Air China's refusal to refund refunds "returning the same way" baffles the elderly in their octogenarians

　　Our reporter Liu Ming

　　Mr. Liu, a consumer in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, reported that Air China (hereinafter referred to as Air China)’s refund policy that refunds can only be refunded to the passenger’s own bank card and cannot be returned to the payer in the same way belongs to the “overlord clause”.

Because the 83-year-old father of one of the passengers did not have a personal bank card, Mr. Liu was repeatedly asked by Air China to prove that "my father is my father".

More than 5 months have passed, and he still has not received the refund money.

Recently, a reporter from "China Consumer Daily" conducted an investigation on this.

Complaint: To refund the ticket, you must prove that "my father is my father"

　　In order to send their children to Beijing to go to school, on August 24, 2022, Mr. Liu's family of four purchased tickets for flight CA1418 from Chengdu to Beijing on September 7, 2022 through the travel platform, including his 83-year-old father.

The booking was made by Mr. Liu's child on his mobile phone. The total fare was 2,760 yuan, and the child's mother's bank card was bound to the WeChat payment.

Later, the school notified the school to start early, and Mr. Liu called the customer service of Air China's 95583 call center to reschedule the four tickets to flight CA1418 on September 3, 2022, and pay the rescheduling price difference of 600 yuan.

　　Mr. Liu told reporters that because of the Chengdu epidemic, Air China announced the cancellation of the flight and promised a refund.

"Which bank card booked the ticket, the ticket price will be refunded to the original card," Mr. Liu said. He thought it would be a simple matter of refunding and returning to the original place, but he did not expect it to be very complicated.

Air China customer service told him that the difference in fare of the rebooking can be refunded in the original route, but the original fare must be refunded to the passenger's own account, that is, it must be refunded to the bank cards of the four passengers.

However, since children and the elderly do not have bank cards, this refund rule has caused problems for Mr. Liu.

　　Mr. Liu said that the child was under the age of 18 when he booked the ticket, and he had not obtained a bank card after arriving at school due to the epidemic.

The most difficult thing to solve is the old man's bank card account. The old father usually does not use a bank card at all, and his hearing is poor, so it is inconvenient to use a bank card.

　　Air China customer service told him that if the passenger does not have a bank card and wants to refund to the original payer's account, he needs to provide a power of attorney and proof of kinship.

"After I got married, I moved out of the household registration, and my parents are no longer on the same household registration book." Mr. Liu could not prove his relationship with his father.

　　Mr. Liu called Air China's customer service and complaint department many times, asking for a refund and returning to the original route, but was rejected.

Air China customer service insisted that he provide proof of household registration "my father is my father".

　　Under the condition that the problem could not be solved, Mr. Liu filed a complaint with the Civil Aviation Complaint Department of China.

"But the complaint was transferred to Air China, and it was actually Air China who responded to me in the end." Mr. Liu told reporters that the other party's reply still insisted on refunding the ticket according to the regulations, refusing to go back the same way, and said, "If you don't file an appeal within 10 working days, you will be charged." The case is closed."

Then there was no reply, more than 5 months passed in a blink of an eye, and Mr. Liu has not received any refund so far.

　　"Which card is paid, and which card is returned to the original route, I think this requirement is legitimate, reasonable and legal." Mr. Liu believes that the refund rules formulated by Air China on the grounds of fund security are unreasonable and are for consumption. Set up barriers to refunds for consumers, suspected of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

"When booking tickets, why don't you ask for separate bookings, but allow unified booking?" Mr. Liu made it clear, "In a word, we require the ticket money to be returned unconditionally."

　Survey: Inconsistency between verbal and site rules

　　How exactly is Air China's refund policy stipulated?

On February 6, the reporter logged on to Air China's official website and found the relevant regulations on "refund" in the "General Conditions of Transportation of Passengers and Luggage".

In the "Refund Payee", see the following 3 provisions: "We can refund to you, or to the payer who can show sufficient proof of payment and identification" "If you are not the payer of the ticket, We can refund the ticket price to the payer of the ticket or the designated person according to the original payment method." "If you entrust another person to handle the refund procedure on your behalf, the agent should show you and the agent's valid identity certificates, your power of attorney and Refund bank account valid information and other information."

　　From the literal understanding of the above regulations, Mr. Liu's old father is not the payer, and the refund to the payer is in line with the regulations, and there should be no problem with the fare "returning the same way".

