1Time passengers who have booked with their Visa or credit cards are set to get refunds from Standard Bank and Absa. “Card holders who bought flight tickets from 1Time Airlines using a Standard Bank Visa or MasterCard, be it debit, credit or cheque card, may lodge a dispute with Standard Bank by calling 0861 201 000,” said Standard Bank in a statement.
Meanwhile, Absa said: “Absa is aware of the inconvenience its customers are experiencing with regards to the liquidation of 1time. In order to make customers lives easier, we can confirm that all 1time purchases made with Absa issued cards, will be refunded."
FNB confirmed that it will assist customers where possible and will refund those who had paid for flights with their FNB credit cards. It could not confirm yet whether customers who paid with other cards, such as debit cards, will get refunds as well.
Cardholders who have purchased flight tickets from 1Time Airlines using a credit card branded with a Visa, MasterCard or an American Express logo, may contact their issuing bank for a chargeback. A chargeback is a reversal of a transaction because the goods or services that were purchased were not provided by the merchant. These card chargeback processing rules are established practices between banks that issue payment cards and banks that facilitate merchants to accept payment cards as a valid payment mechanism.
Nedbank and American Express Cardholders may apply for a chargeback if they have purchased a 1Time ticket on their Nedbank Visa or MasterCard credit card, or on their American Express card, for a flight scheduled to depart after 3pm on 2 November 2012, said Nedbank.
The bank further advised that cardholders should raise a chargeback within 60 days to allow enough time for Nedbank to validate the chargeback before we submit it to the acquirer. “We advise all cardholders to follow the normal process and contact the Nedbank Call Centre on 0860 555 111. A dispute form will be provided to the cardholder, after which the cardholder is required to submit the following documentation to Nedbank: The completed dispute form and proof that the services were not rendered (a reference number or correspondence to this effect) e.g. copy of the air ticket,” added Nedbank.
According to the Mail & Guardian, passengers who paid cash for their tickets may have to wait a long time as the airliner undergoes the liquidation process. Spokesperson Refilwe Masemola told the paper: “Any money that was paid in cash is considered belonging to the company. That is the money that was physically left with the company when it went into liquidation."
Time out
1Time is filling for liquidation and has ceased operations with immediate effect. It made the announcement on Friday 2 November leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. “1Time again apologises to all passengers for the inconvenience and financial losses caused and wishes to reiterate that management and staff did everything in their power to keep the airline operational to honour commitments and obligations to passengers.
"Throughout our journey of Business Rescue we have been nothing but honest and transparent in all our dealings with you and therefore it is with regret that this is my final communiqué to you. In spite of malicious rumours, I wish to reassure them that 1Time did not know until 3pm yesterday afternoon that the Business Rescue practitioners would shut operations with immediate effect.
"Despite the best efforts of my management team, our nationwide employees, and myself, we were unfortunately unable to win this battle. I again wish to thank passengers for their loyalty and commitment to 1time, your unrelenting support is testimony that South Africa has lost a formidable player in the aviation industry," said Blacky Komani, CEO of 1Time Airline in a statement on Facebook.
Banking on a refund?
Justmoney has published below the contact details of all the major banks so that consumers can file disputes and get refunds:
Absa: 0861 462 273 or email disputes@absa.co.za
First National Bank (FNB): 087 575 1111
Nedbank: 0860 555 111
Standard Bank: 0861 201 000 or email disputes@standardbank.co.za