How do I lodge a complaint against vayama.co.uk

skattili

richardw wrote: »

Many thanks, a list of airlines and their free change booking classes for discounted economy travel class would be useful for future reference.

No idea sir. If I had that info I wouldn't make this mistake in the first place! I can only tell u from my experience of travelling to India at least once a year over the last 8 years. Never been denied a free change so far and did this a few times. Might not be true for other sectors and rules might have changed recently. But change only allowed to return journey and not to onward journey and the free change does not include difference in fares at time of booking + availability. As has happened to me now can't take anything for granted these days and very grateful to everyone who have made some very constructive and informative comments. Had no idea about fare codes prior to this!:D

malkie76

Originally you claimed :-

skattili wrote:

As for the free changes offered by airlines- all airlines do that for most fares

then when pushed for information :-

skattili wrote:

No idea sir. If I had that info I wouldn't make this mistake in the first place!

So which is it ? either all airlines do it (original claim), or you have no idea (new claim). You actually previously stated "As a rule all airlines on international flights.....allow one free change to the return date (not the onward date).

All airlines ? Really ?

As richardw points out, having a list of airlines which offers free changes would be extremely useful. You suggested all airlines do this, but certainly BA, VS, LH, DL, AA, EK, CO don't, and never have. As I stated earlier, even discounted business and first class fares are non-changable.

I would appreciate knowing which airlines offer this.

skattili

malkie76 wrote: »

Originally you claimed :-



then when pushed for information :-



So which is it ? either all airlines do it (original claim), or you have no idea (new claim). You actually previously stated "As a rule all airlines on international flights.....allow one free change to the return date (not the onward date).

All airlines ? Really ?

As richardw points out, having a list of airlines which offers free changes would be extremely useful. You suggested all airlines do this, but certainly BA, VS, LH, DL, AA, EK, CO don't, and never have. As I stated earlier, even discounted business and first class fares are non-changable.

I would appreciate knowing which airlines offer this.

Seriously!! Ok I rephrase my statement. In my previous experience with flights booked to India, all the airlines I have travelled with have offered a free change. Please be happy now. I hate to see someone soo perplexed and confused because of my semantical errors. Please try and be happy that I have managed to achieve what I set out to achieve despite the odds. I am only here to share my experience not Yup argue on semantics. I am sure someone else will benefit from my experience. If you haven't then maybe better luck next time

malkie76

We're not really argueing semantics here, it's a fundamental difference between flexible and non-flexible conditions on airline tickets.

It's extremely important to get the correct information down because people use this forum as a source of accurate information when planning holidays or travel. Currently this thread suggests that (a) vayama will give refunds if you complain (which I don't think they do), and (b) "all" airlines offer free changes to their cheapest ticket.

I'm sure you can understand that the casual forum browser could easily be mislead by the information you have posted, and thats a dangerous thing which may result in people losing money.

Which airlines have you personally used which have allowed changes to their cheapest tickets free of charge ? I'm sure that information would benefit many people when considering planning travel.

skattili

BA; Air India, Emirates, Virgin airways and Klm. Wouldn't make any difference what airlines cause as is obvious from my experience Klm do have non amenable fares. The messages really is
1. Check the type of ticket before you buy and do not .presume based on past experiences and price of ticket
2. If the agent has nor made the ticket rules explicit at the time of booking and has just mentioned codes which lay people might not understand it is worth raising the issue with them.

I hope anyone sensible would not read too much else....

Sheepfan

I have to agree with many of the replies. Whether you believe it or not £460 is still a pretty cheap ticket to India - I have seen customers pay double this at certain times of year.

During 8 (enjoyable!) years in the travel business, I saw a lot of people who bought a cheap ticket when it suited them, then plead ignorance when they wanted to change it and deny being told that it was non-changeable. They were quite happy to insinuate the consultant was lying, until we would retrieve the signed copy of their receipt and suddenly some customers would have a flashback...

Like everything else you get what you pay for. Like Malkie76, I doubt that Vayama would cover the cost of this voluntary change - if I was them I would have told the OP he was welcome to complain to whoever he liked.

malkie76

I'm reasonably comfortable that BA and VS do not allow free changes to their discounted fares, and have not done so for as long as I've been flying regularly (which is the past 10 years).

richardw

I quite like expedia's Fare rules and restrictions feature, let's you have a good read at your leisure.

