Flightcatchers deducting cancellation charges

Bica

Hi, 
I am here for some helpful advice please.
I booked a flight  through Flightcatchers.com to Karachi via PIA for 21st March.  On 19th March my daughter had all Covid19 symptoms and I contacted the travel agent to cancel our tickets as I couldnt board a plane with a potentially contagious child! PIA has a cancellation fee of £100 per ticket but the agent insisted that the fee would be £200 per ticket as I bought it on "offer".  I argued on the phone for over an hour that the extra £100 is ridiculous and punitive . That was the last day to cancel the ticket as per the airlines policy and the agent said if I don't cancel it then I might lose all my money!
In panic,  I agreed. However two things happened later. Firstly,   I contacted the PIA office the same day and received  a confirmation in writing  that  due to Covid19 the airline will issue refunds in FULL for any cancellations made. Secondly the flight got cancelled on 21st March. 

I have finally received the refund today and the agent has deducted  £600 for 3 tickets. My question is do I have any  legal standing to demand the full refund from the agent?  Or the fact that I agreed for their fees because I was told I might lose it all makes my claim void?
Any help would be much appreciated. 
Thanks 

Life__Goes__On

Bica said:

Hi, 
I am here for some helpful advice please.
I booked a flight  through Flightcatchers.com to Karachi via PIA for 21st March.  On 19th March my daughter had all Covid19 symptoms and I contacted the travel agent to cancel our tickets as I couldnt board a plane with a potentially contagious child! PIA has a cancellation fee of £100 per ticket but the agent insisted that the fee would be £200 per ticket as I bought it on "offer".  I argued on the phone for over an hour that the extra £100 is ridiculous and punitive . That was the last day to cancel the ticket as per the airlines policy and the agent said if I don't cancel it then I might lose all my money!
In panic,  I agreed. However two things happened later. Firstly,   I contacted the PIA office the same day and received  a confirmation in writing  that  due to Covid19 the airline will issue refunds in FULL for any cancellations made. Secondly the flight got cancelled on 21st March. 

I have finally received the refund today and the agent has deducted  £600 for 3 tickets. My question is do I have any  legal standing to demand the full refund from the agent?  Or the fact that I agreed for their fees because I was told I might lose it all makes my claim void?
Any help would be much appreciated. 
Thanks 

What method of payment did you use?

Streaky_Bacon

You already had the right to cancel, for no more than £100 a ticket. If they wanted to charge you more then they should have offered you more, £100 for the cancellation and £100 for an Xmas hamper perhaps. Because they didn't then you agreeing to an extra £100 is unenforceable, because you received nothing in return, beyond what you were already entitled to.

Whether they can even keep the original £100 is questionable. They would need to show that they have suffered some loss that the £100 is compensation for.

Write to them, demand the whole £600 back, tell them that the contract terms state £100 a ticket and that if they wish to withhold any part of it they need to explain how they have calculated that £100, given that the airline has provided a full refund.

If you paid by card there may also be other avenues.

Bica

Life__Goes__On said:

Bica said:

Hi, 
I am here for some helpful advice please.
I booked a flight  through Flightcatchers.com to Karachi via PIA for 21st March.  On 19th March my daughter had all Covid19 symptoms and I contacted the travel agent to cancel our tickets as I couldnt board a plane with a potentially contagious child! PIA has a cancellation fee of £100 per ticket but the agent insisted that the fee would be £200 per ticket as I bought it on "offer".  I argued on the phone for over an hour that the extra £100 is ridiculous and punitive . That was the last day to cancel the ticket as per the airlines policy and the agent said if I don't cancel it then I might lose all my money!
In panic,  I agreed. However two things happened later. Firstly,   I contacted the PIA office the same day and received  a confirmation in writing  that  due to Covid19 the airline will issue refunds in FULL for any cancellations made. Secondly the flight got cancelled on 21st March. 

I have finally received the refund today and the agent has deducted  £600 for 3 tickets. My question is do I have any  legal standing to demand the full refund from the agent?  Or the fact that I agreed for their fees because I was told I might lose it all makes my claim void?
Any help would be much appreciated. 
Thanks 

What method of payment did you use?

I paid through my debit card unfortunately.  Should have used the credit card in hindsight

Bica

Streaky_Bacon said:

You already had the right to cancel, for no more than £100 a ticket. If they wanted to charge you more then they should have offered you more, £100 for the cancellation and £100 for an Xmas hamper perhaps. Because they didn't then you agreeing to an extra £100 is unenforceable, because you received nothing in return, beyond what you were already entitled to.

Whether they can even keep the original £100 is questionable. They would need to show that they have suffered some loss that the £100 is compensation for.

Write to them, demand the whole £600 back, tell them that the contract terms state £100 a ticket and that if they wish to withhold any part of it they need to explain how they have calculated that £100, given that the airline has provided a full refund.

If you paid by card there may also be other avenues.

Thank you for the elaborate response. I shall write to them and see how it goes. They have ignored all my previous emails . What a terrible company to deal with! 

P.s: At the time of cancellation the agent kept reiterating that the tickets were not refundable and non cancellable and they were refunding partially as a goodwill gesture.  Quoted this from the ticket  as a disclaimer? 
This flight is sold as Agent of the Airline(s) named on the ticket and is not protected under the ATOL scheme.

Note : We are ATOL registered company. This invoice is not ATOL protected since ticket is already issued to you. In this case ATOL protection is not required.

Life__Goes__On

If you have a copy of their T&Cs and states  £100 per ticket you can at least try and claim £300 back.

Raise a partial "Chargeback" for £300 against the transaction stating  that you are £300 more than they have refunded you,use a copy of their T&Cs showing £100 charge as proof

Normally with a Chargeback the money is returned once it’s processed

Flightcatchers.com can dispute the Chargeback, but it must supply evidence to the card company.

If Flightcatchers.com is successful, then the Chargeback is reversed and the money taken back  from your account

Alan_Bowen

Interesting booking conditions, they claim that once a ticket is issued there is always a 100% cancellation fee. Mind you they also say there is a credit card fee of 2% and 3% for Amex cards despite the law changing more than 2 years ago and banning fees. Hopefully, you were not charged those fees but if you were, your card issuer may be keener to help than they might otherwise be with those booking conditions!