P&O cancelled cruise due to Covid and won't refund

Pippa12345

Hi everyone I am looking for advice. 

 

I withdrew my savings for the holiday of a lifetime and booked to go on a P&O Mediterranean cruise at the end of May with a friend. I'd been in touch with guest relations by post completing forms regarding my mobility needs on board.

 

When Covid was in Italy I was worried about going to Rome which was the place that I have always wanted to visit and considered not going on the cruise and I sent an letter to P&O about my medical concerns and talked about cancelling. There was no response to this from P&O. But I then talked to my friend about the cruise and at this stage in March we felt the only risk was Italy, not even Rome necessarily as Covid seemed to be north of there and we both decided to continue with the cruise but probably not visit Rome. I then telephoned P&O and confirmed with the lady that the booking would go ahead as planned. 

 

Time went on and got to the point that P&O cancelled our cruise due to Covid which I read in their Facebook group. I telephoned P&O and the lady confirmed that the holiday has been cancelled by P&O and that I would receive a full refund within 45 days. 

 

Later my friend discovered the need to complete a form via the P&O website to request the refund so she completed the form and informed me of this need. I then completed the form requesting my refund. The form doesn't provide any evidence of submission a fact that many customers are frustrated by. My friend received her refund in full two weeks after submitting her claim form. I have received nothing. 

 

It's impossible to get through to P&O on the phone, the system just cuts you off. I have been communicating with P&O via both Facebook messenger from their Facebook group and also started a complaint via Resolver. The lack of refund is causing me debt and additional costs and it's impacting my mental health.

 

The responses I get via Facebook messenger from P&O inform me that they can see on the system that I am on the list to be refunded shortly and will be receiving my full refund within 7 - 10 days if I haven't been refunded already. I was told that every 14 days three times. The final response that I had from them said they can see that I have been refunded in full. I haven't, my friend has. Same booking reference but different account numbers. I had already given them my account number in my details. I have replied making it clear that I have received nothing at all and again giving them my P&O account number. No response from them three weeks later. 

 

The responses via Resolver have been worse. Though they do respond to my emails fortnightly all they talk about is the need for the letter that I had sent them in March regarding my medical worries about Covid. They've not got it but have a note on their system saying there was correspondence from me about medical information. They want me to send what was sent again. They're obviously just looking for ways of not refunding me my money. That letter didn't cancel the cruise, my phone call to P&O after that letter to which I had had no response or confirmation of cancellation or anything if that was what they felt it was, clarified that we were going ahead with the booking. Obviously I have no evidence of my phone calls to P&O. 

 

I have saved the Facebook messages from P&O staff advising me that I am due to be refunded in full shortly. 

 

I really need this money to pay off debt. I'm stressed that due to a letter P&O don't have may be the reason P&O refuse to refund me and I won't get that money back but the fact is the cruise was planned and active and going ahead (I have evidence of clothes bought for the cruise in April and other things) and it was P&O who cancelled the cruise. I just can't see them refunding me considering all responses via Resolver are talking about the medical letter they don't have but have noted its existence. Why else would that be all they're talking about if their plan was to refund me in full? 

 

Advice appreciated. 

 

Thank you.

 

Pippa.

Dr_Crypto

If the cruise was cancelled they have to refund you. No ifs or buts. 
I don;t see anything in your post where they are refusing to refund you. Don't bother with things like resolver but send them a proper letter in the post setting out that you haven't been refunded. 
If you paid by credit card you could ask your card issuer to get involved. 

Pippa12345

I forgot to say the very first response via Resolver offered me a 50% refund as I had cancelled. I replied as above saying that I hadn't cancelled and that I had made a phone call after my contact with them having decided to proceed with the cruise missing out one port embarkation. So the cruise wasn't cancelled. 

All responses since then are asking me to resend the letter that I had sent them. It feels to me they are trying to get out of refunding me and I have no evidence of my phone call which confirmed my friend and I were continuing with the cruise. I should have communicated by letter but I hadn't any response to my letter to them anyway so I had/have no evidence it got to them. 

They didn't acknowledge my letter in any way when I sent it and I never heard from them about it, had they seem it as cancellation surely they would have responded early March to that. They just have a note on their system saying there was a letter, want to see it, and use it as a get out for the refund I am due in my opinion. 

If their intention is to refund me I wouldn't get repeated requests for the letter. 

I'm just really worried that the money is gone and I can't pay my debt off. 

Pippa. 

strawb_shortcake

Refunds are taking ages it's meant to be 45 days but some have been waiting around 100. 
With it being the same booking reference as your friend are you sure she never got both of the refunds? 

elsien

You don't need to send them the letter because it's not relevant to their cancellation. 
Did the two of you pay separately, or did you give her the money to pay for your share?

Pippa12345

annabanana82 said:

Refunds are taking ages it's meant to be 45 days but some have been waiting around 100. 
With it being the same booking reference as your friend are you sure she never got both of the refunds? 

She definitely has received just her refund. In full within two weeks of applying for it. Apparently every refund will only go to the cards that paid for it. 

Pippa12345

elsien said:

You don't need to send them the letter because it's not relevant to their cancellation. 
Did the two of you pay separately, or did you give her the money to pay for your share?

I paid for both our deposits from my bank current account when we booked. Then on balance day she paid the entirety of her cruise cost with her credit card and I paid the remainder which was the balance less both our deposits on a friend's credit card as the savings that I was withdrawing for the cruise was delayed and I didn't have enough credit on my credit card to pay the balance. Although it's the same booking reference we have separate account numbers. 

I haven't received any refund back at all. 

P&O have increased their refund times from 45 days to 60. It's been about 60 days since P&O cancelled the cruise though admittedly I didn't complete the online form requesting the refund as I had thought the phone call that I had with them following their announcement of cancelling the cruise and them telling me that I would receive a 100% refund was my application for refund being accepted. The woman on the phone failed to mention the online form. It was my friend who discovered it. No communication from P&O about them cancelling our cruise except for seeing the announcement in their Facebook group which I don't think is adequate. 

I'm not feeling hopeful about a refund as all they do is want the letter, which I sent and didn't copy. If I knew that I would get it I would worry less as I am meeting the monthly payments on my credit card and would know that I could pay it all off with the refund but all I see is P&O trying to wriggle out of the refund and I am going to be left with debt. 

Pippa

daveyjp

OP.  Read through your threads and put yourself in the position of a P&O employee.

From the info you have given could you honestly hand on heart understand
what exactly is going on?

We have you, Resolver, your friend, another friends card, a deposit amount.  Enough to confuse anyone.

You need clarity otherwise its easy to end up in a 'too difficult' pile.

strawb_shortcake

From another group I'm on there seems to have been lots of refunds this week. But agree with the poster above that your case seems quite complicated and that will have slowed the process down

Ganga

If a friend payed your balance using their credit card has P & O not returned the refund direct to their card? might be worth asking them.

Pippa12345

Ganga said:

If a friend payed your balance using their credit card has P & O not returned the refund direct to their card? might be worth asking them.

No, they're checking the account daily.