£200 To Change Outgoing Flight

[Karma1]

I'm scheduled to fly to Tokyo in June for a flight I paid £634 for. I need to change it immediatly to september. The travel agents is saying ti will cost £200. I honestly think they are trying to take the p. What can cost them £200 to change flight details and book me on a new flight. I mean, even £50, £80 is more reasonable but £200 is taking the P*SS. I really have to change it too Can I possibly dispute this ?

[MARTIN3030]

You are entitled to ask for a breakdown yes.......they will probably say its Admin fees.
I know that the OFT was investigating this but not sure as to the outcome.You could always let them know you will be making a complaint anyway but first you should try and get the figures but my guess is that they wont produce.Its also worth asking the FOS where you stand I have an e mail contact if you want it just pm me.

[MARTIN3030]

oops I see that their original investigation from 2003 concluded that they were not in breach.
However they do say that they will still look at investigating complaints should they feel that there is a need.
have a look at their report here;

The Office of Fair Trading: Holiday cancellation charges not shown to be unfair

[jonni2bad]

Have a good read through the many other 'flight' charge threads in this section, especially this one Jet2.com - £110.50 for name change which contains points that might be of great use to you should you fight it. Post 27 (I think) is the one which talks about the court action and why that person failed.

I highlight this case NOT to put you off, but simply to stress that it could be a court appearance and you will need to be very prepared.

[StudentInDebt]

As you are changing the month of your flight are you sure that the amount you are be asked to pay is not down to an increase in the fare for September?

[rosiecotton]

Originally Posted by jonni2bad

Have a good read through the many other 'flight' charge threads in this section, especially this one Jet2.com - £110.50 for name change which contains points that might be of great use to you should you fight it. Post 27 (I think) is the one which talks about the court action and why that person failed.

I highlight this case NOT to put you off, but simply to stress that it could be a court appearance and you will need to be very prepared.

Yes, effectively the judge in this case deemed the change of details to be the formation of a new contract, so you may face the same issues.

[Karma1]

OK, The flight is changeable on the return dates and even then there is a fee of £100 so I could end up paying £900 for this ticket in total and could have flown freakin first class at the end of all this. The thing is, the agency is asking for £200 yet they state the outgoing date is Non-changeable. So now they change it for a massive fee ? I actually called the airline i'm flying to Hong Kong with which is air new zealand from london because it's a connecting flight so the other flight from Hong Kong to tokyo is with United Airlines. I called air new zealand and asked for the price of the flight in September and she was like , it's still the same price and it's still cheap too, it was about £480 but that was just the part of the ticket to hong kong. But after that, they said it would only cost me £75 to change the ticket to a date in september with no extra cost. £75 ... THAT IS MORE REASONABLE. The girl said she could not touch the ticket because i've booked through an agency. I don't know what the cost is to change from hong kong to tokyo with united airlines, but it can't be THAT much. I'm taking £75 into factor and I want to see what it will be from hong kong to tokyo ?

[Karma1]

Anymore advice would be helpful before I look into this

[MARTIN3030]

Basically you only have 2 options...to continue to challenge it with the agency or go down the legal road,but as John says there are risks involved so you would need to be well prepared and have a good understanding of the framework that you will rely on to take it to court.Maybe an idea to contact the regulator for in informed opinion.

[i_spam]

Originally Posted by Karma1

I'm scheduled to fly to Tokyo in June for a flight I paid £634 for. I need to change it immediatly to september. The travel agents is saying ti will cost £200. I honestly think they are trying to take the p. What can cost them £200 to change flight details and book me on a new flight. I mean, even £50, £80 is more reasonable but £200 is taking the P*SS. I really have to change it too Can I possibly dispute this ?

Personally i would speak to my credit card if you paid that way. Even better just issue against them. that way things will start to move. Did you book over the internet or ?

[DIY13]

Hi Karma1

Usually when purchasing tickets they have rules that state specifics such as 'non-refundable' 'non-changeable' etc. You usually find that with cheaper fares or 'specials' these tickets are very restricted and will have fares that cannot be changed or waived.

It is down to the agent who sold you the ticket to inform you of the type of ticket you were purchasing. It should have been made clear to you that once booked these restrictions would apply, then you would have had the choice to buy a ticket with less restrictions.

I personally would go back to the agent and challenge the fact that they had misinformed you of the type of ticket you purchased, and had you known you would have considered paing slightly more for a flexible ticket.

Speak with the manager and be really constructive about it and see if they will waive or meet you half way with the fee as you were not ware of the fees in the first place.

Hope it helps