Here's BA LHR-BOM

Rules and restrictions

From: London (LHR-Heathrow)
To: Mumbai, India (BOM-Chhatrapati Shivaji Intl.)
Fare Basis Code: OLRCUK9
RULE APPLICATION
BRITISH AIRWAYS UK TO AREA 3 SEMI-FLEX LEISURE FARES
APPLICATION
AREA
THESE FARES APPLY
FROM UNITED KINGDOM TO AREA 3.
CLASS OF SERVICE
THESE FARES APPLY FOR ECONOMY CLASS SERVICE.
TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION
FARES GOVERNED BY THIS RULE CAN BE USED TO CREATE
ROUND-TRIP/CIRCLE-TRIP/SINGLE OPEN-JAW JOURNEYS.
THESE FARES MAY NOT BE USED FOR INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP
INCLUSIVE TOURS.
FARES ONLY APPLY IF PURCHASED BEFORE DEPARTURE.
EXCEPTION-
MAY BE USED FOR EN-ROUTE UPGRADING FROM A LOWER
FARE PROVIDED ALL CONDITIONS OF THESE FARES ARE
MET.
----
FARES MAY NOT BE USED TO ESTABLISH A MTP
FOR IT OR FLY-DRIVE PACKAGES.
CAPACITY LIMITATIONS
THE CARRIER SHALL LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS CARRIED
ON ANY ONE FLIGHT AT FARES GOVERNED BY THIS RULE AND SUCH
FARES WILL NOT NECESSARILY BE AVAILABLE ON ALL FLIGHTS.
THE NUMBER OF SEATS WHICH THE CARRIER SHALL MAKE
AVAILABLE ON A GIVEN FLIGHT WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE
CARRIERS BEST JUDGMENT

MIN STAY
TRAVEL FROM LAST INTERNATIONAL STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO
EARLIER THAN THE FIRST SUN AFTER DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST
INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.

MAX STAY
TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO LATER THAN 12
MONTHS AFTER DEPARTURE FROM FARE ORIGIN.

SEASONS
BETWEEN UNITED KINGDOM AND BOM FOR OLRCUK9 TYPE FARES
PERMITTED 04NOV 10 THROUGH 10DEC 10 OR 25DEC 10 THROUGH
30JUN 11 ON THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.

BLACKOUTS
NONE

DAY
NO RESTRICTIONS

SALES RESTRICT
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/BEFORE 09NOV 10.
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON BA .
TICKETS MAY NOT BE ISSUED BY PTA. EXTENSION OF TICKET
VALIDITY IS NOT PERMITTED.
NOTE -
REISSUE FOR PURPOSE OF SERVICING THIS FARE IS
PERMITTED ON ANY ONEWORLD ALLIANCE CARRIER TICKET

TVL RESTRICTION
NO RESTRICTIONS

ADVANCE RES
FOR OLRCUK9 TYPE FARES
RESERVATIONS FOR ALL SECTORS ARE REQUIRED AT LEAST 7 DAYS
BEFORE DEPARTURE.
TICKETING MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 3 DAYS AFTER
RESERVATIONS ARE MADE OR AT LEAST 7 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
WHICHEVER IS EARLIER.

FLT APPLICATION
BETWEEN AREA 2 AND INDIA
FOR TRAVEL ON/BEFORE 14SEP 10
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL WITHIN INDIA
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY IT FLIGHT
ANY 9W FLIGHT.
AND
THE FARE COMPONENT MUST INCLUDE TRAVEL VIA INTERNATIONAL
SECTORS ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY BA FLIGHT.
FOR TRAVEL ON/AFTER 15SEP 10
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL WITHIN INDIA
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY IT FLIGHT
ANY BA FLIGHT
ANY 9W FLIGHT.
AND
THE FARE COMPONENT MUST INCLUDE TRAVEL VIA INTERNATIONAL
SECTORS ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY BA FLIGHT.

CHILD DISCOUNTS
ACCOMPANIED CHILD UNDER 12 - CHARGE 75 PERCENT OF THE
FARE.
TICKETING CODE - BASE FARE CODE PLUS CH
OR - INFANT UNDER 2 WITH A SEAT - CHARGE 75 PERCENT OF THE
FARE.
TICKETING CODE - BASE FARE CODE PLUS CH
OR - INFANT UNDER 2 WITHOUT A SEAT - CHARGE 10 PERCENT OF
THE FARE.
TICKETING CODE - BASE FARE CODE PLUS IN
OR - UNACCOMPANIED CHILD 5-11 - CHARGE 100 PERCENT OF THE
FARE.
TICKETING CODE - BASE FARE CODE PLUS CH.

TOUR CONDUCTOR
NONE UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

AGTS DISCOUNTS
NONE UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

OTHER DISCOUNTS
NOTE -
NOT PERMITTED.

STOPOVERS
STOPOVERS NOT PERMITTED ON THE FARE COMPONENT.

