Eurotunnel and Coronavirus

csteeley

Has anyone with a standard ticket booked in the near future managed to get a refund for not being able to travel under FCO advice?

Caz3121

if the service is still operating you will be able to amend the date https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/travelling-with-us/latest/covid-19/

I no longer want to travel, can I rebook or get a refund?

Standard Tickets

You can amend your booking for free up to 24 hours before your departure time, if you’re travelling in the same direction and we have space available (you will have to pay the difference if the new ticket is more expensive, but there will be no amendment fees). Most ticket types have a full year from date of original purchase to be used. You can amend your booking here: My Eurotunnel

Alternatively you could see if your travel insurance covers

bc1975

Just posted this in response to similar question on the forum - here are my thoughts/experience:

I’m also trying to get a refund from EuroTunnel but they don’t make it easy.

The “Conditions of Carriage”, section 3.3 deals with the situation where carriage is not possible within a reasonable time frame. Clause 3.3.3 states customers can reject an offer of rebooking and should be able get a refund in accordance with 3.3.2 (cancel & refund).

Clause 9.2.5 (limit of EuroTunnel liability where access to tunnel is suspended in whole or in part) also acknowledges that 3.3 still applies, ie you should still get a refund even if you aren’t covered for any additional damages you might have suffered. 

So my view is that a refund should be offered, but in reality I’ve had to call them, submit an online form, wait a week, and I just now received an impersonal reply saying the matter would be “escalated” to the customer relations department which would take a further three weeks.

My next step will be to show these terms to my credit card provider and ask them to do a chargeback - automatically debit EuroTunnel and refund the full amount, on the basis that they are in breach of their own terms and are not responding in a timely manner. 

It’s unfortunate that Eurotunnel have chosen to handle the situation in this way but, regardless, I believe customers should be legally entitled to a refund.

kezzygirl

I paid with tesco vouchers, and a couple of pounds cash to top up. they have told me I wont get these back, even though the French have banned non essential travel. Guess I will have to take the loss.

bc1975

Hmm - you might still submit an online query saying you’re not happy and expect to be put back into the position you were to begin with. It’s not an unreasonable ask, whereas forcing people to book a new holiday in the midst of a pandemic, or lose their money, does seem unreasonable (to me). 

My view is that the contract is “frustrated”, in that it cannot now be legally satisfied, so it should be cancelled and monies reimbursed. This is also in line with Eurotunnel’s Ts&Cs as commented on previously. 

Best of luck with it if you do continue - the last thing we need with everything else going on is financial loss and uncertainty!

Not directly related to this, but Booking.com refunded three lots of non-refundable accommodation for my trip, so there are companies taking a more reasonable line. 

NaomiDavid

Anyone know how to get a refund/credit note from Eurotunnel? Was due to travel 18th April for 5 day trip booked in November last year. (They had "cancel at anytime for any reason" due to Brexit guarantee.) 

Obviously couldn't travel so contacted them to change the booking for this November. Snooty woman told me I could only change and travel within a year from when I purchased and I wanted to come back 1 year and 1 day after booked. Booked partially with Tesco vouchers.

Eventually changed booking for beginning of September. But now dont think that Belgium will be open for travellers. Or will have to quarantine either there or here. 

My trip is to visit outdoor festivals which may not be going ahead. 

Can I get a refund or credit vouchers for the future does anyone know? 

Tobrock

Looking at Eurotunnel’s latest TrustPilot reviews it appears that nobody is getting a refund.  They are the only firm who I have had any problem with for my whole holiday including Puy du Fou tickets which were refunded without a question.  I cannot believe such a big firm can have such a poor attitude to giving a refund which has left me four hundred pounds down.  MSE help!!!

bc1975

Like many travel companies right now, I expect Eurotunnel is experiencing significant cash flow/liquidity problems, which is driving its response to customers wanting a refund. Many people do intend to travel in the nearish future once service returns to normal so rebooking is not an issue for them, but clearly there are others who cannot yet make those plans. See my prior comments regarding the T’s and C’s - their terms state that if the service is partially suspended then they can either put you on a ferry etc to get you there as originally planned, or offer rebooking with the customer option of a refund. It will no doubt be a lot of work to get through the customer service wall though, and you may need to escalate to the relevant dispute resolution body. 

Honestly, I’m really surprised at their reluctance to let you book on your preferred dates - it wouldn’t cost Eurotunnel anything and this type of customer service story really doesn’t generate any sympathy amongst the public. 

In terms of what you can do now, as you’ve already rebooked they might be quite difficult about moving it again or refunding (unless this journey is also cancelled), but if it were me I would argue that the advice given at the time you rebooked was misleading, and you were incorrectly told that you were not entitled to a refund. 

Semple

I also had a train booked with eurotunnel that had no option but to change dates rather than refund. What gets me is that the system only allows you to book upto 12 months from the date of your booking, so if you booked last summer, they're not giving you much of a window to rebook your train with.

I did notice a potential loophole though when rebooking. When you go through to select your dates/times etc, i did get presented with the usual spiel about upgrading my ticket to a flexiticket (expensive), but it does advertise that with the flexiticket you can cancel it. So might be an option to upgrade and then using your new flexiticket to cancel the entire trip for a refund.

bc1975

I expect they will record the upgrade price as the refundable amount though, so you’d be likely to lose the intial cost paid. 

Again though, if you call and press them on it, their customer service agents may be more flexible.

Tuggy31

bc1975 said:

Just posted this in response to similar question on the forum - here are my thoughts/experience:

I’m also trying to get a refund from EuroTunnel but they don’t make it easy.

The “Conditions of Carriage”, section 3.3 deals with the situation where carriage is not possible within a reasonable time frame. Clause 3.3.3 states customers can reject an offer of rebooking and should be able get a refund in accordance with 3.3.2 (cancel & refund).

Clause 9.2.5 (limit of EuroTunnel liability where access to tunnel is suspended in whole or in part) also acknowledges that 3.3 still applies, ie you should still get a refund even if you aren’t covered for any additional damages you might have suffered. 

So my view is that a refund should be offered, but in reality I’ve had to call them, submit an online form, wait a week, and I just now received an impersonal reply saying the matter would be “escalated” to the customer relations department which would take a further three weeks.

My next step will be to show these terms to my credit card provider and ask them to do a chargeback - automatically debit EuroTunnel and refund the full amount, on the basis that they are in breach of their own terms and are not responding in a timely manner. 

It’s unfortunate that Eurotunnel have chosen to handle the situation in this way but, regardless, I believe customers should be legally entitled to a refund.

Did you manage to get a refund via your credit card provider. Mine said they couldn't do it as I had no evidence that Eurotunnel did not travel even though France had closed the borders.