Air Asia - Fraudulent Visa Payment Taken

[Boycie]

I fly with Air Asia a few times a year and the last time i booked a flight with them online, and paid with my UK bank visa card, was back in January 2011.

Recently i see on my online bank statement a payment to Air Asia for 1,070Baht was taken on the 14th October 2011??

I haven't used this visa card for months, haven't lost it or had it stolen. Also when i do use it online, i have a extra password for "Verified by Visa" that only myself knows.

Contacted Air Asia numerous times and they couldn't tell me what the payment was for and told me to contact my bank.

Recieved a reply within 24 hours from my UK bank, stating "we have investigated your claim and confirm that the transactions are fraudulent and a re-credit has been applied to your account".

I was lucky that it was only a small amount taken and an extra bonus in that my bank refunded the amount with no hassles.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Boycie.

[thedistillers]

Are you paraphrasing or did the bank really use the term "fraudulent"?

It is extremely surprising to me that the bank would use the term "fraudulent" in their client communication unless a case against Air Asia (or a AA hacker) has gone to court and fraud has been established as a fact.

I'm assuming what the bank did is asking Air Asia for evidence and they couldn't provide it, but I'm not sure why they would conclude it's fraud, let alone letting the client know.

[zorro1]

I noticed 5,000 dollars missing from my account charged to a french hand bag company. The transaction hadn't gone through but the money was in "authorised " mode. I rang the bank they confirmed it was fraud so I told them they could still cancel it and what they came back with was bizarre, the guy saying they cant cancel due to privacy laws, <deleted>?

Anyway he said its okay they would credit my account. He also said that all banks have a slush fund for fraud and we the customers pay for it through bank fees

[Gonsalviz]

Another reason to not use AA.

[Chutney]

Not sure if it's any help but I have had several problems with various online booking/payment agencies/ systems during the last 2 weeks since the floods have put massive strain on everything.

Been overcharged, given totally wrong booking dates, full amounts taken when only deposit or nothing was supposed to happen and in one case apparently booked into some hotel I never heard of.

Different organisations in each case.

Systems may simply be screwed up due to overload so it's just another thing to be aware of and chase up if it goes wrong on you right now.

Glad you got it sorted at least.

[Boycie]

Are you paraphrasing or did the bank really use the term "fraudulent"?

It is extremely surprising to me that the bank would use the term "fraudulent" in their client communication unless a case against Air Asia (or a AA hacker) has gone to court and fraud has been established as a fact.

I'm assuming what the bank did is asking Air Asia for evidence and they couldn't provide it, but I'm not sure why they would conclude it's fraud, let alone letting the client know.

thedistillers Yes the bank did really use the term "fraudulent"

I just assumed it was Air Asia that took the payment but as you mentioned it could of been an AA hacker.

Just thought i'd try to warn others if they use Air Asia, to be on the lookout for payments taken, when nothing was purchased.

Hope you get your money back Chutney.

zorro1 thanks for your post, but I don't want to be going off topic and start chatting about french handbag companies and bank fees

[Junglejumbo]

Air Asia also over charged my credit card by more than 6,000 baht. Eventually I got most of it back but it took me about four months and lots of international phone calls which probably cost anothr 1,000+ baht.

I do not fly with them anymore for many reasons. In Malaysia I really don't like the budget airport that they use which has very limited seating and little or no air-condition, and they usually only have 1-2 people servicing thousands of people. Their ticketing policies are far too rigid too and really the extra charging and ofted full price charges if you want to change a schedule makes Air Asia more expensive than other airlines if you calculate your average ticket price over one year, for example. Air Asia is simply a marketing ploy but offering worse service.

I also had my bags taken by some Chinese tourist as they came out onto the conveyor. I know that this isn't particularly Air Asia's fault but it does show the type of customer that they're now getting. I confronted these tourists to get them back and eventually had to involve the police standing at the customs declaration counter to help me and they were real scruffy and smelly people who I'm pretty sure wouldn't normally have enough money to be able to fly. SO WATCH OUT....

[bkkjames]

Do you really think a big company like AA or anyone else would purposely try to scam you out of 1000 baht and risk being caught out and losing millions of dollars in future business? If they did do withdrawl /charge you without your consent most likely an error.

[Boycie]

bkkjames I've got no problem with AirAsia, i'll book and fly with them again.

But i'll be watching out for any payments taken from my bank for something i haven't purchased. (Just in case that AA hacker has me again ).

But like you say "most likely an error".

Luckily it wasn't 6,000Baht Junglejumbo, i would have been overdrawn

[mowgus]

I have to agree that Air Asia has gone downhill a bit. I used to recommend them but after the last couple of runs through the LCCT in KL, I'm checking alternatives. I know they nickle and dime you with service fees but it used to come out cheaper. Not so much anymore. And I don't quite understand their online check in system. How is it supposed to save time? I still have to go to a counter and have my bags checked, tags affixed and half the time a new boarding pass printed anyway. I don't see the time savings...if anything, it's the opposite while half the passengers come to the counter not realizing they had to go to a little machine to get a boarding pass, etc. I also see LCCT as a security hole. That place is pathetic for security.

Ok, so, I digressed from the topic. What I was originally going to say was to be careful of the booking web sites you use in S.E. Asia (or anywhere really). While we have grown to expect secure websites in the West, here it isn't always the case. Always check to see that the webpage is https (shows a padlock on IE) before entering credit card info. I was about to book Hotel Sentral through their website in KL and noticed the site is only http (not https) meaning that my credit card info would have been transmitted from my PC all the way to their server unencrypted for any half-brained kid with a sniffer to grab. Funny enough, they had a "secure" logo on the page...which is just an image like any other...does not indicate the page is encrypted.

I've had my credit card information snagged recently (I think it was at the new Ramada in BKK...but can't be sure) and they racked up a pile of charges. Thankfully, Visa reversed it all before I even got a bill and shipped me a new card.