Not worth the electrons it's printed on

[fivemack]

Last year, I booked a flight with Westjet, and later decided not to take it.

I got a refund in the form of a credit note; I confirmed with the phone operator at the time that the credit note was entirely transferrable, that I was free to sell it on ebay, and that it didn't expire until August 2010.

Last week I managed finally to sell the credit note on ebay, admittedly at a considerable discount.

Tonight I rang Westjet to ask them how to transfer the note. The phone operator said that they changed their system on October 16th 2009 to one that no longer issues transferrable notes. Fine. But he then said that their software for managing notes issued under the previous system is purely read-only and doesn't permit them to record transfers - so I would have to book the flight myself for the person who bought the note. Which is difficult: she's a random ebay customer whom I do not know from Eve, and she bought the note under the assumption (recorded in the note!) that it was as good as money for buying Westjet flights.

This feels to me as if Westjet have broken a contract with me, and the man on the phone didn't seem to accept that this was something that I was reasonable to consider a problem. I can grudgingly accept that a company is allowed to give me a refund in the form of an expiring self-issued currency, but I really can't accept that they can change the terms and negotiability of the instrument afterwards!

Are Westjet allowed to do such a thing? Would British Midland be allowed to do such a thing under the laws of the UK?

Comments

[seawasp]

Sounds very dodgy to me. Of course, my dealings with airlines and So Called Free Flights, etc., have given me reason to believe that they deliberately hire lying liars who lie to explain these deals.

[hsenag.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they have broken the contract, but I suspect that the feasibility of enforcement will be low given they're in a different country.

[hsenag.livejournal.com]

Though perhaps just writing them a threatening legal letter will work, if you do some research into the right procedure for bringing cases in the relevant country (Canada?)

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

They can't issue you with a new credit note on the new system the basis of the old one? (Or would that be under new, disadventageous terms?)

Under UK law the arbitrary changing of terms seems likely to fall under the unfair contract terms legislation. However you do need to check what the original position was wrt the conditions of carriage and fare rules that you signed up for.

You might try ringing the UK offices of Canadian Affair and ask if they know if Westjet have a UK presence you might be able to approach and/or contact details for a high-up office you could complain directly to?

[fivemack.livejournal.com]

The old system had entirely transferrable credit notes; the new system has entirely non-transferrable ones. I'd be happy for them to issue the lady who bought the credit note from me a credit note on the new system, but I get the impression they are not happy to do that.

[rwl.livejournal.com]

Write to the MSNBC website travel guy. They take on issues like this all the time.

[pavanne.livejournal.com]

Ugh.

Is it easiest perhaps to communicate with let's-call-her-Eve and have you book her flight for her? After all it is neither of your faults and you are both best off trusting one another.

[fivemack.livejournal.com]

It turns out that Eve had sold on the note to a third party Adam; and Adam said he didn't know where or when he was flying so couldn't have me book the flight for him.

So I have reversed all the transactions and cursed at moderate volume for a short to medium period of time.