RedBalloon

WARNING: @RedBalloon's system errors are making us miss our QLD tour! Now your support team is refusing a refund and trying to force us to take store credit. Under Australian Consumer Law, store policy cannot override our rights when YOUR mistakes cause a major service failure. DO NOT TRUST this company! worst customer service ever!

We used our Red Balloon birthday gift vouchers to book a stay at the Fairmont Hotel and Resort in the Blue Mountains. It was a wonderful stay, we invited some family friends to come stay the night in the resort too. The staff were incredibly helpful in booking it over the phone, and they allowed us to include our newborn and toddler as well -… Read more ·  1

setting up portacots in the room for when we arrived. We loved the facilities, the indoor heated pool, the kids playgrounds, the arcade games, the views and the super comfortable rooms. The next day we used the remaining gift voucher amount to visit Scenic World - and was that a treat! It was so enjoyed by all, especially the Gruffalo walk and the train ride. Thank you Red Ballon for allowing us to book at the Blue Mountains Fairmont Resort and Scenic World ! We will be back and we will use Red Balloon again for sure!

Polite but Appalling Service... I had multiple phone calls regarding vouchers and credits and trying to get the vouchers actually redeemed. It was ridiculious ...I spent more than 1.5 hours on the phone with them and the clincher came when I had an… Read more

experience cancelled by the provider (for weather conditions) conformed with an email from Red Ballon the next day and the 1 month later I tried to use it again only to be asked to send them very email that Red Balloon sent to me because they didn't have it!! Seriously is this a genuine business?? Most businesses would fail with this level of customer service!

The laneway was a vibrant little corner of Melbourne that l didn’t know existed. The pick up was easy, but as it was a cold day, we weren’t sure where we could eat that was warm and cosy. The guy from the pick up shop allowed us to use one of his… Read more

tables and it had a heater, so that was a tick. The food was well presented in little take away containers with lids. There were many dips and spreads and cheeses and cured meat and a scattering of chips, but when we looked at it we weren’t quite sure how to eat it. There were no biscuits or bread to put the dips and spreads on. There were several wooden spoons provided. There was a random pot of olive oil (maybe nice bread?). We went back to the shop and asked if we could purchase some Turkish bread, and he gave us some on the house. That made things easier as we could spread the dips on. We then realised we had no serviettes, so back to the shop we went. The man noticed us struggling to eat and came with plates and cutlery. So, 5 stars for attentiveness, helpfulness and service, and yummy food, 2 stars for lack of thought into what was added and how we were to eat it. If it was a sunny day and we went to the banks of the Yarra and sat down, I am not sure how we would have mannaged

A quick and convenient way to purchase a gift. Allows the respondent to choose something of their liking. Show reply

Friendly and helpful... until you ask for your money back I am frustrated with this company. I have a voucher worth $359.10 that is completely valid and doesn’t even expire until late 2028. However, RedBalloon has completely removed the specific experience I paid for. Their website just locks you into a loop telling you to swap it for another… Read more

experience, but nothing else on there works for us, and I don't see why I should have to pay extra money out of pocket to upgrade to something else just because they cancelled the event.

I called up to sort it out today, and the girl on the phone was perfectly nice and polite at first—right up until the moment I asked for a refund. The second I mentioned that Australian Consumer Law protects people when a service is discontinued, her tone completely changed. She refused the refund because of their "internal company policy" since it was bought in 2023. When I told her that law overrides policy, she literally said, "Well, our management are well aware of law," but still refused to help me.

To make it worse, this isn't even a new issue. I actually emailed them way back in 2024 because the provider never had any suitable dates available, and RedBalloon completely ignored my email and never replied - definitely my bad for not following up until now, but irrespective, the voucher is still valid. Will be interesting to see if I even get a response or a phone call as promised within 24 hours..

It feels sneaky for a company to admit they know what the law says, but choose to ignore it anyway just to keep your money. If you can't provide the experience someone paid for on a live voucher, you should give them their money back. It’s as simple as that. I’ve sent a formal email to their contact us email and will be taking further if it isn’t sorted out. I am more than happy to update this review with the final outcome—whether it be good or bad—depending on how their management chooses to handle this.

Save your money and buy directly from local businesses instead!

UPDATE 06.07.26: RedBalloon is officially refusing a refund for an experience they permanently deleted from Western Australia. I have a valid voucher that doesn't expire until September 2028, but because they pulled the experience from WA entirely, it's impossible to book locally. Instead of refunding me for a service they can no longer provide, they are trying to fob me off with a "policy" excuse, claiming I missed an 18-month booking window. The joke is, I actually emailed them back in 2024 to book it because the supplier had no dates, and they completely ignored me. Now they are just trying to force me to take a store credit for something I don't want. Advertising a "5-year expiry" but quietly canning the actual product after 18 months is a massive joke. I’ve officially escalated this.

UPDATE 07.07.26: Complete fob-off. Frontline customer service emailed back to state that their upper management team will not be taking any action and are simply awaiting the outcome of a formal claim. Because they refuse to resolve this directly, a formal dispute has now been officially lodged with WA Consumer Protection.

2nd UPDATE 07.07.26: Another representative reached out today. They are declining the refund based on their 18-month booking policy and stated that my 2024 email attempt went to a "no-reply" address. The issue remains that the experience was permanently removed from WA, making it impossible to redeem locally.

I booked this for my parents, and it honestly couldn’t have gone better. From the moment we arrived, the staff were warm, professional, and made everyone feel completely at ease. It was especially reassuring for my parents, who were a little nervous at first—but the team took the time to explain everything and made it such a comfortable… Read more ·  1

experience.

The flight itself was absolutely breathtaking. Seeing everything from above gave us a whole new perspective, and the views were just unforgettable. It felt like such a special way to spend time together as a family.

What really made it stand out was how smooth and well-organized everything was. The pilot was fantastic—friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced, which made the whole ride feel safe and enjoyable.

This was more than just an activity—it turned into a really meaningful memory for all of us. I’m so glad I got to share it with my parents, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for something unique and memorable.

Booked 2 vouchers for a boat cruise. But the cruise didn't get confirmation. Had to outlay another $300 to book the cruise anyway. Not sure why it fell through. But redballoon can EAD.

Money well spent on a coupon that offers a wide variety of choices, from fine dine to outdoor activities. It is also an excellent idea to be purchased as a gift voucher. Highly recommended! Show reply

Very easy to use website for ordering gift vouchers and they come almost automatically as soon as you press pay. They also offer an option to send the gift card directly to the person. Easy print format too. Show reply

I booked and paid for a little getaway for my partner and myself for his Christmas present last year, we were to use it this year around August/September. Go to book it, and it’s now unavailable and useless. Not super happy about it as there aren’t really any getaways available to replace it around the same price.

Hot Air Balloon ride booking process, compared to going direct the customer service was heaps better, I called provider directly and got no benefit whatsoever beyond a regurgitation of information about how great they are. I contact RedBalloon to book the same service whose customer service was so polite and provided a discount code and… Read more ·  1

promotional discounts and reassurance of the process and benefits. Also being a part of ShopBack was a big win of why they got my business