Former Bestjet employees have revealed the defunct online travel portal deliberately stalled refunds for six months or more, releasing them only when customers "hounded" consultants.
Thousands of travellers were left out of pocket and chasing refunds when Bestjet entered voluntary administration on December 18 last year.
Former staff, who spoke to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, have described the Brisbane office's unpleasant working environment and called out questionable business practices.
Terms and conditions warned customers refunds for cancelled journeys may take 12 weeks to be processed.
But the company would allegedly receive the money back from airlines and hold it for much longer, only passing it on when customers "hounded" the travel consultants.
"The refunds were only paid when clients asked for them, they had to ring up," one ex-staff member recalled.
"Some refunds were held for well over six months.
"They had to hound the staff."
The employees said the Brisbane headquarters became busier and more stressful as the company grew.
"There were times when the team would go to the toilet with their headset on," one said.
"Staff turnover was extremely high."
The company's former director, Rachel James, is the wife of former Air Australia boss and bankrupt Michael James.
Bestjet changed hands about six weeks before it collapsed and new owner Robert McVicker has referred administrator questions to Ms James.
In an ASIC report from December, Mr McVicker said his knowledge of the business was "limited" as he was a director for only 39 days.
"However, it would be prudent to make enquiries to the previous director regarding the balance of the time that this business was in operation," he said.
Ex-staff have also claimed Mr James was constantly in the office and actively involved in the business, despite a three-year disqualification from managing corporations.
Mr James's budget airline Air Australia folded in February 2012, leaving debts of nearly $100 million, and Bestjet was registered in Ms James's name about two weeks later.
The ban applied between December 2013 and December 2016, after national corporate watchdog ASIC said Mr James had "failed to comply with his director's duty to act with care and diligence".
However, the former employees say Mr James was constantly in the office during and after the ban, and that they barely saw Ms James, their director.
"I may have seen her once or twice," one said.
The ASIC disqualification was common knowledge amongst some staff, who had a sense of "walking on eggshells" around Mr James.
"We knew that he shouldn't have been there," one said.
"[Mr James] was in the office 90 per cent of the time," another recalled.
'Consider yourselves warned'
The ABC has also obtained copies of emails sent from Mr James's Bestjet account during the period of his ASIC ban, which included detailed directions to staff and, on several occasions, threats to terminate employment.
One email, sent in May 2016, read: "The next person I hear winge, butch [sic] or moan when they get off a call and speak negative about a customer will be dismissed."
"Consider yourselves warned."
Another group message, sent in July 2016, declared management was "tired of talking to brick walls" about adherence to a fraud-related policy.
Other messages covered auditing commissions, managing frauds and warnings against customers being referred directly to airlines.
Mr James has consistently denied he had a management position at Bestjet and declined specific requests for comment.
Ms James has previously declared in court her husband was not involved in the business "in any capacity" after resigning from his role as a fares and pricing analyst at the end of 2015.
She also declined requests for comment, but last month issued a statement saying the family had been "rattled" by the company's collapse.
The company moved its call centre operation to Manila, in the Philippines, in late 2016.
An initial report on the company's position from administrator Pilot Partners identified a Philippines-based company, OTAlab, as an entity "related to Michael James" and being owed $96,000.
Former call centre staff told the ABC the experience was "very stressful".
Several said the announcement of the company's closure came as a surprise and staff were told to leave the same day.
"We were upset," one said.
"We all contributed to the growth of the business. Sales were up, so we didn't expect it."
Pilot Partners' report to creditors released last month said Mr James "may have acted as a a de facto or shadow director".
It also revealed computers and security equipment were removed from the company's Brisbane premises before the administrators swooped.
