Can not claim on Nationwide travel insurance as offered a credit note?

Joanne6630

Briefly:

• Booked flights through STA
• STA are only offering credit notes
• Nationwide websites states 'We cannot provide cover for your trip if you decline your travel provider’s offer of vouchers or credit. Ask your travel provider or tour operator to explain all your options before you accept any vouchers or credit notes.'

Surely this can not be correct?

Aylesbury_Duck

It seems it is.  Since you are not suffering a loss (by being offered a voucher) then there is no loss to insure.

43722

Have you asked STA to explain all your options to you?  I suspect that some companies are doing what is best for them, not for their customers.

headpin

s.75 of CCA applies. The supplier has not been able to perform their part of the contract in providing flights. You are entitled to a full refund from your credit card provider (assuming you paid by cc?) if the supplier does not pay out. You DO NOT have to accept a credit note, vouchers or whatever unless it suits you (not them). Revert to Nationwide and say unless they comply with s.75 you will join them in a claim action to recover YOUR money. 

Do not be fobbed off, even though many airlines are hoping customers will accept a voucher.

Aylesbury_Duck

Why have Nationwide got to comply with s75?  They're the OP's insurer. 

ic

The nationwide site now links through to this site for online claims: https://u-k-insurance.co.uk/covid.html#faqs
From their FAQ:

My tour operator has offered me a travel voucher/credit to rebook my holiday for a later date. If I decline this, will I be able to claim on travel insurance? 

• No, there is no cover under your travel insurance please speak to your travel provider to get a refund.

I guess this fundamentally agrees with what has been stated above - turn to your card provider and seek a S75 or Chargeback.

happyandcontented

Joanne6630 said:

Briefly:

• Booked flights through STA
• STA are only offering credit notes
• Nationwide websites states 'We cannot provide cover for your trip if you decline your travel provider’s offer of vouchers or credit. Ask your travel provider or tour operator to explain all your options before you accept any vouchers or credit notes.'

Surely this can not be correct?

I can't see this on Nationwide Flexplus account information. Can you link to it please?

SevenOfNine

happyandcontented - it's here in the Q&A section, & below those is the bit where claimants are advised to seek refunds from their trip provider AND credit/debit card provider first.
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/travel/important-travel-information#~

happyandcontented

That is ridiculous, Nationwide are colluding with agents to allow them to break the law. Talk about moving the goalposts.
The only good thing is that if you reschedule you are still covered for Covid which I didn't think was the case.
Thanks for this, I was unaware and should be in Corfu now and the TA has only offered a credit note at this stage. 

bagand96

happyandcontented said:

That is ridiculous, Nationwide are colluding with agents to allow them to break the law. Talk about moving the goalposts.
The only good thing is that if you reschedule you are still covered for Covid which I didn't think was the case.
Thanks for this, I was unaware and should be in Corfu now and the TA has only offered a credit note at this stage. 

It's not just Nationwide.  It's basically the travel industry and insurers and banks.  It goes a bit like this:

1) Tour operator/airline/travel agent offers a voucher or credit note, take it or leave it
2) Travel Insurance says "We can't help you, they've offered you a refund voucher"
3) Bank refuses chargeback or Section 75 claim "We can't help you, they've offered you a refund voucher"

The consumers are on the right side of the law here, with both the airline/agent and the banks (unsure on the situation with travel insurance).  Trouble is everyone is stalling because there's hundreds of millions of pounds at stake and no-one wants to blink first.

It's a mess.  It's not going to get resolved quickly, and will likely need government intervention, which again isn't going to happen quickly.

SevenOfNine

happyandcontented said:

That is ridiculous, Nationwide are colluding with agents to allow them to break the law. Talk about moving the goalposts.
The only good thing is that if you reschedule you are still covered for Covid which I didn't think was the case.
Thanks for this, I was unaware and should be in Corfu now and the TA has only offered a credit note at this stage. 

I think we can expect agents, insurers & financial organisations to have their battle gear on & ducked down behind the parapet! Keep an eye on the Nationwide Q&A's, I think they add to them. Not all insurers seem to be covering 'amendment', I think someone said theirs classed it as a 'new' booking.  It's not clear (to me anyway), what happens if your current Nationwide policy runs out before you take your postponed trip, so in effect you're travelling with a new policy with CV excluded & possibly even with a different insurer??

On the ABTA site here https://www.abta.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak  I particularly like the 'information' with regards to the IOU "Refund Credit Note" being acceptable for their members to issue (seemingly even with a guarantee that cash refunds WILL be given after 31 July if the IOU isn't used), given that it clashes with this comment "We now need urgent action from the UK Government to help protect customer rights and give travel companies a lifeline".  Until they have UK law changes & clarity, they can offer them, & you can say no thank you.  Though I agree to a certain extent, travel companies may need customers to give them some leeway, they can't refund what they don't have without sinking like Thomas Cook, but will they even have the money in July for those who want it?

On Newsnight yesterday they had some 'expert' (well, in BBC eyes he was an 'expert', maybe only been to Lanzarote twice for all I know), who was VERY clear that we are ENTITLED to ££££ refund, & "no" to the credit note. But it's chicken & egg really, part of me wants to be fair & help the travel industry by giving them a fair chance, & the other part just wants to say "cough up", sink, ATOL cover which can be topped up by our government so there's enough......if that's how it works??