TRANSFERS
BETWEEN UNITED KINGDOM AND BOM
2 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE
1 FREE IN LON IN EACH DIRECTION
1 FREE IN UNITED KINGDOM IN EACH DIRECTION.
AND - UNLIMITED TRANSFERS PERMITTED ON THE FARE COMPONENT
AT USD 180.00 EACH
IN INDIA IN EACH DIRECTION AT USD 180.00 EACH
FARE BREAK SURFACE SECTORS NOT PERMITTED AND
EMBEDDED SURFACE SECTORS PERMITTED ON THE FARE
COMPONENT.

SURCHARGES
BETWEEN LON AND BOM
THE PROVISIONS BELOW APPLY ONLY AS FOLLOWS -
TICKETS MAY ONLY BE SOLD IN BOLIVIA/BELIZE/COLOMBIA/COSTA
RICA/CUBA/ECUADOR/GUATEMALA/HONDURAS/NICARAGUA/PANAMA/
PARAGUAY/PERU/EL SALVADOR/URUGUAY/VENEZUELA.
A SURCHARGE OF USD 111.00 WILL BE ADDED TO THE
APPLICABLE FARE FOR TRAVEL.
IF UNACCOMPANIED CHILD 5-11.
FOR TRAVEL ON/BEFORE 30SEP 09
A SURCHARGE OF USD 50.00 PER DIRECTION WILL BE ADDED
TO THE APPLICABLE FARE FOR TRAVEL.
FOR TRAVEL ON/AFTER 01OCT 09
A SURCHARGE OF USD 75.00 PER DIRECTION WILL BE ADDED
TO THE APPLICABLE FARE FOR TRAVEL.

ELIGIBILITY
NO RESTRICTIONS

ACCOMPANY TVL
NO RESTRICTIONS

TKT ENDORSEMENT
THE ORIGINAL AND THE REISSUED TICKET MUST BE ANNOTATED -
NON REF - AND - CHANGE RESTRICTIONS APPLY - IN THE
ENDORSEMENT BOX.
AND - THE ORIGINAL AND THE REISSUED TICKET MUST BE
ANNOTATED - BA ONLY NOT ENDORSABLE - IN THE
ENDORSEMENT BOX.
NOTE -
TICKETS MUST SHOW BY THE USE OF AN INSERT OR
STICKER THAT TRAVEL IS AT A SPECIAL FARE AND
SUBJECT TO SPECIAL CONDITIONS

PENALTIES
CANCELLATIONS
TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE.
NOTE -
PASSENGERS WHO NO-SHOW FOR A FLIGHT WILL BE
CONSIDERED AS CANCELLING AFTER DEPARTURE AND WILL
RECEIVE NO REFUND.
WHEN THIS FARE IS COMBINED WITH ANOTHER FARE THE
CANCELLATION PENALTY OF EACH FARE COMPONENT WILL
APPLY.
CHANGES
BEFORE DEPARTURE
CHARGE GBP 90.00 FOR REISSUE/REVALIDATION.
NOTE -
THE CHANGE FEE APPLIES PER TRANSACTION -
PER PERSON FOR ADULT AND CHILD. INFANTS NOT
OCCUPYING A SEAT ARE NOT CHARGED THE FEE

---

WHEN MORE THAN ONE FARE COMPONENT IS CHANGED
THE HIGHEST PENALTY OF ANY OF THE CHANGED FARE
COMPONENTS WILL APPLY

---

FOR UPGRADES TO A HIGHER FARE CHARGE THE ABOVE
FEE PLUS ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARE

---

A CHANGE IS A DATE / OR FLIGHT OR /ROUTING CHANGE
OR UPGRADE.NEW RESERVATION AND
REISSUE/REVALIDATION MUST BE MADE AT THE SAME TIME

---

CHANGES ARE NOT PERMITTED TO OUTBOUND TRAVEL ON
THE DAY OF OUTBOUND TRAVEL.

---

PASSENGERS WHO NO-SHOW FOR A FLIGHT WILL BE
CONSIDERED AS CANCELLING AFTER DEPARTURE AND WILL
RECEIVE NO REFUND

---

CHANGES BEFORE OUTBOUND DEPARTURE
WHEN THE FIRST FARE COMPONENT IS CHANGED.
THE ITINERARY MUST BE RE-PRICED USING FARES IN
EFFECT ON THE DATE THE TICKET IS REISSUED.
THE NEW ITINERARY MUST MEET ALL RULE PROVISIONS
OF THE NEWLY TICKETED FARE I.E. ADVANCE
RESERVATIONS/TICKETING DEADLINE/MINIMUM/MAXIMUM
STAY/BOOKING CLASS/SEASONALITY ETC.

