Virgin Atlantic worse company ever

[MrsEgg]

We had flights out on the 22nd May and got our refund last week, quick whatsapp convo when it was cancelled which they replied to the same day and then had an email 2 weeks before refund was issued.

I know it isn't ideal it taking so long for a refund but they are getting there.

[DisneyCupcake]

Originally Posted by munmun

You would trigger a companion voucher and as far as I am aware once triggered they are not removed even if you have refu DSL to your account.

Of course you would be in a negative avios balance to your AE account until you have re used the funds, the cash can be refunded to your bank.

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Your last sentence is what I was trying to say but you did it much better and shorter than I did - thank you munmun. I don't know abouth the voucher being removed as I haven't been in that situation before.

[munmun]

Originally Posted by DisneyCupcake

Your last sentence is what I was trying to say but you did it much better and shorter than I did - thank you munmun. I don't know abouth the voucher being removed as I haven't been in that situation before.

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Sorry about the spelling in the first sentence I have edited the origional

[Nostradamus]

My worst holiday company to date was Thomas Cook. We stayed in a very poor hotel on I-Drive and they fobbed us off regarding the pool. After a few months we eventually got compensated.

[Gemini157]

I have to say we booked car hire with Virgin for our cancelled Florida holiday this April. They were very efficient at refunding us.
More so than KLM in refunding our flights! (Although we have that now)

[MarkUK]

I’ve heard horror stories about refunds but I hope they stay afloat as the more competition the better

[eaglesrest]

No, definitely not the worst company ever. They haven't showered themselves in glory recently, but they are still in business and are at least refunding people.

My experience, taking the emotion out of it:
- Refund arrived today at around 120 days
- WhatsApp messages take between 2-4 days to get a reply, often a brief response and they then close the chat
- Telephone during peak hours can take 20-45 mins to answer
- Calling at 7am takes seconds to answer
- Rebooking Open Tickets is a breeze and they are flexible
- Staff, even those under threat of redundancy, are still chipper and eager to help

I can see why people are upset, and it can seem that they are 'evil' for not refunding in the same way that the likes of Jet2 have, but they have different cash reserves and operating models. While I don't like a lot of what is going on, I understand it.

I suspect if they had done what so many are crying for, and refunded everyone within a few weeks, first come first served, they wouldn't be around now and no-one would be getting refunds.

Rightly or wrongly, they did what they needed to do to survive, restructured, borrowed, dealt with creditors, and are still standing, albeit battered and bruised.

I'm still a customer and will remain so.

[HevaDuck]

I wouldn't say they are the worse company ever but I'm very disappointed in their handling of customer refunds. I'd really like them to pay me for my bubble seats and pay netflights for the VA flights I bought from them which were cancelled in May
Will I fly with them again if the price is right yes I would

[scouser]

I just wanted to have an input on this as Iam a employee in the aviation industry and hanging on for dear life to my job.

This industry has been absolutely destroyed by covid and it,s not over yet by a long shot, it will undoubtedly take years to recover to anywere near the levels it was 12 months ago and I fear there will be more casualties ie airlines going bust along the way.

Please remember there was no instruction manual written for this type of life event ever happening and as such almost every industry on the planet will be affected by covid in some shape or form.
I totally understand people's frustration with regards to the length of time it,s taken to recieve a refund but these companys are literally fighting for survival, believe it or not these airlines dont take your money and keep it locked up till the day you fly, the money is used to make aircraft lease payments, pay employees wages, maintain aircraft, pay third party contractual commitments and the list goes on, then all of a sudden everyone wants there cash back but that money iam afraid has already been spent.

Some airlines have handled this better than others I agree but virgin atlantic were not making any money before this event took place and were in a transition period to return to profitability so to all of a sudden then having to refund every single customer was always going to be a tall order for any airline, I suspect if this situation goes on for as long as I think it will the 1.2 billion rescue package may not be enough,( I hope iam wrong) even BA the last few days are starting to make noises that they cant sustain this for much longer as stated by there chief exec they are burning through 20 million a day so do the math.

Iam in no doubt everyone who is entitled to a refund will get it at some point but my guess is all these airlines are having to make a choice of stay in business or go bust and will be trying to hold on to customers money rightly or wrongly a little while longer as they don,t really have a choice.
For every company in the travel industry at the moment it truly is a fight for there lives, the outlook is bleak, consumer confidence in flying anywere has been shot to pieces and the immediate future is uncertain due to the goverment handling of travel quarantine rules etc etc.
We are in unchartered waters here but hopefully and with a truck load of fairy dust this industry may come out the other side and we can get back to our trips that I know everyone works so hard to save for.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by scouser

I just wanted to have an input on this as Iam a employee in the aviation industry and hanging on for dear life to my job.

This industry has been absolutely destroyed by covid and it,s not over yet by a long shot, it will undoubtedly take years to recover to anywere near the levels it was 12 months ago and I fear there will be more casualties ie airlines going bust along the way.

Please remember there was no instruction manual written for this type of life event ever happening and as such almost every industry on the planet will be affected by covid in some shape or form.
I totally understand people's frustration with regards to the length of time it,s taken to recieve a refund but these companys are literally fighting for survival, believe it or not these airlines dont take your money and keep it locked up till the day you fly, the money is used to make aircraft lease payments, pay employees wages, maintain aircraft, pay third part contractual commitments and the list goes on, then all of a sudden everyone wants there cash back but that money iam afraid has already been spent.

Some airlines have handled this better than others I agree but virgin atlantic were not making any money before this event took place and were in a transition period to return to profitability so to all of a sudden then having to refund every single customer was always going to be a tall order for any airline, I suspect if this situation goes on for as long as I think it will the 1.2 billion rescue package may not be enough,( I hope iam wrong) even BA the last few days are starting to make noises that they cant sustain this for much longer as stated by there chief exec they are burning through 20 million a day so do the math.

Iam in no doubt everyone who is entitled to a refund will get it at some point but my guess is all these airlines are having to make a choice of stay in business or go bust and will be trying to hold on to customers money rightly or wrongly a little while longer as they don,t really have a choice.
For every company in the travel industry at the moment it truly is a flight for there lives, the outlook is bleak, consumer confidence in flying anywere has been shot to pieces and the immediate future is uncertain due to the goverment handling of travel quarantine rules etc etc.
We are in unchartered waters here but hopefully and with a truck load of fairy dust this industry may come out the other side and we can get back to our trips that I know everyone works so hard to save for.

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Very good post. I wish you well for the future regarding your employment. Such worrying times.