A Queensland couple was charged thousands after making a simple mistake when booking a flight ticket through Student Universe
A Queensland couple were forced to spend thousands of extra dollars on their European holiday after making a simple mistake with their plane tickets.
Phil and Kate were excited to visit family in Britain and travel around Europe for a month, but hit their first roadblock before boarding their flight.
Phil had booked their flights in July last year for what he thought was a good price through a third party travel website called Student Universe.
However, when filling out the details for their cards, he accidentally used his wife’s nickname, Kate, instead of her birth name, Katherine.
The couple flew with Virgin from Brisbane to Melbourne and then from Melbourne to London via Doha with Qatar Airways for a price of $2,400 each, return.
Virgin noticed that the name on Kate’s plane ticket did not match the one on her passport, and told her she would not be able to board the plane without resolving the discrepancy.
The information had to be the same so that it matched the rest of the couple’s documents, including their visas.
While most airlines offer detail changes for a small or administrative fee, third-party websites often charge exorbitant rates for the service.
The couple claimed that Student Universe told them to cancel Kate’s original ticket, of which they received a small refund, and purchase a new ticket with the correct information.
“They didn’t have time, that was their reasoning, to make a name change on the ticket, but they did have time to sell us a new ticket,” Phil said. A current issue.
Queensland couple Phil and Kate (above) were forced to spend thousands of extra dollars on their European holiday after using Kate’s nickname on her plane ticket instead of her birth name, Katherine
However, since they now bought a last-minute flight, Kate’s new ticket cost $4,700.
‘I begged them on the phone: ‘Please, you can’t do that – all our holiday money will be gone in an instant,'” Kate recalls.
Although Phil has taken responsibility for the mistake, the pair feel as if they have been unfairly undone by Student Universe.
“They just took advantage of the whole situation, especially in peak season and time was of the essence,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Student Universe for comment.
The couple (above) booked the ticket through Student Universe and were told to cancel it and buy a new plane ticket