Coronovirus cancelled flights refund not e-voucher

grump

How exactly do you demand/claim a refund and not an e-voucher as you say on this weeks newsletter? My flight is booked with Delta Man to Srq (USa) via Atlanta on Apr 2nd. The transatlantic flight is a Virgin codeshare one originating in Manchester.
On Delta website it says it will automatically issue e-vouchers for cancellations with a time limit of when it can be used confusingly 2 different dates given - 12 months from issue of ticket (mine was issued 15th July 2019) and another date of Dec 31st 2020 as cut off. This is no use to me as I have already got similar flights booked for November til January 2021. Can’t get through to Virgin or Delta on phone. Is there a template/guidelines somewhere on the site. Would I be able to claim through credit card? If I claim on travel insurance the first £75 per person is not covered.

heatherw_01

Moving to the corona sub forum

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

Nick_C

Contact whoever you booked and paid with.  Check their web site for an email address or contact form.  Tell them a voucher is not acceptable and that you want a full refund.

BA are doing the same thing.  They are hoping that people will accept vouchers, preserving the airline's cash flow.

If you paid by credit card, claim a refund from the CC company under S75.  If you paid by debit card, request a chargeback.

Insurance is a last resort when all other avenues fail, and an insurance claim is not appropriate when you can get the money back from the card issuer.

Where insurance claims are valid for other travel related issues, expect the insurance companies to state force majeure applies and try to deny your claim.

If the insurance companies were expected to bail everyone out, they would soon go bust.

luce3003

We have tried both demanding a monetary refund and a section 75 this morning. Travel operator said it was the 'law' to issue a voucher and it's basically tough. Credit card company told us we can't raise section 75 due to coronavirus related claims 🤦🏻‍♀️ still going to send in a claim to credit card company but may have to go through insurance at this rate!

Westin

luce3003 said:

We have tried both demanding a monetary refund and a section 75 this morning. Travel operator said it was the 'law' to issue a voucher and it's basically tough. Credit card company told us we can't raise section 75 due to coronavirus related claims 🤦🏻‍♀️ still going to send in a claim to credit card company but may have to go through insurance at this rate!

 Without knowing a little more it is difficult to comment.  You haven't mentioned when you are travelling or the arrangement you are trying to obtain a refund on.    For example, if you have a package holiday departing next week - you should get a refund.  If you are not due to going on holiday until June and you have booked items separately - currently no automatic refund.

AgentOso1

My Mexican holiday has thankfully be cancelled due to the FCO advice, we were due to go next week. As much as we were looking forward to this in the current climate I'd rather be at home.
TUI are trying the same - they aren't offering a refund, they are allowing me to reschedule or a voucher. A voucher for a travel company is risky as we all know but I am not in a position to book another holiday either.
Is anyone in a similar position with them? To complicate matters I booked through another agent so I am not even speaking directly to TUI.

Westin

@AgentOso1:  Up until this morning at least I thought they were automatically offering refunds.  I see their website now just says "We will proactively contact all customers due to travel up to and including 16 April 2020 to offer a range of flexible options, including moving their holiday to a later date."  If you are being refused a refund on a package holiday that TUI have cancelled you might wish to seek the view of ABTA.

luce3003

Westin said:

luce3003 said:

We have tried both demanding a monetary refund and a section 75 this morning. Travel operator said it was the 'law' to issue a voucher and it's basically tough. Credit card company told us we can't raise section 75 due to coronavirus related claims 🤦🏻‍♀️ still going to send in a claim to credit card company but may have to go through insurance at this rate!

 Without knowing a little more it is difficult to comment.  You haven't mentioned when you are travelling or the arrangement you are trying to obtain a refund on.    For example, if you have a package holiday departing next week - you should get a refund.  If you are not due to going on holiday until June and you have booked items separately - currently no automatic refund.

Hi @Westin
Flight & hotel package booked, departing 30/3/20 to Poland. Outbound flight has been cancelled (conf from Ryanair) and borders closed/FCO advising against all non essential travel. A refund voucher has been offered but we aren't able to use this within the 12 month validity period.

AgentOso1

luce3003 said:

Westin said:

luce3003 said:

We have tried both demanding a monetary refund and a section 75 this morning. Travel operator said it was the 'law' to issue a voucher and it's basically tough. Credit card company told us we can't raise section 75 due to coronavirus related claims 🤦🏻‍♀️ still going to send in a claim to credit card company but may have to go through insurance at this rate!

 Without knowing a little more it is difficult to comment.  You haven't mentioned when you are travelling or the arrangement you are trying to obtain a refund on.    For example, if you have a package holiday departing next week - you should get a refund.  If you are not due to going on holiday until June and you have booked items separately - currently no automatic refund.

Hi @Westin
Flight & hotel package booked, departing 30/3/20 to Poland. Outbound flight has been cancelled (conf from Ryanair) and borders closed/FCO advising against all non essential travel. A refund voucher has been offered but we aren't able to use this within the 12 month validity period.

This is pretty much the same as what is happening to me. I can't re-book as (apart from the obvious) and I'll spare the readers a long read I have no idea when I can get away on holiday again due to schools, family, studies, work, etc etc. Therefore a cash refund is the only fair option.

AgentOso1

Update to say that third time lucky contacting the agent. They say that a refund is now being offered. That said, I have no idea of when it will come.

Craighoy

So we are supposed to be travelling to Liberia in Costa Rica on 31st March with Delta.  This had a stop in Atlanta and the initial carrier was Virgin under a code share.  I've been monitoring the Delta site and seen that they have reduced flights from Atlanta to Liberia to 2 per week  - and the day were due to go is not one of them.  So I've also been checking the Heathrow to Atlanta flight  - and thats disappeared as well.  Checked my travel itinerary with Delta - the trip is still on but our booked seats information has gone for the outbound..  Checked the Delta Flight Status and it was saying for this week that flights have cancelled - but for 31st it says I've made a mistake and there are no flights that day.  
BUT - been in touch with Delta via Twitter - not interested. Offering a re-book only to be taken by 10th Oct - the anniversary of our booking. Thats a waste of time as we cant go again until January.
I did see that in the EU there is a Rule 261 that states that if flights are cancelled for no matter what reason your'e entitled to a full cash refund.  Trouble is - a) Delta aren't saying the flights are cancelled - its like they never existed - and - b) We're not in the EU any more so dont know if this rule still applies.
Any Advice?