---

WHEN THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO THE FIRST FARE
COMPONENT BUT OTHER FARE COMPONENTS ARE CHANGED.
THE ITINERARY MUST BE REPRICED USING FARES IN
EFFECT ON THE PREVIOUS TICKETING DATE -OR - ON
THE DAY OF REISSUE - WHICHEVER IS LOWEST.
THE NEW ITINERARY MUST
MEET ALL THE RULE PROVISIONS OF THE NEWLY
TICKETED FARES SUCH THAT THE RECALCULATED FARE
COULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR THE NEW ITINERARY IF
PURCHASED ON THE ORIGINAL TICKET ISSUED DATE

---

AFTER DEPARTURE
CHARGE GBP 90.00 FOR REISSUE/REVALIDATION.
NOTE -
THE CHANGE FEE APPLIES PER TRANSACTION -
PER PERSON FOR ADULT AND CHILD INFANTS NOT
OCCUPYING A SEAT ARE NOT CHARGED THE FEE

---

WHEN MORE THAN ONE FARE COMPONENT IS CHANGED THE
HIGHEST PENALTY OF ANY OF THE CHANGED FARE
COMPONENTS WILL APPLY

---

FOR UPGRADES TO A HIGHER FARE CHARGE THE ABOVE FEE
PLUS ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARE

---

A CHANGE IS A DATE/ OR FLIGHT OR/ROUTING CHANGE
OR UPGRADE.NEW RESERVATION AND
REISSUE/REVALIDATION MUST BE MADE AT THE SAME TIME

---

CHANGES ARE NOT PERMITTED TO INBOUND TRAVEL ON
THE DAY OF INBOUND TRAVEL.

---

PASSENGERS WHO NO-SHOW FOR A FLIGHT WILL BE
CONSIDERED AS CANCELLING AFTER DEPARTURE AND WILL
RECEIVE NO REFUND

---

// CHANGES AFTER DEPARTURE //
THE ITINERARY MUST BE REPRICED USING FARES IN
ON THE PREVIOUS TICKETING DATE.
THE NEW ITINERARY MUST
MEET ALL THE RULE PROVISIONS OF THE NEWLY
TICKETED FARES SUCH THAT THE RECALCULATED FARE
COULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR THE NEW ITINERARY IF
PURCHASED ON THE ORIGINAL TICKET ISSUED DATE.

---

UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
THE ORIGINAL CANCELLATION CHARGE
WILL BE CARRIED FORWARD TO ANY REISSUED TICKET

---

WHEN THE ITINERARY RESULTS IN A HIGHER FARE THE
DIFFERENCE WILL BE COLLECTED - AND- THE CHANGE FEE
WILL BE APPLIED.

---

WHEN THE NEW ITINERAY RESULTS IN A LOWER FARE THE
CHANGE FEE WILL BE APPLIED - AND - NO REFUND
WILL BE MADE.

---

WHEN THIS FARE IS COMBINED WITH ANOTHER FARE THE
THE HIGHEST PENALTY OF ANY OF THE CHANGED FARE
COMPONENTS WILL APPLY

COMBINABILITY
ADD-ONS PERMITTED.
END-ON-END
END-ON-END COMBINATIONS PERMITTED WITH DOMESTIC FARES.
VALIDATE ALL FARE COMPONENTS. FARES MUST BE SHOWN
SEPARATELY ON THE TICKET.
END-ON-END COMBINATIONS PERMITTED WITH BA INTERNATIONAL
FARES. VALIDATE ALL FARE COMPONENTS. FARES MUST BE SHOWN
SEPARATELY ON THE TICKET.
OPEN JAWS/ROUND TRIPS/CIRCLE TRIPS
FARES MAY BE COMBINED ON A HALF ROUND TRIP BASIS
-TO FORM SINGLE OR DOUBLE OPEN JAWS/ROUND TRIPS/CIRCLE
TRIPS.
PROVIDED -
COMBINATIONS ARE WITH ANY FARE FOR CARRIER BA IN ANY
RULE AND TARIFF.

HIGHER INTERMEDIATE POINT
DOES NOT APPLY

DEPOSITS
NO RESTRICTIONS

GROUPS
DOES NOT APPLY

TOURS
DOES NOT APPLY

VISIT ANOTHER COUNTRY
DOES NOT APPLY

MISCELLANEOUS DATA
NONE

VOLUNTARY CHANGES
VOLUNTARY CHANGES CONDITIONS MAY APPLY FOR AUTOMATED
REISSUE/REVALIDATION
REFER TO PENALTIES CATEGORY *PE FOR DETAILS

VOLUNTARY REFUNDS

Voyager2002

richardw wrote: »

Many thanks, a list of airlines and their free change booking classes for discounted economy travel class would be useful for future reference.

I have done this relatively recently with Emirates (that is, bought the cheapest ticket they offered and later changed the return date, for no fee). Further back in the past (before 2000) I had similar experiences with Avianca, Al-Italia and Philippine Airlines.