Virgin Holidays day 34 after cancellation and still no sign of refund in my bank

Life__Goes__On

Iwanttobefree said:

I've emailed their CEO, you never know

I shouldn't have said " only option is to wait"  as I was looking as it from just a legal sense.
yes, you should chase it up via any and every means.

Iwanttobefree

Just had the following email back from the CEO, email now sent to Siobhan and cc'd to Patricia

Thank you for your email.
 
Siobhan Fitzpatrick has now taken over responsibility for Virgin Holidays and you can contact her at:

siobhan.fitzpatrick@fly.virgin.com

I will stay with the company for a period of time to support Siobhan and will be monitoring emails sent to this account, but less frequently than usual. If you would like to contact me in person, please contact my assistant for alternative contact details, at:

patricia.cheesewright@virginholidays.com

Thanks, Joe

Iwanttobefree

lol, just had the following email from Patricia 

Thanks for your email.
 
At the moment, I’m on leave and plan to be back at work on 01 May. 
 
As you know, the Covid-19 situation is having a huge impact on all travel businesses, including VirginAtlantic and Virgin Holidays. Because of this, and while things are much quieter in the travel world, myself and many of my colleagues are taking a break during this time, but we will be back and look forward to that.
 
If you need to speak to someone urgently, please refer to our website for further information. If your email can wait, I’ll get back to you when I return to work.
 
Until then, stay safe and stay well.
Trish
Patricia Cheesewright
EA to Siobhan Fitzpatrick
SVP Virgin Holidays & Digital

Iwanttobefree

Wonder how sympathetic all these holiday companies would have been before this virus, when one of their customers suffered completely unexpected circumstances and needed extra time to pay etc

Life__Goes__On

These days very few companies offer "goodwill"    even if you have a personal reason (and just) reason for asking for any change, they will make you pay for that change.
Now they are asking their customers for "goodwill"   and seem to be surprised that they aren't getting it.

sujman

I too have been told I have to wait upto 90 days for the refund.  I booked flights only to NYC by CC
I first called to confirm I wanted a refund16.03.20, had to call again 27.03.20 as I could see my ticket was only changed to "open".  Got an email 10.04.20 saying VA had recieved my "refund applciation" (so not actual confirmation I will be getting it).   Call centre said I have to wait until atleast end of June for refund to come through and also said, dont worry, if VA go bust, you can claim on your CC using S75!

Iwanttobefree

Virgin just responded via their whatsapp saying

Good Morning Joe, We are dealing with exceptionally high volumes of queries and a huge number of customers. This is a difficult time with our offices closed and  being on skeleton staff who are all working remotely. Unfortunately the process is taking longer than usual and we appreciate your patience whilst we process your refund. If you have any queries please refer to ABTA.com who can provide an explanation under their FAQ’s. As you have emailed Siobhan and Patricia, they should be in touch with you accordingly

My names not Joe, they got that as I copied them  their ceo email where it said "Thanks Joe" at the bottom.

I responded:

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I've looked at ABTA, to quote their FAQ

I’m experiencing genuine financial difficulties, is there anything I can do to get my money back sooner?

A number of our Members have put in place special arrangements for cases of particular hardship – for example, if you have been made redundant during the Covid-19 crisis and your travel insurance policy does not cover you for that risk. If you find yourself in that situation, please ask your travel company how to apply for exceptional assistance and the evidence that would be required to help them to prioritise your case.

Again my holiday wasn't cancelled specifically due to covid 19, it was cancelled under your normal terms and conditions.

Your FAQ also states  (emphasis mine)

My Travel company says it's giving me a refund but that I'll have to wait. Is there a time limit on this?

They are dealing with a huge number of customers, and with offices closed and staff working from home, it’s a real challenge. ABTA will keep an eye on the situation and encourage ABTA Members to do all they can, but it’s not unreasonable at the moment to expect the process to take upwards of A MONTH 

Mine has been 35 days

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Life__Goes__On

If you have paid on a credit card (over £100) then you are entitled (by law) to claim a S75 at any time
You do NOT have to wait until 90 days to claim,
If the credit cards says you can't claim yet,  let me know and will talk you thought what to do next.

Iwanttobefree

Lol, In response to my above post, Virgin said

We are dealing with exceptionally high volumes of queries and a huge number of customers. This is a difficult time and with offices closed and staff working remotely, the process is taking longer than usual, and we appreciate your patience whilst we process your refund. If you have any queries, please refer to ABTA.com who can provide an explanation under their F&Q’s

Glad they read what I said.
They have now said 

I am afraid there is nothing I am currently able to do to speed up a refund. Refunds are with our accounts team and will be processed as soon as possible.

Which is fair enough.  Might as well have told me they can't contact the payments department in the firstplace.

I don't mind if I have to wait another 10 days, I do m,ind if it's up to 90 days

Alan_Bowen

Virgin Atlantic are advising 100 days for refunds and Richard Branson is claiming they will go bust unless they can get a loan of half a billion from the government. The problem is they are only half-owned by a billionaire who pays no UK tax and half by a US airline who have refused any help at all. I am not suggesting they will go bust, it may all be a ploy to try and pressurise the UK government but please don't be sitting at the window waiting for the postman to be bringing a cheque any time soon