I booked 2 years ago for a Jetstar flight to WA and cancelled due to COVID. I got a voucher but yes, I am now forced to fly with an airline I dislike.
I’m using the voucher to get me to Hawaii (return) and then using a different airline to get to Canada. Given I have flown with Jetstar in the past, I have made the bookings a full day apart as I have no confidence Jetstar will get me there when they say they will.
This will absolutely be my last flight with Jetstar. They are a dog of an airline.
What’s with the NO REFUND deal anyway? Why can they get away with that?
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Warning: Don’t use Virgin app to cancel a flight if you have COVID-19
Recently I had the experience of having to cancel a flight due to having tested positive to COVID-19. I was aware that the fee-free cancellation policy had changed as of the end of April, so wasn’t surprised when cancelling the flight using the Virgin Australia app that it charged me $80 cancellation fee. However, I later found out that there is in fact a COVID-19 exemption if you have to isolate. However, upon ringing the Guest contact centre, I was told it was too late to get the exemption because I had already cancelled.
Instead, you have to ring the Guest contact centre to cancel a booking. This seems fairly unrealistic, given that wait times are generally 30 minutes or more, and that you can be (as I was) pretty sick! There isn’t information on their website to indicate that you can’t claim the exemption later, and there’s nothing in the app to trigger a warning or ask about your reasons for cancellation.
It seems unreasonable to me that they can’t figure out a way to refund the cancellation fee once it has been processed. All I want is a credit on the travel bank, which doesn’t seem like it should be hard to do. Or is this a case where the policy looks good on paper, but they make it more difficult to use it in practice?
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I suggest you lodge a formal complaint rather than accept the front line contact centre’s pushback citing the details you mentioned, request the credit/refund, and suggest they update their policy and procedure to be both more realistic (eg a very sick person is not inclined to nor always able to ring in as you indicated) and to be clear about the process and procedure, and especially the trap on the app.
If you pursue the matter please let us know how it goes.
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I recently cancelled a trip to Exmouth because I was COVID positive and needed to isolate for 7 days. Both Airbnb accommodation places refused to give a full refund. Airbnb wiped their hands off the dispute and told me I was at the mercy of the accommodation providers.
I appealed to both Airbnb hosts and was politely ignored. I could have travelled to Exmouth and infected their community with COVID. I chose to do the honourable thing and stay at home isolating. Poor form Airbnb for changing your COVID policy and exposing travellers to the meanest of hosts.
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Welcome to the Community @Cross,
I moved your post into this existing one with a long list of issues with refunds. Use the Community search 
for ‘airbnb’ in this topic.
The ACCC advice is essentially the T&C of the provider define your rights when you as the customer cancel a booking, regardless of the reason. Travel insurance that covered COVID would have been your remedy to out of pocket loses.
While the ACCC 'encourages all businesses to treat consumers fairly’ there is no obligation for them to do so (as seen from the eyes of a customer who had to cancel their holiday). Many accommodation providers have been doing it hard themselves and are also out of pocket.
It appears you did get a partial refund. Is that correct?
As @PhilT has indicated, refund policy will be that set by the accommodation provider within the AirBnb platform. The cancellation policy should have been presented through the booking process.
I have indicated elsewhere within the community that it is recommended that accommodation providers be used that have reasonable cancellation policies due to Covid. While in many respects Covid cancellations have changed significantly in the past 6-9 months (previously most cancellations were due to government mandates/restrictions in travel outside the control of the accommodation provider and the booking guest), more recently cancellations due to one having Covid has shifted more towards the responsibility of the booking guest.
Looking at the shoe on the other foot, I can see why some business which had generous cancellation policies during Covid mandates/lockdowns have now reverted to a standard type cancellation policy. These standard type cancellation policies is like that which you appear to have experienced. As Covid usually only lasts for about 7 days, I suspect that you cancelled in the days/week prior to arriving at the accommodation. Being close to the time of arrival and being a quieter time for travel (which winter months are), it is unlikely the accommodation provider would be able to re-book the accommodation. If you hadn’t say booked the accommodation and someone else did or hadn’t been infected with Covid, the accommodation provider would have received payment for the duration of your stay. It unfortunately isn’t the fault of the accommodation provider that you had to cancel the booking.
