Air France Cancelled Flight, non-refundable ticket type

laticsforlife · 21 April 2020 at 11:59AM

So in normal circumstances I know that if I cancelled this type of ticket, then the money is lost (save for insurance circumstances perhaps).
But it is AF who have cancelled my 29/04 flights obviously due to Covid-19.
They, like many other carriers are only offering a 12m voucher, but I too would like the option of flying with other carriers (even though the voucher will cover their code-share carriers, so the claim form said).
Am I right in thinking that I am legally entitled to a cash refund, and if so, would this only apply to the original tickets (we added extra legroom seats later at a cost of £49) - also there is a split on the invoice for the choosing of seats at the time amounting to £106 out of the £1,074 total.
I've emailed AF but their reply is sticking to their guns saying;

Unfortunately it is not possible to refund your ticket in cash . Please note that due to the Corona-crisis we offer a special rebook policy for all flights.

The current regulations have been designed with ‘normal’ disruptions in mind, not with the exceptional situation in mind due to the coronavirus and the subsequent bans, travel restrictions and cancellations.

Air France and KLM believe that the issuance of a refundable voucher in case of a non-refundable ticket constitutes a fair solution and a reasonable balance between the protection of passengers’ rights and the operational realities that every airline has to face now. Major governments around the world have indicated that such an approach is appropriate in the current context, provided that such vouchers do not expire in an unreasonably short period of time. In addition, the vouchers in case of cancelled flights will be refunded after 12 months if unused.

I have both travel insurance and I paid everything by Credit card. should I first issue a NBA / LBA giving them 14 days to refund me in cash or go to my CC and ask for charge-back.
PS the last line of their email is crazy, saying essentially if I hold the voucher for 12m and don't use it, they'll refund me then!