Geelong Indy - 05th June 2020

June 5, 2020

Flight refund nightmare By Luke Voogt A planned irst holiday overseas has turned into an almost-$24,000 “nightmare” for disabled Leopold woman Barb Ffrost and husband Barry. Mrs Ffrost, who sufers complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and other conditions from a “horriic” car accident, booked a holiday to the United Kingdom through Flight Centre on October 6, 2019, she said. “We’ve never been overseas before,” the 57-year-old said. “Due to my health I’ve been in and out of hospital. Ater years of treatment two specialists suggested a holiday could be good for me.” Mrs Ffrost paid $23,742 for the trip to Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England, including lights with Singapore Airlines totalling $13,496. “Bearing in mind my disability, we booked business class lights,” she said. “We put a lot of thought into how we were going to work with my disability. We booked a hotel with a pool for hydro-physio.” But on March 5, a Flight Centre consultant called saying her trip, like millions planned worldwide, had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “She explained to me, can I please be patient, it could take 12 weeks to resolve,” she said. “It’s been 13 weeks since my holiday was cancelled and I haven’t received any refunds.” Mrs Ffrost phoned her local Flight Centre, the agency’s head oice in Brisbane and Singapore Airlines several times since the cancellation. But she says each time she received little or conlicting information on her refunds.

“I feel so helpless that I can’t even get answers. I feel like they’re really treating people out there with disrespect – it’s really not helping with my pain and anxiety.” Mrs Ffrost said Flight Centre had received all the refunds for the trip, except for the lights, and that the agency should have passed those refunds on. She also questioned why Singapore Airlines could not refund the lights directly to her, rather than through Flight Centre. “his is wrong. I’m furious,” she said. A Flight Centre spokesperson apologised for the delay as the agency processed “three years’ worth” of cancellations over a few months. Flight Centre lodged a refund request for Mrs Ffrosts’ lights with Singapore Airlines on March 26, about 10 weeks ago, they said. Flight Centre had not yet received refunds for the lights, with most airlines generally advising three-to-six months to process refunds in the “current climate”, the spokesperson said. “he customer was advised earlier this week that some other components of the booking had now been refunded to us and they would be returned to her as soon as possible.” A Singapore Airlines spokesperson also apologised amid “an unprecedented volume of cancellations”. he airline had planned to process lights with April departures in May but a “severe backlog” had prevented this, they said. he Independent understands Singapore Airlines processed Mrs Ffrosts’ refund earlier this week, and that Flight Centre should receive them within two to three weeks.

Barb and Barry Ffrost. (Louisa Jones) 209358_07

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