Advice re name changes on air tickets, and also a warning!

never_waz

6 of us are going to Florida this September, and I took on responsibility of finding cheap air flights. Having gone through MSE I found some decent flights with Virgin and went about booking them through a company called Travelpack. Unfortunately I have two friends with similar names, and for some goodness knows why reason, I typed the wrong surname for the ticket (the rest of the details were correct, ie dob). Following Xmas I passed on the booking to our friends who then pointed out the mistake. I know that most airlines will charge a fee for name changes, etc, so after contacting Travelpack I was very surprised to find out that Virgin refused to change the name, and advised I had to cancel the ticket, however would also not offer me a refund. Despite numerous calls to both companies (and individually both accepting that it was a mistake and I should be able to get it sorted) I am no further on as they still refuse to help me. I don't have a spare 500 plus pounds, and am really not happy about the service. This kind of problem really needs highlighting as it is just ridiculous that an honest mistake can result in this. Please can a big warning be placed onto the MSE thread to advise people of this problem, so no-one else gets stuck in my situation.

DaveLy

Similar issue, I ordered tickets for my mothers partner under the name Eddie rather than "Edward" thats on his passport...

I phoned lastminute.com the SAME day I ordered after realising the mistake, 10 minutes before there lines closed. They told me if I do not cancel and rebook then it will not be refundable the next day!

So I paid the £45 charge... for what ?

PolishBigSpender

Why do people expect that mistakes from their part should be changed without fees? They certainly wouldn't allow the airline to make mistakes and get away with it!

never_waz wrote:

I was very surprised to find out that Virgin refused to change the name, and advised I had to cancel the ticket, however would also not offer me a refund.

Did you check the fare conditions attached to the ticket? No? Thought not....

DaveLy wrote:

So I paid the £45 charge... for what ?

Again, did you check the fare conditions before booking? No? Thought not.

malkie76

never_waz wrote: »

Please can a big warning be placed onto the MSE thread to advise people of this problem, so no-one else gets stuck in my situation.

Perhaps airlines should put something in their T&C which states that name changes will result in additional fees ??????

Oh wait, they do :beer:

I'm 100% with PBS - if you make mistakes they you need to cover the costs of putting them right - ie the salary of the telephone call staff, and the administration of the computer booking system.

You also MUST be liable for any inceases in fare prices to prevent speculators cashing in on regular travellers.

DaveLy

malkie76 wrote: »

I'm 100% with PBS - if you make mistakes they you need to cover the costs of putting them right - ie the salary of the telephone call staff, and the administration of the computer booking system.

So you consider entirely cancelling a £500+ plane ticket without any refund is fair?

Sure I agree a charge should be implied, I had to pay £45, if I waited for the next day I'd have lost ALL £500!

Perhaps airlines should put something in their T&C which states that name changes will result in additional fees ??????

Also like how you comment on not reading T&C's when you obviously never read the original post of a thread your replying to, he hasn't the option of an "additional fee", those tickets are void due to incorrect names. Money down the pan.

malkie76

My point is perfectly valid - if you don't like the T&C then don't buy tickets with that airline or agent. Some airlines charge a fee + fare increase for name changes, others allow no changes whatsoever.

(It gets more complex than that as many airlines and agents have different conditions for different ticket classes).

Nothing I've said is inaccurate, nor a misreading of the original post. The bottomline is that you must read the T&C, or when you buy tickets select the fully flexible ones to allow for changes.

If you agree to T&C you can't whine if you get charged for changes, or are forced to cancel and rebook.

edit

To answer your question; I think it's perfectly fair for an airline or agent to enforce the T&C that you agreed to.

PolishBigSpender

DaveLy wrote: »

So you consider entirely cancelling a £500+ plane ticket without any refund is fair?

If it was agreed to by both parties at the time of booking, yes, it's fair. The terms and conditions of a ticket are there to read for a reason.

Sure I agree a charge should be implied, I had to pay £45, if I waited for the next day I'd have lost ALL £500!

As clearly stated in the terms and conditions that you agreed to.

Also like how you comment on not reading T&C's when you obviously never read the original post of a thread your replying to, he hasn't the option of an "additional fee", those tickets are void due to incorrect names. Money down the pan.

And he has no-one to blame but himself.

Funnily enough, the same people complaining are the ones who can't afford to buy fully flexible tickets and yet want the airline to give them a fully flexible service.

DaveLy

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Funnily enough, the same people complaining are the ones who can't afford to buy fully flexible tickets and yet want the airline to give them a fully flexible service.

As someone that works in computer systems I fail to see whats so difficult as to requiring a complete ticket cancellation due to a name change?

Can't afford, or see no need? I've bought a vegas holiday for my girlfriend, mother and her fiancee for May, and another holiday to Egypt in feb. The deals I got would require a further £1k+ seperately booking hotel and airline.

PolishBigSpender

DaveLy wrote: »

As someone that works in computer systems I fail to see whats so difficult as to requiring a complete ticket cancellation due to a name change?

That is the condition of the ticket that you booked, the conditions of which were made available to you at the time of booking. If the fare is set in such a way that the ticket is non refundable and non changable, that's the way it is - you accepted the offer, after all.

Can't afford, or see no need? I've bought a vegas holiday for my girlfriend, mother and her fiancee for May, and another holiday to Egypt in feb. The deals I got would require a further £1k+ seperately booking hotel and airline.

It's of no consequence - you make a mistake, you have to expect to pay for it.

thommy

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Why do people expect that mistakes from their part should be changed without fees? They certainly wouldn't allow the airline to make mistakes and get away with it!


You're having a laugh, right? Airlines make mistakes and never get away with it?:rotfl:

never_waz

To be honest I'm quite surprised at some of the comments made - especially the "Its your own fault you should have to pay the full fare" ones.
I agree it's my own fault, but I don't agree that full face value is fair. I imagine you were some of those who claimed that the bank charges were unfair - they were also in your conditions when you accepted them. Does that mean we should not have got money back?
Just because something is in the conditions, it does not mean that it is morally correct. Their stance is almost like buying a t-shirt for a friend, but getting the incorrect size. When you go back to the store, they refuse to allow you to get a different size, and then also refuse to refund you for the top, stating that you will have to buy another one. Would that be seen as fair?