Australian airlines must do better, CHOICE demands

Australians are sick and tired of shoddy service from airlines, consumer group CHOICE has revealed.

A new survey of almost 9000 supporters has found 40% of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the past 12 months.

My experience indicates a much higher level of delays - and a lack of concern from the carriers.

“As we head into the Christmas season, a huge number of people will be relying on flights to visit family and friends," says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor Bea Sherwood.

"Unfortunately, our survey of almost 9000 people from across the country has found consumers still face a number of difficulties when dealing with the aviation industry.

“Our survey found two in five respondents had their flight cancelled or delayed in the past year - and this does not bode well for the upcoming busy Christmas and New Year period when airports will be flooded with travellers flying to visit loved ones.

The survey also found: 63% of respondents who had a flight cancelled said there was no reason provided for the cancellation, and 65% said they found the cancellation process somewhat or very hard.

Of those who pursued a refund for a flight cancellation, 47% received it within a month. Others faced significantly longer wait times, with 20% having to wait over six months for a refund.

Meanwhile, 85% of respondents who had a flight delayed were not offered accommodation or meal vouchers.

“The fact that people continue to experience such significant difficulties with air travel is simply not good enough," says Sherwood. "Our survey found people are feeling frustrated as flights continue to be delayed and cancelled, often without reason or sufficient warning.

“To make matters worse, many customers do not receive satisfactory refunds or compensation when their flight is delayed or cancelled. For those who do actually end up receiving a refund, they often have to fight tooth and nail with the airline for months.”

CHOICE has been advocating for reform to the aviation sector for many years, and together with the Consumers’ Federation of Australia have recently made a submission to the Federal Government’s Aviation Green Paper, calling for new airline specific consumer protections.

These protections include the establishment of a new independent travel and tourism industry ombudsman scheme, minimum compensation arrangements for delayed or cancelled flights, clearer rights for refunds, and minimum requirements for travel credits.

“CHOICE looks forward to the Federal Government’s final Aviation White Paper," says Sherwood.

"We hope it will set out a clear plan to strengthen consumer protection in the aviation industry. Sensible reforms such as an independent ombuds scheme will ensure people no longer have to deal with the emotional, financial and logistical hardships so many travellers have experienced over the past few years.”

Image: Antony Trivet, Scopio. 

Airline slammed for "unacceptable" service failures

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority has clamped down on budget airline Wizz Air after a swag of customer complaints.

The organisation - which clearly has more teeth than Australia's pathetic excuse for a regulator - had expressed concerns for several months over consumer rights being ignored when Wizz flights were delayed or cancelled.

Several County Court Judgements have been issued against Wizz Air over the last nine months and The Guardian reported Wizz Air could be forced to pay out millions of pounds to angry passengers.

The CAA has instructed Wizz Air to make changes to its policies and procedures to comply with its legal obligations.

Wizz Air, for those not familiar with this bad boy, is a Hungarian multinational with its head office in Budapest.

The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as some destinations in North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian sub continent.

The CAA says Wizz Air will now be forced to make changes to its policies and passenger communications.

The airline has agreed to look again at claims it received from disgruntled passengers for replacement flight and other costs incurred after flight disruptions.

The action covers claims for flights to and from UK Airports since March 18 last year, Travel Mole reports.

Wizz Air has agreed to sign undertakings with the regulator to make good on these outstanding claims.

The CAA will also monitor the airline for compliance over the coming months.

Wizz Air will also be required to provide information to the CAA about its review of closed expenses claims.

Paul Smith, joint-interim CEO at the CAA, said: “This enforcement action sends a clear message that airlines must meet their obligations to passengers.

“Passengers have every right to expect their complaints and claims to be resolved quickly and efficiently and to be treated fairly.

“We made it clear to Wizz Air last year that the way it was treating passengers was unacceptable.”

Time to crack down on airline bullshit

 

There have been increasing calls for more Australian Government oversight of airlines.

With the ongoing plethora of absurdly high fares, poor service, cancelled flights and lost luggage, the airlines appear to have lost the right to self regulate.

In Europe, and many other destinations, passengers are compensated if their flights are delayed.

As Qantas has benefitted from millions of dollars of taxpayer money, why should it not cough up when it gets things wrong?

