Hello and welcome to F.U. Tube, where we don't negotiate with terrorists.
Tonight's first F.U. is from Scott and is about Jetstar!
Everyone's favourite way to fly into a rage.
Oh, Scott didn't want to record a video for us so we decided
to get a much more famous Scott to play his role.
But they all said no.
So instead we're stuck with our very own Scott Abbot.
Oh! Woohoo!
I paid $36 extra for seat selection on a Jetstar flight and I didn't get the seats I asked for.
Kind of, annoying but as Jetstar explained
seats aren't guaranteed until departure and may change due to operational requirements.
Fair enough, except that when Scott asked for his money back, he was told
Seats are non-refundable.
So I paid a $36 seat selection fee for nothing?
Jetstar eventually offered him a $25 voucher. How good of them.
Wait no, that is shithouse.
I paid $36 cash and ended up with a $25 voucher? Not a great deal.
That is the best I am able to offer regarding this matter
Until Scott took his complaint to the Australian Airline Consumer Advocate
Then Jetstar said,
I have requested a refund of $36 the amount you paid for your seats.
Jetstar told us their policy is:
For seat changes within Jetstar's control, customers can request a refund of the seat selection fee.
Fair enough, but they also said
Customers may be required to move seats
at short notice due to operational reasons which is not refundable.
Which seems ridiculous. If you pay for a seat selection service and you don't get what you paid for,
you should get a refund. And the consumer law is clear
that a refund means you get money back.
Not a voucher, not a free in-flight meal, not some junk they had lying around the office, but money.
Alright, who's next?
Hold it! It's Jetstar again.
Daniel's flight was cancelled due to Cyclone Debbie.
Fair enough, I didn't want to fly through that.
Jetstar offered to move him to another flight at no extra cost
but he'd already missed his cousin's wedding.
So I took a voucher for the value of the initial booking.
The thing is, when Daniel went to use his $830 voucher on flights that cost $700, Jetstar said
Our vouchers are only available for one use. I know it's hard to accept that the
remainder of your voucher may be forfeited.
Yeah that is hard to accept.
If you've been given a voucher as a replacement for a cancelled flight
we reckon you should be able to use its full value. And when it comes to refunds
the ACCC says travel vouchers are not equivalent and should not be used as a substitute
So, when are you entitled to a refund?
Well, it's when there's been a major failure.
If a reasonable consumer wouldn't have paid for the service
had they known about the failure that was going to happen, it's a major failure.
Now, that's all very well in theory.
But in practise there's lots of grey areas.
Would a reasonable consumer buy a ticket if they knew a
flight would be delayed by 30 minutes, two hours, six hours, or canceled entirely by a cyclone?
The answer will depend on each consumer's circumstances
But a voucher is not a refund
and when it comes with unfair conditions, that is shithouse.
Ok who's next? Sit!
Kai has a complaint about your Club Jetstar program.
It sucks!
We might need you to expand on that.
Well I joined Club Jetstar
because the Jetstar website was offering $10 off airfares for members.
Club Jetstar is Jetstar's
Exclusive membership program with discount flights and great travel offers!
It costs $49 to join so Kai signed up but
when he tried to use it, his Club Jetstar discount suddenly disappeared.
Jetstar said that was because
As I can see you selected the flexi bundle which is why it became $69.
Turns out the Club Jetstar discount is only available on the basic fare
and adding a bundle to your flight
you know, baggage or a meal or seat selection,
I'd be wary about the seat selection.
means you lose the discount.
Which isn't how exclusive clubs are meant to work.
You can come in as long as you don't drink, dance or have a good time in any way.
The Club Jetstar terms and conditions don't make it clear anywhere
that the discounts don't apply if you add bundles. Though they told us:
We are taking steps to explicitly outline the flexi biz and max bundles are excluded.
Maybe they should sky write it.
Anyway, when Kai asked for a refund on his membership fee, he was told
that's non refundable.
You like saying that don't you?
It clearly states in our Terms and Conditions that the Club Jetstar joining fee is non-refundable.
Yeah, but it doesn't matter what any airline's terms and conditions say
in fact, the ACCC has just reviewed literally thousands of complaints
thousands of complaints about no refund statements and excessive fees for
cancellations and changes and reminded airlines that they must ensure they
comply with the Australian Consumer Law.
And we should say these are problems across all airlines
it's not just Jetstar who's guilty of this sort of thing
Thank you!
But you were voted worst airline in the world in a 2017 global survey
and came rock bottom in Choice's annual travel trends survey, again.
Scott, Kai and Daniel's stories show, as the ACCC puts it
the airlines appear to offer remedies to consumers on an
ad-hoc basis rather than through a consistent and reasoned application of
their policies and procedures.
In other words, they offer what they think they can get away with. So you may need to push back.
Like Tom did, when he asked for a refund after Virgin
cancelled his flight ten minutes before it was due to leave.
First they told me
No refunds under fair rules
And then they said
You can have a travel credit
and then they said
We can refund you. Minus a $50 fee
and then I said, 'I'm aware of the consumer law and I watch The Checkout' and suddenly
Ahh.. a complete refund will be processed. god bless the checkout in the a they say
God bless The Checkout and the ABC.
Well done Tom. Right, next.
Oh come on you can't do Jetstar all night!
Actually we probably could. But you know what, I think we'll leave it there.
Until next time, goodnight.
Now let's see... Why else does Jetstar suck?
Inconsistent baggage fees, check in kiosks not working
and no staff to assist causing me to miss my flight,
they charge an extra $10 to use After Pay when for everybody else that's free,
Club Jetstar discounts only apply at the time of booking, they automatically check the
donation box when you're making a booking, they don't let you know what's
happening when flights are cancelled..