Travel Agent Denying to Return Money for Delhi to Australia Flight

LDrizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 17:53
Last edited 28/04/2021 - 10:57 by 1 other user

Hi All,

Requesting for suggestions on how to get the money back from Travel Agent.

Background - My friend at uni has paid around 3.3k AUD for his wife to come to Australia with one way ticket from Delhi -> Maldives -> Singapore -> Australia (one-way) via singapore arilines through a travel agent based at Adelaide. However due to recent restrictions introduced at singapore airport for travellers with recent visits to India, the flights were cancelled. Upon asking the travel agent for a refund for the flights, he/she has advised that since they have booked tickets through third party in India they are unable to process the refund or flights are not refundable at all. The ticket were paid using normal WPAC debit card (savings account).

Other important notes -

  1. The booking reference provided by Travel agent was not visible on Singapore Airlines website (due to being a group booking or some sort). Upon asking the travel agent on this he/she suggesed that flight will only be visible 24 hours prior to flight.
  2. There is no confirmation on refund from airline that tickets are non-refundable.
  3. Singapore airline is not cooperating since this was booked through agent and done as group booking.
  4. the transaction on my friend's account is actually from the Travel agent company (based in Adelaide).

What options does my friend have in this case, would he have any luck with WPAC in this case?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Travel

Comments

  • SF3 on 27/04/2021 - 18:00
    +5

    Did your "friend" book a fully refundable fare? Or can refund but with some cancellation fee? it should have been part of what's known as "fare conditions" when the fare was booked.

    Are they allowing defer travel to some future date? this might be your friend's only option IMO.

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 18:05

      Thank you.

      Don't have the details on whether it was fully refundable fare. But something that he should be looking at in detail.
      But i wonder since the flights were never visible on Singapore airlines website, were those flights ever booked ? No ticket number was ever issued.

      • Presence on 27/04/2021 - 18:23

        What did Singapore Airlines say? Do they have a scam hotline?

        • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 18:27
          +2

          Lol they might as well have one - they mentioned since the booking reference was for group booking and they can only release information to group leader (pretty much travel agent).

          • Presence on 27/04/2021 - 18:41
            +1

            @Drizzy1991: I don't know how well this all works but tbh it sounds a bit like that are palming you off.

  • knasty on 27/04/2021 - 18:00
    +1

    Certainly try a chargeback. That said when I travelled for work and had to book a one way flight from US-Aus even the corporate travel agent noted that the terms and conditions of the flight would be subject to their affiliate agent in the US, not their usual Australian terms, as they essentially passed-through the booking to them. Best of luck.

  • funnysht on 27/04/2021 - 18:22
    +2

    sounds dodgy..i hadsimilar issue booked via amex on singapore…and amex negotiated with them and got 100% refund back. I think the agent is playing you. complain to the manager etc

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 18:25
      +1

      The travel agency is ran by 2-3 people (including manager), we visited their store today and store is closed and everyone is working from home.
      I wonder if my friend can take any action legally or through the banks.

      • jv on 28/04/2021 - 10:08

        I wonder if my friend can take any action legally

        Only if they purchased a fully refundable fare. Check the T&Cs.

  • Trance N Dance on 27/04/2021 - 18:27
    +3

    Without knowing the fare conditions, there's no way to know if your friend was eligible for a refund or not.
    Also, when you say the flights were cancelled, do you mean the airline cancelled the flights or your friend. Because if the airline cancelled the flight, then the airline via the booking agent owes you the full value of the ticket (whether as a cash refund or a credit is a whole different ball game).

    • brandt on 04/05/2021 - 21:41

      Scott Morrison cancelled the flights by making it a criminal offense to travel from India to Australia.

  • tsunamisurfer on 27/04/2021 - 18:36
    +4

    No one should be allowed to leave India at this moment.

    My advice to your friend, get a new wife.

  • holdenmg on 27/04/2021 - 18:36
    +2

    Hi (from Adelaide)

    I'm not quite understanding this.

    If the flight is DELHI-VELANA-AUSTRALIA one way, it isn't landing in Singapore Airport (Changi) unless the restrictions are Singapore Airlines fleet/company wide…

    Try:
    https://www.atas.com.au/covid19-update if the Agent is a Member of ATAS.

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 19:14
      +1

      Thank you for your response.

      Apologies i have now edited the information. flights as Delhi -> Maldives -> Singapore (12+ hr transit) -> Adelaide.

      • holdenmg on 27/04/2021 - 19:35
        +1

        OK, no worries…

        I'm hoping the ATAS link is helpful or that your friend has Travel Insurance.

        Also, in Adelaide, contact Office of Fair Trading at:
        Grenfell St ADL: https://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/consumer-business-advice

        • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 19:36
          +1

          Thanks again.

          • holdenmg on 27/04/2021 - 19:40

            @Drizzy1991: Hi,

            Office of Fair Trading if you visit or phone may be able to hook up an interpreter if that helps… they are super nice, just ask and see what can be arranged.

            Your friend might not be the only person affected by this Travel Agent/situation.

            That they are working from home might not be as bad as it sounds. I presume they are a Licensed Travel Agent…

  • Agret on 27/04/2021 - 18:37
    +3

    Your friend might have to claim it back via their travel insurance, surely with the covid issues they would have paid for a travel insurer with cancellation cover?

