VIC Compensation from International Airline (Qatar Airways)

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Luke

Member
4 August 2014
2
1
4
Hi,
My girlfriend and I recently flew back from Manchester to Melbourne (via Doha) with Qatar Airways.
We were bumped off our flight from Doha to Melbourne because they overbooked.
When discussing travel compensation, we were told by 3 different people (2 of which had to go ask their manager) that we would be compensated US$250. We were told that all we needed to do was go to the Melbourne office and it would be resolved there.

Once we arrived back in Australia, we contacted the Melbourne office and have been told instead to email head office in Doha as they can not handle compensation claims in Australia. After I insisted that I speak to someone in Australia that can handle the claim, I was told the manager would call me back (2 weeks ago) which didn't happen. We also emailed the address they gave us (over a week ago) and have not had a response from there either.

After contacting the Melbourne office again today, we were given the same answers and no amount of insisting was able to get a supervisor on the phone.

Is there another course of action we can take to follow this up?

Thank you in advance.
 

John R

Well-Known Member
14 April 2014
689
174
2,394
Sydney
Hi Luke,
  1. What did you say in your email to Qatar Airways' Melbourne office? If your email was not structured as a formal complaint and/or letter of demand, you may consider re-sending your email as a formal complaint. The Consumer Affairs of Victoria (CAV) website "Resolve a dispute" section has complaint letter templates to assist you.
  2. Did you set a timeframe in your complaint letter to Qatar Airways? If not, you will need to set a reasonable timeframe for a response, e.g. 7-14 days.
  3. If you don't receive a response within a reasonable timeframe, you may consider escalating your complaint to CAV for investigation.
Hope this helps. Please keep us updated with your progress.
 
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Luke

Member
4 August 2014
2
1
4
Thank you for your help John.

The emails have been to their catch-all email [email protected] which they told us would go to head office (In Qatar). The first was a simple query regarding what process they need us to follow. We sent a follow up email today and explained that we expect a response withing 48 hours. I can't seem to find an email address for the Melbourne office. Would we be better of mailing a letter to the Melbourne office?

From the links you provided, it looks like my best bet would be to write a letter of complaint, addressed to the Melbourne office, and forward a copy (via email) to the Qatar office.

Thanks again for the tips, will keep you up to date.

Regards,

Luke
 
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