TUI refunds thread

Anthony147

Concerned75 said:

Ive copied these FAQs from the TUI app and am I reading this wrong, but there is a clear air of suspicion from them, not wanting to give a refund or hoping for a reason not to. So they say you'll receive a refund credit within 4 weeks of  your holiday was before 16th April, if not you'll have to wait a month after your holiday date and possibly beyond to get through to them???

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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

• You’ll receive a refund credit for the full value of your holiday, and we’ll give you a separate booking incentive up to 20%. We understand that you may not be ready to book again just yet, so the refund credit gives you the flexibility to book your travel in the future. Plus, if your original booking was for a package holiday, you’ll get a separate booking incentive up to 20%. Your refund credit will automatically be emailed to you within four weeks of your departure date.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY REFUND CREDIT?

Your refund credit will be emailed to you within four weeks of your original departure date. If you were due to travel before 16 April your refund credit will be automatically emailed to you by 1 May 2020, and if you were due to travel after 16 April you’ll receive it four weeks from your original departure date.

Concerned - It’s fair to say they do keep changing the details on that section to suit normally based on bad publicity on its content as previous version have been truly outrageous so keep checking it.

However yes currently - According to current info:
”Within four weeks” of your departure date you’ll automatically get issued a refund credit voucher
Once received you can “Apply” for a cash refund but you must do this via the phone line with staff
They are not detailing timescales for when customers will receive a cash refund.

bagand96

Butts said:

With the greatest of respect I have got an interest in possible financial exposure to the dilema of handing over the remaining balance in July for a holiday that is supposed to take place in August.

So far I have only paid £400 with £3700 due in July for a booking with Last Minute.com ( I know I should have booked direct !!). A casual look at their current performance on here , other sites and Trust Pilot does not exactly instill me with confidence in the way they are treating customers. Last Minute seem to be amongst the worst of a bad bunch.

It is only natural that I would look for legitimate avenues to extricate myself from this mess if it proves necessary. This is when I came across The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. Termination Charges ( when a client voluntarily wants to cancel) have to be "Reasonable and Justifiable"

I looked at my Terms and Conditions with Last Minute and the alarm bells started ringing when I noticed The Hotel Element would have to be paid in full from if I voluntarily cancelled the day after I booked in December - ie 8 months out from the commencement of the vacation.

The same Hotel is available on Booking.com and others for less than their cancellation amount, with no upfront payment required and free cancellation up to 24 hours before arrival. If I as an ordinary customer am able to secure such a deal then Last Minute could surely secure a much more favourable deal.

In other words their termination fees are supposed to reflect the loss they incur by my cancelling my booking and a little bit for administration. It is my contention that their loss would probably be zero and they are trying to charge a grand rendering it an unfair term and  therefore unenforceable.

This is the reason I was trying to find out if Last Minute or an other operator had tried to enforce this and other dubious terms in a Court of Law. So far no one (including me) has been able to find an example. This must have happened countless times in normal times let alone the current pandemic.

So forgive me if I am being "bullish or bombasic" but I would be happy to be labelled such I if I can legally save throwing £3700 down the drain. I'm prepared to accept the £400 loss for the stupidity on my part for using a third party rather than booking direct.

Without wanting to go too far off topic on the TUI thread, of course if you've booked a flight and hotel with Lastminute.com then as you say it's a package under the 2018 regs.  So regardless of what their T&Cs say about the hotel cancellation, if THEY cancel you are entitled to a full refund.

I could say more about the hotel rates and the arrangements, but again it's the TUI thread and I don't want to stray too far.

carlucio71

I cancelled my holiday due to unforeseen circumstances, not covid-19 related, 5 weeks ago, tui are dragging their heels over a refund I'm due according to the emailthdy sent me. I'm yet to receive this, and I spent an hour on the phone to them today to be told there is no timeline as to when I can get my refund back. Where do I stand with this? 

bagand96

carlucio71 said:

I cancelled my holiday due to unforeseen circumstances, not covid-19 related, 5 weeks ago, tui are dragging their heels over a refund I'm due according to the emailthdy sent me. I'm yet to receive this, and I spent an hour on the phone to them today to be told there is no timeline as to when I can get my refund back. Where do I stand with this? 

