travel agent drags feet in refunding missed flight taxes

paolonline

Hi there,

I booked a Glasgow-Newark (via Heathrow) BA flight (following the procedure indicated on this website) through a travel agent to attend a friend's wedding.
I had ESTA and a valid passport, but was not allowed to board the Heathrow-Newark flight due to a tehnicality (passport was issued in a 1-year window during which a digital picture on the passport was required to travel to the US with an ESTA, while my passport has the standard picture laminated into it), so I couldn't travel.

I know I'm entitled to a refund of the taxes of the unused segment of my flight. But BA (rightly so) claims I have to contact the travel agent to get the refund, not them, as I paid the travel agent in the first instance.

I've emailed and phoned the travel agent, and I've now worked out that they play me about: they always give me the same answer,but they don't act on it.
They say "You are entitled to a refund, we'll contact you by email within the next 24 hrs to give you all the details".
After 4 weeks from my first contact they haven't yet contacted me back.

Who can I contact (or threaten them to contact) to get the money I'm owed (about £200)?
Is there such thing as a travel agent ombudsman?

Cheers

johnnybondfinger

I would send an email through to them with a read receipt so that you have evidence that the email was read then not actioned. There are authorities you can report them to but without knowing the agent I couldn't comment. If it's a major tour operator/travel agent, ABTA is a good way to go, if it's not, I wouldn't be too sure as, if it's based in another country, there may be different rules.

You could try small claims court - no agent is going to pay to contest because the amount you will get back in tax will probably amount to less than £30 (economy per person), because you do not get all taxes back, but only specific taxes.

dzug1

I'm puzzled - I presume you don't have a British passport because that one year window didn't exist with them - they have always been valid (well the past 10 years or so)?

Someone - on here?? or some similar board reported a similar occurrence with an Italian passport fairly recently. Not sure what their outcome was.