Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.
D.R. writes: We booked to fly with Royal Jordanian Airlines, but they changed the flight times by two days so we had to claim a refund.
Our tickets were refundable, and in any case the airline promised a full refund. However, I have since contacted them more than 20 times, but I have received nothing.
The flights were for a special holiday as my wife has an incurable medical condition and this might have been her last chance to travel.
Tony Hetherington replies: You gave me a copy of the message you received from Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJA), and it could hardly be clearer. You were told you could change your booking to a different date, though this might involve a penalty charge. Or you could cancel your booking but keep the tickets for use at any time within the next year, though there would be rebooking fees when you did decide to use them.
Special holiday: But Royal Jordanian Airlines changed the flight times by two days
Or finally, RJA confirmed you are ‘entitled to a full refund due to the schedule change.’ If I have understood the currency conversion correctly, you and your wife should have received about £1,400 each within a fortnight of lodging your claim, yet months later you have received nothing.
I asked RJA to look into this and the airline’s response was startling. It told me: ‘We have been informed that we are currently facing challenges with the refund process for any payments made through PayPal. Our finance team at the head office are actively working to resolve this issue at the moment.’ But what has this got to do with you? The relationship between the airline and PayPal should not be your problem.
RJA changed the flights by an unacceptable two days, RJA confirmed that you have the right to a full refund, so why can’t RJA simply get out its cheque book and send you the money, or better still, pay you by bank transfer?
What exactly are the challenges that RJA is facing? Should passengers delay making bookings, rather than risk seeing their money disappear for months with no proper explanation?
I put both these questions to the airline, and on February 5 it replied: ‘We have been informed by our finance team that the refund is in process and the passengers will be credited by the end of this week.’ Well, Friday the 9th came, but no refund arrived. I wondered whether RJA regarded Saturday or Sunday as the end of the week. Fair enough, Saturday arrived but there was no refund, and then Sunday, the same, no refund.
I asked the airline to say exactly where it had sent the refund. It failed to reply. I asked whether Royal Jordanian Airlines – which is mainly owned by Jordan’s government – was in financial difficulties. It failed to reply.
But it is a fact that late last year RJA announced plans to dig itself out of a very deep financial hole that saw it notch up losses of about £450 million.
Big airlines might tolerate this, but RJA is not a big airline and its losses put it in danger of liquidation. It sidestepped this by altering its share structure, but has since been hit financially by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
All of this leaves you stuck in a ‘the cheque is in the post’ situation. You are not alone.
A current review of RJA on Tripadvisor warns that, ‘Refunds are not their strong point!’
That was from a passenger whose flight was cancelled last October. He has still had no refund and emails are unanswered.
Another passenger was forced to cancel after RJA changed its schedules six times, which would have left him waiting 48 hours for his connecting flight.
He claimed a refund two months ago but has not even received an acknowledgement. ‘This company is not like other companies,’ he wrote. You can say that again.
RJA has not signed up to any air travel Ombudsman scheme that could investigate its failure to repay you.
I have now advised you to contact the Civil Aviation Authority. There are lots of reasons not to fly to the Middle East at the moment – and Royal Jordanian Airlines has just provided a new one.
Why has Ovo lost my bill payment?
N.J. writes: Ovo took over my electricity supply from SSE.
I paid Ovo’s bill by sending a cheque as usual, but it was undeliverable as Ovo closed the SSE office without telling customers.
I then paid by bank transfer, but have since received an email saying I had not paid, followed by a threat of court action.
Frustration: Ovo closed the SSE office without telling customers
Tony Hetherington replies: When you made the bank transfer you completed Ovo’s online payment form. This included a space marked ‘reference’, so you entered it as ‘electricity bill’. What Ovo actually wanted was your account number.
Trying to sort this out was frustrating for you. You gave Ovo your bank statement but it still could not link the payment to your supply. And when you decided to change supplier, Ovo said it would tell any new supplier that you are a debtor.
I asked Ovo to comment, and you were soon called with an apology and an admission that the payment form was badly worded. Your payment has been traced, you owe nothing, and Ovo has offered £100 and a gift hamper by way of saying sorry.
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected]. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
