Oasis airline in liquidation- what to do?

moonrakerz

sonoi100 wrote: »

stating ...................... that I have to wait until the flight date has passed (in my case August) before they can issue a refund, as there is a possibility that the flight may still take place if Oasis is taken over, which is fair enough i think.

Sorry, but this absolute rubbish ! tell them you want the the money within 7 days or you will report them to the Financial Ombudsman - who will probably award you compensation in addition to the amount you are owed.

twitch

As moonrakerz said, sonoi, it is absolute rubbish. Take a look at this 18 April press release from Oasis:

http://www.oasishongkong.com/download/PRen080418_1800HKGv01as.pdf

It states that the deadline for rescuing the company had passed, and as a result, almost all of the staff, including flight crew, had had their contracts terminated. It's extremely unlikely that Oasis will be flying anything in the next few months.

sonoi100

Ah, thanks for the info.

Let me ring them up them up and see what they say. Seems like it is another tactic by them to fob us off! :mad:

I'll post back with any progress...

Goldbunion

Moon Raker,

Thanks For your info throughout the thread.

But can you say where it actually exists in black and white on the internet or printed document, that credit card companies must refund.

With all the info on this now very large thread does it still depend on the individual Credit cards individual small print ?

Is there some definite place where its says "..blah blah....." ...so you must pay up?

Regent

Fist of all, thanks to everyone for there great advice and input to this thread, great help.

I booked three flights to Hong Kong with Oasis last November - when they went into liquidation i spoke to Halifax after reading this thread and asked for a refund, I was told fill out the Oasis claim form first then put everything in writing, all documents etc to :

Attention of Dispute Dept
Halifax Card Services
Pitreavie Business Park
Dunfermline
KY99 4BS

I did this three weeks ago and today got my refund, with only two calls in between, one last week, they said they had received my letter and I could expect a reply soon. I spoke to them again today and they explained a letter had been sent last Friday, she told me that I had been given a refund for the three flights and the letter I was due to receive explained their stance on the extra £320 I paid to book similar flights with BA.......... No idea what to expect in the letter, hopefully it'll be there when I get home later today, I'll post response when I get it.

All in all I had decent communication with Halifax CC services, didn't need to threaten etc. I did however have help writing my letter to them from a lawyer friend, I'll post the letter I sent that he drafted for me, in the hope it may help someone else :

To Whom it may concern

Re Account : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I am writing to you to request a claim on my canceled flights booked through Oasis Airlines, a Hong Kong based airline, who went into liquidation on 10/04/2008.

Flights Booked: 05/12/2007

Booking Reference: XXXXX
Three Return tickets – London Gatwick (LGW) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Dpt – Thu XX 2008
Rtn – Thu XX Jun 2008

Cost : £1015.59p – Total paid on Halifax One Credit Card.

I attach all correspondence between Oasis Airlines and myself as follows:

 Original Booking confirmation
 Refund request to Oasis
 Liquidator Appointment letter
 Liquidation Update confirmation

As you will see, I have submitted a claim form to Oasis on 12/04/2008 and have received no response to date.

In this case, there is a contract between Oasis and myself to supply me with three return flights to Hong Kong on 05/06/2008. Oasis has failed to supply the return flights and has therefore breached our contract.

I have contacted Halifax several times in the last week by phone and I’m now putting my claim in writing.

Following our conversations, I have contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service who have informed me that, as the contract between Oasis and myself was financed under ‘pre-existing arrangements’ between Oasis and Halifax, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 applies. I also understand, from the Financial Ombudsman Service, that my claim against you is not limited solely to the amount of the credit card transaction referred to above but that I am entitled to claim for all losses incurred as a result of this breach of contract.

In English Law, as you know, the general rule on quantification of damages is that they should put the injured party in the same position as he would have been in but for the breach of contract. As a result of the breach of contract by Oasis, I had to purchase return flights through a separate airline for an equivalent time and date of travel. On 23/04/2008, I booked three return flights to Hong Kong through British Airways at a fee of £1358.40, which is £342.81 more than I had paid Oasis for the equivalent flights. I am therefore entitled to be reimbursed, in addition to the cost of the flights booked with Oasis, the additional sum paid for the flights with British Airways as this will then place me in the same position I would have been had Oasis not gone into liquidation.

