My complaint:
On 17th November 2021 I booked a return flight to Oslo from London. Immediately after booking I realized that I had not left enough time to get to the airport on my return and had to change the flight. After attempting to change the flight online on the Opodo app and speaking to a representative that cancellation, given the time frame, was free I cancelled the flights expecting a refund as advised.
And then starts the journey of differing explanations from different service agents and ultimately 8 months later, no closer to a refund. The airline refund was immediate and was pending in the bank account but the 75£ taken by Opodo has been incredibly frustrating to pursue.
After waiting on the app, as they suggest for months, I phoned them. On the 23622, I was informed that the refund would be paid within 7-10 working days. A month later it still had not been paid. On the 29722 I was informed that the amount had not been received and they would have to ask the airline. The update on the app which informed payment pending went backwards to awaiting airline approval! On 30722, my first call told me that there was no refund and after asking for the gentlemans name he put me onto provide feedback rather than answer questions. A further call provided a different answer saying that I was now not entitled to any refund and concocting different fees that I had to pay of 23.98£, 36.22£ and then when pointing this did not come to 67£ a further 6.8£ service fee! I then pointed out that I had spoken to Opodo on the day of my cancellation and they were the ones who advised to cancel the flight and that there would not be charged. After further discussion with her manager. I kept almost all the names of the customer service as well, given the differing explanations. She came back to say, promise that a refund would be coming within 710 days. On quizzed as to why I should believe her, she said if it wasn’t she would have lied and would be fired!
Suggested solution:
So Opodo, will you finally refund after 8 months the amount that should have been due in November last year 67£. Could you please ensure that your customer service people have training to ensure that explanations are consistent and do not change with each phonecall.
