Mis sold Flights - Please help if you can

Nikey027

Hi all,

Firstly thank you for viewing, and i appreciate all the advice i can get.....

My girlfriend and i book tickets to Thailand via Vietnam back in July 12' for December 2012 via Hoodaki using Vietnam Airlines

We have been and come back, although we spoke to a chap at Hoodaki called Vikas who advised me on 3 different occasions that the 9hour stop in Vietnam we could leave the airport and visit Ho Chi Minh. Of course i was dubious hence why i called him on 3 different occasions to confirm. He advised that due to the fact of using Vietnam Airlines they were promoting their own country so therefore we could depart the airport for the hours stated.

Unfortunatley this was to no avail. He advised there was no need for a visa just provide your passport - and we researched online which confirmed this. So we fly from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh on the last leg of the journey only to find out this is NOT possible.

I offered to surrender my passport, offered to purchase a Visa too. but this takes 2-3 working days and only available from District one - the UK embassy.

I am now struggling to pursue this with the company - after speaking to this Vikas he advised me to send my complaint to him so it could be passed onto the legal team with a 24hour turnaround. Now 6 days later still no call nor email. I have tried calling him direct - again to no avail. He is "on the phone currently sir"

I am my wits end with this matter, we have several excusions pre booked in Ho Chi Minh, a deposit paid on a motorcycle helmet, travel books purchased on the city only all to be wasted.

Can anybody legally advise me on what stages i should take next please as i feel the tickets have been mis sold to me under false pretenses.

With thanks

jpsartre

My advice: Chalk it up to experience and don't rely on what you're told by a representative by some fly-by-night 3rd party booker in the future. I swear, if people would just book direct from the airlines 95% of the complaints we see would be avoided.

Bob_the_Saver

jpsartre wrote: »

I swear, if people would just book direct from the airlines 95% of the complaints we see would be avoided.

Totally agree

Nikey027

thanks for you reply guys, can you advise me on whether this would legally stand in court though? This has ruined our honeymoon as we had planned alot of things in vietnam and i am financially out of pocket, besides the fact this is blatant misselling under the sale of goods act 1979.

thanks again

malkie76

There's no mis-selling unless you had it in writing - verbal contracts etc etc
Airline tickets get you from A to B, that's all they promise.

Sounds like the TA is dodgy. I'd send them the receipts for what you are genuinely out of pocket for (not books as they 'worked' even if irrelevant). If they don't respond then small claims BUT its unlikely to hold in the absence of a written contract.

HXDave

ow cold it have ruined your honeymoon? And, with less than 9 hours in Vietnam, how could you have had plenty of things planned to do?

What would have happened if your flight into vietnam was delayed, and you only had 3 hours transfer - would you be complaining then?

HXDave

Bob_the_Saver

Google Vietnam Transit Visa and this comes up top,

http://www.vietnamonline.com/visa/transit-visa.html

Seems clear enough.

Nikey027

thanks again for speedy reply. i have the calls recorded if that helps?

As mentioned i offered to purchase a visa and or surrender my passport again as advised by hoodaki but they just would not allow it.

With regards to your reply HXDave this ruined our honeymoon as my missus is in love with vietnam and the ruins from the war. we had long boat trip booked down the river, i paid a deposit on a custom motorcycle helmet and mopeds booked. If the flights were delayed then yes we would have had to take the brunt of it, but instead we were on time and waited, and waited and waited some more for 9hours until midnight that night for departure. if we were aware of this then we would have paid the extra £70 to use another broker, but the fact of visiting another country was a done deal for me booking the flights knowing the love my partner has for the country.

with thanks

Vauban

Ruined your honeymoon? Because you couldn't leave the airport for a few hours? I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but you really do need to get a sense of perspective.

I hope you both had a lovely time in Thailand, and that you chalk the Vietnam thing up to experience.

Bob_the_Saver

Nikey027 wrote: »

thanks again for speedy reply. i have the calls recorded if that helps?

As mentioned i offered to purchase a visa and or surrender my passport again as advised by hoodaki but they just would not allow it.

With regards to your reply HXDave this ruined our honeymoon as my missus is in love with vietnam and the ruins from the war. we had long boat trip booked down the river, i paid a deposit on a custom motorcycle helmet and mopeds booked. If the flights were delayed then yes we would have had to take the brunt of it, but instead we were on time and waited, and waited and waited some more for 9hours until midnight that night for departure. if we were aware of this then we would have paid the extra £70 to use another broker, but the fact of visiting another country was a done deal for me booking the flights knowing the love my partner has for the country.

with thanks

So you had a 9 hour wait until midnight.
That means you landed at 3pm.

How much daylight did you think you'd have to enjoy your motorcycling,
LONG river cruise and several excusions? It's always dark around 6.30-7pm
Even if you ran from the airport with your Dong in your hand ready you wouldn't have got to see much

Nikey027

guys this was our honeymoon!!!!! whatever my new wife wanted that was fees-able i provided! she is fascinated with vietnam and the history behind it so naturally we planned alot to cram in the hours we had there.

surely were missing the objective here though, as a customer we were lied to and deceived in order to pay out £1800! this is alot of money to me and my family, with knowing we could not leave the airport then the tickets would not under any circumstances been booked via hoodaki.

does that fact i have the calls recorded not help in the slightest please?