In December, I bought three National Express coach tickets to Newcastle for an event in February. I paid an additional £144 for extra luggage since we were taking equipment with us. The event got called off when the Omicron variant began spreading. I had purchased fully flexible tickets which guaranteed a full refund. However, when I cancelled, I was told that the booking fee and the extra luggage charge would be deducted from the refund. A £1 booking fee I could cope with, but the £144 luggage charge is a significant outlay and it was not made clear that this was exempt from the refund guarantee.
ATD, Chester
It would be bad enough if these exemptions to a “fully flexible” ticket were tucked away in the small print, but they’re not. They’re not mentioned anywhere on the National Express website. The ticket summary promises full refunds, minus the booking charge, up to 24 hours before travel. The terms and conditions state that “there are certain charges which are non-refundable (including, without limitation, booking fees)”. You would have no way of knowing that your excess baggage charge was lumped in with that.
