Would someone know what agency in the Thai government I could complain to about AirAsia failing to make a refund within a reasonable time? They canceled our flight to France over five months ago and have not made the refund we requested since that time.
Will Rogers said, "I never met a man I didn't like", but he never met Donald Trump.
Your best bet in the modern age of 2012? I don't know any off hand, but Google around for other "airline horror story" blogs, and ask if you could write a post on their blog with your experience. Hopefully various people on Twitter / Facebook pick it up, and within no time the airline will be contacting you, asking if you're ok with a full refund.
I suspect you were flying on Air Asia's long range arm, Air AsiaX, since Thai Air Asia has never flown to Paris. In that case, the government of jurisdiction is likely to be Malaysia; certainly not Thailand. So if you write to the department in charge of aviation affairs, your letter will either be trashed or you will get a short reply advising it is not their problem. This is what happened to a French citizen who wrote to the Embassy in Canberra about getting back to Paris тАУ
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1 ... ravel.htmlDear Sir and Madam,
Thank you for contacting the French Embassy in Canberra.
I have just been informed by the Deputy Consul-General in Sydney that your problem needs to be solved by the company, very likely by refunding your ticket to France.
Wishing you the best for future travels,
Yours Sincerely,
Press and Information section.
If you look at that thread, you will see thousands of posts, many of them complaints about the cancellation of Air Asia XтАЩs European routes. However, it does seem that a lot of passengers have been rebooked on to Malaysian flights. HereтАЩs one comment dated June 15 (post #2679) тАУ
Were you offered alternative flights on MAS?I have just returned form my wonderful trip to Asia. Flight with MAS was perfect. I have never received any phonecalls from AAX. Received only 3 emails (Jan and Apr) and the third one - the tickets received exactly 7 days before scheduled flight. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Have a nice trip!
Sadly, you can moan and groan about Air Asia all you want on any site, but it will change absolutely nothing. You will remain screwed by Air Asia until they are ready to give you your money back. When my Hanoi flights were cancelled and I could not take the alternative flights, I received no refund at all!
You can call their KL call centre, but you will have to wait for ages before you get an automated reply. Press for Customer Relations and you will then be put on hold ad infinitum тАУ in my case over 40 minutes. If you are lucky, you will reach someone who knows something about your case. Most likely, you will be transferred to something like Gate Operations at KIA - that's what happened to me! The nice lady told me the automatic rerouter always seemed to send complaints to her!
You can also try Air Asia's dedicated complaints line which guarantees you will speak to a person and not a machine. That, though, charges you around RGT2 per minute. Once you get through, you will then be put on hold whilst you are connected to the relevant officer - and of course you have to wait an age whilst Air Asia pockets more of your money.
Sadly, just a few of the problems of choosing to fly Air Asia!
I have a question for you guys. In USA and yes I know we wre not in the USA, we can dispute the charge on our credit card. Is this not an option here?
I doubt if you can claim on your card when a company like Air Asia cancels a flight or a route. Prior to purchase, every booker has to click a box confirming he is aware of the Terms & Conditions of the company. And since these permit the airline to do just about anything without any legal recourse - including cancellation for any commercial reasons - the card company would be justified in saying you knowingly took a risk, therefore we cannot be responsible. As I have pointed out before, Air Asia's Terms & Conditions are very clear to those who bother to read them -
At any time after a booking has been made we may change our schedules and/or cancel, terminate, divert, postpone reschedule or delay any flight where we reasonably consider this to be justified by circumstances beyond our control or for reasons of safety or commercial reasons.
You may not be able to claim compensation, if the airline cancelled a flight, but you would be entitled to the cost of your ticket back.
In the UK, as in the USA, if a problem arises with a ticket bought on credit, you should be able to seek redress from either the airline or the credit provider or both. The credit provider should be kept informed of any difficulties you are having with the airline as they have 'equal liability'.
kjun12, if you used a credit card to purchase your ticket, you could try contacting your credit card provider.
I am sure that in the terms and conditions it is clear that they have the right to cancel or delay a flight but I am also sure that it specifies how and when they have to re-book you on another flight within a certain amount of hours or if it is not possible the time limit they have to give a full refund. I am quite sure the terms and conditions say anything like...we are allowed to cancel a flight and keep your money.
Therefore, writing your credit card company telling them that they did not abide by the terms and conditions, they should open a dispute and give a refund.
I would also be sure that there needs to be a reasonable time that they have to give a refund whether it be 60 or 90 days max. They just can't put in their terms and conditions 6 months or when they feel like it. Now if he were offered the next flight out which was the next day and did not take it, I think that may be on him and needs to read the rules and let someone who knows figure it out with ALL the facts.
