Erling Loken and his family were looking forward to a holiday in Turkey this summer. But the journey was characterized by travel problems and frustration.
First, departures from Oslo to Alanya were canceled due to the strike. However, it turns out that this is only the beginning of the problems.
Owls in moss
The departure was on July 15, in the middle of the strike. As the flight was cancelled, the traveling party had to book new tickets with another company.
The new tickets assumed they had arrived in Gothenburg and flown from there.
Sweet in Turkey: Heidi Loken felt peace and no danger during her trip to Bergloken. Photo: Erling Loken
Five days after their arrival in Alanya, they contacted SAS’s customer service via chat to confirm that their return tickets were not affected by the canceled trip to Turkey.
– I noticed that Aadhaar number for round trip and return trip is same and Lokan says to customer care for registration is it only canceled trip and not return trip.
Customer service confirmed that everything should be with return tickets.
– But on July 30th, when we were on our way home, we noticed that the SAS application was behaving strangely and we couldn’t check-in.
Got a shocking message from SAS
Loken then contacted customer service via chat and got a message that it would cost them more.
– You canceled your return trip on 27th July when you claimed the voucher on our website.
TV 2 helps you with the same news you previously reported during the eight-person travel party Stuck on Gran Canaria.
Logan denies that they canceled the tickets themselves, pointing to the lack of a receipt for the action.
Enjoy the Sunset: Before Heidi and Erling’s difficult journey home. Photo: Erling Loken
– The wife was furious and I was so frustrated that it was possible to treat customers like that.
As a result the family had no ticket home from Turkey anyway.
– We were encouraged to buy new tickets for the same flight and then apply for compensation for the original tickets, says Lokan.
The only problem was that the flight they were actually on didn’t have many tickets. So, Logan asked for help in finding an alternative.
– Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about the fact that there are no other flights today. If you want to go home today, you can try to settle with another company and apply for compensation, the 55-year-old’s last response from SAS.
The solution for Loken and the expedition team reluctantly required an extra night’s stay in Turkey, and they had to stay in Gothenburg instead of Oslo.
In Gothenburg, they had to rent a car again and then drive to Oslo.
– What is left now is a debt of over NOK 50,000. After all, extra expenses such as hotel, rental car and new tickets had to be covered by credit card.
Loken has received refunds for tickets canceled due to the strike. But the huge additional cost of withdrawals is still not covered by SAS.
TV 2 helps to communicate with the company. We wonder how it is possible that Loken is said to have canceled the return.
– Technically correct
SAS Norway’s press manager, Donje Sund, investigated the case and found an explanation.
Donje Sund, Press Manager at SAS Norway. Photo: SAS
What must have caused the confusion was a refund application submitted for canceled departure tickets while Logan was in Turkey.
That refund application led to the cancellation of the return tickets.
– The initial message to the customer regarding what applies to vouchers was technically correct, but in the unusual circumstances we had here, we should have exercised our discretion and resolved the matter immediately.
Sund refers to a change SAS made to the wording used on the website, which previously had room for misunderstandings about how you could apply for a voucher.
He believes that they have found this in a dozen cases out of tens of thousands of cases received in total, and that the scope is small.
Progress
While TV 2 helps you take the case, Loken has been waiting for the money since early August.
However, Tonje Sund assures that the matter will be given priority.
It goes quickly from there. The day after SAS receives the Aadhaar number for the trip, Løkken receives good news.
– Now we have been refunded all the money, he says.
Sund says SAS prioritizes refund cases according to the amount of refund applied for.
– I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re refunding now when you contact, Logan says to the TV 2 assistant.
– This took an unnecessarily long time, but we are very happy that it is now resolved.
Do you need help with a case? Send an email to [email protected].
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
