Goodday to you all,
I have a problem with South African Airways.

In July, i and my friends booked a trip to Mauritius.
We paid almost 600,000 each for each passenger.

Total amount: NGN 1758651

We flew July 21st to depart 29th July

On the 26th of July, South African Airways wrote us, saying they made a change to our booking.

That the flight was no longer operational and was gave us an option to place us on another flight in August 3rd.

Apart from the fact that I would miss an appointment in Nigeria or we would be overstaying our visa, or getting stranded for extra 5-6 days we did not plan for , I opted to ask for a refund so we can look for another airline to book while we wait for refund slated to arrive 8-12 weeks (according to them).

Now to the problem,
Today, I am getting a message from them, writing they want to refund me N78,184.

Kindly note, that this operational problem was simply over booking as we saw this same flight boarding while departing the said country through another airline.

Please, I need help or information on how to manage this because I am loosing my mind.

Or if I can get a good Travel Lawyer here to take this up.

Below, the message I received from them today.

This does not cover South African Airlines, but I'm assuming this would be standard and suggest it be read.

If theirs a blogger who's done SA or Nig, oblige.
https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/how-the-caa-can-help/consumer-protection-law/

I spent over N900,000 to rebook another flight only to get this message from them today, saying my refund is N78,124.

I need help/Assistance on this.

WebSurfer:
Below, the message I received from them today.

Take your time. Don't be rushed.

Write them formally cc: NCA and their HQ

WebSurfer:
I spent over N900,000 to rebook another flight only to get this message from them today, saying my refund is N78,124.

I need help/Assistance on this.

From what I can deduce from your posts,it seems you bought the tickets from travelstat and it's travelstat that's making the refund.
Travelstat did almost same to me for a ticket I bought for almost #700k which i called for refund due to change in travel plan.At the end,travelstat refunded just 85k to me.
I think it's a non refundable ticket that you bought from travelstat.The amount they are refunding is the tax they ought to pay in Mauritius.

Is there any travel lawyer on this section to give any guidance? This is clearly fraud.

Jogs1900:

From what I can deduce from your posts,it seems you bought the tickets from travelstat and it's travelstat that's making the refund.
Travelstat did almost same to me for a ticket I bought for almost #700k which i called for refund due to change in travel plan.At the end,travelstat refunded just 85k to me.
I think it's a non refundable ticket that you bought from travelstat.The amount they are refunding is the tax they ought to pay in Mauritius.

This is not a case of me missing my flight or cancelling it. This is a case of them being in error and throwing me off a flight that was operational and overbooked.

Also, they initially agreed to refund me for a partially flown ticket.
This is why I went ahead to rebook another airline

You're about to learn something - any money remitted to an airline is gone. I have lost over N1m to various airlines in this country. You will write all the letters, scream, threaten, plead, vandalize etc when you are tired, you will eventually accept your loss.

Lawyers go chop you.

Nothing will happen. No agency will intervene. It seems they have nobody to keep them in check.


Air transport is the biggest fraud in Nigeria after pensions.

WebSurfer:


But they initially agreed to refund me for a partially flown ticket If this was the case.
This is why I went ahead to rebook another airline

Travelstat way no pure bro...Maybe if you have time,you read their terms and conditions.
Moreover,it's possible it's travelstat that wants to shortchange you.If you have a mail from SA airline for refund,why not attach it to your mail to travelstat maybe they will have a rethink.

From your correspondence above you should be looking at suing Travel start not SAA, you did not buy your tickets directly from SAA but a 3rd party agency travel start, fyi Travelstart has attractive prices but their notoriously known for cancelling tickets, giving ridiculous refunds etc.

Always book your tickets with the airline directly in future

Somandla:
From your correspondence above you should be looking at suing Travel start not SAA, you did not buy your tickets directly from SAA but a 3rd party agency travel start, fyi Travelstart has attractive prices but their notoriously known for cancelling tickets, giving ridiculous refunds etc.

Always book your tickets with the airline directly in future

Dear OP, please follow this...I will appreciate if we can test the law and sue travelstat and let's see how it will end.

VeryWickedMan:
You're about to learn something - any money remitted to an airline is gone. I have lost over N1m to various airlines in this country. You will write all the letters, scream, threaten, plead, vandalize etc when you are tired, you will eventually accept your loss.

Lawyers go chop you.

Nothing will happen. No agency will intervene. It seems they have nobody to keep them in check.


Air transport is the biggest fraud in Nigeria after pensions.

Don't they like you? I have never ever lost money to an airline nor my baggage and I'm on my 4th passport.

Jogs1900:

Dear OP, please follow this...I will appreciate if we can test the law and sue travelstat and let's see how it will end.

I bought through a contact. Not sure if she is working with them but I am finding out.

WebSurfer:

I bought through a contact. Not sure if she is working with them but I am finding out.

This is one of disadvantage of booking flight with agent 3rd party , if you book direct from the airline you will get your complete refund because you are not the cause of flight cancellation.

The OP can sue for breach of contract and damages if he is able to provide evidence for all he has stated