MSE News: Kiss Flights goes bust: your travel rights

cantcope

I was told by bookable holidays it could take 8-12 months for my refund

cornerstone13

We have received a letter today from the CAA to say they "are able to make a payment of £xxx in full and final settlement" to be paid directly into our bank account. We put in the original claim on 09-09-10 direct to the CAA, so this has taken three months.

Our booking was through Travel Republic. When KISS went down, we were lucky enough to rebook our flights immediately with another carrier, so were able to go on holiday as planned.

My question now is - Travel Republic charged us 2.25% credit card fee (£11.54). Understandably, the CAA do not refund this cost but could we try to reclaim it from Travel Republic? I can't quite get my head around this - I know TR make this charge as they themselves are charged by the credit card company, so they are passing the cost back to us - fair enough, as we had the option to pay by debit card with no fee. But we are out of pocket by £11.54 (I know, small beans) so who has this money - TR or the credit card company - just want to know who/if I should try to get it back from.

bagand96

My question now is - Travel Republic charged us 2.25% credit card fee (£11.54). Understandably, the CAA do not refund this cost but could we try to reclaim it from Travel Republic? I can't quite get my head around this - I know TR make this charge as they themselves are charged by the credit card company, so they are passing the cost back to us - fair enough, as we had the option to pay by debit card with no fee. But we are out of pocket by £11.54 (I know, small beans) so who has this money - TR or the credit card company - just want to know who/if I should try to get it back from.

I notice they charge 2.5% credit cad fee. I don't know how much Visa/Mastercard charge to process payments. If its 2.5% then your money has gone to them. If its less than that (i.e. 1%), then Travel Republic will have sliced the extra cut for themselves.

Either way, I doubt you will see it again. The transaction happened, the payment was processed, and there is a fee associated with that which you have paid. You could try contacting Travel Republic but I doubt they'll volunteer it.

joe13

Glad to hear that they are now processing refunds, we sent our claim in on 26th August.
We did not get our holiday rebooked and no refund yet !
So still awaiting refund for the flights from the CAA and holiday costs from Hays Travel.

Has anyone else heard news of refunds?

cantcope

I claimed for flights and holiday through bookable holidays. No news yet

cornerstone13

Just to let you know that the money from the CAA has arrived in our bank today. The timings for us were:

We booked flights, hotel and transfers through Travel Republic in June
When Kiss went down (17 Aug), we rebooked immediately with another carrier and were able to use the hotel and transfer elements of our booking.
On 09.09.10 we put in the claim direct to the CAA (delay on our part as we had to wait for our credit card statement to arrive).
I called the CAA mid November to find out any progress - they said they were waiting for confirmation of our costs from Travel Republic.
Called Travel Republic Admin Dept who said they were busy processing the claims for the CAA and to give them a few days
Called CAA end of November; they had everything they needed from TR and we would "get our payment soon"
(As above) letter from CAA to say they were paying was received 11 Dec and amount paid direct into our bank today.

Seems we've had a relatively painless (although lengthy in my mind) experience compared to others. All I can say is - keep chasing.

joe13

cornerstone13 wrote: »

Just to let you know that the money from the CAA has arrived in our bank today. The timings for us were:

We booked flights, hotel and transfers through Travel Republic in June
When Kiss went down (17 Aug), we rebooked immediately with another carrier and were able to use the hotel and transfer elements of our booking.
On 09.09.10 we put in the claim direct to the CAA (delay on our part as we had to wait for our credit card statement to arrive).
I called the CAA mid November to find out any progress - they said they were waiting for confirmation of our costs from Travel Republic.
Called Travel Republic Admin Dept who said they were busy processing the claims for the CAA and to give them a few days
Called CAA end of November; they had everything they needed from TR and we would "get our payment soon"
(As above) letter from CAA to say they were paying was received 11 Dec and amount paid direct into our bank today.

Seems we've had a relatively painless (although lengthy in my mind) experience compared to others. All I can say is - keep chasing.

What number did you call the CAA on?
Our claim had to go thru holiday company as we did not get rebooked and are also owed for hotel accommodation as well as the flights.
thanks

cantcope

joe13 wrote: »

What number did you call the CAA on?
Our claim had to go thru holiday company as we did not get rebooked and are also owed for hotel accommodation as well as the flights.
thanks

Me too. I was going to call the holiday company in the new year...

cornerstone13

It was a bit of a challenge to get through to the CAA. The numbers on their website are not much use but we eventually found a number - 0300 303 1075 - which is the same number that appears on the letter recently received from the CAA. The claims are handled in Chichester and there is also a fax: 01243 790265 and email address: CAAclaims@cegagroup.com.

There was a recorded message asking people not to call unless urgent as that would delay processing of payment - but you really need to know what's happening with your claim, especially if you've been waiting ages. Unsurprisingly, it's the same as dealing with estate agents, solicitors etc etc - if you keep on at them you seem to be dealt with 'quicker'.

Good luck

NurseJanet

My question is: - Is it correct that an agent/ticket provider can keep a passenger-booking fee for a flight even if an airline ceases trading?

In my case I booked 3 flights though airflights.co.uk on the 10th May 2010 to go to Tenerife on the 26th November 2010 travelling with Kiss airlines. These totalled £517.50 and I paid in full at the time of booking as requested, with my Barclays Visa debit card. Kiss airlines then ceased trading in August 2010 and I completed my claim form as soon as I was informed.

I have now just received back part of my money. I received £240 from the CAA, as airflights had only paid Kiss airlines a deposit as of the time they ceased trading. I then got £216 back from airflights and was informed that £20 per person of the flight fee had actually been a “booking/service fee” and was non refundable and that I had also paid £1.50 credit card charges which were also non refundable. This meant I had lost £61.50, even though it was ATOL protected!

I have contacted Barclays and they say it has nothing to do with them, as it was ATOL protected. They said I could contact trading standards if I was still not happy, which I did, but they were no use and I was no wiser. So I am unsure what to do next, do I just accept what airflights say, that they can get away with keeping my money and I am liable for the cost or am I entitled to it back either direct from the booking agent or through Barclay card services? Please can someone offer me some advice?

Regards
NurseJanet