BYOJET refund for flights

linniedo

This company is based in Australia, I have been trying to get  a refund for our flight to Canada,, we was due to fly out in September, the flight was not cancelled but we would have to be in quarantine for 2 weeks on arrival which seem pointless to go to travel.So we made ad decision to cancel our flights. we have filled in the relevant form on their site but have no correspondence from this company. I have contacted the credit card company and ABTA  which will not help in this matter. I have even tried their sister company travel centre but have had no success with this. we are down over £1200.00 pounds. As we are both essential workers we was looking forward to this holiday to meet up with family and friends. this is very stressful can anyone help with how to contact this company and to get  a full refund. One thing it has taught me is be careful who you book with. 

Westin

Any reason why you decided to book with an Australian company? Guessing price.

ABTA clearly won’t be of use given the company is neither a member or based in the U.K.

Given that the flights it seems operated and you just decided not to travel then it is not really an airline or travel agency issue. The airline may have offered a travel waiver or credit but you didn’t book direct with the airline so that option possibly out as well.  Instead  possibly a travel insurance claim if entry restrictions in place covered by the FCDO which stopped you travelling.  

Your decision to book with an overseas based online ticket seller will not aid for an easy resolution to your issue.  

Alan_Bowen

So many problems in this case. Every Canadian airline has been a nightmare as regards refunds, arguing that the Canadian Transportation Authority told them not to refund, irrespective of the law. Right now all three major Canadian airlines are desperate for a government bailout and the price for this is an agreement to refund customers. However, this is for cancelled flights, not a disinclination to travel. Your position is complicated because you didn't book directly with the airline but through a travel agent 10,000 miles away over which no one in the UK has any control whatsoever. 
I believe Canada has closed its borders to non-residents in any event, if you have a decent insurance policy taken out before March which doesn't have a pandemic clause, you may be able to claim, do so not on the basis that you decided to cancel because that is never covered, but on the basis, you could not travel.

Caz3121

linniedo said:

 I have been trying to get  a refund for our flight to Canada,, we was due to fly out in September, the flight was not cancelled 

as the flight was not cancelled, what do the fare rules of the ticket you asked BYOJET to purchase state regarding refunds.
The price is certainly too cheap for fully refundable tickets (not that many third parties would sell them) so is it the taxes you are trying to reclaim from a non-refundable ticket or is there a cancellation penalty documented?  have you checked what the agents fees are...they may be more than the taxes.
I suspect rather than cancelling yourselves you would have been better to reschedule the flights (many airlines were waiving change fees) but too late now.
Have you spoken to your travel insurance company?

linniedo

Westin said:

Any reason why you decided to book with an Australian company? Guessing price.

ABTA clearly won’t be of use given the company is neither a member or based in the U.K.

Given that the flights it seems operated and you just decided not to travel then it is not really an airline or travel agency issue. The airline may have offered a travel waiver or credit but you didn’t book direct with the airline so that option possibly out as well.  Instead  possibly a travel insurance claim if entry restrictions in place covered by the FCDO which stopped you travelling.  

Your decision to book with an overseas based online ticket seller will not aid for an easy resolution to your issue.  

I didn't realise it was based in Australia, as I don't travel much outside the UK.

Westin

I don’t for one minute think this will be an easy one to unravel. The combination of booking with an Australian based online ticket seller and buying tickets on (assuming) a Canadian airline who have not been paying refunds, will be frustrating and require lots of patience.

Suggestions;

- find out if the flights actually operated. If you did not do this at the time you may need to buy a subscription from a tracking service like Flightradar24 (they have a 7day free trial).

- see if the airline concerned has now started to issue refunds (vs. a credit). Some google searches looking at Canadian media might help.  The Canadian Government has recently offered their airlines a conditional financial support programme but based around airlines now paying customers for cancelled flight tickets.

- call the airline concerned to see if they can tell you the status of your ticket.  Was a credit offered/accepted? Keep in mind that they will ultimately deflect you back to BYO but a friendly conversation with the airline agent may give you useful information on the ticket status.

- armed with information above, try to establish contact with BYO. 

- keep in mind BYO will not refund you until they get a refund from the airline. 

- also keep in mind BYO may deduct a service administration fee from any refund. 

As Caz mentions, a travel insurance claim might be another route to explore.