An Australian traveller got more than she'd budgeted for after applying for a refund with Qatar Airways.
Jessican Tam received a massive NZ$30 million refund from the Middle-Eastern airline after her business class round trip from Jakarta to London was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Tam posted about her predicament on a frequent flyer discussion website on Monday.
"Hmmm. I notice that today my QR refund has come through to my credit card," she said.
"My account is now showing as $28,179,789 available balance. (The refund was less than $3000.) Eek.
"Can anyone suggest a small country I should purchase?"
In order to prove the legitimacy of her story, Tam even posted a screenshot of her credit card statement, clearly showing a balance of AU$28 million.
Other members of the forum were quick to offer their bank accounts as a solution to her problem, Tam joking she already had plans for what to do with the money.
"Thanks for stepping up so quickly. I just need to help out a mate of mine in Nigeria first and I will get right back to you," she replied to the offer.
When the error was investigated, it was discovered Tam's refund was accidentally processed in Australian dollars, instead of the Indonesian Rupiah it was originally purchased with.
So instead of receiving ₹28,179,000 - the equivalent of about NZ$3000 - she was paid out AU$28,179,000.
After Tam went public with the story, Qatar Airways issued a statement saying they were not to blame for the mistake, pointing the finger at Tam's bank.
"Qatar Airways is aware of a story regarding the overpayment of a refund. The airline processed the refund correctly and was not involved in the transaction between the bank and the passenger. We are glad to learn that the matter was swiftly corrected."
And, almost as quickly as it had landed in Tam's account, the multi-million dollar mix-up refund was taken away.
Unfortunately for Tam, she was also left with a fee of around NZ$50 for converting her refund into Australian dollars.
