There’s no doubt that travelling is a rite of passage: an opportunity to explore a new place, learn more about the world, and experience something truly special.

But sometimes that incredible experience is marred by unexpected hiccups – and in extreme cases, these can turn into monumental failures.

Unfortunately, that appears to have been the experience of one Canadian tourist who, after a nightmare trip from his homeland to Melbourne, was left stranded in Australia with no way home.

The unfortunate traveller, who wishes to remain anonymous, flew into Melbourne on December 31st after multiple delays and a lousy trip from Canada, he was due to fly back home on January 13th, but he and his wife fell ill.

The man had called Qantas to have their return flight pushed back by seven days, allowing the two to recuperate from their illness, and after two days, many hours on the phone, and a plethora of conversations with various staff members, he was told that the flight was booked. The agent even sent him an itinerary.

A Canadian tourist got stranded in Melbourne after Qantas failed to book their flight back home. Credit: Pexels/Victor Freitas.

Even though his payment had also been processed, the man never received any tickets and, to add insult to injury, he lost access to his online booking too.

When he contacted the airline to find out what had happened or get his money back, he was told that not only did he have a booking on the later date, but that his return flight on the original date had been cancelled.

Desperate and stuck in Australia, the couple took to social media to reach out to Aussies and ask for advice on how they can resolve their issue given that the airline seemed to not cooperate with them.

'No tickets ever arrived and I now have no access to our online booking through their website,' the man wrote in his post on Reddit.

'I’m on the phone with Qantas now and they are telling me I have no booking on the 20th and that my flight on the 13th has been cancelled and they are unable to rebook or refund me?'

Many Aussie social media users shared that they experienced similar incidents with the airline before. Credit: Twitter/Qantas.

The man also noted that his trip had been 'completely ruined' by this travesty, and he was left with no way of getting home. Understandably, he was at his wits end.

With their desperate plea for help, the couple asked if they should go to the airport or pursue legal action.

The man inquired: 'Does anyone have any advice or know of any way to escalate this situation? There is only one number to call and it’s getting me nowhere. Would it help if I went to the airport so at least they can’t hang up on me?'

'Any help would be greatly appreciated.'

The post quickly gained traction on Reddit, attracting the attention of many users who also experienced the same ordeal as the man.

One user said that the man’s plight sounded familiar to them, sharing: 'We had that with Qantas too. Eventually they were able to find the booking using the credit card details. It took multiple calls. What was interesting was that the booking was stuck in limbo – it had charged our card but didn't successfully get tickets on the plane.'

'When they found it, they were only able to give us a manual booking reference, and then several days later the tickets were issued.'

'Just keep calling I guess, and give them as much info as possible.'

Unfortunately in situations such as this, it can be very difficult for travellers to get any resolution. Many are forced to rely on their own evidence to contact their bank and Qantas, attempting to use every available avenue to get their travel issues sorted out.

One user said: 'If they have charged your card but have no record of the booking that is pretty serious.'

'Can you get your bank to confirm if the transaction is a full transaction or just a credit hold? If it's a full transaction you will need to lodge a complaint with Qantas, then notify Qantas you will be forced to get your bank to do a charge-back if they can't find that transaction in their system.'

Another explained: 'It potentially means they entered the booking into the system but never confirmed it - the billing system would have created an authorisation for the booking but without a corresponding confirmation that authorisation will not be captured (and will disappear after approximately 7 days).'

'You can call the bank and request the authorisation number, and contact Qantas with that to get them to release the authorisation (which will likely be a fight in itself) but that doesn’t solve the problem of not having a booking to fly out!'

Others recommended taking a more 'aggressive' approach to the situation, with one person suggesting: 'Tell them you're going to report them to the ACCC or ombudsman.

'Works most of the time for me, though I haven’t had to do it with airlines yet.'

Another person agreed, advising: 'I'd also be talking to the ACCC ombudsman ASAP if I was you, but they aren't exactly going to move quickly on your case; they're probably inundated with complaints about Qantas.'

Meanwhile, some users recommended that a 'dossier of evidence' be collected as if in preparation for a court session to help move things along.

One person suggested: 'You need to treat this like you're collecting a dossier of evidence for a pending court case. Screenshot your call history too - times, dates, call durations, etc. It might even be worth keeping a diary detailing all the interactions you've had with Qantas and a summary of what was discussed and the agreed and understood outcomes of each call.'

'Even if it's pending, it indicates they've processed some kind of transaction against it, which would need to be tied to a reservation and/or tax invoice on their end. Screenshot (for your own records) and keep at them,' another comment read.

Key Takeaways

• Unfortunately, in extreme cases, travel hiccups can turn into monumental failures such as in the case of an anonymous Canadian tourist who was left stranded in Australia with no way home.
• Desperate and stuck in Australia, the couple took to social media to reach out to Aussies and ask for advice on how they can resolve their issue given that the airline seemed to not cooperate with them.
• In situations like this, it is important to treat it like a pending court case and gather evidence such as screenshots and call history.
• Those faced with similar situations should get in touch with the ACCC ombudsman as soon as possible and consider requesting the bank to give them the authorisation number and contact Qantas with that to get them to release it.

This story is a stark reminder that we should always have a legal and financial backup plan whenever we travel in case a similar situation happens.

We hope this traveller is able to get his situation sorted out soon and will be able to get back home safely, although his trip will have certainly been marred by this unfortunate event.

Have you ever had a similar travel issue? What did you do to resolve it? Let us know in the comments below!

 

[cat55]

There’s no doubt that travelling is a rite of passage: an opportunity to explore a new place, learn more about the world, and experience something truly special.

But sometimes that incredible experience is marred by unexpected hiccups – and in extreme cases, these can turn into monumental failures.

