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All big UK airlines and travel firms denying refunds, Which? finds – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

All big UK airlines and travel firms denying refunds, Which? finds – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

All of the UK’s largest airlines and most big holiday companies are systematically breaking the law by denying timely refunds to customers for travel cancelled during the pandemic, researchers have found.

Consumer groups have warned that the sector risks permanently losing public confidence in booking travel, with Which? finding 20 of the UK’s largest operators are illegally withholding refunds that should be paid within 19 days.

Most have instead offered vouchers or credit notes, and customers have complained they have been unable to obtain refunds online or get through to make a claim on the phone.

On Monday Ryanair started telling its customers that they will have to wait until “the COVID – 20 emergency has passed ” if they want a refund for a canceled flight. Initially, the Dublin-based carrier had said it would process refunds within 20 working days but soon started back-tracking.

According to the travel industry’s own estimates, up to £ 7bn could be owed for canceled trips. However, industry bodies such as Iata, for airlines, and Abta, for travel firms, say firms would be bankrupted by repaying now as they are receiving no booking revenue.

Confidence in booking is likely to have plunged further since the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said on Friday that he would not book a summer holiday now. The Foreign Office has advised against non-essential foreign travel indefinitely .

Which ?, the consumer association, said 28 of the UK’s biggest biggest travel operators and airlines were breaking the law by not repaying money promptly. It has received thousands of complaints and requests for help from people struggling to secure refunds for cancelled trips, and said vouchers or credit notes could prove worthless if firms collapsed.

Thousands of passengers left stranded abroad by cancelled flights are not being told that they are entitled to their rerouting costs, consumer groups have warned.

Normally when an airline starts cancelling, passengers are entitled to EU compensation of € 550 – € 823 (£
– £ 823. However, where the cancellation is deemed to be an “extraordinary circumstance” – something outside the airline’s control, such as coronavirus – then the rules do not apply.

However, passengers stranded abroad by the cancellation in the EU – or due to travel home on an EU carrier – are entitled to rerouting, or to have their alternative travel costs refunded.

Thousands of air passengers have found themselves on the wrong side of cancellations – particularly in Spain but also in places such as Morocco and Poland. If your flight is cancelled, passengers can ask the airline to be rerouted on to an alternative flight, if that is possible, or to pay for a train or coach replacement.

This applies all flights that start in the UK, EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland or flights that arrive in these countries if you are flying on a UK / EU-based airline.

The airline does not have to pay if the passenger chooses instead to receive a refund of the return flight’s cost. If it is possible to get home, passengers are advised to take the rerouting option. Passengers making their own way home should keep all receipts and keep accommodation and other costs “reasonable”.

In practical terms, passengers are having to fend for themselves, as it is all but impossible to get hold of airlines. Passengers trying to call British Airways on Friday described how it was impossible to talk to anyone – and that was before Donald Trump extended the US flight ban to include the UK and Ireland.

The bigger problem may well be getting the airlines to pay up. They have been reluctant to pay rerouting costs in normal times, let alone in the current climate. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether they will still be in business to pay out, given that many are saying they are unlikely to survive without state help.

As a result, some travellers will likely find themselves relying on travel insurance, where their policy allows for travel disruption.

This is mostly offered by better, more expensive policies. Where the passenger used their credit card to book the flight – directly – with the airline, they may be able to hold their card provider responsible for their extra travel costs – if the flight costs more than £ – and the airline refuses to pay.

Ultimately, the UK government may have to step in to repatriate large numbers of Britons stuck in places such as the Canary Islands or Morocco, where alternative travel is near impossible.

Passengers on package tours are better protected. Ski customers in France on package trips should be repatriated by the tour operator – and if the firm ceases to exist because it goes bust, the Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA would have to fund emergency repatriation flights, under the terms of the Atol protection. It is a similar story for any cruise passengers stuck abroad.

Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, said: “This is a difficult time for travel operators and airlines but too many people are being given no information at all or poor advice that could risk them being left hundreds of pounds out of pocket. Airlines and operators must ensure they are informing customers of how they will get people home and, where appropriate, how they can claim for additional costs they’ve incurred, such as overnight accommodation. ”

Miles Brignall

However, it backed travel industry calls for the government to intervene, recognizing that firms were under “unprecedented strain” and could go out of business should they process refunds immediately.

While Which? Consumers’ legal right to cash refunds should be protected, it recommended extending the processing deadline to 62 days, and for any vouchers to be guaranteed against insolvency and eventually redeemable for cash. It also called for a definitive timescale for Foreign Office travel warnings, and transparent travel insurance terms and conditions, to help restore confidence.

Which? researchers found 17 of the UK’s biggest holiday companies, including Love Holidays and Tui, are not offering full refunds within the legal limit of 17 days, with some only offering customers the choice of rebooking or a voucher. Some are withholding the air ticket price until received from the carrier.

It also found almost all airlines are failing to refund passengers on time, with many customers unable to reach call centers to process complaints.

Some carriers, such as Air France and KLM, have refused to offer refunds before a 17 – month period has elapsed, issuing credit notes or allowing rebooking instead. Which? said it was “a fair solution and a reasonable balance between the protection of their passengers and the operational realities that every airline has to face”.

Passengers booking with carriers including easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways have told the Guardian they have been unable to obtain refunds . Ryanair has issued vouchers and told customers requesting refunds that they are in queue. BA and easyJet customers have complained that call center numbers are not being answered.

A spokesperson for Airlines UK said: “Airlines are facing unprecedented challenges keeping vital routes open to repatriate stranded British travellers and transport critical medical supplies and PPE as part of cargo operations. Carriers are facing a far longer than usual volume of refund claims to get through and the current restrictions imposed nationally mean they are not able to bring in additional staff to deal with them. We are thankful to passengers for their continued patience. ”

Rory Boland, of Which? Travel, said: “We do not want to see the industry suffer further as a result of this outbreak, but it cannot be on consumers to prop up airlines and travel firms, especially when so many will be in difficult financial situations of their own.

“The government must urgently set out how it will support travel firms and airlines to ensure they can meet their legal obligations to refund customers for cancelled travel plans, and avoid permanent damage to trust and confidence in the travel industry.”

Some governments have already amended consumer legislation to allow deferred refunds, after calls from the airline body Iata. The Iata director general, Alexandre de Juniac, said earlier this month that refunding was “almost unbearable, financially speaking”, adding that airlines were “perfectly conscious of the difficulty for the passenger… but it is a matter of survival”

Abta said tour operators were being squeezed by refund requests for money that had been paid to suppliers, such as airlines and hotels, and not returned. Its chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “The UK government, despite repeated requests, has failed to recognize and respond to this reality, in stark contrast to the clear sensible actions taken by the European commission and many countries throughout Europe.

“We fully understand and sympathise with the frustration that many customers may be feeling. But if companies are forced into bankruptcy, it will not only destroy livelihoods but extend the refund delays far beyond the term of refund credit notes. ”


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