No trip report

[stijntje]

After not being in Asia for over 2 years, I planned a trip to Cambodia during Songkran.

As there are no direct flights between Europe and Cambodia, I opted for Thai Airways to get there and Singapore Airways to return home.

Transfer passengers in Bangkok still need PCR test 72 hours before departure, so I did one, which unfortunately was positive 😭 Luckily I have only mild symptoms, comparable with a flu.

Singapore Airways already refunded my plane ticket. I don't expect the same from Thai Airways. Booking for the resort in Cambodia already changed to April 2023. 

Unfortunately, no trip report to be provided right now.

 

 

[Guest]

That's unlucky, although you're at least the second board member to postpone a trip to Cambodia after failing the pre-departure test.    Get Well Soon.

As for Thai Airways, do their T&Cs not allow for refunds ?     If they do, I'd pursue it every step of the way.   Such businesses are more likely to pay up as soon as they realise they are dealing with an assertive customer.

 

 

 

 

 

[vaughn]

Sorry to hear that, I hope you get better quickly and without problems.

[reader]

Definitely pursue all options. Four years ago I had a fully-refundable economy ticket that Qatar was reluctant to refund. I finally appealed to bank that issued my credit card and it posted a full credit to my account and debited Qatar.

During the height of pandemic in 2020, Singapore processed a full refund on a discounted ticket because Thailand was closed.

 

 

[New Londoner]

Thai Air refunds? I still await mine after three months. EVA , on the other hand , refunded my ticket within five days. I was warned.

And contacting Thai Air is problematic at the moment; their London office is closed and has been for months. 

[Guest]

If the T&C of your ticket show that you are entitled to a refund option, request one by whatever channel Thai airways make available.

If they don't do a refund within a reasonable timescale, contact your credit card company and ask for a charge back.  

 

[gerefan]

Neither Thailand, nor any Thai business, know the meaning of “refunds”.

[NIrishGuy]

Actually much to my surprise Thai Lion Air DID send me a refund during Covid when asked.

 I called at the start and they said "yes it's being processed", needless to say no refund arrived. I called again a few times more over the next few weeks and was told the same and "yes it's being processed". So, needless to say I soon mentally wrote off any chance of it ever arriving and and moved on, quietly cursing them at the same time. BUT sure enough about 6 months later without any further chasing from me it arrived into my bank, totally unannounced and without as much as an accompanying email to say it had been sent !  

So it seems that sometimes, if you believe hard enough, that even in Thailand, just sometimes, miracles CAN happen ! 

As an aside to that though as my flight was only an internal one, costing only about £150 or so, , me in my bloody stupidity rang them while making a round of other calls, from MY MOBILE as I already had it in my hand !!  Thus meaning that £150 refund ( which was reduced to about £110 from memory for "admin processing" reasons) actually ended up being less than the cost of the cost of the calls on next mobile phone bill as each call involved in for several long, putting me on hold sessions - direct to Thailand from the UK !    

So my success in getting my refund was somewhat bitter sweet in the end it seems ! 🙂

 

[scott456]

At least you can rest in the comfort of your own home.  Imagine what it would be like to be sick in Cambodia.

[Boy69]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:25 PM, gerefan said:

Neither Thailand, nor any Thai business, know the meaning of “refunds”.

Yes that's is absolutely true refund or cancelling a transaction are so obvious and common at the west but are not acceptable at the Thai culture .

[scott456]

1 hour ago, Boy69 said:

Yes that's is absolutely true refund or cancelling a transaction are so obvious and common at the west but are not acceptable at the Thai culture .

Not only Thailand, but in most Asian countries, once the funds leave your hands, you have no claim of the money anymore. 

[New Londoner]

On 4/15/2022 at 6:25 PM, gerefan said:

Neither Thailand, nor any Thai business, know the meaning of “refunds”.

I am expecting a refund from Lloyds Bank, whose credit card I used for the payment. I'd given-up on Thai Air. Thank you  z909 for the suggestion.

[spoon]

6 hours ago, scott456 said:

Not only Thailand, but in most Asian countries, once the funds leave your hands, you have no claim of the money anymore. 

My experience is the opposite. Ive yet had to get a refund in thailand but in malaysia, its quite common, especially online transactions. Ive received plenty of refund from foodpanda, shopee, lazada etc. We do have consumer department to report to if any unfair situation happened. The duration to get the refund varies a lot though. There are 2-3 times that i need to dispute with my bank on the charges though, which adds longer time for the refund to happened. Thus for tourists, it might not be worth the effort if it does happened to you when u were on a short trip.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, New Londoner said:

I am expecting a refund from Lloyds Bank, whose credit card I used for the payment. I'd given-up on Thai Air.

Good that you are sharing your experience.  

I always try to use credit cards for purchases where I might have problems getting a refund, or where the company might go bust between me paying and receiving the goods or services (particularly airlines or furniture retailers, for example).

The credit card rules might differ by country of issue, but spending 10 minutes to get a basic understanding of the additional layer of protection is time well spent.

[starbum]

Did you buy travel insurance? It should help to cover that.

Years ago, when there is a political situation in Bangkok (quite bad), Thai Airways did refund me on a non-refundable ticket. That surprised me.

Last year, I didn't manage to get my Thai Pass approved in Dec for my Feb trip, the hotel refunded my first day hotel stay + PCR.

[Londoner]

It's none of my business but I'm about to apply for a Thai Pass...and yes, I know the regulations have changed...but what specifically went wrong with your application in December? any lessons to be learnt?

[vinapu]

application is pretty straightforward, you need pictures in your passport, vaccination  certificate and insurance certificate, looks no .pdf  format is accepted in their respective sections of application  but at end is section for additional documents and you can upload .pdf there in case you doubt your pictures quality. It'll work

For address in Thailand section put address of first hotel you will be staying unless you have some permanent location in mind

[zoomomancs]

At the start of Covid in the uk I did chargebacks with the bank on the debit card re two cancelled flights with two airlines and both worked. With one of them the online agent was useless re a refund but it helps with the chargeback to show one has tried to get a refund through the obvious channels.. 

[Ivan]

SQ is good as they do refund unlike some airlines just give you a credit with certain days.

[Fantasia]

On 5/14/2022 at 8:54 AM, Ivan said:

SQ is good as they do refund unlike some airlines just give you a credit with certain days.

Same here 3 months ago