The year of the snake is a fruitful and very memorable year to me and to my family. It is these year
that my boy will turns 1, the same day I will add a year to my age on 29th December
2013. As early as August 2013, I did an online booking for an airline ticket already. It was done secretly without my wife's knowledge because I want to surprise her, though gradually she hinted that I have the intent of going home
on our son’s natal day. The booking was done through ThanQ Reward website by
IBQ. (See
itinerary below)
The
month of October came with much excitement considering I'll be with my family
again in few months time. Then comes an email from ThanQ Travel Center that
reads: (See
below)
I
found out that my return flight to Doha was the one with changes. From the
above emails, it was ThanQ Travel Center who contacted me. To avoid scam online
and other fraud, I set in my mind not to entertain any other changes aside from
ThanQ Travel Center.
Life
continues without any second thought of having flight problems during the following
month. 12th November 2013 came with the 1st email from an
unknown source which I thought was spam. I didn't mind it since to me it looks
so informal unlike the previous email I had from ThanQ. (See below)
A 2nd
email in 20th November informs me about a schedule change with no other
specific information. This time I thought of putting attention to it. (See below)
I
did try following the instruction on the recent email. I visited
mytripandmore.com and below is what I got.
After
reading the read text, I did call IBQ hotline listed on the itinerary emails to
check my flight since to me as I understood they are my travel agent this
moment. Unfortunately I got no good answer from the call centre agent. To
satisfy myself, I called Qatar Airways and they instructed me to call back my
agent and tell them about the changes. I did call 3 times in total (if I'm not
mistaken). In those calls one of the agents tells me that everything is fine
with my booking. I was so hopeful then considering I am in good hands with IBQ
whom I have my payroll account and credit card.
Here comes
the month of December, the month I am scheduled to be home for me and my son's
birthday. It is a month full of hope and excitement. 21
December 2013 was the date that turns everything upside down. I went to QA
Garafa Branch to confirm my flight booking and I was told that all my two
flight schedules have been cancelled. I was instructed to contact my travel
agent. Since I got my ticket from IBQ ThanQ website, I went straight to IBQ
C-Ring. It was Saturday so the bank is close like what I expected. Now I did
wait until the 22nd of December. Nobody from both IBQ and Qatar Airways hinted
me that my flight has been cancelled. Change is not the synonyms of
cancellation. It is two words with different meaning; changes can be seen with
hope while cancellation is putting an end.
I
leave in Al Sadd so the following day instead of going somewhere else, I went
straight to IBQ Al Sadd. I was given priority number F003 and was entertain by
a certain lady agent seating at cubicle number 4 at the right hand corner of
the bank when you enter from the revolving door. I explain my situation to her
and she replied that ThanQ reward website should only be used to claim loyalty
rewards and used the reward to buy ticket. This statement clearly contradicts
the FAQS on thanq program, specifically item 4 and 5. (Refer to screenshot below)
Her
following statement was IBQ is not liable for it and that I should contact the
travel agent to check new bookings. She is referring to another company tied up
with IBQ who handles booking (Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions) which
unfortunately has no office in Doha. She also offered a dispute form if in case
I need a refund. The lady explained that it will take time to credit the money
to my account and I said I need to find ways to be able to use the existing
booking to go home. She suggested nothing. For her it was the responsibility of
the travel agency and Qatar Airways to fix the mess I’m in.
If
only it was Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions who gives me the
itinerary then I should have find ways to contact them, but it’s not. My itinerary
both came from ThanQ Travel Center of IBQ so I guess in any layman’s
interpretation they are the one to be contacted in case like what I had.
After
all the misfortune I had from IBQ, I decided to make my own move. As a father
so desperate to fulfill a promise to a son, I went to Qatar Airways and ask
what they can do with my situation. I learned from them that it wasn’t only me
in that situation. One single decision of a giant airline company cost almost a
fortune to those people affected. How can a confirmed flight be cancelled
without even giving the right information to the flyers?
Admitably
IBQ has negligence and undeniably Qatar Airways did something terrible too. Now
an ordinary employee like me will have to pay for their mess. I am asked for an
additional fare of QR2470 due to fare difference on my new booking. Without any other choice, I grab it with something inside. If only it wasn't for my son and with enough time, I should have fought for what is right...for the injustice I had.
To
IBQ; I am writing this to promote awareness to people who may encounter similar
situation in the future. Perhaps, this is for IBQ management also to know that somewhere
somehow, someone was in this ugly situation with their company services...that
someone who has trusted a lot the institution has started to feel
discontentment. It
seems like the information in IBQ website is different from what the employee
knows. I used your system with great trust and respect. All I thought was I can
save money from doing so but then I was so wrong. It brings me trauma from
within.
To
Qatar Airways; I don’t know if you did your part to inform the passengers, aside
from informing the travel agency. Really as I say, change doesn’t equal to
cancel. It is an affordable amount but it hurts to pay for someone’s
negligence.
To
conclude, I will make sure to keep posting this information for purpose of
awareness, until the concerned party reach out to me. I am writing this article
not to discredit any institution or person. Be these a lesson to those who has intention to follow the early mistakes I had. I mean the act of doing online booking in ThanQ... I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!
I
hope I am the only victim of these unforgettable experienced!
Lesson learned always come at the end!
Lesson learned always come at the end!
[P.S.; Excuse my grammar]