Probably just have to wait.  Although your cancellation was not Covid-19 related, it will probably be caught up in the Covid-19 mess - I doubt they have 2 separate refund queues.  You have an email confirming your refund, so you're on good ground there.  Yes, they should have refunded much quicker, but it is what it is.  Not sure if there's any law about refund timescales when you cancel, most of them refer to the company cancelling.

Aylesbury_Duck

carlucio71 said:

I cancelled my holiday due to unforeseen circumstances, not covid-19 related, 5 weeks ago, tui are dragging their heels over a refund I'm due according to the emailthdy sent me. I'm yet to receive this, and I spent an hour on the phone to them today to be told there is no timeline as to when I can get my refund back. Where do I stand with this? 

I'm afraid the answer is: as patiently as you can.  You may be waiting some time yet.  Possibly many more weeks or even months.

PetaandSteve

Hi please please can you help 1st holiday booked in tui store and paid for due to leave 15th March cancelled 14th contacted store said I would get refund £1768 within 3-4 weeks .2nd holiday a cruise with tui booked through iglu cruises paid £2354 due to go 17th April cancelled contacted iglu they said tui would refund us not them 3rd holiday booked in December due to leave 4th May Corfu paid £715 now cancelled was originally told by tui we would get refunds for all of our holidays  we have not had a credit code or voucher I cannot get hold of any one any where  me and my husband have bad medical issues and are in isolation for 12 weeks but have been advised that we may not be able to leave isolation until a vaccine has been found and given to us this fills me with dread but if it’s to keep us alive then so be it my travel insurance would not cover Corvid so I cancelled it to get my money refunded altogether we are owed £4837 plus we paid for seats on flights .also if we can’t leave isolation we have another holiday booked through tui in November Cyprus £2214 we have paid the deposit £300 and they keep asking for money next payment but I don’t think we should go can we cancel how to we contact tui they are quick to want our money but will not refund ours please can you advise me. Thank you 

Browntoa

This thread seems to going round a round in circles at the moment and is in danger of swamping peoples genuine questions .

Maybe the discussion about TUI terms and conditions is better suited to it's own thread ? 

bagand96

Browntoa said:

This thread seems to going round a round in circles at the moment and is in danger of swamping peoples genuine questions .

Maybe the discussion about TUI terms and conditions is better suited to it's own thread ? 

I think the same could be said for the whole Corona Travel board at the moment.  Trouble is that so many people are affected that there will be so many new posts each day even if questions have been asked before.

Not sure there's an easy answer though!  I was thinking maybe Stickys for certain questions, although to be honest i think they have limited effectiveness as people will just post anwyay.

You're doing a great job @Browntoa trying to keep the board tidy and logical!

Aylesbury_Duck

PetaandSteve said:

Hi please please can you help 1st holiday booked in tui store and paid for due to leave 15th March cancelled 14th contacted store said I would get refund £1768 within 3-4 weeks .2nd holiday a cruise with tui booked through iglu cruises paid £2354 due to go 17th April cancelled contacted iglu they said tui would refund us not them 3rd holiday booked in December due to leave 4th May Corfu paid £715 now cancelled was originally told by tui we would get refunds for all of our holidays  we have not had a credit code or voucher I cannot get hold of any one any where  me and my husband have bad medical issues and are in isolation for 12 weeks but have been advised that we may not be able to leave isolation until a vaccine has been found and given to us this fills me with dread but if it’s to keep us alive then so be it my travel insurance would not cover Corvid so I cancelled it to get my money refunded altogether we are owed £4837 plus we paid for seats on flights .also if we can’t leave isolation we have another holiday booked through tui in November Cyprus £2214 we have paid the deposit £300 and they keep asking for money next payment but I don’t think we should go can we cancel how to we contact tui they are quick to want our money but will not refund ours please can you advise me. Thank you 

It's a bit tricky to read such a long wall of text, but here's what I think:

1. Your first holiday refund may or may not come through.  You may get vouchers in the current climate but I don't know the precise details of your cancellation and what was promised to you.
2. Your second holiday - did you cancel or did Tui or Iglu?  If you cancelled you may not be entitled to anything.  If they cancelled then they are correct - your contract is with Tui, not Iglu, so it's Tui you need to speak to.
3. The third holiday  - did you cancel or did Tui?  Again, if you cancelled it you may not be entitled to anything, it depends on your contract.  If Tui cancelled, you'll be offered vouchers.
4. The November holiday is up to you.  If you don't pay the balance you'll be cancelling and will lose your deposit.

