Finnair refunds

[Welshie]

G'Day all!

Read the recent story regarding a positive refund experience with Finnair which, whilst I am pleased for @Seat0B, made me contemplate my own situation.

I'm currently waiting on a refund for 2xJ class SYD-LHR return tickets, these flights having been cancelled on 27/3/20 (travel having been scheduled in June 2020).

Anyone else experiencing a 5 months wait or is @Seat0B's experience more the norm?

 

[OZDUCK]

G'Day all!

Read the recent story regarding a positive refund experience with Finnair which, whilst I am pleased for @Seat0B, made me contemplate my own situation.

I'm currently waiting on a refund for 2xJ class SYD-LHR return tickets, these flights having been cancelled on 27/3/20 (travel having been scheduled in June 2020).

Anyone else experiencing a 5 months wait or is @Seat0B's experience more the norm?

My Finnair refund application was lodged around 30/5/20 and the refund bounced back into our CC account around 13/7/20 so definitely not a 5 month wait for me. This booking was via a TA but my card was debited and credited directly by Finnair. Because one of the flight departure times on our trip was changed by over 8 hours I used that as the basis for the refund rather than wait for the cancellation advice from Finnair for my QF flight out of Perth. A friend who would also have been on the same flight that was rescheduled got her money back a few days after us and I had booked that trip for her directly with Finnair.

Sorry for asking the obvious question but have you contacted Finnair? The amount of time you have been waiting definitely seems excessive as they normally seem to quote 8 - 12 weeks for a refund.

 

[Cappuccino99]

yes I'm also at 5 months and waiting.....

 

[Princess Fiona]

Still patiently waiting. Was due to fly to JFK on March 21st.

 

[Seat0B]

So it seems like the results are very patchy then. Sorry to all those still waiting. I feel extra lucky now.

 

[OZDUCK]

So it seems like the results are very patchy then. Sorry to all those still waiting. I feel extra lucky now.

Me too.

 

[pomona]

I paid BYOJet (Flight Centre) over $7000 last Nov on my Amex card for 2 one way J class travel on QF & AY BNE/HEL.
I received an email from BYO on June 22 confirming refund could take up to 12 weeks. I have received 3 emails so far claiming BYO is awaiting a full refund from the airline.
From whom should I claim, QF or AY ?
Claiming on Amex travel insurance is apparently not possible as we did not purchase return tickets, according to Chubb who are a waste of space.
I contacted Amex a few weeks ago & discussed my case for a refund & was told to hold off until October, (12 weeks), & if nothing happens request a charge back on BYO.
Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated, Thanks.

 

[Katie]

Also patiently waiting. Flights were cancelled in May, we were due to fly in July. Qantas cancelling the Oz-HKG legs allowed us to cancel in May. Booked through a TA.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Still waiting here too.

 

[NM]

I paid BYOJet (Flight Centre) over $7000 last Nov on my Amex card for 2 one way J class travel on QF & AY BNE/HEL.
I received an email from BYO on June 22 confirming refund could take up to 12 weeks. I have received 3 emails so far claiming BYO is awaiting a full refund from the airline.
From whom should I claim, QF or AY ?
Claiming on Amex travel insurance is apparently not possible as we did not purchase return tickets, according to Chubb who are a waste of space.
I contacted Amex a few weeks ago & discussed my case for a refund & was told to hold off until October, (12 weeks), & if nothing happens request a charge back on BYO.
Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated, Thanks.

Your only choice is to deal with the travel agent with whom you make the booking. The airlines will not talk to you directly about refunds since the purchase was made through an agent.

You indicate that Amex has already provided advice to you, and that advice is the course of action I would be following in the described circumstances.

 

[CMA222]

2 x J from HKG to ZRH via HEL and return. Booked in mid February 2020 and cancelled without penalty in May 2020. Advised 2 to 3 months delay for a refund. Still waiting 5 months later. Finnair are obviously in no hurry to part with the funds and are obviously dragging it out to conserve cash flow. That said I have associates that booked similar flights to the same destination around the same time and cancelled around the same time as I did. They paid a cancellation penalty (about A$600 per ticket) and received their refunds about 6 weeks ago.

 

[IrishPete]

BYOJet are now offering to cash out refunds in vouchers for some major retailers. I've chosen that rather than wait for them to go bust. But $7k may a bit much to spend at Myer, JBHiFi and The Good Guys. Mine was $2258.

