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Finnair - beware


Britboy

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So this week I booked my flight to BKK.

Did a fair bit of research as pricing is ridiculous right now, but decided to book on Finnair, via Helsinki.

So I booked the flight along with seat selection and an extra bag. All ok, they took the dosh individually for each item. Again, fine.

I finalised what I was going to take and it became apparent that I needed another bag. I'd downloaded the app, so went on there and added and extra bag. The charge for this showed in my bank as "pending". Ok, no problem.

I then checked my bank account via the app yesterday afternoon, still had the £60.10 extra bag as "pending" but they'd put another "pending" charge of £1,300. WTF? Bloody livid. Luckily I had the funds in there, but that's a lot of dosh to sit there "pending". I worked out that this new "pending" charge is the total of the flight, seat selection and the initial extra bag, whereas they took it out in individual chunks when I placed the order.

You then find out what their customer service is like. It's non-existent. No phone number on the website, no contact email address, no live chat (just the auto bot, which is crap). I googled Finnair contact, got some site that listed an email address, so emailed that (who knows?). A phone number was listed too, in Finland, which I called. It turned out to be the correct number, but all I got was an auto message (first in Finnish, then English) saying the customer service line is "temporarily down".

I waded through the website and all there is is a feedback form, which I've just completed and submitted. Auto response with a case number.

I called my bank, they can't cancel "pending" transactions. I have to wait to see if they actually take it, then I can complain and issue a "false charge" claim. Again, WTF?

On the Finnair website somewhere it did refer to "if you've been double charged" fill in the refund form claim form, makes me wonder if this is a trait of theirs. They also refer to "pending", which takes a week to clear.

I'm absolutely livid. Best case is I'll retrieve it in a week, worst case is it turns into a transaction and I'll have to go through all the hassle and time of claiming it back.

My advice, steer clear of Finnair.

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Part of the reason I chose them was somebody on here said they had a smoking lounge at Helsinki airport. The price, although extravagant, was competitive and I have managed to get seats with extra legroom.

But that doesn't make up for stealing £1,300, even if it's only for a week.

Cnuts.

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Put it on Twitter and Facebook, you'll be approached by them within minutes in a (doomed) attempt to rescue their reputation.

 

EDIT: Don't forget to mention they don't answer the phone to rub it in.

Edited by Freee!!
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56 minutes ago, Freee!! said:

Put it on Twitter and Facebook, you'll be approached by them within minutes in a (doomed) attempt to rescue their reputation.

 

EDIT: Don't forget to mention they don't answer the phone to rub it in.

Great thought, only problem is I don't have Twitter or FB accounts . . . 😕

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When I booked with them I booked everything that I needed at the same time. I was billed exactly as expected with no pending charges so I presume the pending charges are purely because you then went and booked an extra bag later.

Can't really comment on that issue but I will agree their customer services do not reply by email, been waiting for a reply to a query since January. I also noted that if you call their London number you can hold on all day despite it telling you there are only 10 people in front of you. In fact if you call nearer to 1730 there is a possibility that when you are expecting to get cut off as the London office closes you may actually be answered by a friendly agent in Helsinki.  Happened to me, held on for 1.15 hours and at 1735 I got answered by a lovely Finnish lady in Helsinki.

My only concerns presently are whether there are issues with Russia creating havoc although not heard any threats lately. I suppose I may be concerned with who checks in the Finnair flight in Terminal 3, be interested to know if it is BA staff or BAA staff as strike action hopefully won't cause an issue. My thoughts are that BA may strike weekend 08/09 July or from 22 July, that is the word on the street. I fly 21 July.

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3 hours ago, Britboy said:

So this week I booked my flight to BKK.

Did a fair bit of research as pricing is ridiculous right now, but decided to book on Finnair, via Helsinki.

So I booked the flight along with seat selection and an extra bag. All ok, they took the dosh individually for each item. Again, fine.

I finalised what I was going to take and it became apparent that I needed another bag. I'd downloaded the app, so went on there and added and extra bag. The charge for this showed in my bank as "pending". Ok, no problem.

I then checked my bank account via the app yesterday afternoon, still had the £60.10 extra bag as "pending" but they'd put another "pending" charge of £1,300. WTF? Bloody livid. Luckily I had the funds in there, but that's a lot of dosh to sit there "pending". I worked out that this new "pending" charge is the total of the flight, seat selection and the initial extra bag, whereas they took it out in individual chunks when I placed the order.

