Skiddoo.com.au - 10 weeks waiting for a refund

L80 on 27/08/2013 - 09:44

I’m looking for some advice – I’ve only been living in Australia a couple of years and I moved here from Ireland so I’m not sure about Australian consumer law.

I bought flights for myself and my fiancé for our wedding, Sydney to Dublin, on 12 June with Australian travel agent Skiddoo. Skiddoo then rang me on Friday 21 June to say that two of the three flights had been cancelled – one by the airline and the other “did not exist”. I spent about half an hour on the phone going through alternative dates, none of which suited my wedding schedule. Eventually they agreed to issue a refund on 24 June but said it would take 8 weeks as the money was with the airline, citing terms and conditions.

I called the ACCC and they told me that the company must refund me, and that the fact that the money was with the airline was irrelevant, as it was up to the agent to arrange a refund for themselves from the airline they deal with. Explaining all this to Skiddoo proved fruitless and all they would say was “terms and conditions”. I spend 40 minutes on hold waiting to speak to people, which went nowhere.

We’re in the middle of planning a wedding, and couldn’t afford to be out-of-pocket by $3,000 for 2+ months. On the advice of a friend, I raised a dispute with my credit card company – but this was rejected by Skiddoo’s bank as “there was a cancellation agreement in place”.

Here are their terms and conditions covering cancellations:

CANCELLATION AND REFUND FEES
Cancelled bookings will incur charges, which can be up to 100% of the cost of booking, regardless of whether travel has commenced. Check with your consultant and the fare rules if the fare is refundable, as not all fares can be refunded. Our administration fee is $133.00 per ticket plus any airline cancellation fees. Refunds take approximately 12 weeks to process. If we incur any liability for a cancellation fee for any booking cancelled by you, you agree to indemnify us for the amount of that fee or charge.

I would argue that this appears to relate to bookings cancelled by the customer (as it refers to cancelled bookings rather than cancelled flights), and that if the agent sells a flight that does not actually exist, they should issue a refund immediately. It has now been nearly 10 weeks, and they have still not issued a refund.

I’m really frustrated, my fiancée is very stressed, all when we should be planning and booking things for our wedding. What can I do next?

Cheers.

Travel

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Comments

  • orourke on 27/08/2013 - 10:38
    +1

    Are you in NSW? If so, consult NSW Fair Trading or your state equivalent.

    http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Consumers/Buying_servi…?

    Case Study: http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Consumers/Buying_servi…?

  • 80 on 27/08/2013 - 11:31

    Done, thanks.

  • Associatedrodneyw @ Skiddoo on 03/12/2013 - 19:22

    I am a Customer Service Representative with Skiddoo. I see that this message was posted on 27th August so I am certain that this matter would have been resolved by now. If by change it has not, then please feel free to contact us on [email protected] and I will be glad to investigate.

    To speak on this scenario generally, firstly airline schedule changes are regretfully sometimes necessary for various operational reasons. Such changes are outside the control of Travel Agents such as ourselves.
    The refund process from the airline to the Travel Agent does take up to 8 weeks as the funds pass through IATA (International Air Transport Association, whose Head Office is in Switzerland). There are 2 separate fortnightly billing cycles, firstly from IATA to the Airline, then from the Airline to ourselves. Even if the 2 cycles co-incide, then that is 4 weeks to start with. Then there is the time it takes the airline to approve the refund.
    Until all this happens, we are not in possession of the passengers money.

    But on a more positive note, I would like to point out that Skiddoo have since revised our policy on such involuntary changes, to reduce customer inconvenience and to improve our overrall customer service. In such cases of passengers who cancel due to an unacceptable schedule change by the airline, will be refunded in full immediately by Skiddoo, and we will carry the debit for the 8 weeks until we receive funds from the airline.

    Finally, a general travel tip from someone who has been in this industry for decades, schedule changes and delays do happen occasionally so it is a good idea when planning your itinerary to allow a little bit of leeway in case of such inconveniences. Allowing an extra day, especially when the travel is for an important event that can not be changed, can make all the difference. Airline schedules are always subject to change, and a ticket is not an iron clad guarantee that the airline will get you there at that exact time.

  • Eara on 21/01/2014 - 18:23

    Theyre pretty cheap, but i asked for rebooking and they dont allow me. It feel so bad that u trust them and in my case i didnt ask for refund i just want a rebook and theyre telling me that in the terms and cond they cant do that. Now i push on getting a refund but they said no refunds. Its just money you know, but the trust.. It wont be back

  • Store Repskiddoo @ Skiddoo on 16/04/2014 - 12:01

    I do need to point out here that it is the airline who sets the fare conditions, and not Skiddoo. Some fares with some airlines permit changes, and charge a change fee plus any fare difference, some fares are very cheap specials, and the airlines stipulate that no changes permitted. Skiddoo does not ever decide that you can not change, if the airline permits then we certainly also permit.
    As every fare with every airline can be different, and also the fare rules can be quite complex, our terms and conditions (which you must read before purchasing online) state that if you want to know the fare rules, call our Customer Service team BEFORE purchasing, and we will inform you then.

  • dddddog on 30/06/2020 - 14:40

    did you ever get your refund?? i'm still waiting for mine. 10 weeks in

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