REX Doing a Dodgy with Refunds

Lgrant17 on 14/07/2023 - 15:21
Last edited 14/07/2023 - 15:28 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I've recently had flights cancelled or chanced by REX from a capital city to a regional town and am concerned about their refund policy, in that I am still out of pocket after they have refunded me.

These flights were cancelled due to them winding back regional services to this area due to supposed workforce shortages (despite them opening up new flights between the major cities).

One of the flights was cancelled completely and the other was a time change from a 5.30pm (after work) flight to a midday flight or thereabouts. This occured about 2 months before the flights.

Unfortunately these cancellations / changes meant we were unable to attend a family wedding.

I called Rex to get a refund on these. A few weeks later I received "partial refunds" for the cost of the fare, but not the entire amount I paid.

They did not refund the booking fee, nor the credit card fee.

Now this amount is not all that much , roughly $20 total for our booking, and I don't really care about the money, but to me this is unethical. Rex have cancelled the flights , not me. They did not provide reasonable alternatives. I should not be out of pocket at all. If I had to cancel due to my own reasons, I would not expect to get those fees back, but when it is their cancellation, I feel I absolutely should.

I contacted REX and they have informed me that this is their normal cancellation, and that if I want to get my credit card fee back then I should contact the bank, and if I wanted the booking fee back then I need to email them.

Not surprisingly, I emailed them 8 weeks or so ago and have not heard back.

So I guess the point of this post is to see if other people have similar experiences, if this is the norm with refunds, and to make people aware if they have their flights cancelled.

A lot wouldn't even notice this, and with the amount of flights being cancelled by these airlines, they would be saving a heap of money by not refunding the total amount. I am considering reporting this to consumer affairs because personally I think this is dodgy as work by REX.

Thoughts?

Travel

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Comments

  • jv on 14/07/2023 - 15:23
    +2

    REX doing a dodgy

    😲

  • jv on 14/07/2023 - 15:27
    +4

    and that if I want to get my credit card fee back then I should contact the bank

    Do a chargeback.

    You paid for a service and they didn't provide it.

    • markathome on 14/07/2023 - 15:45
      +3

      I'm a bit trigger happy with chargebacks, but I tend to agree. Many companies do refund upon the threat of a chargeback realising the chargeback itself costs them more than the amount in dispute.

      I'd also add a poll.

  • Muzeeb on 14/07/2023 - 15:33

    despite them opening up new flights between the major cities

    These are provided by their 737 fleet.

    Regional service is provided by their SF34 fleet and given their average age (30 years) you probably dodged a bullet.

    • grant17 on 14/07/2023 - 15:35
      +1

      Yup that's a fair call, just a little vent of my frustrations that a so called regional airline seems to not care about regional areas any more.

        • AdosHouse on 14/07/2023 - 19:23
          +2

          I love that aircraft. Had a flight from Moruya to Sydney right when the big bushfires a few years ago were raging through. I got the last flight out before Moruya was closed due to the fires moving South from Batesman Bay. Pilot must have decided to climb as quickly for some reason, possibly to stay away from the hot rising turbulent air. We used a small portion of the already small runway and climbed like a bat out of hell, it was an awesome takeoff, I loved it. Complete opposite to my experience of an A380 which you would swear is going so slow that you feel you will never get off the ground.

          • Muzeeb on 14/07/2023 - 19:31

            @AdosHouse: I'm betting it was a windy day. Strong headwinds can make the initial climb out very exciting indeed.

            I love that aircraft

            It was great 25 years ago.

            • AdosHouse on 14/07/2023 - 19:44

              @Muzeeb: We took off facing south, and if I'm remembering correctly the fire was slowly approaching from the north, moving south. So possibly a small tailwind?

              A few hours after that the wind changed and the fire starting rushing south.

  • The Wololo Wombat on 14/07/2023 - 15:47
    +1

    Yea, that's dodgy. Bad Rex.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2023 - 16:27
    +1

    Unfortunately these cancellations / changes meant we were unable to attend a family wedding.

    Did you really want to go in the first place?

    • jv on 14/07/2023 - 16:30
      +1

      They were catered by KFC….

      • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2023 - 16:31

        lol - buckets for every table !

  • holdenmg on 14/07/2023 - 16:40
    +2

    You can nominate them for the https://www.choice.com.au/shonky-awards

    Qantas won last year…
    The Shonky Award for… being the Spirit of Disappointment

    • jv on 14/07/2023 - 21:50
      +2

      Qantas won last year…

      Did someone forget to nominate Jetstar ?

  • pharkurnell on 14/07/2023 - 16:46
    -1

    All that huff and puff for $20?

    • jv on 14/07/2023 - 17:09
      +3

      It's the principal…

    • grant17 on 14/07/2023 - 18:06
      +2

      As I said in my post, I don't really care for the $20, it's the principle. If REX are not refunding $10 worth of booking and credit card fees for every flight they cancel, multiply that by 25 odd people on a small flight ( a complete guess) that's $250 they are better off than they should be per flight. Multiply that by the amount of flights they cancel, and you have a significant amount of money in their pocket instead of the customers they have inconvenienced.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2023 - 18:18
        +1

        You missed out on a family wedding! Why aren't you claiming the cost of your Oxford shoes, your suite, the perfume you bought for the bride as a wedding gift, the catering costs for your seat at the wedding banquet, etc ?

  • mskeggs on 14/07/2023 - 18:08

    We’re there other bookings or something else on the transaction that meant the fees still apply?
    If they are trying to keep the fees because you declined their time change, that is unreasonable.

    • grant17 on 14/07/2023 - 18:49

      Both flights were actually on seperate bookings. The cancelled flight and time change flight were both treated the same, with a partial refund for each. Nothing else on those transactions, just my flights that had to be cancelled.

  • Sawtell on 14/07/2023 - 20:57
    -1

    Go to gate G2 ay Sydney and let Shazza know.

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