Flight Change Cancellation Problem *avoid Trailfinders*

SomeUser

Trailfinders have made a catalogue of failures including booking the wrong flight (and then stating there was no later flights that day, despite having booked another member of the party onto a later flight), charging me 5 times the cost of a Malaysian Airways flight, and failing to book a hotel in Penang and then because the offer was over, the price was a lot more money so in the end the hotel was not booked through them

But my current issue is:

I have an outbound flight with Emirates booked through Trailfinders which I wish to change the outbound flight for a week later.

Firstly, I spoke to Emirates, they said I would have to speak to Trailfinders. I spoke to Trailfinders who said the outbound date was fixed and they couldn't change it. I then spoke to Emirates again who said there was no reason from their end why I couldn't change the flight.

Trailfinders said my contract is with them and I can't change the flight.

So now, I want to cancel the flight. They couldn't tell me how much I would get as a refund because of the exchange rate, but I'm happy for an amount in £ and Dirhams. I'm re-booking the flight (NOT with trailfinders).

Trailfinders said to me that it can take up to 12 weeks to get a refund, because that's how long it takes to get a refund from the airline.

I've said to them that, as stated by them, my contract is NOT with the airline. If it takes up to 12 weeks to get the money back from the airline, that's not my problem because my contract is not with the airline.

Where do I stand on getting the money back? Do I have to wait 12 weeks for emirates to refund the money if my contract is with Trailfinders?

Moonchild

It sounds like you have been messed about which is a shame, as Trailfinders are normally decent.

I'm intrigued by what you meant the charged you 5x the cost of a Malaysia Airlines flight. How does that work? And why would you agree to it?

Regarding your Emirates refund, there are many different fares airlines offer, many very restrictive. Some contracted fares may not be apparent to Emirates staff. I am guessing you are on an IT Fare (did you book accommodation as well?). In which case you cannot change the outbound date and would have to cancel.

SomeUser wrote: »

Where do I stand on getting the money back? Do I have to wait 12 weeks for emirates to refund the money if my contract is with Trailfinders?

That is correct. Trailfinders do not have your money. They will refund once they get the money back through BSP. 12 weeks is an extreme time, but typically you should get it back sooner, but rarely within 6 weeks. If the snow causes tonnes of cancellations, expect that timeframe to shoot up, so consider moving sooner rather than later.

SomeUser

Thanks for your reply. We're all going away for my mum's birthday and she arranged it with TF. Having made all the arrangements, she wanted to book my Malaysian Airways flight and having already booked everything else, she spoke to the TF consultant and told him to go ahead and book a connecting Malaysian Airlines flight to connect with my return Emirates flight. Because she trusted them, and had already viewed and confirmed lots of other bookings, she said what she wanted and told him to do it, without needing to view plans first.

Because she trusted them and didn't ask to see the details first, the consultant charged an extortionate amount for a flight and booked one with over 6 hours in Kuala Lumpur, despite there being over 8 flights that day and a later one which still kept 3 hours for the connecting flight in KL.

I phoned TF and asked to speak to the consultant who made the booking. He wasn't available so the guy who answered asked if he could help. I explained the situation and gave my booking number. Funnily enough, once he'd looked at the details, he said I would have to speak to the consultant who made the booking. Eventually, I managed to get the flight changed to a more suitable one, however I still paid £120 for a MA flight that would have cost me £27 direct with MA. So my apologies, it was only 4.5 times the amount.

I don't mind paying more for booking through a travel agency, but 4.5 times the cost of the ticket is excessive in my opinion and I feel it was an abuse of trust.

So leading onto the flight cancellation. If I have to cancel then fair enough. At the moment I'm trying to find out how much I'll get back which they aren't being very helpful with.

But I still don't understand why I should wait 12 weeks to get my money back. My contract is with TF, as stated by them and the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 state that I should receive the money within 30 days.

I'm probably missing something here, but I don't see why that legislation shouldn't apply to travel agencies. If the airline has cancelled, that's an entirely difference scenario.

TF booking conditions do state that in the event of cancellation it takes a long time to get the money back, however I'm still of the opinion that the consumer protection legislation applies (although I am interested if you can make me see otherwise )

What's BSP?

Moonchild

Please don't take this to be a Trailfinders apologist response, but I hope it explains a few things.

If you havn't booked a long haul flight on MH, or an international flight, Trailfinders (and other UK Op's) are limited by the fares they can sell you internally. A KL - Penang return on MH is £167.40 currently, including tax, but excluding any booking / ticketing fee they could and should have added.

Malaysia Airlines online (also Thai have similar policies) compete against Air Asia and offer some amazing fares (I flew KL - Langkawi £60 o/w in Business as cheaper than economy last year). However, Trailfinders were not 'ripping you off' - it sounds like the booked you onto the cheapest fare they could. If they could have sold you the £2 + tax fare or whatever it was on their own website they would have - they are probably making £10 on your flight. They are not making vastly more off you - Malaysia Airlines are. However, when you cancel this sector should be predominantly refundable.

It's a shame you didn't get sector that in conjunction with your Emirates fares as they have an agreement with Malaysia Airlines and your internals would have been a lot cheaper.

Re: your refund - Travel in general is excluded from the Distance Selling Legislation - Check 2.21 if you need confirmation http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

Sorry - travel acronyms are not clear - I should explain and avoid overuse!

BSP (Billing & Settlements Procedure I think) is rather dull, but basically once a month an airline bills a travel company and automatically the amount due for all tickets / refunds is taken / refunded at once to avoid a constant stream of small monies.

If the BSP is done on the 23rd of the month, but you cancelled on the 24th, your refund may then be put to the airline the 23rd of the next month, the following 23rd (or the one after) the airline may refund the company, and they will then process the refund back to you. If that is done quickly, and processed within a week, then that could be 9-13 weeks after you cancelled.

Refunds are (rightly or wrongly) are processed as and when Trailfinders get the money back from the airline. They will process it normally very quickly from that point.

pollypenny

I've been wondering if Trailfinders are in trouble - don't advertise in Saturday Guardian or The Observer any more.

Furthermore, the last time I rang the Manchester branch, I was put through to London.

Moonchild

pollypenny wrote: »

I've been wondering if Trailfinders are in trouble - don't advertise in Saturday Guardian or The Observer any more.

Furthermore, the last time I rang the Manchester branch, I was put through to London.

No, they are not in trouble. They could fill their stores with big bags of cash, burn the lot down, and still have a profitable year.

Moving from offline to online marketing a decade after the competition can only be deemed sensible.

And, the Manchester store was probably too busy to take your call so re-routed you to where there was some slack - London. Hardly a bad sign?