On 16 Feb 2004 06:10:55 -0800,
mad_rich@m (Rich) wrote:
>Hi all
>
>Have lurked here for a while but haven't yet posted. Sorry for my
>first to be a whinge!
>
>When I bought a new washing machine from Empire Direct in December
>2003, I got a voucher for a 'free flight to Europe', allowing me a
>flight to one of many destinations if I paid the taxes. The flights
>were to be booked through Rise Travel.
>
>I realised that it might be a crafty sales pitch dressed as a freebie,
>but decided to play them at their own game by a) not taking them up on
>the generous offer to take a friend for £88 + taxes; and b) being
>flexible in my choice of departure, date of departure and even
>destination.
>
>I received a phone call from Rise Travel on Thursday saying that I
>could go to CDG on my first choice of dates. The departure was from
>LTN (I would have preferred NCL) but the agent told me that they
>didn't offer flights from NCL. We agreed on LTN and she took £33 odd
>from my credit card which she told me was for taxes.
>
>It emerged that the flight would be on easyJet, and after I put the
>phone down, I visited the easyJet website and made three interesting
>discoveries. Firstly, the total return taxes from LTN to CDG are
>£20.50, thirteen pounds less than I paid Rise for 'taxes'. Secondly,
>the entire price (flight + taxes) for my intinerary would have been
>£34.71, had I booked directly with easyJet. Thirdly, easyJet do indeed
>fly to CDG from NCL, although prices for these flights were more
>expensive than LTN.
>
>Effectively, I have received a one pound discount for my troubles, and
>for allowing Rise to determine where when and whence I went.
>
>When I quizzed Rise today about the excessive taxes it charged the
>agent told me that they are charged different taxes from those shown
>on the easyJet website. Can this be true? She also said that my money
>can't be refunded. I know that easyJet flights aren't refundable as
>such. But I also think that as I have, apparently, been misled, it's
>not my problem. It's Rise Travel's problem
>
>Does anyone have any ideas about who might be able to coerce Rise into
>backing sown? IATA? ATOL? My credit card company?
>
>I'm not being unreasonable, am I?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Rich.
I'm afraid you learned the hard way what is fairly common knowledge
now, that these 'free ticket' schemes are all but worthless. Whether
you are buying washing machines, or cutting vouchers out of the Daily
Mail, in these days when Ryanair periodically sells seats for 1p, and
easyjet and the others for just a few £s, it really is pointless to
get involved with these dodgy offers where they tell you when and
where you fly. I seem to remember they were first discreditted when
Hoover got in to big trouble and got a lot of bad publicity 10 or 15
years ago with such a scheme.
As for the taxes, you need to read very carefully what they were
called. If they were described as airline/airport levied taxes and
charges, then you should have a case, they wouldn't be different from
what easyjet quote, but the wording may have been vague enough for it
to include some sort of administrative charge levied by the booking
agent, in which case all you can do is make some noise about it, write
to the papers, to the consumer programs etc.
Now, is the washing machine working ok?
--==++AJC++==--
Can air tax differ according booking route? 
