Travel refund frustration
Customers of a package tour operator say they are fed up after a three-year battle over a doomed Covid-era international holiday.
Gold Coast couple Paul and Michelle Cox and two friends booked a holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia in late 2019 through global tourism outfit Webjet for travel in October 2020.
After the holiday became an impossibility in the face of global travel bans and lockdowns, the group’s $15,000 payment became the subject of a longrunning saga.
The booking was handled by Webjet’s “trusted travel partner” Asia Vacation Group, but after years of wrangling, the would-be travellers eventually agreed to go on a rescheduled trip which was due to depart in October.
They were initially requested to pay a balance of $1799 per person to cover the complete cost for the tour, plus a $400 fee due to increased costs facing the travel industry.
However, in the weeks leading up to the departure date they were advised the outstanding balance had skyrocketed to more than $5000.
They refused to pay the extra amounts and are demanding a refund, as well as making a complaint to NSW Fair Trading.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Webjet confirmed details of the dispute and said the company no longer partnered with Asia Vacation Group, calling on the operator to “refund the customer accordingly”.
“While we haven’t partnered with AVG since 2020, we do work to support customers with any requests or to seek solutions to any challenges that may remain from Covid interruptions and will work to support the customer with their preferred remedy,” the statement said.
Mr Cox said he was beyond frustrated at his experience.
“We’ve tried to contact them so many times and they just don’t answer,” he said.
“I’ve asked for a letter so at least we could claim it through travel insurance, but nothing. I would never use them again.”
Consumer advocate Adam Glezer, from Consumer Champion, has been working with several Asia Vacation Group customers and called on the business to do the right thing.
“This type of situation has been extremely common since 2020 and it’s very concerning that three and a half years later, my clients are still fighting for what is rightfully theirs,” he said.
“We are trying to get Asia Vacation Group to do the right thing and refund their customers.”
He said it was part of a broader issue where travellers had difficulty chasing refunds in the travel sector.
“The travel agent industry is in desperate need of regulation and additional transparency,” he said.
In correspondence via email in November, a representative from Asia Vacation Group said they would be refunding the customers, but the group say they have not received any money and several follow-up emails in the following weeks did not receive a response.