Tit Or Most Airlines Operate This Way

[rrivers]

I purchased a 1 way ticket on Thai airlines between Bangkok and lax.

The ticket was paid for in cash and is 100% no refundable.

When I purchased the ticket the sales agent assured me that getting a refund would not be a problem.

Something came up and I am not leaving Chiang mai at this time, so I went back to Thai airlines requesting a refund less the 2000 bhat fee

They told me while they can refund but i would have to wait 10 days until a manager (both on vacation) can sign off and give me a check.

Imo this is piss poor customer service, I mean thai air should have somebody available who can sign checks, documents etc as a back up, that and the fact they let both managers go on vacation at the same time.

Thai air is not a small local company, they fly worldwide and are a reflection on Thailand, The way they do business is a poor reflextion on them, thai business in general and the country as well

ky

[Genericnic]

So, you purchased a nonrefundable ticket and you are now complaining that it will take 10 days to get a refund? In the U.S. you would be waiting a lot longer since the ticket is nonrefundable.

As for both managers with signature authority being out at the same time, it happens.

Just my $0.02 worth.

David

[Mugg]

Orbitz you would wait minimum 30 days ..

Often places have training or special events and would find just a skeleton crew left..

100% refundable might not go sell well when the manager(s) return

[wintermute]

If you're skint and can't bear waiting an additional few days for a refund then maybe you shouldn't be traveling abroad.

[cardholder]

I think the OP is going to get zero sympathy on this one !

I doubt that you will ever see the refund - if indeed it was purchased on a non-refundable basis.

I was in the same position with an Air Asia booking. I am not bleating to them.

[samran]

the OP is just an excuse to have a bit of a Thai bash it seems.

10 days for a refund turnaround on a non-refundable ticket is good work by any standard in my experience.

[kunash]

i had to wait nearly 5 months to get a refund, via a travel agent, on plane tickets. and it was the airline dragging its heels

[NancyL]

I hate to pile on, but the OP is coming out ahead if s/he gets a refund, even with waiting for 10 days. Why, oh why, would anyone pay for an airline ticket with cash? This is where having a U.S.-bank issued Visa card really pays off.

I booked flights from CM to CR about a year ago on Nok Air, only to receive an email from them weeks later that "the flight was cancelled". Some internet research indicated that they'd cancelled the entire CM-CR route, not just our particular flight, although no one at their call center seemed to know about this.

Eventually, a couple days after my call I received an email from the CR station manager, promising a refund on my credit card within 6 weeks -- yeah about the time that my ability to file a claim with the Visa people expires!

I immediately filed a claim and the Visa people credited our account within a week or so.

The OP's situation is a bit different. I don't know why anyone would buy a non-refundable air ticket and assume an agent's verbal promise that it really is refundable would be valid. The OP is really going to win if s/he actually receives a refund within 10 days.

[dananderson]

The OP paid cash and is npw upset that he failed to read the fine print. Som num na

[soundman]

10 days for a refund turnaround on a non-refundable ticket is good work by any standard in my experience.

That's what I thought too. Last time I heard about refunds, from Quantas (many moons ago), it was 6 weeks to 2 months to get a refund.

,

[GM1955]

The OP is just another typical paranoid Farang, they're all out to get me !!!!

Waiting 10 days to get a refund on a 100% non refundable ticket is very very reasonable.

[haveaniceday]

I see this chap is confused or has a typo, non refundable ticket complaining takes 10 days,,..... mai pen rai... Un-grit can be a bitch at the best of times eh

I am still waiting for my ticket on Thai to be refunded when people took over the BKK airport many moons ago, it is still an active claim Thai staff tell me, but I bought a one way ticket on Thai Airways, no code sharing between airlines, no stop overs, only a 4 hour transit in BKK, and it was bought from a office that Thai Airways list as their office in that country, and that office only sell Thai tickets and staff wear Thai uniforms and answer the phone as Thai Airways, I went to claim a refund after my Thai Airways flight did not show up. Because I paid in cash, Thai airways said they would debit a credit card as they could not refund in cash, even though I paid in cash, I thought, what ever, a head office policy to avoid fraud maybe, I will get shafted on exchange rates probably, I then bought a ticket on Singapore Airlines, and transited via a country that is stable and their airline actually flew, I have since been told because I paid in cash, I can not have the the refund credited to a credit card and I have to go to the continent I was leaving, actually to the Thai Airlines office I paid for the ticket in, well since then, fact that I have since found out, is not really Thia Airlines but a exclusive agent for Thai Airways.

