I booked easyJet flights through the Nectar website and paid for hold luggage for our family of five. At the airport we were told I hadn’t booked any hold luggage. EasyJet’s customer services desk suggested that this happens a lot when people book through Nectar. I had to pay for the five bags with the reassurance I’d be able to claim the money back on my return.
However, Nectar refuses to pay. It says that my confirmation email didn’t show that baggage had been paid for. Well, no, it didn’t. But neither did it state “cabin baggage only” – which an easyJet confirmation normally does.
Obviously it’s in its interests to say as little as possible on confirmation emails – and I have no control over what they choose to specify. My return boarding pass, on the other hand, does declare that I’d paid for hold luggage even though there was no record of this when we flew home, so I had to fork out yet again. AC, Edinburgh
EasyJet claims that your predicament is rare and that, while hold baggage was added to your original booking, it was not transferred on to its system. Nectar, when alerted by The Observer suddenly discovers that you did pay for the luggage after all. It says it is investigating how this could have happened.
Now, after weeks of intransigence, it can’t do enough, phoning twice in an hour, transferring the money to your account and donating 5,000 Nectar points (about £25-worth) to soothe your feelings. It would be interesting to know if airline staff are right and this is a frequent pitfall with Nectar bookings.
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.
