Qantas sued over ‘misleading’ flight credits, refunds

afr.com:

Qantas could be forced to compensate passengers who lawyers say were misled into using flight credits when they should have been entitled to cash refunds, as well as pay interest on money customers have been unable to access for up to three years.

Echo Law on Monday launched a class action on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Qantas customers whose flights were cancelled during the pandemic.

Qantas could be forced to pay customers back with interest.  

The firm is seeking unspecified damages including refunds for people who were never able to get their money or points back after flights were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Qantas was forced to cancel $2 billion worth of flights booked during the pandemic period and has since returned more than $1.2 billion. At its half-year results, Qantas said it still had $800 million in unclaimed credits, and it has since said $400 million belonging to Australian customers is yet to be claimed.

Echo Law partner Andrew Paull said less scrupulous airlines had held on to customers’ money as a way of raising revenue since the pandemic and that the claim would demand compensation for the interest Qantas has earned.

“It’s not the type of behaviour you would expect from an airline that holds itself out as a leader in the industry and a representative of Australia on the global stage,” Mr Paull said.

In June, Qantas released a new feature designed to help people claim unused flight credits. The airline has warned customers that they must book new flights for travel until the end of 2024 before the end of this year.

“They’re saying that they intend to just keep the money if nothing else happens,” Mr Paull said.

“This is not just about the usability of these credits, it’s about the fact that this