TONY HETHERINGTON: Royal Jordanian Airlines fails to pay refund

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, combating readers corners, revealing the reality that lies behind closed doorways and profitable victories for many who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out learn how to contact him under. 

D.R. writes: We booked to fly with Royal Jordanian Airlines, however they modified the flight instances by two days so we needed to declare a refund. 

Our tickets had been refundable, and in any case the airline promised a full refund. However, I’ve since contacted them greater than 20 instances, however I’ve acquired nothing. 

The flights had been for a particular vacation as my spouse has an incurable medical situation and this might need been her final likelihood to journey.

Tony Hetherington replies: You gave me a replica of the message you acquired from Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJA), and it might hardly be clearer. You had been advised you might change your reserving to a special date, although this would possibly contain a penalty cost. Or you might cancel your reserving however preserve the tickets to be used at any time inside the subsequent yr, although there could be rebooking charges while you did determine to make use of them.

Or lastly, RJA confirmed you might be ‘entitled to a full refund as a result of schedule change.’ If I’ve understood the forex conversion accurately, you and your spouse ought to have acquired about £1,400 every inside a fortnight of lodging your declare, but months later you may have acquired nothing.

I requested RJA to look into this and the airline’s response was startling. It advised me: ‘We have been knowledgeable that we’re at the moment going through challenges with the refund course of for any funds made by way of PayPal. Our finance staff on the head workplace are actively working to resolve this difficulty in the meanwhile.’ But what has this received to do with you? The relationship between the airline and PayPal shouldn’t be your drawback.

RJA modified the flights by an unacceptable two days, RJA confirmed that you’ve the proper to a full refund, so why cannot RJA merely get out its cheque e-book and ship you the cash, or higher nonetheless, pay you by financial institution switch?

What precisely are the challenges that RJA is going through? Should passengers delay making bookings, reasonably than danger seeing their cash disappear for months with no correct clarification?

I put each these inquiries to the airline, and on February 5 it replied: ‘We have been knowledgeable by our finance staff that the refund is in course of and the passengers will likely be credited by the tip of this week.’ Well, Friday the ninth got here, however no refund arrived. I questioned whether or not RJA regarded Saturday or Sunday as the tip of the week. Fair sufficient, Saturday arrived however there was no refund, after which Sunday, the identical, no refund.

I requested the airline to say precisely the place it had despatched the refund. It didn’t reply. I requested whether or not Royal Jordanian Airlines – which is especially owned by Jordan’s authorities – was in monetary difficulties. It didn’t reply.

But it’s a incontrovertible fact that late final yr RJA introduced plans to dig itself out of a really deep monetary gap that noticed it notch up losses of about £450 million.

Big airways would possibly tolerate this, however RJA is just not an enormous airline and its losses put it at risk of liquidation. It sidestepped this by altering its share construction, however has since been hit financially by the Israel-Hamas battle.

All of this leaves you caught in a ‘the cheque is within the put up’ scenario. You aren’t alone.

A present assessment of RJA on Tripadvisor warns that, ‘Refunds aren’t their robust level!’

That was from a passenger whose flight was cancelled final October. He has nonetheless had no refund and emails are unanswered.

Another passenger was compelled to cancel after RJA modified its schedules six instances, which might have left him ready 48 hours for his connecting flight.

He claimed a refund two months in the past however has not even acquired an acknowledgement. ‘This firm is just not like different firms,’ he wrote. You can say that once more.

RJA has not signed as much as any air journey Ombudsman scheme that might examine its failure to repay you.

I’ve now suggested you to contact the Civil Aviation Authority. There are a number of causes to not fly to the Middle East in the meanwhile – and Royal Jordanian Airlines has simply offered a brand new one.

Why has Ovo misplaced my invoice cost?

N.J. writes: Ovo took over my electrical energy provide from SSE. 

I paid Ovo’s invoice by sending a cheque as common, but it surely was undeliverable as Ovo closed the SSE workplace with out telling prospects. 

I then paid by financial institution switch, however have since acquired an e mail saying I had not paid, adopted by a risk of court docket motion.

Tony Hetherington replies: When you made the financial institution switch you accomplished Ovo’s on-line cost kind. This included an area marked ‘reference’, so that you entered it as ‘electrical energy invoice’. What Ovo truly wished was your account quantity.

Trying to type this out was irritating for you. You gave Ovo your financial institution assertion but it surely nonetheless couldn’t hyperlink the cost to your provide. And while you determined to vary provider, Ovo mentioned it might inform any new provider that you’re a debtor.

I requested Ovo to remark, and also you had been quickly referred to as with an apology and an admission that the cost kind was badly worded. Your cost has been traced, you owe nothing, and Ovo has provided £100 and a present hamper by the use of saying sorry.

If you imagine you’re the sufferer of monetary wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or e mail tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the excessive quantity of enquiries, private replies can’t be given. Please ship solely copies of authentic paperwork, which we remorse can’t be returned.