I flew from Hobart to Melbourne last week for a one-night visit. My ticket with Qantas for this simple flight cost a whopping $986 - which was an absurdity.

My flight was two hours late from Hobart to Melbourne - and the snack was a sliver of biscuit. I had chosen an aisle seat in advance but was switched to a window "because of a change of aircraft".

My return flight was just an hour late, while my business class meal (I upgraded for $65) was a dodgy chicken noodle dish that would not pass muster at Dad's Noodles.

There was no wifi on either flight but I travelled with hand baggage only, so was not subject to the usual baggage chaos at both airports.

A friend of mine is currently having an even worse experience. A Qantas platinum frequent flyer, he booked and paid for a flight to attend a wine event in Melbourne on Friday night.

 
Qantas this week cancelled his flights and said there were no other Qantas options. 

He was told he would have to book with their "unreliable subsidiary" - at an increased cost of $200.

This followed his experience the week before, when he flew from Hobart to Melbourne to see a specialist. Again, his flight home was cancelled but Qantas did get him on a replacement flight - that was only 50 minutes late.

Constant failures like this are simply not acceptable.

Customers are being treated like mugs.

Time to act Albo.

Angry passenger takes on shoddy airline behaviour - and wins

An angry airline passenger has gone to court and had bailiffs sent to an airport after being let down by a budget carrier.

Russell Quirk sent bailiffs to Luton Airport to confront Wizz Air over money owed to him after his family's flights to Portugal were cancelled at the last minute, the BBC reported.

Quirk said he was left to to find another route to Portugal which cost him £4,500 ($8,170) and after months of waiting for Wizz Air to reimburse him he went to court and ended up sending in the bailiffs.

Wizz Air paid up, apologised and said its performance "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations".

The company is one of a number of budget airlines facing county court claims against them, consumer magazine Which? has reported.

The way customers have been treated by Wizz Air has been "shocking, shambolic and shoddy", Quirk told the BBC.

He had booked flights from Luton Airport to Faro, in Portugal,  in January last year for a family holiday with his wife and three daughters.

He awoke early on the morning of their flight to find a message from Wizz Air saying it was cancelled.

"There was no explanation, no alternative offered and no apology," he said.

"I had to wake my three daughters and tell them we weren't going on holiday - they were very upset."

With hotels, transfers and an airport lounge already paid for, he said the only viable option was to find another carrier, with which the family flew the following day.

Those flights, together with money lost on a night in hotel rooms and other expenses, cost him £4,500, he said.

On his return he tried to get recompense from Wizz Air, but he said it took almost two months for the cost of his original flights to be returned along with other legal compensation.

But, he said, Wizz Air repeatedly ignored his claim for "consequential losses" - the £4,500 extra he had spent.

He took his case to the county court but said Wizz Air "ignored" the judgement made against the company, so bailiffs were sent in to the Wizz Air desk at Luton Airport.

"Their option was to hand over the money or the bailiffs would take it in goods - it might have been chairs, tables, computers or an aircraft," Quirk said.

He said taking his case to court cost him about £180 in court fees, plus £60 to send in the bailiffs - although additional costs associated with the bailiff visit would have had to be paid by Wizz Air.

"Increasingly businesses are thinking they can treat customers like dirt and I'm determined to eradicate that," Quirk told the BBC.

"My message is, where big companies stonewall you, if you persevere you can get what is owed to you."

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: "In the summer of 2022, due to unprecedented levels of disruption across Europe and the UK which affected the entire industry, we fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations.

"When things went wrong, we did not react quickly enough to manage the high volume of customer claims that resulted from this disruption. We are sorry about this and we are working to ensure that our customers' experience with Wizz is better this year."

Consumer watchdog has Qantas in its sights

Consumer organisation CHOICE has Australia's national airline Qantas under fire because of its refund policies.

“CHOICE gave Qantas a 2022 Shonky award in large part for its unfair flight credit system, which has let customers down time and time again over the past few years,” says Patrick Veyret, head of Policy and Government Relations at CHOICE.

“The intense public outrage in response has clearly had some impact on the airline - but there’s much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers.

