V-Flyer

Just a heads-up in case this hasn't been discussed before.

I cancelled a flight online a few days ago, received the 'refund request' email but the flight still showed on my account, no indication that I'd requested a cancellation. Seemed odd to me because while it's 'live' those seats aren't available for anyone else to book. I left it a few days but then this morning phoned to check.

The Virgin agent said sometimes online cancellations get lost in the system so she would put it through again. Then she said it would cost me a £30 admin fee. I pointed out that it was a fully refundable fare, very clearly advertised as "fully refundable", no mention of any fees. Yes, she said, it's fully refundable but cancellation incurs a £30 fee. I asked her to tell me exactly where that was shown when I booked. She disappeared for 10 minutes, during which time I scoured the full T&Cs on a dummy booking, wondering if somehow I'd missed it, but there's no mention of any fee let alone the specific cost of £30.

When she came back to me she confirmed that there is no admin fee. But presumably if I hadn't stood my ground I would have ended up paying it. Of course there's always the chance they'll deduct it from the refund anyway, whenever that gets processed, in which case I'll have to phone again.

By comparison, I recently cancelled a refundable ticket with KLM, also online. Flight showed as cancelled on my account straight away and the money was refunded to my credit card within a couple of days. Perhaps Virgin should consider upgrading to the same, apparently superior, software as their partner airline.

Always worth standing your ground on "admin fees". I've had VS agents try and charge me £30 fees for changing reward flights and even after I've told them that fee is waived for Golds, they still try it on. That's always a fun conversation!

Hello all.

Has anyone else had this fee whacked on a G fare cancellation? I've just been charged £60 on 2 x G tickets (30 each) which is just appalling! I'm a GFL, spent thousands getting there over ten years, clocked up miles along the way and then get slapped £30 per ticket! Surely this is nonsense?

getinjonathan wrote:Hello all.

Has anyone else had this fee whacked on a G fare cancellation? I've just been charged £60 on 2 x G tickets (30 each) which is just appalling! I'm a GFL, spent thousands getting there over ten years, clocked up miles along the way and then get slapped £30 per ticket! Surely this is nonsense?

It is nonsense, the £30 admin fee should be waived for Golds.

(VS policy is the £30 fee is waived for Golds, if it's been charged, this is incorrect).

Thanks for replying. I created a thread for this as it has p@ssed me off so much!

I called them three times to be told the same thing, any changes = a charge to any fare class.

getinjonathan wrote:Thanks for replying. I created a thread for this as it has p@ssed me off so much!

I called them three times to be told the same thing, any changes = a charge to any fare class.

I made a change to a revenue fare that has been upgraded with points (so it looks and acts a bit like a reward fare) about 4 weeks ago and the agent actually said “oh, no £30 fee for you because you’re Gold”. There was zero cost to me changing my inbound flight date at all.

Granted that was a change not a full cancellation, but still.

I think it’s a case of hit and miss.

Is anyone absolutely certain that it is just the 30 euro admin fee that is the only thing that will be withheld from a supposedly "Refundable" ticket for a Flex fare? From what I have read, Virgin may also try to withhold any taxes charged as well.

Is it also a "no questions asked" refundable ticket or do you have to meet their definition of a legitimate reason for a cancellation?