Melbourne woman’s two-year Qantas refund saga

A Melbourne woman has described her lengthy refund saga with Qantas as “frustrating” after an error caused the two-year debacle.

A Melbourne woman has described her two-year refund saga with Qantas as “frustrating” and a “nightmare”.

Anne Brophy, 68, from Melbourne, had booked a return flight to Singapore with Qantas back in 2020.

She was heading to the popular tourist destination with a friend for a week in September and purchased two tickets – for herself and her friend – costing a total of $1764.64.

Ms Brophy was due to fly out on September 9, however, due to the pandemic the flight was cancelled and Anne was told she would be refunded the total amount.

“I rang up, I gave them my bank details and I was told I would have a refund within 8-10 weeks,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Brophy also received an email on October 13, 2020 stating a refund had been processed.

“But I never got anything,” she said.

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Anne Brophy received an email from Qantas saying her ‘case has been resolved’ as a refund had been made – however she never received it. Picture: Supplied

The retiree tried to call the airline’s customer service line, however given the chaos of the travel industry at the time, she struggled to get through.

“I was on the phone for about six hours at one point, or when I would eventually get through I’d get disconnected. I just thought ‘fair enough’ – no one is flying now anyway so doesn’t matter.”

She tried her luck a few months later and sent an email on February 1, 2021 – but got no response.

“Hi I am still waiting for my refund of $1764.64 for Voucher reference XXX for flights cancelled last year!! When I inquired late last year I was assured that I would have my refund by January!!” the email read.

“Well I’m still waiting, as a loyal customer I’d appreciate if this matter was addressed ASAP. Would like this matter sorted quickly thanks.”

Ms Brophy, 68, from Melbourne, had been waiting two years for a $1764 refund from Qantas after the flight to Singapore was cancelled due to Covid. Picture: Supplied

Fast forward to 2022, Ms Brophy still hadn’t received a refund and decided to call customer service again.

She was told a refund was made and the matter was now “resolved”.

When she asked for further proof of this, the operator allegedly told her, “We wouldn’t have those details”.

Ms Brophy went through her statements with a fine tooth comb and also spoke to her bank which informed her there was no record of a $1764 refund.

Qantas eventually apologised for the ‘extensive delay’ to Anne’s refund with an ‘error’ being blamed for the debacle. Picture: Supplied

Ms Brophy’s last resort was to fill out the Refund Request Declaration form on the Qantas website and last Monday received correspondence that – again – the “case was closed” as a refund was allegedly made on October 13.

A shocked and frustrated Ms Brophy explained she was still out of pocket and after two-years of going back and forth, she finally received an apology in what was an “operator’s error”.

“Please accept our apologies for the delayed response and for the time it has taken to get to your concern,” the email read.

“Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated. We have expedited the processing (of) your refund, please allow up to two weeks for this to be finalised. If we require any further information to help us process your refund, we will be in touch.”

News.com.au understands an error was made by an operator and the airline is working through how it can ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Consumer advocate Adam Glezer described the situation as ‘unacceptable’. Picture: Supplied

“We sincerely apologise to the customer for the extensive delay to their refund,” a Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au.

“While it was processed at the time, we have now discovered that this was done incorrectly and the funds were not released.

“We have spoken to the customer and we have rectified this today (October 21) and the customer will receive the funds shortly.”

Ms Brophy described the entire situation as “disheartening” and a “nightmare”.

“Nobody would go or want to go through the process I did just to get this refund,” she said.

“I came to Australia 35 years ago from Ireland on a Qantas flight and have always flown with them and held up that flag and to be treated this way is disheartening.”

The 68-year-old also turned to consumer advocate Adam Glezer of Consumer Champion.

for assistance.

“She was sick of the merry-go-round and felt she was trapped and had no where to go,” he told news.com.au.

Mr Glezer said it should never have come to this.

“It’s frightening you have to fill out a stat dec form just to get your own money – and this is two years later,” he said.

News.com.au understands 99 per cent of Qantas refunds are processed within eight weeks and if they’re not, customers are encouraged to contact the airline if they have not received their refund within that eight-week time frame.