I was booked to fly to Goa on 20 December, and paid for a refundable ticket through Opodo. Afterwards, I discovered I was pregnant. A week-and-a-half before my flight I learned that the baby had died, and on 16 December I had a medically managed miscarriage and was advised that it would be unwise to travel.
I immediately emailed Opodo with a letter from the doctor, asking to cancel my flight. Opodo replied saying someone would get back to me.
On the day of the flight I still had not heard. After contacting them again I was initially told they hadn’t received my email, even though I’d had a reply, and that I needed to submit my request on the website.
I was then told my booking would be cancelled if I emailed an address it provided, which I did. A week later I called again and this time Opodo said I should cancel directly via the airline. The airline replied that since it had not been notified of the cancellation before the flight I was counted as a “no show”.
Over the following weeks I emailed and called Opodo repeatedly. I was told my emails hadn’t been received, or promised call-backs that never came. I’ve spent about five hours trying to sort this. I want to draw a line under what happened. Going over it again and again isn’t helping. AB, Brighton
Opodo’s dismal customer services is a regular feature in this column, and your distressing circumstances make the incompetence even more unacceptable. The same day that I contact the company, you receive a call offering a full refund, including the £125 cancellation charge payable.
Opodo explains that your two months of chasing was because you had amended your original booking, which generated a new reference number. “When the refund claim was made, the original reference number was used, hence the confusion,” it says.
Why you were not told of this “confusion” when you first tried to cancel, Opodo does not explain.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
