Air Transat cancellation - no refund?

Alan_Bowen

Things are beginning to move in Canada, there is a petition addressed to Parliament, begun by the equivalent of the Consumers Association demanding a change in the rules as consumers and travel agents are screaming for assistance. President Trudeau has said he will look at the issue but has said 'he understands the financial implications for airlines' so no guarantees.
The CAA has advised that there are diplomatic issues where a government has taken a clear step to protect its airlines and it is not clear they can get the Foreign Office to lean on a country's airlines, so I think chargebacks may the best bet at present.

mrfixit1983

Have been reading with interest all previous posts as we also find ourselves in the same position and have received the same response from Transat.  We are now considering applying for a chargeback but wondered if anyone has been successful in receiving a refund this way.

Also is it correct that a chargeback can only be submitted once the date of travel has passed?

Any help much appreciated 

Life__Goes__On

mrfixit1983 said:

Have been reading with interest all previous posts as we also find ourselves in the same position and have received the same response from Transat.  We are now considering applying for a chargeback but wondered if anyone has been successful in receiving a refund this way.

Also is it correct that a chargeback can only be submitted once the date of travel has passed?

Any help much appreciated 

It's once you have proof it's cancelled.
If doing a Chargeback  try to make it as bullet proof as possible,  to give them no grounds to contest it.

jem16

mrfixit1983 said:

We are now considering applying for a chargeback but wondered if anyone has been successful in receiving a refund this way.
Also is it correct that a chargeback can only be submitted once the date of travel has passed?

Any help much appreciated 

Yes my son has been successful so far in that his refund is back in his credit card account. However he has been told that Air Transat have the right to dispute it so we wait. 

Your chargeback can happen as soon as you have written proof that your flights are cancelled and that you have requested and been refused a refund by Air Transat. I would suggest you use either Twitter or Facebook Messenger to get this in writing as they’re quicker to respond with their template replies. 

My son’s flights weren’t due till almost end of June but he applied for and received his chargeback on 8th May. 

bignred05

I sent mine off via the credit card online forms (I paid using 2 separate cards)  2 weeks ago today,
Both have replied stating due to Coronavirus they are taking longer to deal (up to 6 weeks)

what i I would say it besides doing the credit card online forms, also put all the information in a separate email including your account number & contact number 

* think we should update this thread with results as & when it happens for everyone’s benefit 

jem16

bignred05 said:

* think we should update this thread with results as & when it happens for everyone’s benefit 

Agreed and will do.

jem16

Considering all the problems everyone is facing with being fobbed off with these vouchers, I can't make my mind up whether or to cancel before they do. Flight is in July and can't see it happening. My ticket is fully refundable but with a £250 fee. Is losing the £250 preferable to losing the lot if the company goes under and all you have is a voucher?

chacha56

My daughter & son-in-law have just received vouchers from Air Transat for their flights for June. It seems Canadian law supports the issue of vouchers. However I was horrified to read on Air Transat’s website that you are not allowed to use the vouchers with any promotional offers they may have & you must pay the difference in price for the new ticket.  Does this mean that the vouchers are only valid for a full priced fare? Likely to be much more than their original ticket!!  Surely a voucher should be valid to purchase another ticket without having to pay extra?  Because this way the customer is basically going to be paying twice for their ticket as future prices are NOT going to be the same but much more expensive.  I see this as an illegal way of the company making the customer pay for these exceptional circumstances & they are not being held responsible for giving the customer the service they paid for unless they pay a financial penalty (the difference in cost of the new ticket).  

Any advice please on what to do. 

Thank you 

jem16

chacha56 said:

My daughter & son-in-law have just received vouchers from Air Transat for their flights for June. It seems Canadian law supports the issue of vouchers. However I was horrified to read on Air Transat’s website that you are not allowed to use the vouchers with any promotional offers they may have & you must pay the difference in price for the new ticket.  Does this mean that the vouchers are only valid for a full priced fare? Likely to be much more than their original ticket!!  Surely a voucher should be valid to purchase another ticket without having to pay extra?  Because this way the customer is basically going to be paying twice for their ticket as future prices are NOT going to be the same but much more expensive.  I see this as an illegal way of the company making the customer pay for these exceptional circumstances & they are not being held responsible for giving the customer the service they paid for unless they pay a financial penalty (the difference in cost of the new ticket).  

Any advice please on what to do. 

Thank you 

Canadian law doesn’t actually support vouchers. The Canadian Transport Authority has suggested that vouchers would be a good thing to offer but it’s not legally binding and doesn’t negate airlines obligations nor passengers’ rights. 

Assuming their flight was from the UK, then they are covered by EU261/2004 which entitles them to a full refund. Get them to request that refund via Facebook Messenger or Twitter as it’s quicker than email and you want proof of the refusal. Then start chargeback with their card provider. 

They should also email a complaint to the CAA. 

All the info is in this thread. 

bignred05

Just an update.
earlier this week I had a call from one of my Credit Cards with regards to my charge back, its been 3 1/2 weeks since submitting it.
anyway besides asking had it been resolved (with Air Transat) which I told them obvilosuly NO and their is NO chance of them giving me a refund which I am entitled to under UK law, you only have to check Air Transats facebook/twiiter page to know this.

They then asked could I send my original invoice/confirmation (which I have) asked how long the process will take etc, they were unable to say due to volume of claims etc.
hopefully though things shouldn't take that long now.

On another note, we should be on our descent to Toronto Int Airport around now, but for Covid19