Our friends at Cruise Passenger have revealed what looks like another sad refund trick by Webjet, with Debra and Nicholas Grimm having saved for 18 months for an $18,000 dream holiday to Canada and Alaska to celebrate a 60th birthday last June, and with Nicholas also fighting throat and eye cancer, with Webjet cancelling and are now refusing them a refund.
The Grimms, accompanied by their best mates, Amanda and Malcolm Lockyer paid a total of $36,000 to Webjet for their bucket-list, 18-day holiday to experience Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer and a Celebrity cruise to Alaska departing in June last year.
So instead of their trip of a lifetime, the Grimms and Lockyers have spent the past year battling with Webjet to get a full refund and so far the Perth couples have had little success.
Instead, Webjet issued them with a credit voucher called Webjet eGift card, valid to rebook another holiday until April 2023, but the two couples just want their money back, and feel it is their right.
Debra Grimm told Cruise Passenger, “It’s heart breaking,” “It was my dream holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday”. “We decided to go with my very good friend of 50 years, Amanda – we went to school together – and her husband, Malcolm.”
Now we have spent so much time arguing with Webjet, to get our money back, with Webjet refusing to refund our money despite our repeated pleas.” “We just want our hard-earned money back”
To make matters worse, the past year has been particularly hard on her husband, who has been battling throat and eye cancer”.
The Grimms and Lockyers are among thousands of Australians who have been caught in the refund and cancellation chaos that has plagued the travel industry since the pandemic hit last March with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission having also become involved with rising number of complaints from travellers battling to get refunds for their flights and cruise holidays.
Consumer advocate Adam Glezer who is leading Travel-Industry-Issues-the-need-for-change-for-Australians told Cruise Passenger, “I find it staggering that Webjet is not even willing to refund or disclose all the companies and suppliers involved in the holiday to Debra Grimm”, adding, “That’s just not good enough.
He added that Webjet should itemise exactly where the money is being held and which travel companies are involved and any money that Webjet is able to get back should be passed back to the consumers, after all, it is their money.
Glezer said, “A review of the Australian consumer laws to include the right to a refund for a situation such as this, is definitely needed”, adding, “A parliamentary enquiry into travel is paramount.”
Sadly, not surprisingly, but also disappointingly, Webjet declined to comment to Cruise Passenger.
An edited report from Cruise Passenger by John Alwyn-Jones
This is NOT the way for any company to treat its customers. In the UK if passenger pays at least £1 by credit card for any product costing between £100-£30000 the credit card is obligated to obtain a refund on behalf of the customer where the trader defaults. Commonly referred to as a chargeback. If credit cards don’t afford similar protection worldwide it’s scandalous