Sahar Mourad
Travel Trouble

What happens to your money when borders close?

It’s probably on everybody’s bucket list to travel the world…or wherever they can afford.

After two years of closed borders thanks to Covid, some individuals are still waiting for their refund for the trips that never happened. 

Australian owned and operated online travel company checkmyfares.com has recently come under fire for not refunding the money to their customers who weren’t able to travel. 

Jonathan Sanderson spent $3,200 on flights to Fiji and was unable to go due to the pandemic which saw Australia’s borders close. 

Almost two years since the borders shut, Mr Sanderson is still waiting for his money. 

"I want my refund and I want it now," he told A Current Affair.

"I think it's disgusting. I can't believe a company like this can operate in Australia and get away with it.”

Fifi Sajuit was another customer waiting on $6,700 for a cancelled trip to Canada.

She received confirmation from Air Canada that her tickets were refunded when in fact they weren’t. 

Ms Sajuit was eventually refunded most of her money after the episode aired, but she claims they “treated me really badly” every time she asked for it. 

Consumer advocate Adam Glezer slammed the company’s behaviour toward customers, saying money should always be given back “as soon as possible”.

"You shouldn't be holding on to anyone's money for any lengthy period of time at all," he said.

"If a travel agent of any kind receives money back, they should be giving it back as soon as possible."

The company issued a statement to the program saying they had been working with clients non-stop throughout the pandemic. 

Image: Checkmyfares.com

Tags:
travel, flights, refunds, covid