Even if Mr. Liu is entrusted to handle the refund on his behalf, the regulations do not involve the need to provide proof of kinship "my dad is my dad".

　　The reporter investigated the refund regulations of many domestic airlines.

Literally understood, airlines generally allow refunds to be "returned by the original route", that is, refunded to the original payer's account.

For example, Capital Airlines stipulates that "Capital Airlines will give priority to refunding the fare to the payment account according to the original payment route according to the specified refund restrictions" "when the payee of the refund is neither the passenger himself nor can it be refunded to the payment account according to the original payment route , Passengers need to fill in the offline refund confirmation form, refund authorization letter, and provide valid identity certificates of the passenger himself and the payee."

　　Why is Air China's published rules inconsistent with actual operations?

On February 7, the reporter called Air China customer service hotline 95583.

After verifying the information of Mr. Liu’s 4 tickets, the customer service customer service account number 63678 told the reporter that because all 4 tickets had been rescheduled through the call center, after the flight on September 3 was canceled, the refunds can only be refunded to the passenger’s own bank. on the card.

If the elderly and children do not have a bank card, they need to provide a proof of kinship before they can be refunded to the bank card of the designated person.

　　Why can't the fare be "returned by the same route"?

The explanation of the customer service of the employee number 63678 is: for tickets bought on other platforms, "I have changed the date at the call center once. If there is a price difference in the rescheduling, the price difference will be returned to the original route, but the original ticket price will be refunded to the passenger's own card." "If your I haven’t done any operation on the ticket, that is, where I bought it, I returned it, and I went back the same way, but you did it in the call center.” The customer service said, “This is the rule,” and the purpose is “for the safety of passengers’ property,” because there may be other people In place of passenger rescheduling.

　　The reporter asked: "Why are the above regulations not included in the public refund rules? Where can I find them?" The customer service number 63678 said that there are relevant reminders when passengers change their dates. "If the passenger does not approve at that time, we will not operate for him Rescheduled", "If you want a news interview, you need to send the interview letter to the designated mailbox according to the process."

The reporter then interviewed Mr. Liu and asked about the relevant rescheduling tips. He said that his impression was "already very vague".

　　On February 7, the reporter sent interview questions to the email address provided by the customer service.

As of press time, no reply from Air China has been received.

Follow-up: You can apply for a refund without providing a proof of kinship

　　How can I get the refund for Mr. Liu's 4 air tickets?

After being repeatedly questioned by the reporter, the customer service number 63678 communicated with the sales department and told the reporter that if the passenger cannot provide relevant proof, he can go to the sales department directly under Air China to apply for a refund, but he must bring the original ID cards of two people and provide A power of attorney issued by the passenger himself, "no proof of relatives required".

　　On February 9, Mr. Liu told the reporter that he had received a call from Air China, who admitted that there were "deficiencies and flaws" in the refund process and links, and asked him to send four personal ID cards to the designated mailbox and authorize one designated bank card, you can handle the refund.

　　●

　　The suspected "overlord clause" should be corrected

　　On February 10, the reporter interviewed Zhuang Weibing, secretary-general of the Consumer Protection Committee of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

Zhuang Weibing told reporters that the "Consumer Rights Protection Law" expressly stipulates: "Operators shall not make unfair or unreasonable regulations on consumers by means of standard contracts, notices, statements, store notices, etc., or reduce or exempt their damage to consumption. The civil liability that should be borne by the legitimate rights and interests of the buyer. If the standard contract, notice, statement, store notice, etc. contain the content listed in the previous paragraph, its content is invalid." In the current situation where "returning the same way" for consumer refunds has long been a consumer habit, The behavior of refusing to "go back the same way" and asking consumers to prove "my dad is my dad" through customer service verbal prompts obviously increases the responsibility of consumers and reduces the obligation of airlines to maintain the safety of consumers' funds. be corrected.

　　Zhuang Weibing said that the theme of the Consumer Rights Protection Year in 2023 is "boosting consumer confidence".

All kinds of business operators should be problem-oriented, consciously fulfill the main responsibility of protecting consumers' rights and interests; focus on consumers' "urgent, difficult and anxious" service items, actively meet consumer needs, break away from outdated concepts and regulations, and find blocking points, pain points, and difficulties And blank spots, improve service rules, improve consumer service satisfaction rate, thereby boosting consumer confidence.

By building a harmonious consumer relationship, we can promote the upgrading of consumption and help the economy develop steadily and healthily.

(Liu Ming)

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