Melbourne man’s $21,000 Qantas booking nightmare

A Qantas gold member was due to go on an around-the-world trip, but there was just one problem – there was never a booking.

Murray Jones had booked an around-the-world trip via Qantas, but there was just one problem – there was no actual booking.

Mr Jones, 59, from Melbourne, has been flying with the Australian airline since the late 1980s, making him a gold member.

And while he holds the carrier in high regard, his recent experience left him both shocked and disappointed.

The businessman was due to depart from Melbourne on July 23, 2022, to Brisbane, Los Angeles, Dallas, Bentoville, back to Dallas, London, Johannesburg, Sydney and home to Melbourne on August 7.

In total it was a two-week trip.

But due to an error made by a customer service agent, the booking was never ticketed, a Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au.

Mr Jones said he booked his business partner on the same flight for $12,900 via Oneworld Alliance, but after encountering problems when trying to book himself, he reached out to Qantas customer service for help.

Murray Jones, 59, from Melbourne ended up paying $21,000 for a Qantas booking after his initial $15,000 was never ticketed.

After days of trying to get a hold of a customer service agent to assist with his booking, it was eventually resolved, but at the escalated cost of $15,000.

He wasn’t happy about it but agreed to the new fee.

Things then took an unexpected turn when Mr Jones was hours away from boarding his flight. He noticed the booking had disappeared from his Qantas app even though he claims to have been sent text messages about checking in and information about boarding.

He was initially told it was a funds problem before it was later confirmed it was a ticketing issue.

“I rang them up and they said my ticket was cancelled because it hadn’t been paid,” Mr Jones told news.com.au. “I didn’t understand how this was possible. I gave them all my details and bank card and they never rang to tell me something went wrong.

“I kept getting messages so I thought everything was OK."

A Qantas spokesperson said the booking wasn’t ticketed as a result of error by a customer service agent.

A Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au it was an error made by the customer service agent.

“The booking wasn’t ticketed as a result of error by a customer service agent, which we know is unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Jones said he didn’t notice the funds hadn’t been taken out of his account because he was using his business account and not his personal.

The 59-year-old said he was due to fly to the US for a business conference that he couldn’t miss.

After spending hours on the phone trying to sort a new booking, Murray had to pay $21,000. He was heading to the US, UK, South Africa and back home to Australia.

“I was in tears on the phone. I had meetings lined up months in advance,” he said.

Mr Jones said he spent hours on the phone to Qantas on the morning of his flight trying to sort out a new booking, even asking to speak to a manager but to no avail.

He was then quoted a whopping $37,000 fee before being asked to pay $21,000 after going back and forth.

“I was frustrated and disappointed. I have been flying with Qantas since 1989, spending over $1 million. If it wasn’t for my knowledge (on around-the-world bookings), I would have been taken advantage of.”

Qantas: ‘We know this is unacceptable’

The airline is now looking to refund Murray. Picture: Andrew Henshaw/NCA NewsWire

A Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au it was an error made by the customer service agent.

“The booking wasn’t ticketed as a result of error by a customer service agent, which we know is unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

“We sincerely apologise to Mr Jones and we’re working to make this right.”

News.com.au understands Mr Jones received a booking confirmation (which means the booking is ‘reserved’), however, his booking was not ticketed due to error.

He said after enlisting help from Adam Glezer, from Consumer Champion, in November last year, he was told he would receive a $14,995 refund.

Adam Glezer, from Consumer Champion, described the situation as ‘bewildering’.

“We’ve been on the phone with Qantas and they confirmed that they would be sending a confirmation email that a refund of $14,995 would be processed within two weeks. He didn’t receive the refund or the email,” Mr Glezer told news.com.au.

“When you consider how much he has spent with Qantas over the years and his status with them, he is being treated remarkably poorly.

“The customer should not have to go through this level of stress in order to get back what is rightfully theirs.”

News.com.au understands Qantas is getting in touch with Mr Jones directly to organise a refund.

The airline recently introduced new processes at its contact centres which sees more complex bookings escalated to more senior customer service agents to prevent errors like this occurring.

It is also rolling out new technology in the coming months which will allow it to match complex customer requests with more experienced agents.

The technology will also identify customers who have had to call multiple times and match these callers with more experienced agents.