TUI refunds thread

anticlaus105

I can understand if tui know they can't fulfill their refund obligation. What is annoying me is they have deliberately prevented all communication and refuse to give any updates. This is what will stop me from using them again. I can suffer them holding my money for a while but I won't be fobbed off with a voucher. I have sent a short email to the CEO but don't expect a reply. 

chloeschoe

I booked a holiday with TUI to travel to Mexico late July, paying initial deposit of £500. I’ll already have an annual travel insurance policy which will expire at end of June before I travel. I knew that I would have to renew policy or take out a new one from beginning of July but assumed that existing one would cover until this point. Just checked my policy that was taken out last year and it is worldwide excluding US and Caribbean, so it turns out I am not covered. Have just rung insurance company, to change the cover till end of June to worldwide will be extra £68.  Shall I pay this so that I am covered until end of June? Also, my next instalment for the holiday of £500 is due next week, can you defer payments with TUI? What shall I do? Any sound advice appreciated.  Thanks

NoodleDoodleMan

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/package-holiday-refund-rules-suspended-abta-coronavirus-a9417261.html

anticlaus105

Interesting link. I have no wish to be an unwilling creditor but I understand they have little choice. I will see if I can start section 75 on Monday. The problem with credit notes is they can then charge what they like, so the value of the note is completely at their mercy.

Westin

If the regulations do get changed to allow for refunds to be made as credits then I can't see success from the credit card companies under S75. The credit card companies will surely just say that the travel firms are acting in accordance with the new revised PTR's.

[Deleted User]

I think you will find you will not have cancellation cover by amending your insurance as your amendment will be after it was announced that Coronavirus is a pandemic (I have insurance with Nationwide who emailed me to say they would only cover policyholders who had booked their holiday before 18th March as Coronovirus is then a known event and not covered).   Amending policy cover to include Mexico as a destination would result in the same thing (ie you are adding this cover after the pandemic was confirmed so you knew about it).  Check with your insurer though.

NoodleDoodleMan

I was listening on radio to a consumers rights guru on travel issues this morning.

There has been no change (as yet) to rules where Foreign Office advice is not to travel and holidays and flights etc. are cancelled..

Under ATOL the customer is entitled to a full refund.

This may well change of course as the crisis develops.

For example, John Menzies who run aviation services at our airports have just released 17,500 staff.

https://www.cityam.com/aviation-services-firm-john-menzies-axes-17500-staff-over-coronavirus-hit/

Westin

NoodleDoodleMan said:

I was listening on radio to a consumers rights guru on travel issues this morning.

There has been no change (as yet) to rules where Foreign Office advice is not to travel and holidays and flights etc. are cancelled..

Under ATOL the customer is entitled to a full refund.

This may well change of course as the crisis develops.

For example, John Menzies who run aviation services at our airports have just released 17,500 staff.

https://www.cityam.com/aviation-services-firm-john-menzies-axes-17500-staff-over-coronavirus-hit/

I think you will find (part in bold) that this applies when a company is insolvent and stops trading.

It would be the Package Travel Regulations - or Package and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 which govern refunds on packaged holiday trips.  At the moment these say that a refund must be given if the package is cancelled by the operator.  The issue however is that this is largely being ignored at this moment as the travel operators are trying to preserve cash flow and hoping that the PTR changes to allow for credit vouchers to be given instead.  

I suspect clarity will be given today or by early next week.  I however strongly suspect this will be in the form of the credit vouchers being the only necessary refund.   I think the delay to adding the clarity and changing the regulation is down to ensuring a safe guard for those credit vouchers should the operator ultimately fail anyway.  I think that fair enough as I would rather the protection is set up and agreed first.

Browntoa

ATOL protection is only there for supplier failure and not situations like this . ATOL will not have the funds available to refund everybody if TUI and others go bust as it was depleted by the Thomas Cook failure.

Section 75 claims will not work , if you read other threads the credit card companies are refusing to deal and send you back to the company

westv

Browntoa said:

ATOL protection is only there for supplier failure and not situations like this . ATOL will not have the funds available to refund everybody if TUI and others go bust as it was depleted by the Thomas Cook failure.

Section 75 claims will not work , if you read other threads the credit card companies are refusing to deal and send you back to the company

It sounds like you are saying customers could end up well and truly shafted.