FCTG Choice disappointment

FLIGHT Centre Travel Group says an attack on the company overnight by consumer group CHOICE is disappointing, given that “key elements of a comprehensive response relating to specific claims were ignored”.

The consumer watchdog issued a follow-up to its recent report on the travel sector, which called for a range of reforms including standardising terms and conditions, clear refund policies and a Government-funded industry ombudsman (TD 08 Jul).

Last night’s update noted that in Choice’s travel cancellation survey of 4,443 Australians earlier this year “more than a few would-be travellers praised the efforts of travel agents in trying to resolve their issues”.

However the consumer group called out Flight Centre as an exception because it was the subject of a high number of consumer complaints in the survey, “though some customers did report positive experiences”.

A Flight Centre spokesperson provided TD with the company’s detailed response to Choice’s queries, noting that some areas were “misunderstood or misrepresented” by the consumer group, in particular “an agent’s ability to charge fees for the time they incur in securing refunds”.

The company noted that claims travel vouchers are likely to expire before they can be redeemed were “unlikely to be the case,” with Flight Centre credits currently valid until 31 Dec 2022 and that date set to be possibly extended in line with restrictions.

Flight Centre’s initial $300 cancellation fee refund policy was updated on 24 Apr 2020, just five weeks after Australia’s borders closed, while the company also noted the hard work its staff had done to secure refunds from recalcitrant suppliers.