Lee
New member
- Company Name
- Vietjet airline
- Website Name
- https://www.vietjetair.com/en?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- Customer Care Number
- Vietnam hotline
- Loss Amount
- 1
- Ratings
I wish to lodge a formal consumer complaint regarding an unexpected excess cabin baggage charge imposed by Vietjet Air at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
I had already completed airline check-in and entered the restricted departure area when I purchased goods from duty-free/airport retail shops. When I subsequently arrived at the boarding gate, Vietjet staff weighed my cabin baggage together with these newly purchased items and imposed an additional baggage charge because the combined weight exceeded the cabin baggage allowance.
My concern is not simply that Vietjet has a cabin baggage weight limit. The issue is whether the application of that limit to goods purchased inside the airport after check-in was adequately and prominently disclosed to passengers before they made those purchases.
At the time I purchased the goods, I had already completed check-in. I therefore had no reasonable practical opportunity to return to the check-in counter and place the newly purchased items into my checked baggage. By the time the additional charge was imposed at the boarding gate, my practical choices were effectively limited to paying the charge or abandoning goods that I had legitimately purchased within the airport.
I consider this particularly concerning because passengers are permitted and commercially encouraged to purchase goods within the airport departure area. If such purchases are subsequently treated as part of the airline's cabin baggage weight allowance and can result in a significant additional charge at the boarding gate, this condition should be clearly and prominently communicated before passengers purchase those goods.
In my experience travelling with other airlines, I have not previously encountered an unexpected excess cabin baggage charge arising specifically from duty-free goods purchased after completion of check-in. I therefore had no reasonable basis to anticipate that making purchases within the departure area could expose me to an additional baggage charge at the gate.
I am concerned that the relevant restriction and potential financial consequence were not communicated with sufficient clarity and prominence before the transaction took place. A material condition capable of creating an additional charge should, in my view, be disclosed transparently at an appropriate stage when the consumer still has a meaningful opportunity to make an informed decision.
I respectfully request that the relevant consumer protection authority review this matter, including:
1. Whether Vietjet adequately disclosed, before purchase, that post-check-in duty-free/airport purchases would be included in the cabin baggage weight allowance and could result in an additional charge at the boarding gate;
2. Whether the manner in which this policy was communicated provided passengers with sufficient and meaningful advance notice;
3. Whether it is fair and transparent to impose such a charge only at the boarding stage, when the passenger may no longer have a practical opportunity to check the additional items;
4. Whether clearer warnings should be required at check-in, within the departure retail/duty-free area, and/or at the point of sale where such purchases may affect a passenger's baggage allowance; and
5. Whether the additional baggage charge imposed in my case should be refunded.
I am not seeking to avoid legitimate baggage rules. My complaint concerns transparency, adequate disclosure and the practical fairness of imposing an unexpected additional charge at a stage when the passenger has very limited alternatives.
I have retained supporting evidence, including my flight/booking information, boarding pass, receipts for the goods purchased after check-in, and proof of the additional baggage payment. I am prepared to provide these documents upon request.
I respectfully request an investigation into this incident and assistance in obtaining a refund of the additional baggage charge if the charge is found to have been inadequately disclosed or unfairly imposed.
I would appreciate a written response regarding the outcome of this complaint.
I had already completed airline check-in and entered the restricted departure area when I purchased goods from duty-free/airport retail shops. When I subsequently arrived at the boarding gate, Vietjet staff weighed my cabin baggage together with these newly purchased items and imposed an additional baggage charge because the combined weight exceeded the cabin baggage allowance.
My concern is not simply that Vietjet has a cabin baggage weight limit. The issue is whether the application of that limit to goods purchased inside the airport after check-in was adequately and prominently disclosed to passengers before they made those purchases.
At the time I purchased the goods, I had already completed check-in. I therefore had no reasonable practical opportunity to return to the check-in counter and place the newly purchased items into my checked baggage. By the time the additional charge was imposed at the boarding gate, my practical choices were effectively limited to paying the charge or abandoning goods that I had legitimately purchased within the airport.
I consider this particularly concerning because passengers are permitted and commercially encouraged to purchase goods within the airport departure area. If such purchases are subsequently treated as part of the airline's cabin baggage weight allowance and can result in a significant additional charge at the boarding gate, this condition should be clearly and prominently communicated before passengers purchase those goods.
In my experience travelling with other airlines, I have not previously encountered an unexpected excess cabin baggage charge arising specifically from duty-free goods purchased after completion of check-in. I therefore had no reasonable basis to anticipate that making purchases within the departure area could expose me to an additional baggage charge at the gate.
I am concerned that the relevant restriction and potential financial consequence were not communicated with sufficient clarity and prominence before the transaction took place. A material condition capable of creating an additional charge should, in my view, be disclosed transparently at an appropriate stage when the consumer still has a meaningful opportunity to make an informed decision.
I respectfully request that the relevant consumer protection authority review this matter, including:
1. Whether Vietjet adequately disclosed, before purchase, that post-check-in duty-free/airport purchases would be included in the cabin baggage weight allowance and could result in an additional charge at the boarding gate;
2. Whether the manner in which this policy was communicated provided passengers with sufficient and meaningful advance notice;
3. Whether it is fair and transparent to impose such a charge only at the boarding stage, when the passenger may no longer have a practical opportunity to check the additional items;
4. Whether clearer warnings should be required at check-in, within the departure retail/duty-free area, and/or at the point of sale where such purchases may affect a passenger's baggage allowance; and
5. Whether the additional baggage charge imposed in my case should be refunded.
I am not seeking to avoid legitimate baggage rules. My complaint concerns transparency, adequate disclosure and the practical fairness of imposing an unexpected additional charge at a stage when the passenger has very limited alternatives.
I have retained supporting evidence, including my flight/booking information, boarding pass, receipts for the goods purchased after check-in, and proof of the additional baggage payment. I am prepared to provide these documents upon request.
I respectfully request an investigation into this incident and assistance in obtaining a refund of the additional baggage charge if the charge is found to have been inadequately disclosed or unfairly imposed.
I would appreciate a written response regarding the outcome of this complaint.