Budget air refunded flights

Mwj1985

Hi everyone, 

I booked flights with Budget Air in autumn 2024, to fly this summer. The flights are with Malaysia Airlines. 

A week after booking, Budget air emailed to notify me my refund request had been processed and the funds would go back on my credit card 

I contacted budget air immediately to tell them I didn't request a refund nor did I want to cancel the booking. They told me it appeared to be an error and to ignore it. 

A few days later, the full refund hit the credit card. 

The booking with budget air shows the refund, but Malaysia Airlines have issued tickets and we've paid an additional fee to select seats. I checked as recently as yesterday and the tickets remain valid. 

I've tried constantly since the refund to resolve this with budget air but it's like talking to the wall. 

They eventually stated the refund was their mistake and asked me to transfer it back. I said I'd pay them back, but only via the original payment method, the credit card. I also asked for some form of deduction for the stress and anxiety they'd caused. 

I'm yet to receive any form of reasonable resolution from them. I'm aware this appears to be a Dutch company using an Indian processing centre for their emails and web chat. 

Does anyone know if budget air retain the ability to cancel our flights with Malaysia? I must be utterly clear I am not trying to avoid payment and do not want to leave it as it is and turn up at the airport in the summer and be told my ticket is not valid. 

I just want some realistic agreement on what to pay and for it to be via credit card but they've simply ignored all my recent correspondence. 

I know some might say I've for free flights what's the issue, but this is not about avoiding payment, I want to do the right thing but I am more interested in whether they have the ability as a travel agent so to speak to cancel my tickets. 

Thanks to anyone who's read this. 

Caz3121

BudgetAir will own the booking until 24 hours before departure at which point ownership will pass to the airline. While they own it they can change or cancel it.
What they may do will probably depend on what has been done regarding paying for the ticket. If they have bought non-refundable flights from the airline with their own funds and refunded you in error then they are out of pocket to the cost of the flights. If they cancel the flights then the airline will refund them as per the fare rules which may be some taxes or a refund less a fee. They may decide that cancelling and getting something back is better than losing the whole amount. I expect the longer this goes on the higher the likelihood of losing your tickets.
Personally I would pay for the flight cost (same amount as was refunded in error) and treat the complaint as a separate matter...you may end up with a voucher off a future booking - although you probably wouldn't want to use them again

Voyager2002

Caz3121 said:

BudgetAir will own the booking until 24 hours before departure at which point ownership will pass to the airline. While they own it they can change or cancel it.
What they may do will probably depend on what has been done regarding paying for the ticket. If they have bought non-refundable flights from the airline with their own funds and refunded you in error then they are out of pocket to the cost of the flights. If they cancel the flights then the airline will refund them as per the fare rules which may be some taxes or a refund less a fee. They may decide that cancelling and getting something back is better than losing the whole amount. I expect the longer this goes on the higher the likelihood of losing your tickets.
Personally I would pay for the flight cost (same amount as was refunded in error) and treat the complaint as a separate matter...you may end up with a voucher off a future booking - although you probably wouldn't want to use them again

Agreed.

It is unlikely that they still hold your credit card details, so probably you will need to telephone them to make the payment.

Emmia

Personally I'd always book direct rather than with a third party, the fewer people/companies involved with flight booking the better.

Presumably you've looked at booking the same flights directly, and they're substantially more expensive? If not, (and as you have a refund) I'd be tempted to just rebook with the airline directly and tell budget air that's what you're doing.

Mwj1985

Voyager2002 said:

Caz3121 said:

BudgetAir will own the booking until 24 hours before departure at which point ownership will pass to the airline. While they own it they can change or cancel it.
What they may do will probably depend on what has been done regarding paying for the ticket. If they have bought non-refundable flights from the airline with their own funds and refunded you in error then they are out of pocket to the cost of the flights. If they cancel the flights then the airline will refund them as per the fare rules which may be some taxes or a refund less a fee. They may decide that cancelling and getting something back is better than losing the whole amount. I expect the longer this goes on the higher the likelihood of losing your tickets.
Personally I would pay for the flight cost (same amount as was refunded in error) and treat the complaint as a separate matter...you may end up with a voucher off a future booking - although you probably wouldn't want to use them again

Agreed.

It is unlikely that they still hold your credit card details, so probably you will need to telephone them to make the payment.

I get your point but this company does not have a single telephone number! 

heatherw_01

The flights won't be "free" btw. If you don't pay it back, the flights won't be there when you turn up at the airport as they will cancel them nearer to the date.

You could try to ask via chat for a payment link as their FAQ mentions a payment link.
https://www.budgetair.co.uk/customer-service/faq/payment/how-will-i-receive-the-payment-link

For future, it is always best to book direct, even if it is a little more expensive.
Companies like this one have lots of red flags.

Mwj1985

Really hope someone can offer practical advice to help. 

I've got a booking made with Budget Air for flights to Australia in July with Malaysia Airlines. 

I wanted to amend the outbound date, and have had real trouble getting either of these companies to process this. Both kept saying the other needed to make the change. 

Earlier this week something finally happened, as budget air emailed me to say the airline had updated my flight time, and when I looked the change had been made. 

But a few hours later, the flight disappeared from my booking. 

After a number of live chats with budget air and phone calls with Malaysia, I am still no clearer which cancelled it and why. 

I'm now stuck in the ridiculous position where the airline say its budget air responsibility to sort, and budget air say the airline have the wrong booking 'status' which prevents them being able to make changes.

I've been trying to resolve this for over 3 days and got nowhere. 

I've not been refunded as I've checked with the bank.

This is a horrific position to be in, the modern world of contact centres and live chat, particularly with overseas based centres make this incredibly frustrating. 

Can anyone offer any practical advice? Please don't criticise my use of a travel agent, I'm well aware of this and very unlikely to do so again!

But this is a once in a lifetime trip down under and currently the dream is in tatters! 

Pollycat

Your contract is with Budget Air.

What do Budget Air mean by the wrong booking 'status'?

ETA:
Budget air refunded flights — MoneySavingExpert Forum

There's lots more information in this ^^^ thread (assuming they're the same flights).

Mwj1985

Pollycat said:

Your contract is with Budget Air.

What do Budget Air mean by the wrong booking 'status'?

ETA:
Budget air refunded flights — MoneySavingExpert Forum

There's lots more information in this ^^^ thread (assuming they're the same flights).

It's so difficult as budget air don't have phone lines and the live chat is in Asia and always a different person. 

The best I could understand is they say the booking status needs to show as 'open' with the airline to allow them to change.

The airline said it does show as such. And I'm just in a loop of this. 

I'll read your thread, thanks 

Pollycat

Mwj1985 said:

Pollycat said:

Your contract is with Budget Air.

What do Budget Air mean by the wrong booking 'status'?

ETA:
Budget air refunded flights — MoneySavingExpert Forum

There's lots more information in this ^^^ thread (assuming they're the same flights).

It's so difficult as budget air don't have phone lines and the live chat is in Asia and always a different person. 

The best I could understand is they say the booking status needs to show as 'open' with the airline to allow them to change.

The airline said it does show as such. And I'm just in a loop of this. 

I'll read your thread, thanks 

No.
It's your thread posted in February.

Caz3121

assuming this was the same booking as your previous thread, did you return the refund to Budget Air?