 
“Some Qantas flight credits can only be used for a booking of equivalent or greater value - so if you have a $300 flight credit, you can’t use it to book a $290 flight. That is clearly unfair.

“Qantas customers also frequently complain that when they go to rebook a flight at the same time on the same route, they have to pay significantly more when using a credit than they paid for the original flight.

“Flight credits should work like gift cards. People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions.

In April last year, CHOICE filed a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) calling out "”onerous restrictions" in Qantas's credit redemption rules.

Qantas is one of the most complained about businesses on the New South Wales Fair Trading Register for the past six months in a row, CHOICE says.

Time to crack down on Australian airlines taking their customers for a ride

It is time for action.

If you buy food that is rotten you are entitled to your money back. If you purchase of bottle of wine that is corked then you are entitled to be reimbursed.

If an airline leaves you stranded, or downgrades you with no explanation, then you apparently have no consumer rights in Australia.

If Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Australia dud you then you are supposed to cop it and shut up.

As our airlines hoist their prices sky high, and deliver increasingly poor service, what action is the Government taking?

None at all that I can see.

Which just isn't good enough. Time to pressure MPs to get something done.

Four recent examples of egregious behaviour, not to mention those poor souls left stranded in Bali.

1. Two gold Qantas frequent flyer members, both about to hit platinum, are vowing to never again fly with the Spirit of Failure. The two were booked to fly together from the US back to Australia. One was told she has the option of accepting a downgrade, or flying on another day.

No ifs or buts, take it or leave it. And they reported that Qantas service agents were ungracious and unhelpful .

Qantas told them that because their travel had already commenced they would only refund Australian $1500 for the change of class - the real value is $3000.

2. Another regular Qantas frequent flyer in the wine industry reported that Qantas has lost his checked luggage three times in the last month. Compensation: zero.

3. Food writer John Lethlean was among those left in the lurch this week by Jetstar, which cancelled a flight from Singapore to Australia with zero notice. 

Passengers already at the airport were told at midnight to find their own hotels after the flight was rescheduled for 24 hours later. But it is Grand Prix weekend so you there are precious few hotel rooms - and those that are available cost $800 a night. Tough. 

4. Legal eagle Greg Barns is another disgruntled customer, despite being a platinum flyer with Virgin Australia. 

He says he was told there were no upgrades available on a flight, but was then sent email asking if he'd like to bid for one. 

 Barns points out that Virgin charges $160 to change a flight but doesn't mind cancelling flights itself - with no compensation.

Enough is enough. Our elected representatives need to act, no matter how much influence the little Irish fella and the American lady have over them.

Who is using your private data for devious purposes?

Did you sign up for a loyalty program card over the Boxing Day and New Year sales?

Perhaps with a supermarket, at a bottle shop, chain store or travel group?

If so, that might have been a bad idea, says consumer organisation Choice.

Australians (and others) should consider the hidden cost of these services, and avoid signing up to more, says Choice consumer data advocate Kate Bower.

"Loyalty programs aren't free," says Bower. "The true cost of these programs is your personal data which can be used for manipulative practices and even personalised pricing.

"People might not realise that supermarket rewards programs share data and insights with their insurance businesses, while others could be sharing your personal information with data brokers. This is well beyond consumer expectations."

A recent Choice survey revealed 90% of Australians have signed up to at least one loyalty program. The survey also found that fewer than 10% of people who have joined a scheme always read the privacy policy and almost a quarter have never read one at all.

"Our survey found that 90% of Australians have signed up to at least one loyalty program," says Bower.

"We strongly believe people shouldn't need to read long and poorly written fine print in order to protect their personal information.

"Fewer than 10% of people who are part of a loyalty program always read the privacy policy and almost a quarter have never read one at all. Given how long and poorly written privacy policies are, it makes sense that people aren’t able to engage with them.

"Despite disclosures in terms and conditions or privacy policies, consumers probably don't realise their data is being collected and used by supermarkets or to what extent. Data can even be collected when you don't scan your existing loyalty cards."

The survey showed 40% of people weren't aware loyalty schemes could sell their data to data brokers, and roughly the same number (41%) didn't realise it could be used to make decisions about them, including their credit worthiness.

