In June, John Crocstad ordered air tickets from SAS. He and his wife, Puppy Kunat, were about to fly from Oslo airport to Malaga. One month after booking, he received an SMS from Crocstad stating that the flight had been rescheduled.
– For us, afternoon travel is only appropriate. When told that the trip would take place suddenly ten hours earlier than planned, we were unable to complete the trip, Crocstad said.
Departure time was changed from 16.30pm to 06.45am.
– This does not apply to us, Crocstad says we should get our money back.
Not all money is available
This is easier said than done. In the case of Crocstad, the SAS acted outside the Traffic Complaints Board’s ticket refund procedure. When you change the departure time of the flight you are traveling on, it is assumed that the flight has been canceled.
– Crocstad says we had to cancel our tickets and then book a trip through another airline.
The customer still had to accept that all the money he had paid to SAS had not been refunded.
– We had to pay a fine of 650 kroner for one ticket (cancellation fee, editor’s note) and Crockstad says we may forget to refund the 750 kroner we paid for the ticket we bought for the puppy.
The cancellation system of the SAS specified for use by Crocstod is set up so that the customer has to accept the cancellation fee because he does not have to pay.
If he wants to cancel a Crocstat ticket, he can only do so digitally. The customer has already spoken to the Consumer Council, which has stated that he is entitled to a refund of the full original purchase amount.
– Crocstad says that if you order a green sweater and receive yellow pants in the mail, it is not enough to get a fraction of the purchase price.
In case of cancellation, the consumer can choose to return the ticket, return it sooner or re-register at a later date. “This is a permanent practice of the Traffic Complaints Board and the Department of Civil Aviation and is what we expect airlines to follow,” said Consumer Council lawyer Carolyn Scarroot.
Carolyn Scarrett, Attorney at the Consumer Council Photo: Consumer Council
– The right to a full refund
She says she is well aware of the issues that Crocstad describes and that he is not alone in experiencing difficulties in communicating with SAS.
– We know that SAS and other airlines are hard to catch. It’s frustrating when you interact with a company without success. Scarrot says airlines need to make sure they have enough customer service to help them with problems and needs that arise.
In the case of Crocstad, it is clear what demands Scarroot has for itself.
– Consumers have the right to refund the ticket in full without paying for it. Pet fares also have the right to a refund, where there will be a change in the route of travel to which the fare is attached, Scarroad concludes.
Became “hot in the cardboard box”
Crocstad regrets talking about the times he tried to contact customer service on the phone.
– One time I waited for half an hour before giving up, the other time automatically I was told to wait more than an hour. I heard people had to wait up to four hours for an answer, so I hung up. I feel like the cardboard box is hot when I talk about it.
I don’t know why Crocstad wouldn’t catch SAS.
– They seem to be trying to rub the customer in with such a long and arduous process in the task of capturing the customer, Crockstad says.
John Eckhoff, SAS Press Officer. Photo: SAS
– Mistakes can happen
John Eckhoff, SAS’s press manager, agrees that mistakes can happen.
– This can go wrong, and we recommend that the customer report it to us if the customer feels that they have been mistreated, Eghop says.
Eckhoff confirms that Crocstod will get a full refund for the tickets he purchased.
– As the customer describes the change, it is significant and the customer will get a full refund.
Crocstad chose to withdraw money for the ticket via the link he received via SMS. He has worked hard to get SAS’s customer service, as he is now convinced that he deserves more money than he has ever repaid.
The problem is, they can’t get it. In my experience, there is no customer service, and even if I call or send an email, I do not communicate with anyone, says Crocstad.
And he did not want to give up immediately.
– I will not give up this fight, even if I know I have the right to at least get more money back.
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