect that the total cost of an airfare that is refundable, including the cost of paying for said airfare, be refunded if it is a refundable airfare? That really is the question.

The point of the ACCC involvement is that if they are in agreement they will agitate for clearer discloser by a large corporate such as QF and will achieve something far more than I can.

I also expect that Qantas would be getting its merchant fee refunded by its payment provider although this is irrelevant to all of the above.

Isochronous

That's a very good legal question that you raise, mikalee - there are many misleading conduct cases where businesses have been found to be in the wrong notwithstanding the existence of relevant terms in the T&Cs because the fee/condition concerned was not sufficiently prominent. It is very much a case of the 'overall impression' that a website or advertisement gives, which I suspect would be that if a booking is said to be fully refundable, there is probably a reasonable impression/expectation that the whole fee is.

Often1

The misunderstanding here is that the total fare is refundable and has been refunded in this case.

The card fee applies to all purchases, whether for bread, underwear, or air tickets. While it is an anachronism relatively unique to Australia to still charge these fees, that is a broader issue than a single merchant vendor's obligations to describe the vagaries of the nation's financial system to those who do not understand it.

lokijuh

Yes, but many merchants will absorb that card fee - both on initial purchase and in the refund as a cost of doing business. Take some underwear back for refund to Myer, and guess what they won't deduct the card payment fee they paid as a merchant on the initial purchase. It may well be a "broader issue than a single merchant vendor's obligations ... ", but is also a bigger issue than for every consumer to understand the nuances of it. For this vendor it would ever so simple to incorporate language in the payment screen .....

Instead of :
It could read:

Simple, transparent, and informs the consumer to clear up any doubt.

Dave Noble

not a valid comparison since Myer does not surcharge credit for card use

Purchase item for $200 in Myer then it will charge $200 regardless of payment type and will have to refund the full fee

Purchase item from Qantas for $200 and it will charge around $200 for the item and $2 for the payment fee

ImissBMIRewards