Message from ABTA A disgrace.

badger09

Pollycat said:

MaebyJade said:

mattyprice4004 said:

While I understand how frustrating it is (and I am in the same position) I completely understand why travel companies, particularly these online travel agents we all despise, but use anyway to save a tenner here and there, don't have the funds to just give back to everyone. 

Airlines often require payment up front (due to so many of these smaller firms going under, and also because of the way airlines hedge funding for fuel etc), and some are quoting up to 6 months to refund, and some won't refund full stop.
The agents simply can't afford to take that on the chin - compare that to a theatre, where the acts won't be paid, nothing is paid 'ahead' and the business is closed so staffing / other business costs are minimal. 

They are completely different animals. I'll be taking my voucher, knowing it is guarantee backed should the company go under. If pricing for the replacement holiday is twice as much then that's a battle I'll have to have - but for now, I'll wait and see. 

No use us all taking a refund, then having no holiday companies left to spend it with. 

Can't disagree with anything you've said there. My issue is the travel companies have created a rod for their own back and aren't playing fair. Take for example, my travel provider sent several email asking customers to log into their online accounts and cancel their upcoming holiday. I didn't but I've read about several people who did and now they travel provider are using T&Cs to say because it was the them (customer) who cancelled they are not due a anything back. They can't in one instance apply T&Cs to full effect and in other choose to ignore them.

This coupled with the constant moving of goal posts and not being open to compromise, they have lost the consumers trust and for most that translates as 'give me my money back'.

That's shocking.

That travel provider should be named and shamed.

They have been named. Here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77042678/#Comment_77042678

philldutton

MaebyJade said:

Under "ABTA's call on the Government" this is the first bullet point of the condition of credit refunds. I do recall it saying 31 July, which there is no mention of now.

"The Refund Credit Note will have an expiry date, which is the date to which your money is protected, and is based on your travel company’s financial protection arrangements. You are entitled to re-book or have a cash refund by then (if your original booking was for a package holiday)."

It did: https://web.archive.org/web/20200407181332/https://www.abta.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak

MaebyJade

Pollycat said:

That's shocking.

That travel provider should be named and shamed.

Voyage Prive. Mentioned in the thread below but the are also more than happy to refund customers they've managed to fool into cancelling. Screenshot from a post I seen elsewhere. What some travel providers are doing is nothing short of criminal. 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77042678/#Comment_77042678

Westin

Are you able to actually post the email/message from Privé Voyage telling you to cancel your booking via their online portal?

I recall the comment made by the one other poster but it did not seem clear that they were following instruction on had jumped the gun on cancelling their own booking in advance of VP making the cancellation.

MaebyJade

Westin said:

Are you able to actually post the email/message from Privé Voyage telling you to cancel your booking via their online portal?

I recall the comment made by the one other poster but it did not seem clear that they were following instruction on had jumped the gun on cancelling their own booking in advance of VP making the cancellation.

This was the first email I go. A few more similar to it in the build to the holiday which was due to start on 24th March

bradders1983

That is very naughty.

Westin

Agree. If that is what they sent out and these the instructions they gave to customers then I think they should be held accountable for offering the credit/refund as indicated.

AgentOso1

Regarding the July 31st deadline for a refund if vouchers not spent in the proposed potential voucher scheme... why should we believe this? ABTA and some of the travel industry aren't following the current laws. Simon Calder quite clearly said on Friday that the law was the law and companies are in breach now.

Also, some companies are managing refunds. My Sisters complex USA holiday followed by Princess cruise has been fully refunded through her booking agent. My TUI holiday that I should be on now - that I haven't been contacted about but is obviously not happening - hasn't. 

I really don't see why the customers should be propping up soany multi nationals. They may need cash flow but so do many of the people that were due to go away. Circumstances are changing for everyone

Pollycat

bradders1983 said:

That is very naughty.

Westin said:

Agree. If that is what they sent out and these the instructions they gave to customers then I think they should be held accountable for offering the credit/refund as indicated.

This is what I said on the previous page.

It seems they are refunding some people from the copy of a different email.

What is the £1639.00 and the £14188.00?

I think this thread is getting very confusing as people are posting what somebody else has posted somewhere else.

I think the 'cancel' email is somewhat confusing as it mentions both cancellation and postponement.

Voyage Privee refer to 'postponement or cancellation' with their suppliers but then go on to say they are putting 'exceptional postponement conditions' in place for their customers with near departures.

And invite customers to use the 'cancel my booking' facility to do so.

I don't think it's a very clear email at all.

Maybe it's time to act on this:

SevenOfNine said:

Interestingly, ABTA have also removed the "we won't investigate complaints against our member regarding coronavirus", so presumably anyone who wants to complain now.....can!

MaebyJade

Pollycat said:

bradders1983 said:

That is very naughty.

Westin said:

Agree. If that is what they sent out and these the instructions they gave to customers then I think they should be held accountable for offering the credit/refund as indicated.

This is what I said on the previous page.

It seems they are refunding some people from the copy of a different email.

What is the £1639.00 and the £14188.00?

I think this thread is getting very confusing as people are posting what somebody else has posted somewhere else.

I think the 'cancel' email is somewhat confusing as it mentions both cancellation and postponement.

Voyage Privee refer to 'postponement or cancellation' with their suppliers but then go on to say they are putting 'exceptional postponement conditions' in place for their customers with near departures.

And invite customers to use the 'cancel my booking' facility to do so.

I don't think it's a very clear email at all.

Maybe it's time to act on this:

SevenOfNine said:

Interestingly, ABTA have also removed the "we won't investigate complaints against our member regarding coronavirus", so presumably anyone who wants to complain now.....can!

I used the Voyage Prive example to highlight how some companies are behaving unethically and using the current situation to rip off customers. A lot of travel companies are pleading for mercy when it comes to genuine refunds but as shown some are able to refund those customers that they have the upper hand on from a T&Cs perspective. ABTA's guidelines are only shielding these companies from refunding everyone else on time, without really dealing with the unscrupulous behaviours some are resorting to. ABTA has lost control.