Choice also found that 70% of people are concerned about their data being sold to data brokers and 62% are concerned about schemes using this data to make decisions about them.

Choice is calling on the government to make urgent reforms to make sure that businesses use consumer data in clear and fair ways.

"The existing privacy laws are no longer adequate to cover the extent of personal data collection and processing," says Bower. "The government needs to review whether the privacy act is sufficient to protect consumers and ensure they have adequate control of their data.

"Businesses must take greater responsibility for data protection and the government must continue to pressure businesses to do the right thing. There needs to be less burden on individuals to understand exactly what personal data they are giving away by signing up to loyalty programs."

You can read Choice's full article on loyalty cards and data collection here.

Image: Scop.io

Stand up for your rights: young Australians lead the way

Australians are notoriously bad at standing up for their consumer rights.

They'd rather accept shoddy service, or a product that doesn't work properly, than make a fuss.

Research from consumer organisation Choice found that just 38% of Australians have asked for a refund, replacement or repair in the last five years because a product did not work or was not what they asked for.

And with Australians expected to spend a record $21 billion in stores and online during the post-Christmas sales, Choice is encouraging consumers not to put up with dodgy products and to feel confident in asking for a refund, repair or replacement.

Young Australians aged 18-34 are the most likely (49%) of any age group to ask for a refund, while just 24% of older Australians aged 65-75 had asked for a remedy in the same situation.

"While we're happy to see 49% of young Australians leading the charge when asking for a refund, replacement or repair, we want all Australians to feel just as confident in exercising their consumer rights when they need to," says Choice director of campaigns and communications Erin Turner.

"By knowing your rights when a product you bought doesn't work, or wasn't what you asked for, you can avoid additional financial strain," says Choice managing editor Margaret Rafferty.

So if you've splashed some cash on gifts at Christmas or are thinking of picking up some bargains in the Boxing Day sales, Choice has some valuable tips.

Australian businesses are all bound by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) which sets out consumer rights.

You're entitled to ask for a repair, replacement or refund if 

# a product isn't fit for purpose
# a product doesn't match the description
# a product is significantly different from what you expected
# the business made extra promises it hasn't kept
# spare parts and repairs aren't available
# the business didn't have the right to sell you the goods.

Similar guarantees apply to services, which must:
# be performed with proper care and skill
# be fit for a particular purpose or achieve the result you expected
# be delivered within a reasonable time, or by the end date in a contract

These guarantees cover gifts, online products and services from all Australian businesses and sale items are covered, too.

Keeping receipts will help smooth the returns process if you need to take something back.

"Keeping a record of your purchase is always important, especially for high-value purchases," says Turner.

"In the worst case scenario, a company or manufacturer might not respect your consumer rights and you may need to go to a court or a tribunal. If this happens, good record keeping will increase your chances of a good result."

Signs that say things like "No refunds", "No refunds on sale items" or "Exchange or credit note only for return of sale items" aren't legal. So don't shop at places that display those signs.

But also don't take the mickey.

If the item you've bought isn't faulty but you've changed your mind, found it at a cheaper price elsewhere or it's an unwanted Christmas or birthday gift, Australian retailers are not under any legal obligation to give you a refund or exchange. Nor should they.

Image: Maksim Chernyshev, Scop.io

Airline Customer Advocate slammed as "a waste of time"

Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has awarded the industry-funded Airline Customer Advocate a "Shonky" Award for failing to do its job and leaving Australians stranded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Airline Customer Advocate says it is a free service to facilitate “the resolution of current unresolved complaints about airline services”.

But CHOICE says complainants might as well deposit their submission in a paper shredder.

“It’s an airline-industry funded scheme that’s meant to solve your problems, but really it’s a forwarding service," says CHOICE consumer rights expert Alison Elliott

"The Advocate can’t look at your problem and make an independent decision. Instead, it will forward your complaint back to the airline, asking nicely for the airline to respond to you in 20 days. And that’s about it.

“You might as well put your complaint in a shredder than waste your time with the Airline Customer Advocate.

“This is an advocate that doesn’t advocate. It's window dressing to help the airline industry pretend it cares about managing complaints. In reality, it can’t investigate your complaint, it can’t make an independent decision and it has no power to make airlines do anything.”