All in all, I think you're likely to get some or all of that £4837 in vouchers.  If you don't turn up for the flights and they go ahead, you will forfeit that money.

It was a bad idea to cancel your insurance but what's done is done.

BeltonRose

skadupuk said:

BeltonRose said:

skadupuk said:

BeltonRose said:

My Tui refund was agreed on 17th March and confirmed by an email same day.  I was told the £money would be credited back to my credit card within 7 - 10 days.  Two points:
1. They have not paid the refund and are therefore in breach of their contract. 
2. They cannot renege on what was agreed on 17th March and retrospectively apply their new policy on refunds. 
I believe my specific circumstance is robust enough to make a Section 75 claim to my credit card provider.  

1. It's reasonable in the circumstances for there to be a delay in the refund time frames. 
2. They've already stated that an agreed refund prior to the change of terms will still be processed as a refund.

Unless you have evidence that TUI are refusing the refund rather than there being a delay on it, your credit card provider will not view it as a valid S75 and will decline.

Hear what you say, however the credit card company are jointly liable for the refund.  A section 75 claim is not a 'fall back' process that is just used when your merchant/retailer fails to act/pay up.  You can, quite legitimately, seek recompense from your merchant/retailer and your credit card company at the same time.... but of course cannot receive the £money from both.  The law as it stands quite clearly states that refunds should be paid within 14 days, for a cancelled holiday.  In my specific circumstance it has been 4 weeks since they agreed the refund, and therefore they are, even in the current climate, in breach of their contract. Whilst I have some sympathy with them, lets just turn this around for a moment. There has been discussion on this thread about whether someone should be required to pay their second deposit on their cancelled holiday.  To which a response has been that contractually Tui are within their rights to ask for the £money to be paid, and if not paid then ultimately seek resolution through court action.  Tui cannot have it both ways..... relying on contractual obligation when it is to their benefit, but seeking to waive their contractual obligation when they are required to refund £money.  Agreed we are in exceptional times, however, the law is clear.

As someone who has also "invested" their hard earned monies in TUI holidays, like you I am very keen to get my money back (mine aren't cancelled yet, but inevitably will be).

I just think you are on a beating to nowhere, many people have tried the S75 route already, and none gave had any success (even where people have been given a voucher instead of a refund). Rightly or wrongly, the banks want to see how things play out, so won't commit (especially of it sets a precedence).

All avenues of recourse such as courts, ombudsmen etc. are going to be so delayed/backed up by the time things start moving again that you'll likely have had your money back and all your efforts will have been for nothing.

Again hear what you say, however, both Tui and I agreed on 17th March to a full refund to be credited back onto my credit card, and for which I have written confirmation, from them.  The law is clear, and applies to both the travel Co. and the bank.  [Just for info I have another holiday booked in June, which has been paid for in full, for which I will be prepared to accept an amendment to 2021, when they get round to contacting me.  So I am not without understanding of the issues of cash flow and solvency for the travel industry.]  But I repeat, on 17th March Tui agreed to refund the cost of my March holiday, and to do that within 7 to 10 days, (in law they are allowed 14 days).  I have waited 4 weeks and the refund has not been made.  They are in breach of their contract, and as such I am within my rights to make a Section 75 claim to my credit card provider, who in law, is jointly and severally liable for such breach.  It took less than 10 minutes to complete the Section 75 claim form..... to my mind 10 minutes well spent.  If my credit card provider stalls or refuses to act, then I will go to the next level, as is my right in law.  I am not being unreasonable.  I am not asking for any favours.  I am simply seeking to recoup my legal entitlement.  The law still stands, and even if the law is changed to meet the current situation, neither Tui or the credit card provider can retrospectively apply the new law to a contractual agreement made in writing on 17th March.