In summary, Oasis’ failure to deliver the flights is a breach of contract and as I paid for the flights through Halifax, I hold you responsible for this breach and for the additional cost of the flights I was required to purchase through British Airways. I therefore expect you to reimburse me with the sum of £1358.40 (comprising a sum of £1015.59 paid to Oasis and an additional sum of £342.81 paid to British Airways within 14 days of this letter. Should you fail to do so, I will immediately issue a claim against you in the Small Claims Court for recovery of all sums owing to me.

.
Yours Faithfully,

happymum168

I did get my refund on the returned / unused part of the Oasis tickets. We were in HK when the liquidation happened and we had to pay extra cost to return to London on the 14th April.
The lady from the Chargeback Dept. said I have to wait for the Mastercard to approve the refund first then I can claim the extra ?? Do I have to wait about 55days ?
Thanks again for all the contribution.

moonrakerz

Goldbunion wrote: »

But can you say where it actually exists in black and white on the internet or printed document, that credit card companies must refund.

Section 75 of The Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Clear, concise and in black and white.

A simplified version is here:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

Goldbunion

Enquired to Visa directly since they license the individual banks - however they would appear to be fobbing us off also and would appear to be contradicting themselves - heres what they said:

"Unfortunately, Visa cannot progress this case on your behalf, since Visa does not have access to, or jurisdiction over, cardholder accounts. Our Member financial institutions issue cards and are responsible for all account management and billing inquiries. Account information is confidential and is proprietary between the issuing financial institution and the cardholder.
As you are aware, in cases of disputed sale transactions, you may be eligible for a chargeback. Chargebacks are reversals of disputed sales transactions.
Most chargebacks happen when merchants do not follow standard transaction procedures – for example, when they fail to check a card’s expiry date, forget to authorize a transaction, or accidentally submit a transaction more than once.
Other common causes include failing to cancel recurring payments when asked to, unrecognisable merchant names on account statements, non-receipt of goods, or the cardholder claiming that the transaction never took place.
Chargeback applies to all credit cards. Some banks apply it to their debit cards too. Your bank is not liable for chargebacks, the merchant with whom you have a dispute about the relevant transaction may or may not be liable, depending on whether or not there is adequate evidence to prove their liability.
Please contact your card- issuing bank for detailed advice about chargebacks. You can contact them directly, using the address or telephone number on your Visa statement or on the back of your card"

gareth800

I have been following this thread right from the start and I'd like to offer my thanks to all who have contributed with helpful advice i have now recived a full refund halifax was pretty helpfull it took 3 weeks but i got a total refund in my account i have now since rebooked my flight tickets so my holiday not ruined after all i just had to rebook my holiday with work and they were pretty understanding about the whole situation i was in now hopefully everyhting goes according to plan thanks agian everyboy for advice really been helpfull

pin

Goldbunion wrote: »

Enquired to Visa directly since they license the individual banks - however they would appear to be fobbing us off also and would appear to be contradicting themselves - heres what they said:

"Unfortunately, Visa cannot progress this case on your behalf, since Visa does not have access to, or jurisdiction over, cardholder accounts. Our Member financial institutions issue cards and are responsible for all account management and billing inquiries. Account information is confidential and is proprietary between the issuing financial institution and the cardholder.
As you are aware, in cases of disputed sale transactions, you may be eligible for a chargeback. Chargebacks are reversals of disputed sales transactions.
Most chargebacks happen when merchants do not follow standard transaction procedures – for example, when they fail to check a card’s expiry date, forget to authorize a transaction, or accidentally submit a transaction more than once.
Other common causes include failing to cancel recurring payments when asked to, unrecognisable merchant names on account statements, non-receipt of goods, or the cardholder claiming that the transaction never took place.
Chargeback applies to all credit cards. Some banks apply it to their debit cards too. Your bank is not liable for chargebacks, the merchant with whom you have a dispute about the relevant transaction may or may not be liable, depending on whether or not there is adequate evidence to prove their liability.
Please contact your card- issuing bank for detailed advice about chargebacks. You can contact them directly, using the address or telephone number on your Visa statement or on the back of your card"

Visa is not fobbing you off. any action you take is with the issuing bank and not with visa, they just facilitate the payment.