Airline refunds for credits

[king1]

So we have had a Jetstar credit since before Covid.

First booking prior to Covid, they changed the flights to inconvenient early AM flights - then Covid hit 

Recently, we booked (using the credit) afternoon flights CHCH to WGTN, again they changed the flights to inconvenient, early AM flights.They offer us a refund because they can't fly us within 3 hours of our scheduled flight times -  refund being code for another credit...

When I look at the flights on the day now though, there is only an early AM flight, plus two afternoon flights via Auckland.  At the time of booking i'm sure they had a dozen flights each way on the day.

Is the strategy for airlines now just to offer a full range of flights and then simply consolidate them down to the early morning ones... Maybe an afternoon flight if we have enough bookings on the day...

Should they be allowed to offer flights that there is a reasonable chance will not fly.

and why on earth can't one get a proper refund? this amount of dicking around in any other industry would entitle one to a refund under the CGA.  On the Chat service the response I got was 

"Despite declining your request, we are confident that we are in compliance with our legal obligation"

Consumer NZ have some info here about this 
https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/wil...n-grounded

I suspect because the govt are heavily invested in Air New Zealand, it probably influences there decision to tackle the problem - Basically if they do, they will need to prop up Air NZ with more $$...

Is it this painful with Air New Zealand as well? Never really had any problems with them in the past...

[alpha111]

This is what I wrote to the Ministry after loosing a sum of money to Air NZ.
On 2/04/2020 4:46 p.m., "*******@gmail.com" wrote:
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have had overseas travel plans disrupted by the Government closing the borders.
This has negated our rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act for those who have purchased cruises, flights and accommodation (here and overseas) from New Zealand agents.
Many New Zealanders face large financial losses. There appears to be a conspiracy of silence over this issue. No public information is forthcoming.
Is the Ministry addressing this issue? And what recommendations is it making to the Government to address the problem to provide a resolution for this large group of New Zealanders so as to mitigate their losses?

And the reply:-
cpinfo@mbie.govt.nz
3 Apr 2020, 09:18
Good Morning Don,
Thank you for your email.
MBIE’s role is to ensure consumers and businesses are aware of their rights, obligations and remedies with respect to the Consumer Guarantees Act, Fair Trading Act and other consumer law. The CGA is self-enforced and requires negotiation between the consumer and the retailer/manufacturer, and the Ministry has no enforcement or investigative rights.

As COVID 19 is outside the control of the service provider, they may not have to provide a full refund for a cancellation as this is considered Force Majeure. You will need to rely on the terms and conditions of their return policy to establish if you can cancel the booking, you may need to contact the company for more information on their return policy and to see if they will assist you in resolving this. We have some information on COVID 19 and the impact it can have on consumer contracts for goods or services at our website below.
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/n...-affected/

A business doesn’t have to allow you to cancel a booking if your circumstances have changed. However, some businesses have their own company policy to offer a refund, exchange or credit for ‘change-of-circumstance’ purchases and bookings, these may be seen as a gesture of good will. You can find more information on a business’s obligations with ‘change of circumstance’ purchases at our website via the following link:
https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/g...umstances/

The business must ensure they honour the terms and conditions set or this may be considered a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
If you are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution with the trader, you may wish to file a claim in the Disputes Tribunal. The Disputes Tribunal offers an independent, relatively inexpensive and informal avenue for parties to resolve disputes of up to $30,000. For further information about the Tribunal or to access its online application from, please refer to the following link: http://justice.govt.nz/tribunals/disputes-tribunal or on 0800 268 787. You will need to contact them directly if you are making an application from overseas.
If you believe the company has been misleading or deceptive in its business practices and they are either located in New Zealand or selling into New Zealand, you may also want to consider making a complaint to the Commerce Commission. The Commission is responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act. Although the Commission does not take up cases on behalf of individuals, they will record your complaint to assist current or future investigations. Their website address is http://www.comcom.govt.nz/ they can be contacted by email: contact@comcom.govt.nz.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call the freephone number listed below. Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm & Friday 9am to 5pm.

Feedback on our service? Fill in our two minute customer satisfaction survey
Kind regards,
Lucy
CLIENT SERVICE ADVISOR
Service Centre
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

---

Meant "lose" not "loose". Our deliberately deficient consumer legislation made me lose focus because of my financial loss to Air NZ.

[king1]

hmm, so not our problem...

Thanks for the info...

What really ticks me off now is there seems to be a growing use of mass flight listings initially, then disrupt everyone's plans by rationalising the flights closer to the time. and get away with it by offering refunds only on the most expensive tickets.

[alpha111]

FROM CONSUMER NZ 12 October 2022. Jetstar misleading passengers about their rights under the Civil Aviation Act .We're getting large numbers of complaints from Jetstar customers about information provided to them when flights are cancelled or delayed for reasons within the airline's control.
We are requesting the Commerce Commission investigate this matter as soon as possible to prevent Jetstar from continuing to mislead passengers about their rights.
Consumer has launched a flight rights petition, demanding airlines tell you what your rights are when your flight is delayed or cancelled.

Sign the flight rights petition on - Our campaigns https://campaigns.consumer.org.nz/flight-rights

We’re calling for airlines to communicate honestly with passengers about the reason for cancellations and delays, and clearly display their rights. Sign the petition to push airlines to clearly communicate your rights when your flight is cancelled or delayed.
I have just signed as we had this coming back from the Gold Coast!!! Flight changed so had to pay for an extra nights accommodation, then get up at 2.15 am to catch 3.15 am transport to the Coolangatta Airport for the flight back to Wellington.

[king1]

voted for that,

[alpha111]

Qantas to scrap expiry date of COVID-19 refunds, as ACCC sues over cancelled flights. Qantas customers whose flights were cancelled due to border closures during COVID-19 will reportedly now be able to request a refund at any time in the future.
But Air NZ still has the policies in place from the Luxton era that deny customers proper rights and the Labour Government as 51% shareholders has done nothing.
And these parties want my vote.......

[king1]

Qantas to scrap expiry date of COVID-19 refunds, as ACCC sues over cancelled flights. Qantas customers whose flights were cancelled due to border closures during COVID-19 will reportedly now be able to request a refund at any time in the future.
But Air NZ still has the policies in place from the Luxton era that deny customers proper rights and the Labour Government as 51% shareholders has done nothing.
And these parties want my vote.......

won't be long - just received this tonight from Jetstar

Hi There
We're writing to let you know we are extending the time you have to book with your Jetstar Airways COVID voucher*, which means you can book flights indefinitely.

You can book using your current voucher until 31 December 2023. If you don't use the voucher by 31 December 2023, you can contact us at any time after your voucher expires and we will issue you a new voucher. You don’t need to take any action until after 31 December 2023 if your voucher expires.

The COVID vouchers you hold that are eligible for this extension are detailed below:

I absolutely know Jetstar did the exact same f'n thing to us when we booked, i fully expect they might end up in court as well

[king1]

this was an interesting read
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/08/31/qanta...d-flights/