In a recent nationally representative survey, only 32% of Australians said they were aware of the service, and only 15% had used it.

And even worse, during the Covid-19 crisis, the Airline Customer Advocate didn’t accept complaints about the major issues of the day, including:

# \Travellers being offered a credit instead of a refund, a common problem for pandemic-affected travel.

# Poor customer service and delays in getting a response from airlines.

# Delays in receiving refunds.

CHOICE asked the Airline Customer Advocate how many travellers they helped in 2020 and 2021. It did not receive a response.

“We’re not sure what the Airline Customer Advocate actually did or achieved over the Covid-19 crisis,” says Elliott.

“From CHOICE’s extensive travel survey this year, we heard from thousands of Australians who struggled to get their money back and received poor customer service from the airlines. The height of the Covid-19 crisis was the time we most needed an independent advocate to help us navigate these tough times. Instead, the Airline Customer Advocate left Australians stranded.”

The Airline Customer Advocate (ACA) says it provides a "free and independent service" to customers of major Australian airlines by facilitating the resolution of current unresolved complaints about airline services.

It says it will forward complaint to the right person within the relevant airline and ensure you receive a response within a reasonable time (usually within 20 working days).

The bub is that the ACA is actually funded by the participating airlines and has no independent powers at all.

CHOICE says the airline industry needs dispute resolution with teeth.

“Australians need an independent airline ombudsman," says Elliott. "One that has the resources to investigate complaints, the power to make binding decisions and independence to keep the industry in-check. Until then, the Airline Customer Advocate is merely a fake advocate designed to help the airlines avoid accountability.”

See choice.com.au/travelcampaign

What businesses do not want you to know: Your consumer rights

Today is World Consumer Rights Day - an international celebration of consumer power - and CHOICE is reminding Australians of the consumer rights they may not know they had. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of exactly what your rights are, and what you’re entitled to if something goes wrong,” says CHOICE consumer rights expert Amy Pereira. 

  

1. If a product fails, you are entitled to either a repair, replacement, or refund

 

“When you purchase a product, that product must meet consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. For example, the item must be fit for purpose and free of any defects. It should match the description on its packaging or on the website you purchased it from,” says Pereira.

 

“If a product that you’ve purchased doesn’t work you have a right to a fair fix. If the problem is minor, the retailer can decide to offer a refund, repair or replacement. However, if you’re facing a major problem, you get to choose between a refund or replacement.”

 

2. Two or more minor faults can equal a major failure

 

“A recent addition to the consumer law says that if a product you’ve purchased has two or more minor failures, and you wouldn’t have purchased the product if you knew about these failures, it’s considered to have a major failure. This is really important as it means that you have more options when it comes to asking for a repair, refund or replacement. For example, if you face multiple problems with a new car, it’s now much clearer that you should be offered a replacement or a refund,” says Pereira. 

 

3. Most extended warranties are useless

 

“Businesses will often try to convince you to buy an extended warranty, but in most cases you really don’t need one. If an item you purchase is faulty, under the consumer law a retailer has to  offer you a remedy. It’s also good to know that your right to a remedy will remain in place for a reasonable amount of time after you’ve purchased something, even if the warranty has expired. If a company tries to sell you an extended warranty, ask them to explain what that warranty offers above and beyond your rights under the Australian Consumer Law,” says Pereira. 

 

4. “No refund” signs aren’t enforceable

 

“A business can’t opt out of the consumer law. Signs that say ‘no refund’ or ‘no refund on sales items’ are illegal, as they suggest that you aren’t entitled to a refund under any circumstances. The consumer law says that you must be given a remedy for a faulty product,” says Pereira. 

 

5. Don’t take no for an answer

 

“If you suspect that a retailer isn’t treating you fairly, contact your state or territory’s fair trading agency who can help you get a fair outcome. You can also report issues to the ACCC, as they have the power to take action against businesses that breach the consumer law,” says Pereira. 

Despite what many retailers and distributors will tell you, the law also applies to wine. If you buy a corked or faulty bottle then you are entitled to a refund.

 

Read more tips on your consumer rights here: https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/consumer-rights-and-advice/your-rights/articles/things-every-australian-should-know-about-their-rights