From cancelled flights to lost bags, money transfers and pricey drinks, readers' stories are piling in to CONOR POPE

Seeking a refund for the flight that never was

George Royal booked two return flights from Dublin to Sofia with Aer Lingus at the end of June. He was scheduled to leave in October but was dismayed when he got a mail from the airline last week announcing that the route was being discontinued. He was told that the airline would “refund all passengers in full from September 7th, 2009”.

“They have had my money since June 30th and I don’t want them to hold on to it any longer. I would like a refund immediately as I don’t see why they should hang on to it when they have now discontinued this service,” he says.

We contacted the airline to see what the delay was. A spokeswoman said all affected passengers had been advised that they would receive a full refund from September 7th “if they did not contact the customer contact centre to book an alternative destination”. She said the airline felt that “one month is a reasonable time-frame to give customers to make contact prior to refunding their booking. This is to allow for customers who may be out of the country to contact us on their return.” She also confirmed that Royal’s refund has now processed.

Lost bags in the airport? Not a problem

A reader called Ave contacted us to give out about Iberia Airlines and to praise baggage handlers in Dublin. Her bag went missing on a flight from Ibiza and she lodged a description at Dublin Airport. She was given a reference number and an Iberia phone number to ring but every time she called she got an automated voice message, which promised to put her through to customer services without doing it. “Thanks to the handlers in Dublin Airport I got my bag back a week later. They actually called my house to make sure it had arrived. A week later, I got a letter from Iberia asking for a description of my bag as they had lost the reference number.”

Getting the runaround from Western Union

A reader from Dublin recently watched with some trepidation as her 17-year-old son went to Spain with his pals as a reward for finishing his Leaving Certificate. It wasn’t long before a call came saying that an ATM had swallowed his cash card leaving him penniless. No problem, thought our reader, who sent emergency funds via Western Union, paying a transaction fee of €13. The son went to collect his money only to be told by Western Union staff on the island that he could not withdraw the funds as he wasn’t over 18. When our reader contacted Western Union here and asked the company to return the transaction fee, as it would not allow the transaction to be completed, she was given short shrift.

The most expensive cuppa in Dublin?

Siobhán Larkin recently had what she describes as “a light meal” in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin’s city centre and was less than impressed with the price for one part of it. “We ordered tea for two and were charged €8. Tourists would feel completely ripped off at that price.”

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