Teletext ignoring / not responding over refund Can anyone help?

Ruskie12

Hi Everyone, I booked a weekend trip for a group of us on the 4th of March with teletext. They request flights were paid immediately at £890 which I paid and that the hotel would be on the 20th March @£860. Due to Coronavirus I contact the hotel in Portugal on the 18th of March to ask if they would still be open / if our booking for the end of April was still booked. The hotel informed me they were in fact cancelling all bookings for the foreseeable and therefore our booking was not valid. I rang Teletext on the 18th to discuss getting a refund on the flights and was informed I should pay the hotel price by the 20th March. This was an overseas call center and we went around in circles with me saying I would not be paying for accomodation already cancelled and them saying its policy, they do not know what to do. Eventually teletxt said they would get a manager to call me back within 24hrs - no call over the entire weekend. I wrote a formal complaint to teletext on the 22nd March - response said someone would be in touch in 24hrs - again nothing else from teletext.

I then posted my complaint on trust pilot, teletext responded asking for my reference and said they would be in touch - nothing from them,

I then received a text mid april to say they would be in contact to discuss flight refund shortly. Still nothing from them again I am at an absolute loss here as they just dont respond

Can anyone help?

missile

Charge back on credit card?
Claim on travel insurance?
Small claims court?

Westin

Ruskie12 said:

Hi Everyone, I booked a weekend trip for a group of us on the 4th of March with teletext. They request flights were paid immediately at £890 which I paid and that the hotel would be on the 20th March @£860. Due to Coronavirus I contact the hotel in Portugal on the 18th of March to ask if they would still be open / if our booking for the end of April was still booked. The hotel informed me they were in fact cancelling all bookings for the foreseeable and therefore our booking was not valid. I rang Teletext on the 18th to discuss getting a refund on the flights and was informed I should pay the hotel price by the 20th March. This was an overseas call center and we went around in circles with me saying I would not be paying for accomodation already cancelled and them saying its policy, they do not know what to do. Eventually teletxt said they would get a manager to call me back within 24hrs - no call over the entire weekend. I wrote a formal complaint to teletext on the 22nd March - response said someone would be in touch in 24hrs - again nothing else from teletext.

I then posted my complaint on trust pilot, teletext responded asking for my reference and said they would be in touch - nothing from them,

I then received a text mid april to say they would be in contact to discuss flight refund shortly. Still nothing from them again I am at an absolute loss here as they just dont respond

Can anyone help?

I can understand why you would be frustrated and disappointed with the (failed) process and lack of attention. I think the unfortunate outcome of the current Covid19 situation. 

I suspect the reason why you were advised to finalise the hotel payment would be because  the accommodation was being sourced via a third party bed bank. Whilst the hotel was ‘planning’ to cancel reservations if that action had not yet been communicated or implemented then any non-payment up until the hotel removed from sale would be seen as a failure on your part to fulfil the travel arrangements and a cancellation made for non-payment. That would have been a cancellation from your side and loss of payment. What they told you was therefore probably right at that time.

As to the communication issue, I sadly suspect you have been unfortunate with timings. Teletext contact centre is in India. The Indian Government placed the country into a three week lock down (since extended) with just four hours notice. Offices and businesses closed very quickly and probably had no time to set up contingency operations.

You should get a refund from both the airline and hotel bookings but I suspect it will take time and the process unlikely to start until Teletext, indeed the county, gets back to work.