 

[pomona]

Thanks for the info, my BYO contact has not mentioned this, just sent me a link as below but still not sure this is just another delaying tactic. Also, if they can afford to provide vouchers then why do they continue with the excuse AY/QF have not refunded the $$. I did not pay AY/QF but BYO !

"Thank you for your email and we apologize for the delay.

We would like to inform you that we're still waiting for the funds from the airline so we can finalize the funds back to your account.

To check the status of your refund please complete this form or you may visit this link;

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScj96UC7ibiwUOVMi6cijhPDRkypgLv34PfM041lzPDjGPxag/viewform

All refunds are currently taking more than 12 weeks to finalise. We have all our resources currently focused on processing refunds, therefore responding to any refund updates may be delayed."

 

[IrishPete]

I presume they're getting a cut from the retailers, same as they would have got a cut from the airline if your flights had gone ahead.

 

[Lynda2475]

I had a VNE - HEL flight booked directly with FInnair in Aug-19 for a July flight.

Similar to OzDuck's experience in mid-May Finnair rescheduled the flight to be 8 hours later, so in June I lodged a request for a refund on the basis the new time didn't suit (rather than Corvid-19) even though I had no way to use the flight, and was told the wait for a refund would take up to weeks, but credit was back on my Amex 4 weeks later.

Suspect it was processed faster as I didnt play the covid card, therefore it was standard to refund when schedule changes significantly.

 

[Katie]

My TA has received our refunds from FinnAir.

Flights were booked for July; we cancelled them on 11 May when the QF Oz-HKG legs were cancelled. Flights were paid on CCs, but to the TA, not directly to FinnAir.

 

[pomona]

All I wanted for Christmas !
Decided on a last ditch effort to get my $7000+ refund, which was promised back in June.
Spoke with the AFC, not in their remit, but they put me onto the Insurance Law Service (1300663464) to see if they could help with the Amex "travel" insurance, aka Chubb.
A helpful young lady went through the Chubb PDS, without falling asleep, & found a lacuna in their terms, insurance only applies to 1 way tickets ?? None of this is apparent when reading any Amex info. In fact , I was advised CC travel insurance is generally not worth the paper it is written on.
Ever helpful she suggested my State, QLD, Consumer Affairs office, 137468, where I was given the
web address to lodge a complaint, www.qld.gov.au/consumercomplaints, & advised to contact BYO one last time.
I duly advised my contact at BYO, well, I think it is a contact, Dec 07, that I had been left with no alternative to take this action & that I would give them 72hrs to resolve this long standing matter.
I made my customary Amex CC account online enquiry over the weekend & lo & behold, the full refund had been credited back to my account.
So, nils coughum carborundum, or words to that effect, &, NEVER rely on CC travel insurance, esp Amex.
What the hell am I going to spend 7 grand on even though it's Christmas. Suggestions on a postcard to the North Pole, Cheers.

 

[33kft]

A helpful young lady went through the Chubb PDS, without falling asleep, & found a lacuna in their terms, insurance only applies to 1 way tickets ??

Insurance applies for return bookings:

Your guide to the free travel insurance with American Express Cards

Most American Express Cards come with complimentary insurances. We take a look at some of the cover offered.

www.pointhacks.com.au

In general, you can expect the following rules for activation and eligibility to be covered by a personal American Express card policy.

1. Activation: Cover is activated when you pay the full fare of a return trip on your American Express card, or through Membership Rewards points or a Travel Benefit where applicable. The American Express Platinum card cover also activates when using frequent flyer points.

Which makes sense, because a one way ticket isn't really insuring a trip, you might not have any plans to return. Coverage only for one way flights on the other hand would make no sense whatsoever.

 

[pomona]

Please define "travel" ??
The OED states "to make a journey; to go from one place to another; to journey".
Maybe Chubb PDS redefines "Travel Benefits" in another language other than English, like most insurance companies.
How many people make a journey by air to a destination to return via a cruise ???

 

[33kft]

Your example above of an outbound flight and return by sea still meets the criteria above which is that you must pay for the full fare of a return trip (it does not specify that it needs to be the same medium) on the AMEX card. I invite you to go ahead and google the claim that the PDS only covers one way travel which is exactly what I did when I read it in your post as I couldn't for a minute believe this revelation had never been picked up before in any other discussion of CC travel insurance, and I see no evidence that it's true.