You then find out what their customer service is like. It's non-existent. No phone number on the website, no contact email address, no live chat (just the auto bot, which is crap). I googled Finnair contact, got some site that listed an email address, so emailed that (who knows?). A phone number was listed too, in Finland, which I called. It turned out to be the correct number, but all I got was an auto message (first in Finnish, then English) saying the customer service line is "temporarily down".

I waded through the website and all there is is a feedback form, which I've just completed and submitted. Auto response with a case number.

I called my bank, they can't cancel "pending" transactions. I have to wait to see if they actually take it, then I can complain and issue a "false charge" claim. Again, WTF?

On the Finnair website somewhere it did refer to "if you've been double charged" fill in the refund form claim form, makes me wonder if this is a trait of theirs. They also refer to "pending", which takes a week to clear.

I'm absolutely livid. Best case is I'll retrieve it in a week, worst case is it turns into a transaction and I'll have to go through all the hassle and time of claiming it back.

My advice, steer clear of Finnair.

Have you used a credit card or a debit card?

 

There is an on line chat facility on the Finnair App, certainly on IOS version.

 

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1 hour ago, john luke said:

Have you used a credit card or a debit card?

 

There is an on line chat facility on the Finnair App, certainly on IOS version.

 

It was a debit card John.

The chat looks like it's a chat, but reverts to the auto bot . . tried it on both the website and the app . . 

But, believe it or not, it's just been taken off "pending" - 10 minutes ago. My email to a potential Finnair email address or the form I filled in via the website seems to have done the trick, so I'm back whole again now . . :default_party-smiley-048:

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1 hour ago, Freee!! said:

Creating a Twitter account is all of five minutes work.

Appreciate that, it's just that I've always steered clear of all social media stuff.

As I've mentioned in @john luke's reply, they've sorted it now.

Thanks for the suggestions though mate.

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1 hour ago, Britboy said:

It was a debit card John.

The chat looks like it's a chat, but reverts to the auto bot . . tried it on both the website and the app . . 

But, believe it or not, it's just been taken off "pending" - 10 minutes ago. My email to a potential Finnair email address or the form I filled in via the website seems to have done the trick, so I'm back whole again now . . :default_party-smiley-048:

Probably didn't help your blood pressure much though!.

Good lesson there for anyone considering Finnair. Would booking with a CC have made any difference I wonder (genuine question as I've never had a Credit Card)

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5 minutes ago, Butch said:

Probably didn't help your blood pressure much though!.

Good lesson there for anyone considering Finnair. Would booking with a CC have made any difference I wonder (genuine question as I've never had a Credit Card)

Obviously you make your own decisions as to how you manage your money, but the protection offered when you make a purchase on a Credit Card is far more comprehensive that when using a Debit Card.

Have a look at the below website from Experian.

https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/guides/section-75-protection.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwwdWVBhA4EiwAjcYJEGxU56FEzJUHYIoCb-gWaFB6hDm_5lYa5fQ5KvDGn38Ww9So3nVuAhoCLcEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Providing you have a good Credit Score you can get various credit cards without an annual fee and of course with the protection offered by S75 CCA.

Halifax Clarity, some Nationwide Credit Cards and some Nat West Credit Cards also allow you to make transactions in foreign currencies without a foreign currency transaction charge and you get a fairly decent currency exchange rate.

Most of my spending is done on Credit Cards with the monthly payments (full amount) being taken from my current account by direct debit.

Hope this assists but ultimately your choice.

 

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Interesting @john luke and food for thought. The Mrs has one (or more) but I think my reluctance stems from the idea of "borrowing" the money which I've never done, of course that makes zero sense in today's competitive market, but back in the 80's and 90's getting a CC was a task in itself, plus it always reminded me of the "never never".

Having checked the links, it seems I might have done myself a bit of an injustice over the years lol. Probably the best option is to have a decent CC and a DC and enjoy the best of both worlds.

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2 hours ago, Butch said:

Interesting @john luke and food for thought. The Mrs has one (or more) but I think my reluctance stems from the idea of "borrowing" the money which I've never done, of course that makes zero sense in today's competitive market, but back in the 80's and 90's getting a CC was a task in itself, plus it always reminded me of the "never never".

Having checked the links, it seems I might have done myself a bit of an injustice over the years lol. Probably the best option is to have a decent CC and a DC and enjoy the best of both worlds.

