Travel

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Australian travellers are growing increasingly frustrated with Qantas as restrictions ease across the country and travel begins again.  This is a media release from CHOICE. It was originally published on 12th April, 2022.  CHOICE spokesperson, Dean Price, said that Qantas was placing unreasonable barriers in the way of travellers trying to redeem their credits or get a refund.…

Read More Qantas’s flight credits policy is “unfair and unworkable”: CHOICE

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The Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has launched its Consumer Policy Agenda 2022. CFA is calling for new consumer policy reforms to be urgently implemented to put consumers in the economy recovery. Competition in key markets is flailing, consumer protections are falling behind best practice, and our institutional arrangements for consumer protection are not supporting…

Read More Consumer Policy Agenda 2022 launched ahead of Federal Election

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Reform urgently needed to give Australians clear and fair rights when travel has to be cancelled  New CHOICE research has revealed that only 23% of Australians feel confident to make travel plans in the next 12 months. This is a media release from CHOICE. It was originally published on 26th October, 2021. This statistic is not surprising, given…

Read More New research reveals only 23% of Australians feel confident making travel plans in next 12 months: CHOICE

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Consumer group CHOICE has asked Australian governments to fix Australia’s travel “cancellation chaos” with 7 urgent reforms, starting by making it easier for travellers to obtain refunds when plans are cancelled. This is a CHOICE media release, originally published on 8th July, 2021. CHOICE surveyed over 4,400 Australians who had travel plans disrupted by COVID-19…

Read More 7 ways to fix the travel “cancellation chaos”

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New figures released today show COVID-19-related consumer reports make up the majority of the 109,446 complaints the ACCC received in the first ten months of this year. This is an ACCC Media Release. The impact of COVID-19 on consumers and fair trading report reveals the pandemic’s impact on travel resulted in 24,210 complaints to the ACCC,…

Read More Travel problems top list of COVID-19-related reports

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The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has updated its online comparative reporting tool, the AFCA Datacube, to include information about all financial complaints lodged with it from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. This allows historical comparison with complaints data from AFCA’s inception on 1 November 2018. The AFCA Datacube allows anyone to see how…

Read More AFCA Datacube updated with latest complaint statistics

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The Morrison Government has directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to monitor domestic air passenger services for a period of three years. The Government has consistently said Australia’s national interest is best served through having a sustainable, competitive aviation sector. ACCC monitoring will assist in protecting competition in the domestic passenger airline market,…

Read More ACCC directed to monitor domestic air passenger services

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People who use foreign currency conversion (FX) services now have greater access to accurate online calculators to help compare prices, but the ACCC says greater transparency is still needed at a time when many Australians are sending money to family and friends overseas. The ACCC’s Foreign currency exchange services inquiry report, released in September last…

Read More Easier comparisons now available for foreign currency conversions

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UNCTAD is calling on governments to intensify efforts to protect consumers. Written by Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director of International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD. Global lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19 currently affect half of the world’s population and 4.5 million flights are expected to be cancelled until 30 June. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that international…

Read More Airlines must respect consumers’ rights: UNCTAD

A person walking though an airport pulling luggage. There are planes on the tarmac that can be seen out of the window behind the person A person walking though an airport pulling luggage. There are planes on the tarmac that can be seen out of the window behind the person

The ACCC has issued advice for consumers and businesses on their rights and obligations if events, flights or travel services are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), or if people wish to cancel their travel plans.  If events, flights or other travel services such as cruises are cancelled, the ACCC expects refunds or other remedy such…

Read More Advice on event and travel cancellations due to COVID-19

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Extreme weather events in Australia and the recent outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, may leave you wondering where you stand in terms of cancelling, rescheduling or getting a refund on holiday accommodation bookings, flights and other travel plans. The Office of Fair Trading Queensland has released the following media statement: Under the Australian…

Read More Will coronavirus effect my travel plans? Check the fine print

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Jetstar, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia have committed to ensuring their refund policies and practices comply with their consumer guarantee obligations under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACCC was concerned that each airline had made false or misleading representations on their websites that misled consumers about their rights to refunds and resupply in the…

Read More Jetstar, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia to fix refund policies