Cheap flights to India or package deals for any other equally popular long haul destination do not come by often. The article discusses the complaint procedure in case such flights or holidays are jeopardised even before they are utilised.
Imagine having painstakingly booked those cheap holiday deals and flights to such long haul destination as India and being faced with circumstances that put your holiday in jeopardy.
There could be nothing sadder for a holidaymaker than arriving with family at the airport to board flights to India and being denied boarding due to an invalid visa or a similar problem. Unquestionably, it takes long planning, research and valuable time and money for grabbing those tickets on cheap flights to India. What can one do in such situations?
Undoubtedly, the situation calls for lodging a complaint with the airline or the travel agent responsible. Read on to know more about the key aspects and tips for making complaints to get the best results.
Report Immediately
Do not delay. Make a complaint as soon as the problem occurs. While airlines may attend to issues relating to booking made directly with them promptly, they generally direct the passengers to the travel agents for bookings made with them. Though, airlines might resolve some minor problems without needing passengers to contact the agents, passengers must notify the problem to their agents as soon as it occurs if they plan to pursue a complaint on their return. Not doing so may affect traveller’s later claim.
Gather Information
The airline and the travel agents are usually able to sort out the problems as soon as they are notified of the same. Yet, the stress and anxiety caused in case of major issues may last longer. Most travellers generally decide to, as well as are advised by the apologetic airlines and travel agents to write a complaint on their return to the UK. Travellers must gather names of the officials they deal with to resolve the issue and any necessary documents validated by the airline to support their complaint later.
Written Complaint
Complaints are best made in writing. On return from your holidays and when you are ready to straighten up things with the airline or the travel agent, draft a complaint that highlights, in sequence, all the issues that caused you stress, anxiety and inconvenience. Enclose with your complaint all necessary documents such as your e-tickets, invoice, hotel vouchers, any endorsed travel document taken from the airlines at the airport etc.
Calculate Claim
Additional or hidden costs add to the cost of holidays. For example, the otherwise cheap flights to India may end up becoming expensive flights to India just because an additional cost, say for, invalid or no visa issued, is to be borne by you. Save receipts for additional costs incurred on flight tickets, hotels, transfers etc and include these in your claim. Besides reimbursement, if you feel you deserve compensation for any inconvenience caused, do include a reasonable amount for the same in the total claim figure.
Resolution
Most travel agents and airlines, if convinced of your complaint, would accept the claim after diligent investigation lasting from few to many weeks. Negotiation of the passengers’ claim is quite an industry norm; airlines and travel agents may not reimburse and or compensate the clients fully. In case you are not satisfied with the resolution offered by them or in case the dispute reaches an impasse, travellers can have recourse to certain regulatory bodies.
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)
ABTA governs the activities of travel agents and tour operators in the UK and its membership is the seal of reliability for these travel agents and tour operators. ABTA offers to resolve complaints with member travel agents; it investigates the complaints and can influence the agents to resolve the issues in a timely and efficient manner through correspondence. ABTA also offers Arbitration Scheme for customers to pursue their claims; however, there is an arbitration cost involved. Guidance to pursue a claim through arbitration can be accessed on www.abta.com.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
If you have forwarded a complaint to the airline with whom you booked your flight tickets and you are not satisfied with the outcome, CAA can help you with the resolution. Remember, there are certain prerequisites that must be satisfied before one can expect CAA to handle one’s complaint. All complaints to CAA are required to be sent in writing (email or letter). The contact information as well as the conditions can be checked on the CAA’s website www.caa.co.uk.
County Court – Small Claims procedures
If regretfully, all the recourses yielded no satisfactory outcome, the traveller can decide to pursue the complaint/claim through small claims in the county court. However, the reasons for an unsatisfactory resolution at the previous level of dispute resolution authorities must be heeded and analysed to ascertain the validity of your claim before you decide to opt for county court track.
Details and guidance to pursue a complaint through the county court can be accessed from the local Court or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB).