If you collect Avios points ( BA / Qatar ) , this looks like a great offer from Barclaycard 

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/06/21/amazing-deal-get-50000-avios-bonus-with-the-new-barclaycard-avios-plus-mastercard/

 

all my credit cards ( Barclaycard, Halifax Clarity , Amex ) are set up they they take the full amount owed every month , so it's only a months credit ...but very convenient for me 

Edited by Stillearly
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3 hours ago, Butch said:

Probably didn't help your blood pressure much though!.

Good lesson there for anyone considering Finnair. Would booking with a CC have made any difference I wonder (genuine question as I've never had a Credit Card)

Absolutely right @Butch, I was so angry. Like I said in the original post, luckily I keep a few quid in that account. Let's say I only had £800 in there and they tried to push through that pending of what was just over £1,300? What would have happened then?

What really pisses me off is that although they've corrected it there's no email to apologise. If that had been me I'd have offered a free upgrade to business . . 😂

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3 hours ago, john luke said:

Obviously you make your own decisions as to how you manage your money, but the protection offered when you make a purchase on a Credit Card is far more comprehensive that when using a Debit Card.

Have a look at the below website from Experian.

https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/guides/section-75-protection.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwwdWVBhA4EiwAjcYJEGxU56FEzJUHYIoCb-gWaFB6hDm_5lYa5fQ5KvDGn38Ww9So3nVuAhoCLcEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Providing you have a good Credit Score you can get various credit cards without an annual fee and of course with the protection offered by S75 CCA.

Halifax Clarity, some Nationwide Credit Cards and some Nat West Credit Cards also allow you to make transactions in foreign currencies without a foreign currency transaction charge and you get a fairly decent currency exchange rate.

Most of my spending is done on Credit Cards with the monthly payments (full amount) being taken from my current account by direct debit.

Hope this assists but ultimately your choice.

 

Thanks for this John.

I've only used debit cards for many years, my only variation was I had an Am Ex, the charge card. In fact during the 90's I had the black card, but once that went above £500 per annum I binned that. Couldn't justify that cost, despite having what was really a PA to organise travel and hotels. I ended up spending so much time on the phone telling her what I wanted, correcting things, etc. it just wasn't worth it.

In my mind it's kinda wrong to have more protection on credit cards than debit cards. I'm using my actual money on debit cards, not someone else's, so why should I be less protected? Seems crazy.

On a separate subject, I always try to plan ahead, which sometimes means planning for the worst. So I've not been in Thailand for 2 years, I have/had two bank accounts there (Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank) and goodness knows if they're both still live. I can view both online, Kasikorn has 2,500 baht in it and the debit card is technically active until 2024. I think that one will be fine. The Bangkok Bank balance has gone to zero (can't remember how much I left in there, probably around 1k baht - I guess they've taken charges out since I was there). The debit card for that account doesn't have an expiry date on it. I may have to open another Bangkok Bank account I guess, but I'll go in there next week to see how things stand.

I have an HSBC debit card for the HSBC account I've always used in Thailand (and which I used this flight purchase for) and twice before, the first time I've used it the auto-fraud alarm goes and I have to call them to re-activate it (despite me tell them ahead of time that I'm going to Thailand). I just don't want to use my other bank accounts in Thailand, personal choice and other reasons why.

So I'm going on Sunday with a bunch of £50 notes that will cover me while I get things sorted longer term in Patts. I'm at the Hilton for the first 7 nights, which is covered by my points and a bit of cash already paid for on my debit card. I've found the best exchange rates are in the yellow exchange booths in Patts, so will change on my first day (Monday).

Can't wait to get there, but pissed off with all this unnecessary hindrance.

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3 hours ago, Butch said:

Interesting @john luke and food for thought. The Mrs has one (or more) but I think my reluctance stems from the idea of "borrowing" the money which I've never done, of course that makes zero sense in today's competitive market, but back in the 80's and 90's getting a CC was a task in itself, plus it always reminded me of the "never never".

Having checked the links, it seems I might have done myself a bit of an injustice over the years lol. Probably the best option is to have a decent CC and a DC and enjoy the best of both worlds.

If I can have a credit card anyone can. 

Got one even though I knocked various companies for about £30k in unpaid credit card debt. 

Once I even got a £12k loan from Barclays while signing on. Knocked that as well. 🤣

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5 hours ago, Britboy said:

I've found the best exchange rates are in the yellow exchange booths in Patts, so will change on my first day (Monday).