Did you have domestic travel insurance? If you did, Check the policy and see if it covers cancellation when one has a Covid infection. This might be the only opportunity you have to get some monies back from your booking.
Alternatively, contact the accommodation provider and ask if they are willing to do a partial refund if they are able to re-book the accommodation…or if they are willing to give you credit for future stay with them. They aren’t obliged to accept such a negotiated outcome, but it doesn’t hurt in asking.
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Hi yes I did get a partial refund. I was flying to Exmouth on Sunday and cancelled on Friday as soon as I was instructed to isolate for 7 days following the WA gov. guidelines.
The second accommodation provider was given about 10 days notice. It is peak time in Exmouth and bookings fill fast in July. My guess the second Airbnb accommodation place would have rebooked my accommodation dates.
I did take out RAC travel insurance but there was a COVID cancellation limit of $3,500.
I was out of pocket due to my cancellation of the airfare, accommodation and a sailing trip.
I run accommodation in Denmark and if someone cancels I am happy to offer a refund in full.
I think in these interesting COVID times we should be more tolerant and show kindness.
I chose not to visit Exmouth and keep the community safe.
If someone contacted me and indicated they had COVID I would be very pleased they were not staying in my holiday accommodation.
Following the Airbnb guidelines I would need to do an extensive clean if a guest was COVID positive.
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It is unlikely. Exmouth is in a regional/remote area and one would need to organise transportation to get to there. This means either flights or organising a week or more holiday from Perth or Darwin (to drive from Perth without stops takes 13 hours).
Exmouth is unlike say Fremantle or Sunshine Coast where the town is located in easily travelling distance from a major city…and it is easy for someone to travel there to replace a cancelled booking. To travel to Exmouth requires planning, significant time and organisation. For these reasons, it is unlikely that the accommodation would be rebooked for the same period 10 days out.
As indicated above, each accommodation provider states their T&Cs. We chose to take a similar approach to your own. It is possible that the accommodation provider in question may have been able to rebook with more notice , but it is unlikely that they will be able to rebook 10 days out based on that above.
Also, as Covid has a infectious duration of about 7 days for most individuals. If your accommodation was cancelled 10 days out, then it could be argued that the cancellation may not have been necessary as one could have recommenced their travels after the infectious period (when RAT and PCR tests would come back negative).
It was lucky you had a policy which had Covid cancellation cover…otherwise the hit to your hip pocket may have been substantially more.
Also if you have claimed against your insurance for your travels which includes accommodation, the legalities of separately claiming a refund directly from a travel provider may be questionable. It could be seen as ‘double dipping’ - something an insurer would have major issues with.
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We recently spent nearly 4 weeks away from home. We travelled by road and used booked accommodation for the whole time. We took out domestic travel insurance for no other purpose than covering the risks of additional costs due to Covid.
The policy had the exact same upper limit $3500 for claims relating to Covid. Our greatest risk was needing to change plans or isolate if one or both of us caught Covid away from home. $3500 does not go far.
Partly for convenience and to also avoid the complications of air travel we self drove. We only booked more than a day or two in advance 2 places of accommodation for a total of 12 nights. The remainder were booked adhoc the day before.
I can’t see us ever committing to a major holiday the way the travel industry has responded. The most positive observation is the increased number of providers offering free cancellation up to 7 days prior to arrival. Encouraging, although catching Covid more than 7 days before travelling is unlikely to prevent the trip commencing, assuming a clear test prior.
Flexibility from providers and better insurance policies may be a solution. For our chosen strategy $3500 may have been adequate cover. For other travellers outlaying substantial sums in advance, and with limited future flexibility to fairly use credits, access to a higher level of cover proportional to the trip costs would be more appropriate.
With nominally 50% of Covid infections of Australians not reported, various reasons, it’s speculative a large number are choosing to ignore symptoms or positive tests. Once travelling the gamble is one is not crook enough to be caught out. Much easier for the healthier younger population to bet on those more vulnerable or aged.
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Valid comment we have the same view. I was just trying to indicate that I did the honourable act for the community and was penalised.
I could have flown to Exmouth not a problem, I could have joined 6 people on a boat for 10 days, no issue. I chose to do the right thing and isolate at home.
