Charged for an error

Karl tried to purchase a ticket from a low-cost airline. His first two attempts failed and he was given error messages. The third time he was successful. However, he was charged for all three tickets.

The airline, and Consumer Direct, said he was liable for cost of the tickets because the terms and conditions said they were non-refundable.

"I just thought this can't be right. The website said there was an error, but why should I pay when it was their fault? I searched the net and found www.e-victims.org."

E-Victims disagreed with the airline and Consumer Direct. They said under the E-Commerce Regulations the contract was never completed.

E-victims takes the view that the airline failed to meet the necessary requirements under the E-Commerce Regulations - because they did not provide confirmation during the online transaction. There was not visible acceptance of the contract (in other words, initially saying that the transaction failed, but sending contradictory confirmation e-mail later on, after the customer had already re-booked, is not acceptable).

Therefore, Karl was not liable for the cost of the tickets. He wrote back to the airline using the information from E-Victims explaining why he was not liable for the tickets.

The airline returned his airfares within 10 days.