Unfortunately, that appears to have been the experience of one Canadian tourist who, after a nightmare trip from his homeland to Melbourne, was left stranded in Australia with no way home.

The unfortunate traveller, who wishes to remain anonymous, flew into Melbourne on December 31st after multiple delays and a lousy trip from Canada, he was due to fly back home on January 13th, but he and his wife fell ill.

The man had called Qantas to have their return flight pushed back by seven days, allowing the two to recuperate from their illness, and after two days, many hours on the phone, and a plethora of conversations with various staff members, he was told that the flight was booked. The agent even sent him an itinerary.

A Canadian tourist got stranded in Melbourne after Qantas failed to book their flight back home. Credit: Pexels/Victor Freitas.

Even though his payment had also been processed, the man never received any tickets and, to add insult to injury, he lost access to his online booking too.

When he contacted the airline to find out what had happened or get his money back, he was told that not only did he have a booking on the later date, but that his return flight on the original date had been cancelled.

Desperate and stuck in Australia, the couple took to social media to reach out to Aussies and ask for advice on how they can resolve their issue given that the airline seemed to not cooperate with them.

'No tickets ever arrived and I now have no access to our online booking through their website,' the man wrote in his post on Reddit.

'I’m on the phone with Qantas now and they are telling me I have no booking on the 20th and that my flight on the 13th has been cancelled and they are unable to rebook or refund me?'

Many Aussie social media users shared that they experienced similar incidents with the airline before. Credit: Twitter/Qantas.

The man also noted that his trip had been 'completely ruined' by this travesty, and he was left with no way of getting home. Understandably, he was at his wits end.

With their desperate plea for help, the couple asked if they should go to the airport or pursue legal action.

The man inquired: 'Does anyone have any advice or know of any way to escalate this situation? There is only one number to call and it’s getting me nowhere. Would it help if I went to the airport so at least they can’t hang up on me?'

'Any help would be greatly appreciated.'

The post quickly gained traction on Reddit, attracting the attention of many users who also experienced the same ordeal as the man.

One user said that the man’s plight sounded familiar to them, sharing: 'We had that with Qantas too. Eventually they were able to find the booking using the credit card details. It took multiple calls. What was interesting was that the booking was stuck in limbo – it had charged our card but didn't successfully get tickets on the plane.'

'When they found it, they were only able to give us a manual booking reference, and then several days later the tickets were issued.'

'Just keep calling I guess, and give them as much info as possible.'

Unfortunately in situations such as this, it can be very difficult for travellers to get any resolution. Many are forced to rely on their own evidence to contact their bank and Qantas, attempting to use every available avenue to get their travel issues sorted out.

One user said: 'If they have charged your card but have no record of the booking that is pretty serious.'

'Can you get your bank to confirm if the transaction is a full transaction or just a credit hold? If it's a full transaction you will need to lodge a complaint with Qantas, then notify Qantas you will be forced to get your bank to do a charge-back if they can't find that transaction in their system.'

Another explained: 'It potentially means they entered the booking into the system but never confirmed it - the billing system would have created an authorisation for the booking but without a corresponding confirmation that authorisation will not be captured (and will disappear after approximately 7 days).'

'You can call the bank and request the authorisation number, and contact Qantas with that to get them to release the authorisation (which will likely be a fight in itself) but that doesn’t solve the problem of not having a booking to fly out!'

Others recommended taking a more 'aggressive' approach to the situation, with one person suggesting: 'Tell them you're going to report them to the ACCC or ombudsman.

'Works most of the time for me, though I haven’t had to do it with airlines yet.'

Another person agreed, advising: 'I'd also be talking to the ACCC ombudsman ASAP if I was you, but they aren't exactly going to move quickly on your case; they're probably inundated with complaints about Qantas.'

Meanwhile, some users recommended that a 'dossier of evidence' be collected as if in preparation for a court session to help move things along.

One person suggested: 'You need to treat this like you're collecting a dossier of evidence for a pending court case. Screenshot your call history too - times, dates, call durations, etc. It might even be worth keeping a diary detailing all the interactions you've had with Qantas and a summary of what was discussed and the agreed and understood outcomes of each call.'

'Even if it's pending, it indicates they've processed some kind of transaction against it, which would need to be tied to a reservation and/or tax invoice on their end. Screenshot (for your own records) and keep at them,' another comment read.

Key Takeaways

• Unfortunately, in extreme cases, travel hiccups can turn into monumental failures such as in the case of an anonymous Canadian tourist who was left stranded in Australia with no way home.
• Desperate and stuck in Australia, the couple took to social media to reach out to Aussies and ask for advice on how they can resolve their issue given that the airline seemed to not cooperate with them.
• In situations like this, it is important to treat it like a pending court case and gather evidence such as screenshots and call history.
• Those faced with similar situations should get in touch with the ACCC ombudsman as soon as possible and consider requesting the bank to give them the authorisation number and contact Qantas with that to get them to release it.

This story is a stark reminder that we should always have a legal and financial backup plan whenever we travel in case a similar situation happens.

We hope this traveller is able to get his situation sorted out soon and will be able to get back home safely, although his trip will have certainly been marred by this unfortunate event.

Have you ever had a similar travel issue? What did you do to resolve it? Let us know in the comments below!

I find that when you are very polite and respectful in the phone…things are good. I’m not insinuating that perhaps this person wasn’t…just my personal experience.

 

[Ricci]

Qantas seems to be failing on so many levels just recently. They used to be a premier airline, one you would seek out. Not anymore, I would avoid them like the plague which is a shame and does nothing to enhance our reputation overseas.

 

[Ian Crane-Luff]

Frustration with a faulty system allows anger, Qantas needs an overhaul it's forgotten it's a service ever since the IrishQueer took control