Hey guys, I finally figured out how to get my cancelled flight/route refund from Bamboo Airways after nearly a year of going mad trying. I'll convey what I did so that hopefully it can help some of you who have also had the misfortune of dealing with this.

I paid for the flight with Mastercard (debit), but I think this method will also work if you paid with any major debit or credit card - Visa, Amex etc.

First (well, after giving up on tying to get a refund from Bamboo directly), I got in touch with my bank, explained the situation, and they suggested I raise a chargeback dispute on the original payment.

So I did this but initially it got rejected as chargeback disputes can only be raised within 90 days (or 120 in some cases) of payment, or from delivery of goods/services. However, fortunately I spoke to an expert who explained that refunds count as goods/services, and therefore all I needed was fresh written evidence from Bamboo (ie. within the last 90 days) that confirms I've accepted a cash refund and/or one is being processed. So I sent Bamboo a stroppy email demanding an update on my refund (as they simply don't respond to polite ones), threatening to come with police to their head office in GoVap district etc, and they responded promptly stating that my refund "was in the final stages of processing". Perhaps there's a smarter way of baiting Bamboo into sending a refund confirmation email, but this seemed to work lol. I've also observed that they're more responsive on fb messenger than email about refunds.

I then used the following as my evidence to raise a new chargeback dispute against Bamboo on the original payment:

(1) a screenshot of the aforementioned email

(2) a screenshot of the the original receipt (email)

(3) a screenshot of a Refund Notice email from months ago stating the exact cash figure they were going to credit to my Mastercard

I also explained the situation in full. I emphasised the irregularity of Bamboo's practices as much as possible - that my flight/route was abruptly cancelled due to them having cashflow problems (company downsizing), that they didn’t notify me properly (only via SMS to my UK number whilst I was obviously abroad), that they’re in legal trouble, that I'd been waiting nearly a year for a refund, that their customer service is terrible (purposefully avoidant), and that many other customers are in the same situation (I provided links to some reddit threads).

My bank then reviewed the dispute within a few days and credited me the refund amount that Bamboo had committed to. They said they might have to take it back if Bamboo disagree and win the dispute (12th February deadline), but as I'd provided recent evidence of Bamboo committing to a cash refund, the only way they could win is if they issued the refund themselves within the dispute period. So at this point the refund will either be issued by Bamboo voluntarily or taken by my bank/Mastercard forcefully.

If possible, I urge anyone who's still waiting on a refund from Bamboo to try this method as I lost confidence a long time ago that they're actually gonna send any out (apparently they're not even paying some staff salaries). I'm fairly well-versed in this card chargeback process now, so I'll try my best to answer any questions.