Booked air tickets out of TH, cancelled hours later

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, khunPer said:

If you paid by plastic card, contact your bank immediately to stop the payment.

I tried that and the bank refused. They said that by providing the card details you have entered into a contract and they have a legal obligation to honour that contract.

I was advised that once the payment was collected to use the "Disputed transaction" procedure, HSBC have 2 methods of dealing with a problem, "chargeback" being one of them.

[tomazbodner]

On 9/23/2020 at 1:45 AM, Dellamorte said:

Yes, normally I always book directly through the airline's website. In this case there some (technical?) issues on Austrian Airlines' website which made the flight unavailable for online booking. On Austrian's website I was prompted to call them to book the tickets, but when calling I could not get through, even after long waiting on the line. So then I decided to do it through the travel agency listed on Google Flights.

 

Gotogate has been around for many years, so I didn't expect any trouble, but I obviously regret it now. I see on different webpages that a lot of people have recently had similar experiences with Gotogate.com. They cancel your ticket short time after they've been booked, blaming it on Covid, and then just hold on to the money, not answering mails, phone, etc.

 

 

There is unfortunately no way to rebook to another flight. They only provided one option: to ask for a refund. Seems very dubious, more like a scam really. But pretty f****d up in this already difficult situation.

Having booked online you likely used your credit card. Call your credit card provider and tell them of this and ask to terminate the transaction. Option 2 is to call up Lufthansa, give booking details and ask if they can rebook over any other flight (say over FRA to VIE), sometimes they'll have such options; the third option is to wait for a refund that might or might not come - as it's not from airline but from the travel agency that just fleeced you.

[mtls2005]

49 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I opted for the voucher, which was received within a few days, as you do not get the full amount with a cash refund. Some of the fare has been prepaid to foreign entities and becomes irrecoverable.

 

This seems odd, but maybe that was in the T's&C's you agreed to? Would be interested to hear more about how much was paid to foreign entities? Obviously loaning the airline your money is good for them.

 

Normally you would get a full refund, but you might lose/gain on any currency FX?

 

Qatar Airways was giving 110% value on a two-year voucher (or granting the same flights/CoS), I opted for the refund, and 'lost' ~ $200 USD (on a $ 4,177 ticket priced in THB) over the ~ six-month period between ticketing and refund.

 

gotogate.com is still selling the OP's itin. It is ~ 1,000 THB cheaper than os.com. They do say...

 

Free rebooking on the airline’s option when schedule changes occur

 

So I'd get on the phone to OS ASAP. You should have an OS PNR, which the airline can access and modify if necessary.

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by mtls2005

[sandyf]

59 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

This seems odd, but maybe that was in the T's&C's you agreed to? Would be interested to hear more about how much was paid to foreign entities? Obviously loaning the airline your money is good for them.

 

Normally you would get a full refund, but you might lose/gain on any currency FX?

 

You're right, I should have said "you may not get the full amount", if I remember right there was a statement by Emirates that under certain Fare Conditions prepayments already made by the company could not be recovered. Think they mentioned things like landing fees, ground services etc., could be they pay a certain amount up front.

Having bought the cheapest ticket I could get, I didn't even bother trying to understand the Fare Conditions, they were waived with the voucher.

I have 3 vouchers, 2 were bought at about 44 baht/£ and one around 38 baht/£ so anyone's guess.

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by sandyf

[mtls2005]

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

if I remember right there was a statement by Emirates that under certain Fare Conditions prepayments already made by the company could not be recovered. Think they mentioned things like landing fees, ground services etc., could be they pay a certain amount up front

 

I've honestly never heard of such a thing, but if you agreed to it then there isn't much recourse.

 

Obiously there are potential cancellation penalties, and re-scheduling fees. It sounds like you initiated a cancellation so suspect there was a fee to be paid prior to calculating a refund. Taking a voucher in this case seems wise, assuming you can ever use it?

 

 

 

 

[CanuckThai]

On 9/23/2020 at 1:45 AM, Dellamorte said:

Yes, normally I always book directly through the airline's website. In this case there some (technical?) issues on Austrian Airlines' website which made the flight unavailable for online booking. On Austrian's website I was prompted to call them to book the tickets, but when calling I could not get through, even after long waiting on the line. So then I decided to do it through the travel agency listed on Google Flights.

 

Gotogate has been around for many years, so I didn't expect any trouble, but I obviously regret it now. I see on different webpages that a lot of people have recently had similar experiences with Gotogate.com. They cancel your ticket short time after they've been booked, blaming it on Covid, and then just hold on to the money, not answering mails, phone, etc.

 

 

There is unfortunately no way to rebook to another flight. They only provided one option: to ask for a refund. Seems very dubious, more like a scam really. But pretty f****d up in this already difficult situation.

Call your credit card company.  Most CC will protect you for this situation.  Product/service not delivered.

[sandyf]

22 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

I've honestly never heard of such a thing, but if you agreed to it then there isn't much recourse.

I am not looking for any recourse, I wasn't going to take a chance on some fees hidden in the small print. I got the full value and the vouchers are valid for 2 years.

Glad I changed this year from BA to Emirates, if they go bust we will all be knee deep in the brown stuff.

[Phillip9]

On 9/23/2020 at 1:09 AM, Dellamorte said:

Today I booked air tickets out of Thailand (Bangkok - Vienna) with Austrian Airlines (via Gotogate.com) on Sunday 27th. Just hours later I received a mail from the travel agency with the following message:

 

"Your flight(s) has unfortunately been affected by the situation with Covid-19.
 
Due to the airline's changes you can no longer travel as planned on your original itinerary."

 

Fyi, The flight that was the subject of this thread was never cancelled, and it flew as scheduled.  The OP's problem was with the booking agent he choose which could not actually issue the ticket they sold him.  No flights to Europe are being cancelled with short notice anymore.

 

 

[treetops]

5 hours ago, Phillip9 said:

Fyi, The flight that was the subject of this thread was never cancelled, and it flew as scheduled.  The OP's problem was with the booking agent he choose which could not actually issue the ticket they sold him.

According to the OP in post #41, it was the flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok that was cancelled resulting in his whole itinerary being screwed, not the Austrian Airlines one from Bangkok to Vienna.  Do pay attention. ????

 

[mtls2005]

9 hours ago, treetops said:

According to the OP in post #41, it was the flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok that was cancelled

 

Thanks. I missed that detail.

 

The obvious lesson is, in these times, keep it simple.

 

Buy the one-way ticket BKK-XXX directly from the airline.

 

Arrange seprarate transport to be in/around SBIA/BKK at least a day before departure.