Last December, two elderly Ukrainian refugees who I am supporting had to fly back to their home in Odesa to collect medicines they cannot get in the UK, and to sort out bomb damage to their property. They used Opodo to book a return flight to Chisinau with Austrian Airlines. When they arrived at Heathrow, they were informed that the promised automatic check-in had not been successful and they would have to go to the check-in desk. There they were told that, despite having been issued with boarding passes, there were no tickets in their name. Airport staff spent three hours on the phone trying to sort something out, but with no success.
They were then stuck because of heavy snow and train strikes and had to spend two nights in a London hotel. They eventually returned to their host’s home by coach via Brighton two days later. There was no word from Opodo, apart from two automated emails telling them it was in the process of cancelling their booking. I have called Opodo every day since early January. It has so far only repaid half the £370 fare and says it is waiting for Austrian Airlines to return the rest. It blames the airline for the failed booking. Austrian Airlines say it is Opodo’s fault because it did not issue the tickets. The couple are pensioners and war refugees and they have been left distressed and out of pocket.
AD, Heathfield, East Sussex
Some cases keep me awake at night. This is one of them. Your friends speak no English and the fear and bewilderment they must have endured at the airport and alone in London for two days afterwards is unimaginable. Mistakes happen, but the subsequent indifference of both companies, despite the fact you had detailed the distressing circumstances, is beyond comprehension.
Opodo could keep my column going all by itself given the regularity of complaints I receive. In this case, however, it turns out the initial fault lies squarely with Austrian Airlines, although the carrier did everything it could to deflect the blame after I intervened. A “technical error” caused the airline to cancel the tickets without notification the day after they were booked, according to Opodo. An astonishing catalogue of blunders then compounded the ordeal. Opodo was instructed by airline staff to request a full refund on behalf of the customers stating “exceptional circumstances”. However, Opodo forgot to include those crucial two words. The result was that the airline’s system, noting that the flight had departed on time, albeit without the two passengers, only refunded half the fare. Opodo therefore had to submit a second request and insouciantly informed the couple that they might have to wait up to 30 days.
Only after I contacted Opodo’s press office did it return the rest of the money and pay the £261 hotel and travel expenses incurred. A spokesperson said: “We regret that errors in processing their refund compounded an already difficult travel experience. Errors like this that hold up refunds are extremely rare, but we know they can cause a lot of frustration when they do occur and we understand that, particularly in this case, given the context and the customers’ reasons for travel.”
Austrian Airline’s indifference continued even after I highlighted the circumstances. It told me that since Opodo now had the rest of the money, I should liaise with it, and then apologised tersely for the “inconvenience”. It ignored my questions about how and why the tickets were cancelled in the first place and my reminders that, because of the cancellation, the couple are due £350 compensation each under EU flight regulations. Only on my fourth attempt did it admit that a technical error had caused the fiasco and agree to pay the additional sum. It again apologised for the “inconvenience”. The story does not end here, of course. The situation in Ukraine has deteriorated since your friends’ abortive trip home and, given their appalling experience with Austrian Airlines, another attempt must fill them with dread.
A word of advice for them and other prospective travellers: always book direct with the airline. Third-party booking platforms break the line of communication between airline and passenger and can cause additional complications when things go wrong. If complaints remain unresolved, passengers can complain to whichever dispute resolution scheme the airline subscribes to. The Civil Aviation Authority list will point you in the right direction.
After care for my beloved dog
It soothes the blood pressure to hear that some companies do have the human touch, as LB from London discovered when her beloved pet died. “My dog was put to sleep recently,” she writes, “so I contacted the online provider Yumove to cancel his monthly joint supplement. I received an email soon after giving their condolences and a refund for the last month’s pills. This was great. But more was to come. A couple of days later I received a handwritten card and some forget-me-not flower seeds to plant in remembrance of my dog. Brilliant, compassionate gesture.”
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