I chose not to spread COVID to the Exmouth community.
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One more for the log. This time the purchaser is after a cash refund when the airline cancelled the flights.
Choice’s campaign also gets a mention.
One can follow the links in the ABC article to
‘https://www.choice.com.au/-/media/4830b097da8542a49f078e51d7e1d4f6.ashx?la=en
Some might suggest one could ask for more where the prospect of using a credit is unreasonably constrained?
EG
If I’d been booked on a common domestic flight and had the airline cancel it might be something I could rebook or use on an alternate future journey. For an international carrier the options are far more limiting.
- There is an assumption re the timeliness of any future OS travel to be able to use a credit.
- There is an assumption the carrier is in the future servicing the intended destination. This may be the same as the original booking, or different considering the opportunity original booked has been superseded.
- There is an assumption the future flight cost is a fair and reasonable exchange when compared to the original booking, as well as in comparison to choosing an alternate carrier for the same journey.
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Just at the start of COVID I had booked to go to Japan with Jetstar. After a lot of messing around and angst I managed to get credit vouchers from them.
A lot of time has passed since then and recently I recently received a reminder from Jetstar to use the vouchers as they supposedly expire in March 2023. This piqued my interest and I reviewed the vouchers only to discover what an underhand and devious way in which they had been issued.
The original booking was a return flight from Adelaide to Osaka with a change of flights in Cairns. This was all booked and paid for in one transaction in Australian Dollars. Upon reviewing the credit vouchers I discovered that all the Australian sectors i.e. Adelaide/Cairns/Adelaide were issued in Australian Dollars for the original amount. The Cairns/Osaka/Cairns sector credit vouchers, however, were operated by Jetstar Japan and were issue in Japanese Yen.
I was bemused by this but it didn’t take long to work out that Jetstar has surreptitiously passed on the exchange risk for these credit vouchers to the consumer. When I originally booked the flights the exchange rate was around 72 Yen to the Australian Dollar. The rate now is around 94 Yen to the Australian Dollar so when I use these vouchers, bearing in mind that I cant book and pay for Jetstar flights with Yen, I will effectively lose around one third of their value due to the appreciation of the Australian Dollar.
Just when you don’t think they can find another way to “Rip You Off” they manage to rise to the occasion. Anyone got any suggestions where I might go with this? Thanks.
We’ve travelled several times including 2019 to Japan with Jetstar from Australia (Cairns or Gold Coast). We’ve also booked air travel in Japan of which Jetstar Japan was clearly the carrier.
Our recollection is that the Jetstar Japan bookings for travel in Japan were indicated in Yen with an Australian conversion applied. The Australia to Japan return flights were only ever shown priced in AUD, and the flight bookings reported the same.
It may pay to refer back to the details of the original flight booking, T&Cs, and payment details to see if there is any reference to a Japanese Yen value or currency conversion applied to the flight.
I would be disputing this with Jetstar assuming that your flight was Adelaide - Osaka - Adelaide. Their website make it clear that irrespective of the destination one is travelling to, credit vouchers are issued in the currency of your country of departure (which is Australia or AUDs). See Refunds on:
I would be asking for them to reissue the vouchers in AUD to the amount that you paid when the tickets were first purchased.
It seems pax trying to get refunds and use flight credits could be far from over. There is updated information, both +/-, from Virgin.
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Passenger’s three-year $22,113 battle with Virgin Australia
With the ACCC taking the side of the “New” Virgin, little hope.
Is this one more legacy of the Covid era decisions by the Government of the day to back Qantas all the way while keeping Virgin at arms length? What’s to be done to compensate fairly those who have slipped between the cracks, and left hung out to dry by the ACCC?
The history of Airline collapses in Australia is such that we should never again accept airline ticketing that does not assure a full refund for prescribed conditions the customer has no control over. Whether through regulation of the airlines, travel services or mandatory insurance all consumers should be treated fairly. It looks in this instance one group of Aussies are being asked to pay a price while others receive an extended benefit that is far more practical. If for medical or lifetime reasons one could travel 3 years ago but not now or into the near future, a cash refund is the only practical outcome for those consumers.
