Jetstar experience 2011 : Promises Promises ……..
Our illuminating experience with Webjet and Jetstar began back toward the end of May 2011. My wife went online to investigate and book return flights for the two of us from Dunedin to Auckland at the end of July. She found suitable flights but had not purchased a booking, got me to check them but found we could not retrieve the flight details – some online error. So we started again and this time booked and purchased seats using my Mastercard – again an online error stating that the flights could not be confirmed, we should get confirmation within 48 hours. This was at about 10:30pm.
Just before I went to kill the PC at about 11:00pm, I did one last check of my email. Lo and behold – a booking email from Jetstar arrived, then another! What the?? The booking references were different, the flight details identical but one was without baggage, the other with baggage (as we had intended). Why two bookings? So we immediately tracked down the Webjet 0800 number and after a 10 minute wait got a female (Rita) on the line, told her that the bookings had somehow doubled up and could she cancel the no-baggage flights. “Yes, fine and we’ll make sure your account is not charged – but no payment details were ever given for that booking, it was never completed - Oh, OK, the booking will be cancelled”.
A week or so later when checking our bank statements online, what do I see but two charges from Jetstar, one for $412 and another for $444. Sheeeeite. Back to the drawing board. We ring and email Webjet/Onlinetravel again (Reselina, Esperanza) on 13th June – “Yes, the refund information has been passed on to Jetstar”. As a precaution we had already rung our bank and initiated a Dispute against the extra Jetstar charge. On 14th June we were told the refund request had been put on Priority by Sherrill (Please do not hesitate to contact us. We are available 24/7).
Back online I check our credit card account again – what is this additional $444 charge from Jetstar? Surely not? Oh yes it is! So now we have $1300 worth of debit to Jetstar for flights originally costing $444. By now of course the volcanic dust from Chile was drifting across southern regions and Skippy wasn’t flying. Their customers were flogging the phone lines so hard that the 0800 number had been disconnected. I searched high and low for contact details – email address’s etc, but nothing. So how the devil do you actually contact Webjet/Jetstar?
Then on 23 June, just to rub salt into the wound, we get an email from Mark Spalding (Training & Development Manager, Webjet) indicating that the original no-baggage booking (that we never paid for but somehow was charged to us) was incorrectly charged and they would now be charging our credit card for the balance. So Mr Spalding got a right earful about the duplicate bookings and triplicate charges in my reply email. More silence from their end.
As a result of further online investigation I came across this website – www.dontflyjetstar.com. Initially I suspected it was a joke, but soon learned it was not. Thankfully on it were several email address’s for various departments and personnel in Jetstar. So I put together a long email outlining all the interaction with Webjet and Jetstar so far, plus the promises made and lack of action to-date, and sent it off to all of them.
To his credit, Michael Mirabito got back to me with an emailed letter apologizing for the cockup on behalf of Bruce Buchanan, the CEO, and stating that he had personally requested refunds for the no-baggage double-booking ($412) and the duplicate charge ($444) on the correct flight booking. Great we thought – getting somewhere at last, albeit over a month later.
The very next day we got two refund confirmations via email from Jetstar for the outstanding amounts – they would be processed within 5 days. Yay, success???? Well, yes and no. On checking our bank account, the duplicate flight ($412) was refunded immediately – whew! No sign of the $444 still owing, but yet another refund confirmation arrived on 5th July, still no money. So I email Mr Mirabito and Mr Buchanan yet again on the 5th and 12th July, try to find out when that refund is due. I know they read the messages, but no return email. However another (confirmed) flight itinerary arrives on July 12 and, when I check our bank account – finally, success, the final refund has been made. Then, you guessed it, a third refund confirmation comes in on July 19th, just days before we are due to fly to Auckland.
Oh well, if they want to give us free flights, we’ve given up caring. Just as long as there are no hassles at the airports (other than snow delays, none) and the planes actually fly (they did). As it turned out – they did credit us for the full flight cost (for about a fortnight) until they finally realized and reversed the charge. Damn.
Conclusions? Thank the lucky stars for this website – DFJ.com you are bloody wonderful. Having hassles with Jetstar – go straight to the top (Buchanan and Mirabito), pester them with emails and threaten to dispute charges and use the Commonwealth Ombudsman if necessary. Oh - and dont forget to remind them of the Jetstar Cutomer Guarantee Charter - its on their website.
And remember – DONTFLYJETSTAR !!
We’ll be sticking to Air NZ from here on in. Stuff you Jetstar, and Qantas too for that matter.
Signed: A Pair of Pissed Off Kiwis
Comments
STRANDED IN SINGAPORE - MORE
STRANDED IN SINGAPORE - MORE JETSTAR MISERY.
A group of Kiwi and Australian travellers will be feeling very relieved to be home on the weekend of August 20-21. Some wondered if they were ever going to arrive back after being stranded in Singapore as the cheap and nasty airline stranded them by cancelling flights to Auckland and Melbourne on August 17, 18.
My own agony began at Bangkok airport on August 18 when I arrived early (knowing how short-staffed the Jetstar counters are) and was told I could only get to Singapore as the Singapore-Auckland leg had been cancelled for "technical reasons". Instructions were to contact ground staff in Singapore.
Guess what? There wern't any!. For three hot and painful hours about 70 stranded passengers waited in line at transit counter. At no stage did anyone approach us to explain what was happening. And when we made it to the counter we were still in the dark. We were told to make our way to a city hotel and take following day's flight.
We all "entered" Singapore to claim our bags - and promptly left to return to transit counter. More forms. More agony.
Hotel was full of Jetstar victims and staff took 40 minutes to check us in. Swapping stories we learned some travellers had waited two days for flights to commence. Common belief was that these late-week flights were too empty to proceed.
Still no explanation from any Jetstar rep.
The Melbourne-bound travellers were dismayed to learn they were returning via Bali (which they'd just left!) .
I seek guidance now from fellow victims. In my case the delay has come at a financial cost (loss of contract work) and I wish to seriously seek redress (as well as sharing the ecperience on travel forums like Agoda's ).