    • Trance N Dance on 27/04/2021 - 19:04
      +2

      Majority (if not all) of travel insurances (that aren't tailored) don't cover covid related issues like this.

      • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 19:16

        Agree, but he didn't have travel insurance for the tickets.

  • Almost Banned on 27/04/2021 - 19:17
    +2

    If the travel agent is a member of ATAS/AFTA you can try lodging a complaint through them.
    Otherwise try your local Fair Trading dept.

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 19:32

      Thank you. I think fair trading could be another option, however he's not really good at communicating, i wonder if someone else can speak on his behalf to possibly present his case (if he has to call or visit fair trading office)

  • bobbified on 27/04/2021 - 20:14
    +6
    1. Singapore airline is not cooperating since this was booked through agent and done as group booking.

    The ticket was booked with the travel agent and the travel agent booked with the airline. So the airline will only deal with the travel agent (rightly so).

    Again, a warning, not just for the OP's "friend", but for everyone else who still uses a travel agent for their bookings. Changes and cancellations can be difficult when you have to deal with a middleman instead of directly with the airline. In this day and age, there's little reason to use a travel agent. They often act like car salesmen - they don't know who you are once you sign and pay.

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 21:40

      I personally done my bookings with STA Travel and Flightcentre and never had trouble with either of the agencies. Usually paid by credit card for travel insurance perspective.

      The whole situation is a big mess and can't really recover the money from any way. We are catching travel agent telling him different version every time.

      • bobbified on 27/04/2021 - 21:49

        They're usually fine if you don't do anything that could potentially jeopardise their commission such as getting a a refund. My main issue with travel agents is that when I'm overseas where there's a time difference and I needed to make some late changes to my flights, etc, it sometimes becomes difficult to find someone out of business hours (in Australia) and then having to wait for their confirmation while standing around at the airport too. And there's often an admin fee payable in addition to the charges payable to the airline. If I booked directly with the airline, I could just walk up to the desk and make the change right there and then.

        • kiitos on 28/04/2021 - 08:27
          +1

          True, though I must admit we still use travel agents for international flights where there are a number of connecting flights. Fortunately we haven't have problems that needed is to call the travel agent, as your point is valid.

  • Traveller107 on 27/04/2021 - 20:54
    +1

    So who cancelled the tickets? Did your friends wife initiate the cancelation or the airline? And if the airline cancelled then did they cancel every leg of the journey or just Singapore to Australia?

    When you use a travel agent the airline won't usually deal with you directly. Also the booking reference usually provided by agency is your third party booking reference and is different from the airline one. You can specifically request for it to be provided additionally but will only be given if you've made full payment.
    Lots of unanswered questions here..

    • Drizzy1991 on 27/04/2021 - 21:35
      +1

      Travel agent advised that his wife's ticket has been cancelled due to last minute restrictions at Singapore airport (without asking the permission from the traveller).
      The whole flight booking was cancelled

      You can specifically request for it to be provided additionally but will only be given if you've made full payment.
      The whole payment was made using savings debit card.

  • Porker on 28/04/2021 - 07:52

    We're so lucky here in Australia to have gotten a grip on the covid situation.

    The rest of the world is still suffering such that we can't assume that our ease moving around at home is the same for outside of Australia.

    OP your situation is one of many now and not unique, such that there's lots of other travellers and advice that exists.

    On yesterday's AM morning discussion, they had a barrister speak about this issue and advice callers on how to legally deal with financial lose due to cancellations. Go find a podcast of it and again, plenty of information online.

    Do your own research as relying on OZB for potential legal proceedings is not good.

  • SirFlibbled on 28/04/2021 - 09:13
    +1

    This sounds suspiciously like a private charter booking. Might explain all the third parties etc.

  • Darayus on 28/04/2021 - 10:03

    Yes indeed this is a private charters flight they are operating actually flight is local airline from indian city to Maldives and from Maldives is singapore airline which makes hopping flights. Technically your travel agent has not bog you down but restriction has come in place. its not a right time to travel and no standard rules are applicable as currently only qatar and emirates are offering schedule flights and they are prohibitively expensive which may be anything around $ 6k to $8k and refundable flights.

    So wait patiently your money will be with agents and keep your finger cross.

    • jv on 28/04/2021 - 10:13

      and keep your finger cross.

      My finger is happy…

  • jv on 28/04/2021 - 10:06

    Denying to Return Money

    Huh ???

    They refuse to accept it as true?

    • holdenmg on 28/04/2021 - 10:07

      De Nile is nowhere these locations.

  • pgcs on 28/04/2021 - 10:30
    +2

    At least one of the travel agents in Cabramatta does the same thing for flights to Vietnam. They buy a block of tickets & resell them. Nothing is available until a day or so before the flights. VN friends were taking advantage of this for lower fares - until they were taken…

    • kiitos on 29/04/2021 - 22:48

      So how does this work - why were they "taken"? Were they cheap because they were non-refundable from the airline so the travel agent couldn't get their money back? Or do you think the travel agent did get a refund from the airline and refused to return the money to them?

  • orangetrain on 28/04/2021 - 10:54

    OP, stop trying to break the Australian government ban on travellers from India and talk to your consulate.

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