It’s time to revisit the exploits of Opodo, the online travel booking agency. The dozens of complaints I’ve received over the last year have a common theme: flights or reservations turn out not to exist, but it hangs on to the money regardless.
In April, I featured the plight of a couple who found, on arrival at the airport, that the South African airline CemAir, which was due to fly them, had been grounded indefinitely on the same day they’d booked their tickets – three months earlier. Opodo had forgotten to tell them, refused to respond to requests for a refund, and was still advertising flights with CemAir. The day after I’d asked whether it had notified other affected passengers, it belatedly informed reader JH and his fiancee, who had booked CemAir flights for their honeymoon three months beforehand. The short notice gave them no time to find affordable alternatives. They, too, were unable to get a refund until I intervened. Opodo blamed “human error” for the three-month delay in passing on the news, and eventually refunded them the original fare and the difference in price of the replacement.
SS of Manchester used Opodo to book an afternoon flight to Berlin in October. He checked in on Opodo’s app the night before departure but did not receive the promised boarding passes.
A customer services rep advised he check in again via the airline’s website, where he found the flight had departed early that morning. Another customer services rep confirmed he was on the afternoon flight and told him to turn up at the airport and show his confirmation email. This he did … to find Opodo had booked him on the morning flight, but put afternoon departure details on his confirmation email.
Opodo declared he would have to book a new ticket, then apply for a refund online. When he did so, he was told he was only entitled to reclaim the taxes paid on the original ticket which he would have to do through the airline.
IM of Barcelona was unable to board his flight to London because Opodo had failed to complete his booking, despite taking payment and providing a booking reference. He had to shell out €300 for a new ticket.
Eight calls, lasting up to 90 minutes each, failed to elicit a refund. This only arrived after pressure from the Observer.
Opodo blamed a “technical glitch” for the denied boarding and explained his refund claim had been escalated to the “incorrect refund queue” which caused further “misunderstandings”. It added €100 voucher in goodwill so he might enjoy the suspense of booking with it again.
Londoner HH used Opodo to book her young family on their first break since her husband died. The agent booked her on a morning flight, instead of the evening one requested. When, days later, they admitted the error, they announced they’d rebooked her on a different day without consulting her.
She was told to wait a further 72 hours while it investigated and was then told she would be refunded within 10 days.
By then, an alternative flight cost £800 more than the original tickets. “What was supposed to be a time to relax and give the children some fun turned into a nightmare,” she said.
It took BLC 30 calls over six weeks to trigger her €1,229 refund after the collapse of Thomas Cook affected the trip she’d booked through Opodo. During the wait she was unable to pay for alternative flights to visit her family over Christmas.
Opodo tells the Observer that its customer services agents undertake a minimum of 112 hours of induction training, plus weekly training and daily reviews.
“We recognise that on these occasions we haven’t met our own expected high levels of customer service,” it says. “To ensure such cases are not repeated, we have escalated each one internally to safeguard against future cases. We have also requested the necessary details from each customer to apologise, process the appropriate refunds and offer compensation for any inconvenience caused.”
It can’t be repeated often enough that while third-party booking websites can be a useful tool for finding flights and comparing prices, it’s always best to book with the airline direct. Not only does it mean important updates are communicated directly, as SS found when he had to book a last-minute alternative at the airport, seats and baggage fees may end up proving cheaper.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions.