The yellow TT Exchange booths are good but beware, there are a couple of lookalike yellow booths that are not so generous. 

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Well my one and only experience flying with Finnair will NEVER be repeated. On arriving at Helsinki to board my onward flight to LHR i was met with utter chaos. I was made aware through the inflight info that we had 35 mins to board the onward flight so it was a case of not hanging around.

Now where the problems started was that customs decided to inspect my hand luggage and by the time they had completed the task all the other passengers had disappeared and i was left on my own. Now there was no boarding gate info available to me on my ticket so i had to find out myself. No problem i thought i'll just go to the info desk and ask but the info desk was closed so i managed to get hold of an airport official who suggested i go to the departure board and look up my flight, she even accompanied me, bless her.

Now when we got there to look low and behold it was'nt listed WTF !!! and i'm quickly running out of time and i'm starting to panic as if i miss my flight my two sons will be waiting to pick me up at LHR to take me to see my dying mum in a Basingstoke hospital.

Well it all worked out in the end as the airport worker finally found out the correct boarding gate and accompanied me, bless her again. On arrival at the BG it transpired that the flight was going to be delayed two hours so panic over but i can tell you i was mega stressed out with the whole process.

I will NEVER fly with Finnair again, the Helsinki airport organisation was appalling and if it was'nt for the help i received by the kind lady i would still be looking for the BG.

Needless to say by the time i got to see mum she had passed away, f**k FINNAIR and i told them so in no uncertain terms.

My direct return flight with Scoot Airways was an absolute doddle, i will be using them again if i ever have the need to return to the UK.    

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12 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

My direct return flight with Scoot Airways was an absolute doddle, i will be using them again if i ever have the need to return to the UK.  

I would love to know more about this flight!

Before Covid I was looking at Norwegian as a LCC as a serious option into London . They had a cheap PE that included "all you can drink" menu from the touch screen... I'm not much interested in food but would love to hear how they serve wine. Not necessarily from your own experience but also what you may have witnessed.

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4 minutes ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

I would love to know more about this flight!

Before Covid I was looking at Norwegian as a LCC as a serious option into London . They had a cheap PE that included "all you can drink" menu from the touch screen... I'm not much interested in food but would love to hear how they serve wine. Not necessarily from your own experience but also what you may have witnessed.

It was a very pleasant and organised flight DD, i had paid the extra cost for an inflight meal and comfort package (head pillow and blanket) and all was perfectly acceptable to me, i don't do alcohol on flights since getting absolutely shitfaced on a previous Bangkok flight and ended up getting lost in Swampy for an hour trying to find the luggage carousel, i have learnt that for me flying and alcohol don't mix very well lol.

The cost of the one way Scoot Airways ticket, 270GBP, beat that........OK they may not suit the frequent flyer who likes to be pampered with food and alcohol but for me they were just the ticket.

 

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3 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

It was a very pleasant and organised flight DD, i had paid the extra cost for an inflight meal and comfort package (head pillow and blanket)

Thanks very much! My sons are pretty much the same as you when they fly so I shall let them know. Thanks.

As for me, I only use the blanket to try and stifle farts so no problem if I don't have one!!

My sons have been visiting me here for well over 20 years and in the early days they'd bring McDonalds on to the plane. How to the passengers that DON'T order food cope??

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I flew with them about 4 or 5 years ago and had no complaints. Of course, a lot can change in that time, especially with a global pandemic in between. The airlines all seem to be tailoring their offerings more nowadays. Even in Business Class, I noticed that there's sometimes three tiers of fare, including things like free seat booking and extra luggage. So my advice is to not just book a flight based on a good price, but be sure to check out exactly what's included in the fine print.

The extra £1,300 quid pending charge is an odd one. OTOH, I booked and paid for a flight from BKK to LHR with Oman back in 2019 and it was cancelled due to the pandemic, I got the £1,000 refund in the end but it took a lot of e-mails and well over six months.

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9 hours ago, galenkia said:

If I can have a credit card anyone can. 

Oh, for sure. I get inundated with credit card offers (especially from HSBC), but never take them and haven't had a credit card for over 10 years now.

The protection side of CC's is worth considering, honestly didn't know there was any difference in that aspect between CC and DC.

But as I'll be in Thailand permanently now I have no need for a UK CC. I assume the Thai banks don't offer CC's to farang on retirement visas?

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