South Australians are being encouraged to ‘book smart’ now that borders have reopened with Consumer and Business Services anticipating a spike in complaints against travel service providers.
Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Dini Soulio said Consumer and Business Services continued to receive a significant number of calls from people who needed advice on disputes involving travel services.
“This year, we’ve already received more than 150 complaints and we’re expecting that number to grow as border restrictions are relaxed around the country,” Mr Soulio said.
He said Consumer and Business Services fielded more than 400 complaints last year relating to travel service providers – with more than half of those complaints involving travel agents.
“By way of comparison, we received 32 complaints in total the year before (2019),” he said.
“At the height of the pandemic, continued uncertainty around travel restrictions, border restrictions and other factors saw a number of South Australians forced to cancel their travel plans.
“In a number of cases, consumers felt they had little to no recourse when their plans were cancelled.”
Mr Soulio said it was important for people to look carefully at the terms and conditions of their travel arrangements in order to know what provisions may be in place if their travel plans were either cancelled or changed.
“Ultimately, a business’s ability to do this will depend heavily on what is contained in the terms and conditions, but businesses should not falsely claim the cancellation is due to travel restrictions,” he said.
For advice on their rights when dealing with travel agents or travel service providers, travellers are advised to contact Consumer and Business Services on 131 882.
