NATIONAL CONSUMER AFFAIRS COUNCIL (NCAC)
Ground Floor Trade and Industry Building
361 Senantor Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City
NCAC Contact Numbers:
+632 751-4782, +632 890-4930 (Fax)
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Ground Floor Trade and Industry Building
361 Senantor Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City
+632 751-4782, +632 890-4930 (Fax)
COMPLAINT FOR CEBU PACIFIC AIR:
I would like to formalize our complaint in regards to the unfair treatment of the Tacloban Airport Ground Crew towards my parents.
My parents were travelling from Tacloban to Sydney, on the 26th of August 2017 via 5J-652 TAC-MNL and connecting flight 5J-39 MNL-SYD.
At the check-in counter in Tacloban Airport, my parents were told by the ground crew that they would not allow my parents to check-in, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE A RETURN TICKET (from Sydney to Manila).
My frail and old parents, both Senior Citizens, pleaded to be checked-in, showing the crew their Australian Visa which is valid for 3 years and allows them to stay in Australia for 12 months at every entry. The ground crew and the supervisor unfortunately did not listen to them, instead accused them of NOT HAVING PLANS TO RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES, “because they do not have a return ticket!”. My mom countered this allegation, and told the ground crew that they have been entering and leaving Australia for 6 times already, on Tourist Visa, and never have they breached the conditions of their visa, eg. they return to the Philippines within 1 year after every entry.
The ground crew asked my mom to have me on the phone so she could talk to me. I engaged her into a conversation, and asked her the BASIS of her decision not to allow check-in, but unfortunately, the crew nor the supervisor could not give me a DIRECTIVE or MANDATE or any LAW, that authorizes them to ACT AS IMMIGRATION OFFICERS and impose this guideline. As far as I understand, (please CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG), it is not the duty of the “ground crew” to disallow check-in JUST BECAUSE THE PASSENGER DOES NOT HAVE A RETURN TICKET. This is the role of the IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT, and NEVER by the ground crew.
(Note: This is clearly indicated thru the website’s pop-in warnings during on-line booking. Cebu Pacific’s note during purchase of international tickets, is ONLY to make sure that Passports are valid, and that it is the passenger’s responsibility to secure the necessary visa to be allowed entry to the country of destination. This is also apparent when you call Cebu Pacific hotline, the ringtone you well get will inform you about visa and passport, but never about a return ticket.)
As much as we wanted to contest this matter with the ground crew, with the limited time (because the plane was already about to start boarding), we decided to heed-off their insistence, and tried to book online for a return ticket. Unfortunately, NO AIRLINE could give us a ticket (all NOT YET AVAILABLE) from Australia to the Philippines, for a return flight on August 2018. NOT EVEN CEBU PACIFIC. PLEASE NOTE THAT MY PARENT’S VISA ALLOWS THEM TO STAY IN AUSTRALIA FOR 12 MONTHS IN EVERY ENTRY. We asked the ground crew and the customer service hotline, to help us get a booking for my parents for an August 2018 SYD-MNL flight, but even more frustrating is that they could not help us. There were just NO AVAILABLE FLIGHTS YET for these dates. We were dismayed because we wanted to comply with the Ground Crew’s personal requirement for check-in, but there is no way that we can comply because there were no available flights 12 months from their date of departure!
My senior citizen parents were in total anguish, as they could not go back to Samar with all their bags/luggage just because the ground crew doesn’t want them to travel. To hasten their suffering and anxiety, and temporarily solve this misery, we decided to book for an UNWANTED CEBU PACIFIC SYD-MNL ticket, dated January 2018, shorter than the plan of keeping them on holiday in Australia for a year. JUST TO BE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL. Please note that this flight is UNPLANNED and UNWANTED, and was booked ONLY to get them past through the Ground Crew in Tacloban.
This incident did not give us our liberty to choose our desired date of return, but has limited our airline choice to ONLY CEBU PACIFIC, because if we ‘book from another airline’, it will take the ground crew so much time to verify the ticket from the other airline, and will cause more delays in checking-in my parents.
CEBU PACIFIC, PLEASE ACT ON THIS COMPLAINT IMMEDIATELY, and SEND ME YOUR RESPONSE.
I will make sure that this complaint reaches the right regulatory agencies, if we will not receive the right answers from you. Specifically:
1. What is the basis of this action by the ground crew and the supervisor in Tacloban? Is there any law or directive or anything that your crew uses as reference? I have given you the flight number and date, so you know who were attending the counter at that time. Our booking reference is ACBS3T.
2. Going TNT or planning not to return is a concern of the country of destination and NEVER THE CONCERN OF THE AIRLINE CREW. The ground crew has no right to insinuate this, and insult my frail and old Senior Citizen parents on a matter that is NOT CLEAR EVEN TO THE GROUND CREW. I want to know what Cebu Pacific’s plan on this.
3. We have booked for an UNWANTED AND UNPLANNED Sydney-Manila ticket. We wish to be refunded, including booking fees and credit card processing fees for this.
4. If someone should be concerned that my parents do not have a return ticket, and would not want to go back to the Philippines, it should be the IMMIGRATION of AUSTRALIA; or for my parent’s protection it should be the worry of the IMMIGRATION of the Philippines. NEVER is this a concern of the Ground Crew. Please educate me if I am wrong, otherwise please let me know how you will educate your Tacloban Crew.
5. Let me know how you plan to address the visa allowance of 12 months stay, when your airline (or other airlines) do not have available tickets, one year from the date of departure. How can this be possibly complied? Do you want to dictate that Tourists should only have a holiday for ONLY A FEW MONTHS, and deny them liberty to enjoy their holiday?
May i know the consumer welfare month theme for 2016?
I REALLY HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE EMPLOYEES AND STAFF OF GROLIER PHILIPPINES AND I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO EXPERIENCED IT! TOO BAD YOU BRING THE COMPANY’S NAME ALONG WITH YOUR UNPROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE. JUST GIVE OUR MONEY BACK AND GIVE SOME COMPENSATION FOR ALL THE HASSLES! https://www.facebook.com/GrolierPhilippines