Perhaps some of the Covid support money it has been suggested Qantas should repay to Treasury could go towards providing the funds to compensate the Virgin customers so poorly treated? Although that might not sit well with Qantas. There’s a reasonable probability those refunded would spend a portion of the refunds on future flights with either airline.
No, it was the result of the administration process which Virgin went through as it couldn’t pay its creditors because of Covid and related lockdowns. It was the Federal Court which accepted the resolution for creditors, including customers with cancelled flights The news article states:
The airline entered into voluntary administration in April 2020 and as a result Drew was issued Future Flight credits of the same value to use by January this year — it was later extended to December 31.
…
The spokesperson said as part of the administration process, the new owners of Virgin Australia sought approval from the Federal Court to issue Future Flight Credits to give impacted customers a way to recapture the full value of their bookings and credits, “rather than receiving a very small cash return as an unsecured creditor”.
If the remnants of Virgin had not been sold after the administration process, every customer who was subject to Covid related cancellations would have lost everything, including the ability to exchange the cancelled flight value into flight credits.
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Sounds very much like the result of Covid causing a loss of income.
It’s difficult to make any argument of fairness for the consumer when the arguments and high court decision put the business needs first.
Was it a good deal for all the customers?
We don’t really know because the Government of the day chose to leave Virgin to fail, while ensuring Qantas did not.
Was it a fair deal?
The ACL is my choice of gold standard. It certainly does not meet the standards of compensation or remedy for a major failure. The customer gets to choose a refund of the cost or a replacement. Not withstanding the potential to claim additional compensation.
The outcome covered in the report points out many Australian’s are loosing more out of the deal the High Court registered than others with unfulfilled flights. Fair? How this outcome has been determined or how it is gift wrapped it’s never going to pass the pub test. The opportunity to get something rather than very little should make all right again is not a measure of fairness? It’s a compromise.
Not everyone has had an equivalent opportunity to make use of the credits offered. That’s independent of whether the deal was the best on the day, or accepting it may be of lesser net value.
I’ll suggest my view of fair might be too high a bar. It is not about to change. Consumers fighting for fair is about changing outcomes because what has been delivered is far less than the consumer paid for or had been promised.
It will never be fair for a company when insolvent to leave customers (consumers) out of pocket through no fault of the own. We have seen employees fighting for their entitlements and unpaid super when this happens. Consumers also deserve an assurance their funds are secured.
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That isn’t correct either. The purpose of the voluntary administration process is try to get the best outcome for creditors, than if the company had been immediately wound up.
The Federal Court will look at, in balance of all considerations, what actions should be taken by the administrators to achieve this purpose. It could include winding up a company and selling off any assets if they exist, selling parts of the company which may have a viable future or continue trading to try an operate in such a way that creditors obtain (some) return on dollars owed.
In the case of Virgin, it was selling parts of the company as it was determined that if a buyer with sufficient equity purchased the company, the business should be viable to continue trading. Fortunately for consumers with cancelled tickets, a buyer was found otherwise the company may have been wound up with consumers receiving nothing.
The Federal Court would have determined what was in the best interests of creditors, including consumers which held cancelled tickets. This resulted in an undertaking being made that any sale of Virgin as an ongoing concern, cancelled flight ticket holders would be provided with flight credits. The Federal Court may have considered cash refunds to ticket holders, but this might have been an impediment to a sale. A significant impediment as refunds would automatically become a realised liability to the new owner.
Virgin (and its owners) which went ‘belly up’ due to Covid no longer exists. The sold business has new owners and like any administration process, creditors would have received a return from sale proceeds after administration fees have been paid. The pre-Covid owners would not have received any proceeds, unless there was monies left after distribution of all monies to the creditors.
The new owners could have started a new airline with a new name, but chose not to as they acquired the well-known brand name ‘Virgin’.
It is a challenging situation for the court, as winding up would have greater impact than that of consumers with cancelled flight tickets, it would have impacted on all consumers through creation of a monopoly. That being Qantas being the only nationwide domestic. The outcome could be seen as outcome for all consumers.
Is it fair? Well what has happened through the administration process was possibly the best outcome achievable for consumers. A far better and fairer outcome than Virgin being wound in April 2020.
