TUI refunds thread

bradders1983

You are being far too impatient but you have already been told this and havent listened so crack on wasting your time with a S75 if you like.

anticlaus105

bradders1983 said:

You are being far too impatient but you have already been told this and havent listened so crack on wasting your time with a S75 if you like.

I guess it's a good job I have plenty of time to waste at the moment.

SevenOfNine

I don't think OP (Milo55)  has actually said TUI have offered a refund Westin, only that TUI have said they are contacting people in date order & dealing with the issue.  Which could translate into "waiting for ABTA to persuade the government to agree to change so travellers are obliged to accept travel vouchers".

Though I'm not necessarily against the idea of a 'voucher' WITH a goverment backed guarantee of being able to retrieve our £4400, 2 years is too long for us to lend it to the travel industry. We may not be able travel in the future, my husband is 72 in a  months & with a few health issues & our travel insurance is already costly, without the fact that it will undoubtedly rise with the next policy renewal.  My mother is 92 & increasingly frail, this was pretty much the last long haul we were planning.

So you see, there are some circumstances why travellers may feel aggrieved that the terms & conditions of their contract with TUI  (& any tour operator), may become somewhat one sided, in favour of them!  They made claims of "refunds in 14 days", waving the ABTA/ATOL flag as a guarantee.  The "yeah but, no but, yeah but", wears thin when the tragedy of this pandemic hasn't just affected the travel industry, they aren't the only ones who might need every penny!

However, I appreciate the insight & information given here.  We'll give TUI a reasonable amount of time (trip 19 April),  but it will certainly p! ss me off less if they STOP emailing saying "the booking will go ahead as planned".  If unhappy with an enforced like it or lump it travel voucher. I'll probably see what our travel insurance can come up with, or whether they'll find a way to duck below the parapet as well.

bristleposh

I have a holiday booked for 4/5/20, they have said that I can change it to one in the future, great, I went on the web site found a holiday for 3/5/21, slightly cheaper but when I tried clicking on it, the message I was getting was that they were having technical difficulties. Not being overly wealthy we have managed to budget for two ten day breaks per annum, and having already booked one for September I don’t really want to use my entitlement this year. If I have the same problem nearer my due departure date I may need to get a refund as it seems impossible at the moment to speak to a human at their call centre

Lindagreenacre

We were hoping to take the family away to Cyprus on 24 June, to celebrate my husband and my 70th birthdays, plus our Golden wedding, six of us in total.  It took a lot of co-ordinating of dates.  If it was just my husband and I, there would not be a problem with getting a voucher, as we are very flexible.  However, to settle on a date for us to all go is very difficult.  We have used Tui many times and will use them in the future if they give us our £7200 back.  We will just be patient for the time being and at the moment there is no restriction on flying on our due date, so realise we are not a priority.  Maybe, we will still get the holiday that we have paid for.

maman

I understand that travel companies are hanging on in there hoping that the government will allow them to change their Ts and Cs retrospectively. It's a way the government can be seen to help the travel industry without using public money. I'm not particularly happy about it because I'm sure there are many people out there who really could do with the money now to avoid going into debt for living expenses. 
But, even if I accept vouchers as a solution, it doesn't detract from the fact that many companies are giving appalling customer service by blocking calls etc. 

something_else

maman said:

I understand that travel companies are hanging on in there hoping that the government will allow them to change their Ts and Cs retrospectively. It's a way the government can be seen to help the travel industry without using public money. I'm not particularly happy about it because I'm sure there are many people out there who really could do with the money now to avoid going into debt for living expenses. 
But, even if I accept vouchers as a solution, it doesn't detract from the fact that many companies are giving appalling customer service by blocking calls etc. 

Which companies are blocking calls? I have got through to Tui twice about my holiday end of June. Its a long wait on the phone, but what do you expect given the amount of calls they were getting.

maman

I was particularly thinking of Lastminute.com. They play a recorded message then cut off. The website is equally poor, when you try to 'manage booking' it just tells you to phone them. I may be cynical but I'm convinced they're just waiting for a change in the law. We'll see if they suddenly 'improve' their customer service when they can truthfully say they'll be just giving vouchers. 

Westin

@SevenOfNine:  Prior to the full FCO travel advisory about no non-essential travel, certain countries had already instigated certain travel restrictions.  TUI had been listing these out disruptions individually by holiday type and destination.  As I recall, as things developed they then issued on the website saying that ALL holidays on 16th/17th March would be cancelled and a refund given.   I think this then updated to ALL holidays between 16th-19th March, again with a refund given.  I did not take a screen shot at this time as although looking to see how the situation was developing it was not at the time impacting on my own travel date for a TUI holiday.   Someone with IT wizardry might be able to check archives and obtain the pages.   Obviously since then the pages and policy have been updated. 

Streaky_Bacon

Just a note on s75 claims, because it seems that card providers are refusing them and telling the customer to contact the retailer.

While this is a common tactic with s75 claims, it doesn't change the fact that if the retailer is liable, then the credit provider is jointly liable (aside from certain exceptions).

It is not acceptable for the card provider (or any other debtor) to simply refuse to pay, they have an obligation to explain why they are not liable for the debt, and this can be escalated to the financial ombudsman.

Of course the credit card providers often word their responses to suggest that they are mediators or arbitrators rather than debtors.

The situation with charge backs is different, but with s75 the credit card company is the debtor and should be dealt with as such.