If your credit card company refuses to help you I would suggest you go to Americanexpress.com and apply for an AMEX card. They will charge back any charge for any reasonable reason. They are card USER friendly.
I remember once I was in Phuket and thank goodness only once, I used my Amex card and the business charged me 4% for using it. I had them write on my receipt the amount of the item as well as 4% credit card service charge. According to Visa, MasterCard and Amex TERMS AND CONDITIONS for merchants to be able to accept visa, MasterCard and Amex, they have to agree on a shit load of rules. The one that gets them the angriest is this 3% and 4% service charge. Well anyway, Amex charged back not only the 4% service charge but the charge for the item I bought and told them for violating the rules, they were not honoring the charge at all!
These charge companies are very strict about it. Get it in writing that XXX is a fee for using your credit card. It is also a violation to be told that you can only use your credit card if your purchase is under a certain dollar amount. These and others are all violations of the terms and conditions contract merchants have with the credit card companies. Learn to use them to your advantage! :angry5:
If you need more help, PM me.
most likely you have paid by cred-cd. Contact THEM-i have always got a refund (actually a wiping out of a former payment) in a week-they even do it before they go starting to serach what may be behind.
as all above (use brains, you have got them-gays are wiser as str8, nah?)-the Thai govmt wont even repond or give a htch. Tipical USA-mind to even think that some govmt. may act on these trivial matters.
Sorry, that is just not the case with Air Asia. It does not give any refunds for any reason. Here is the relevant section of the T&C -Originally Posted by DaBoss
i.e. on Air Asia, NO refunds.9.2 Cancellation, Changes of Schedules:
In the event of such flight cancellation, we shall at our option, either:
a. carry you at the earliest opportunity on another of our scheduled services on which space is available without additional charge and, where necessary, extend the validity of your booking; or
b. should you choose to travel at another time, retain the value of your fare in a credit account for your future travel provided that you must re-book within three (3) months therefrom.
9.3 Sole remedies:
Upon the occurrence of any of the events set out in Article 9.2, the options outlined in Article 9.2 (a) to (b) are the sole and exclusive remedies available to you and we shall have no further liability to you.
Here are the remedies available to passengers on Air AsiaX -
i.e. on Air Asia X, yes you can indeed claim a refund. But note: there is nothing whatsoever in the Terms & Conditions giving any indication as to when a refund will be provided! It can take as along as Air Asia X decides it is to take! And there's more. There is absolutely nothing under the definitions section at the start of the T&C which defines what a refund is!!9.2 Cancellation, Changes of Schedules:
In the event of such flight cancellation, we shall either:
a. carry you at the earliest opportunity on another of our scheduled services on which space is available without additional charge and, where necessary, extend the validity of your booking;
b. or should you choose to travel at another time, retain the value of your fare in a credit account for your future travel provided that you must re-book within three (3) months therefrom.
c. offer a refund if we are unable to carry you to/from your destination within 48 hours from the scheduled time of departure.
9.3 Sole remedies:
Except where applicable Conventions apply, the options outlined in Article 9.2. (a), (b) and (c) are the sole and exclusive remedies available to you.
Credit Card Claims
Good luck! I have only once had to claim re an airline cancelling a flight and it was some years ago. That required the airline to provide a formal notice in writing on headed paper confirming that the flight had been cancelled and the reason. The legacy carriers will do this routinely. I am sure the cc companies (including Amex) will still require exactly the same - otherwise it is only the cardholder's word. How else do you prove that a flight did not take off? I got nothing from Air Asia. They refused to give me any paperwork. They refused to give me a refund. I could not claim. I'll eat my hat if Air Asia X actually churns out this sort of paperwork. Remember that is labour intensive - precisely what the lccs avoid!
I'd also check your credit card limitations. Amex used to have a 3-month limit on claims (no idea what it is now, though). If, as I did, you book 7 - 8 months prior to the flight and it is cancelled just a few weeks before or less, you may be well beyond the period when you can claim.
So once again, I ask everyone flying on Air Asia to READ THE SMALL PRINT before you pay!
I still don't think they would get away with these types of rules with Amex and I certainly know they would not get away with it if they had to abide by USA rules. Can't really think of a solution to you except finding an atty who works on a contingency and files a class action suit if this remedy is available under your laws, claiming that these types of rules are absurd. In the states there are definitely class action suits and lawyers love them because they get hundreds of people to sign on if not thousands and the money they can make when they win is astronomical. Meanwhile I will keep my Amex and know I am covered.
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