Jetstar Has Been Fined 1.95 Million Dollars for Misleading Consumers over Refund Rights.

Stone Monkey on 17/12/2018 - 13:59
Last edited 17/12/2018 - 15:50

The airline Jetstar has been fined $1.95 million for misleading customers over refund rights, in an action undertaken by the ACCC in the Federal court The other airlines have agreed to undertakings to change their refund policies.

They have also said that they will reassess customer complaints that were knocked back for refunds.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/jetstar-fac…

Has anyone noticed any changes to how the airlines have written their refund policies? Has anyone been successful in getting a refund from an airline after their initial complaints for a refund had been knocked back?

This article provides specific dates from a number of airlines, about which complaints are under review. It might be worth a follow up with the relevant airline, if you believe you are entitled to a refund.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-17/qantas-virgin-tigerai…

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Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 14:05
    +4

    Jetstar is wholly owned by Qantas.

    Qantas profits for 17/18 = $980m

    Pffft

  • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 14:11
    +1

    A drop in the ocean for QF.

    It's like fining someone 10c for running a red light.

  • petry on 17/12/2018 - 14:16
    -2

    accc owned by big business and pollies and do sweet fa. best thing to do is sack them all.

  • Richardc on 17/12/2018 - 14:36

    so now they force cheap fare also can be refund, hope there're still cheap for us.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 14:53
      +5

      I understand not you saying what.

      • BertieBrown on 17/12/2018 - 17:20
        +1

        I think, though not 100% sure, that they’re saying because Jetstar might start providing refunds or provide more flexibility for the consumer in terms of refunds, that Jetstar airfare prices will therefore increase as a result. That’s how I read it anyway.

  • jimbobaus on 17/12/2018 - 15:00
    +2

    The changes are only when issues relate to delays or issue within the airlines control.
    Low cost airfares are still non refundable in almost all cases. They just have to show that if something “within” the airlines control occurs you can get a refund.

    • shadowangel on 17/12/2018 - 15:07
      +1

      yes, it's not that they are not getting refunds. They get vouchers for another flight and not only that they have conditions on how they can use it (can not resell)

    • HighAndDry on 17/12/2018 - 15:08

      Yeah, it sounds like they just forgot to add a "subject to customer's rights under the ACL" to their normal warning that "these tickets are non-refundable".

  • Caped Baldy on 17/12/2018 - 15:36

    I have been refunded with a lot of effort and frustration.

    They changed my friend and I's seats on a Gold Coast to Narita flight and said it was for "operational reasons" for weight reasons even though they didn't know how our weights. We had purchased extra leg room seats and paid an extra $50 for it.
    When I complained they offered flight vouchers which expired in less than a year. I had to keep hounding them to get my money back. I should have done a bank claim to get the whole flight cost back.

  • suti on 17/12/2018 - 16:17
    +1

    ACCC slapping these big companies with wet lettuce again.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 16:39

      Is dry lettuce more dangerous?

  • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 17:21

    When are they going to get fined for pretending there is something wrong with the plane so the can push customers back to a later flight to ensure 100% occupancy?

    • HighAndDry on 17/12/2018 - 18:08
      +1

      Never - no plane is going to be always 100% mechanically perfect. Reality doesn't allow it. And for obvious reasons, regulatory bodies are never going to want to introduce any disincentive to cancel flights to check for potential mechanical issues, no matter how minor/illusory/etc.

      • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 18:11

        There are no mechanical issues. It's simply a ploy by Jetstar to get 100% occupancy. It happens all day long on the Sydney-Melbourne route.

        • HighAndDry on 17/12/2018 - 18:13

          Oh no I've been affected by this and it's stupid and I hate it. But no regulatory body is going to discourage a cancellation so that a plane can be checked even for a phantom 'mechanical' issue. The safety calculus is always going to be 'err on the side of caution'. And for good reason.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/12/2018 - 23:38

    Bring on the Hyperloop!

  • LakeVostok on 03/01/2019 - 23:23

    Cheers to ACCC!

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