This agent wont send the refund, been to Thai head office 3 times, they say I should buy a trans continental ticket to get the refund and sign for it in person. I find it ironic than many of the people closing the BKK airport were Thai Airways staff, as the Thai Airways union supported the shenanigans of the day, (Please don't make this a political thread and derailed like so many here, I really don't care about politics in Thailand) So in short, think yourself lucky you are getting a refund in Thailand at all !!!

Morel of the story, I have spend more than $13k since then on air tickets, flown into Swampy 8 times Intl, and never once flown Thai Airways and I will never again.

I don't loose sleep at night, just another notch in the belt of the Amazing Land Of Scams.

[NanLaew]

For the grumbling OP; consider this. I bought 3 round-trip tickets to London on Thai Air website only to find that the domestic connections were impossible due to the death of the revered monk in Udon (all domestic flights , all carriers were full that weekend). A few days later, I found reasonably priced seats on KLM (preferred carrier to Aberdeen) so popped in to the Thai office in Pattaya and requested to cancel the 3 tickets. After deduction of 2000 baht per ticket, the agent advised it may take a few weeks for the credit to appear. I was pleasantly surprised to see the refund posted to my Amex account within 48-hours.

Advice? Get the 'don't leave home without it' plastic!

[NanLaew]

I see this chap is confused or has a typo, non refundable ticket complaining takes 10 days,,..... mai pen rai... Un-grit can be a bitch at the best of times eh

I am still waiting for my ticket on Thai to be refunded when people took over the BKK airport many moons ago, it is still an active claim Thai staff tell me, but I bought a one way ticket on Thai Airways, no code sharing between airlines, no stop overs, only a 4 hour transit in BKK, and it was bought from a office that Thai Airways list as their office in that country, and that office only sell Thai tickets and staff wear Thai uniforms and answer the phone as Thai Airways, I went to claim a refund after my Thai Airways flight did not show up. Because I paid in cash, Thai airways said they would debit a credit card as they could not refund in cash, even though I paid in cash, I thought, what ever, a head office policy to avoid fraud maybe, I will get shafted on exchange rates probably, I then bought a ticket on Singapore Airlines, and transited via a country that is stable and their airline actually flew, I have since been told because I paid in cash, I can not have the the refund credited to a credit card and I have to go to the continent I was leaving, actually to the Thai Airlines office I paid for the ticket in, well since then, fact that I have since found out, is not really Thia Airlines but a exclusive agent for Thai Airways.

This agent wont send the refund, been to Thai head office 3 times, they say I should buy a trans continental ticket to get the refund and sign for it in person. I find it ironic than many of the people closing the BKK airport were Thai Airways staff, as the Thai Airways union supported the shenanigans of the day, (Please don't make this a political thread and derailed like so many here, I really don't care about politics in Thailand) So in short, think yourself lucky you are getting a refund in Thailand at all !!!

Morel of the story, I have spend more than $13k since then on air tickets, flown into Swampy 8 times Intl, and never once flown Thai Airways and I will never again.

I don't loose sleep at night, just another notch in the belt of the Amazing Land Of Scams.

Maybe you should ask Thai for an MCO instead of cash. That seems to be a standard way for airlines to reimburse fares where cash and credit/debit accounts are not applicable.

[Igor]

The OP bought a nonrefundable ticket and immediately made sure it was refundable?!?!?!

Check in with some of the travel blogs and you'll see the airlines routinely take months to refund tickets and often only give vouchers even then!

As for both managers being on holiday? I'd bet that was a language thing. Unlikely Thai Airlines would have them both schedule on leave at the same time. I wonder if they were at some sort of mandatory training.

If they WERE on holiday, it was probably on the backs of a bunch of idiots who bought nonrefundable tickets then paid 2000 bt each to try and get a refund. Hahahahahahaha.

No sympathy.

Be sure of your travel plans or pay the extra for refundable tix.

[Wallaby]

I think the OP is going to get zero sympathy on this one !

I doubt that you will ever see the refund - if indeed it was purchased on a non-refundable basis.

I was in the same position with an Air Asia booking. I am not bleating to them.

As an aside. I too couldn't make a flight with Air Asia so lost the money however, after arguing the point, I did get a refund for the payment the airport tax (or whatever it's called now) also the payment of the seat for extra leg room and the payment of the food.

Seems it is just the cost of the actual flight you don't get back.

[rrivers]

ok i was the OP and i forgot to proof read....this ticket is 100% refundable. sorry about that

and i like to pay in cash I dont like having my cc nuumber spread out all over the place.