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Consumer Rights |
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When a complaint cannot be satisfied by dealing directly with the
firm involved, the following avenues may be pursued:
Non-ASATA Members
ASATA is only able to mediate disputes which are lodged against
ASATA members. Consumers can ascertain whether a firm is an ASATA
member or not by searching Find a Member.
Complaints against non-ASATA members may be lodged with the DTI’s
Consumer and Corporate Regulations Division (CCRD):
Tel: 0861 843 384
Fax: 012 394 2552/8
Additional information:
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ASATA Members
Please note that ASATA will only respond to complaints regarding
ASATA Members and not Associate Partners such as airlines, car
rental companies, hotels, banks, colleges, etc. The following steps
may be followed should complaints not be satisfactorily resolved
between the consumer and the travel agency:
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Only when all avenues with the travel
agency / tour operator have been exhausted (i.e. the most senior
person has attended to the matter) to no avail, consumer complaints
may be lodged with ASATA.
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Only complaints pertaining to ASATA
member travel agencies or ASATA member tour operators / wholesalers
will be handled.
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Complete the
Complaint Form. Completed forms with relevant supporting
documentation are to be forwarded to the ASATA offices: Association
of South African Travel Agents, PO Box 1234, Saxonworld, 2132.
Alternatively, documentation may be emailed to
general@asata.co.za or
faxed to: 011 327 7827. Please note that complaints cannot be
lodged telephonically.
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Disputes prior to departure will be
responded to by ASATA as soon as possible to avoid any inconvenience
during the looming trip. Disputes after departure will be responded
to within 21 working days.
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ASATA will first request a full report
from the member involved before any final comment will be made to
the complainant in order to resolve the matter in an equitable
manner. ASATA members are given 14 working days to respond to
ASATA’s correspondence relating to complaints. Should complaints be
received PRIOR to the departure of the customers, immediate
resolution will be sought. In such case, members will be expected to
respond to ASATA’s correspondence urgently.
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Members must acknowledge the receipt of
the complaint from ASATA within 24 hours. Once all the information
is gathered, ASATA will recommend a course of action.
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Complaints must be lodged within 6
months of the return date of the final journey.
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Once your official complaint with
supporting documents is received, ASATA will allocate a
reference number to be used in all future correspondence.
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Please note that in all matters of
complaint, ASATA acts purely as a mediator and can only recommend
a course of action. ASATA is legally constituted as a non-profit
trade association, our jurisdiction and powers are limited – we do
not have the legal power to close a company down, impose fines,
dictate a course of action or enforce a decision. Our constitution
does however provide for suspension of membership under certain
circumstances when our criteria or Terms of Reference have not been
satisfied.
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It must be noted that complaints do take
some time to be investigated or resolved due to the complexity of
some of the issues which are brought to our attention. ASATA is
non-profit organisation with limited staff and budget available to
devote to complaints.
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If any refunds are due, these monies are
refunded to the client by either the airline, travel agent, tour
operator or other principal and will not be refunded through ASATA.
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ASATA does not become involved with
or comment on issues surrounding lost luggage, airline issues such
as in-flight services, flight delays and so forth, labour issues,
personal disputes and/or PR or slander issues.
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ASATA does not act as Debt Collector. We
do not have the funds nor the staffing to pursue outstanding debts.
However, we do view the handling of monies as of utmost importance
and to this end, proof of transactions may be requested.
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ASATA does not become involved in
matters that have already been taken to independent litigation or
are under legal process.
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ASATA does not become involved with
individual cases involving visa applications. The issuance of a
visa is at the discretion of the consulate concerned and is beyond
our jurisdiction as consulates in many cases will not provide
information to a third party. To this end we highly recommend that
passengers always check their documentation on receipt from either
their travel agent or the consulate, and these checks should also
include the inspection of the air ticket (ensure that dates and
routes are correct, and that all coupons are present for example),
insurance, visas and related vouchers, dates, terms and conditions
and so forth.
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Each case is treated in the strictest
confidence and on an individual basis. If there are other complaints
relating to the same issue they will not be discussed between
complainants.
- Please note that ASATA provides mediation for travel-related
disputes against ASATA members only. ASATA cannot impose
penalties, assess fines or force a company to issue refunds.
We are happy to announce that the majority of our members
continue to operate within the Code of Conduct as set out by ASATA.
We congratulate these members on their continued customer-orientated
professionalism in the industry.
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