Virgin Atlantic and Hopper

themacfarlanes

My daughter booked a flight to LA on Virgin Atlantic using Hopper as a booking agent? travelling out in May 2020. Obviously due to the Covid 19 situation it was cancelled. 
She was told by Virgin that her claim was with Hopper and she should contact them. According to post on various websites and Virgin's own site they will pay a full refund even if booked through a third part (Hopper). She paid for the flight using her Virgin Credit card and paid £25 extra to Hopper  so she would get a full refund in case of a cancellation.
Hopper said that when you paid the £25 premium you could cancel up to 48 hours before the flight and get a refund within 7 days. 
Today Virgin are not answering the phone, you wait on line for 20 mins then it cuts you off. Hopper are not contactable unless you use their App, which is a sort of chat-bot thing (useless). They have offered a voucher, which is no use, she wants her money back.
Questions:-
1) Are Virgin responsible for the refund or Hopper?
2) Can she claim via her credit card under Section 75 of The Consumer Rights Act ?
3) Can we take action the through the Small Claims Court?
4) Could she ask for interest on the monies owed to her due to the delay ?
Thanks in advance 

Caz3121

There is a covid travel board where this would be best posted (many similar posts there) maybe a mod will move this.
1) As your daughter chose to book with a third party, she will be dealing with them. She has no direct relationship with the airline ...no point in spending time phoning Virgin as they will just refer her to Hopper
it is Hopper that are Virgin's customer
Hopper will request the refund from Virgin
Virgin will pay the refund to their customer (Hopper)
Hopper will be waiting on the refund coming from the airline before they can refund her (the refund within 7 days goes out the window during a global pandemic...)
I am not aware of Virgin having paid any refunds yet - (they were quoting 120 days) so, even if she had booked direct with Virgin she would still likely be waiting another couple of months (we are not currently living in normal times) things will start looking more positive for her when she starts seeing reports of March and April flights being refunded.
Sometimes third parties offer a cheaper price (I assume that is the sole reason she chose them) but there are many downsides - maybe have a read here https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k13186628-Is_there_a_way_to_contact_Hopper_NOT_through_the_app-Air_Travel.html
2) It is worth a try, but be aware some card companies are treating the offer of a voucher as a refund so would not process
3) would likely have months to wait (probably well into 2021) before any case came up
4) who would she plan to claim the interest from? 

You have not said if Hopper have refused a refund or whether they are just not contactable. The offer of a voucher first is pretty standard, some customers may be happy with that and it means the case can be dealt with and closed...it is probably a case of "we can offer you a voucher now or a refund in 'whenever, who knows'"
(third parties pass the money paid over to the airline and will be waiting for it back- they would go bust pretty quickly if they refunded passengers from their own pockets)

heatherw_01

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

Streaky_Bacon

Caz3121 said:

There is a covid travel board where this would be best posted (many similar posts there) maybe a mod will move this.
1) As your daughter chose to book with a third party, she will be dealing with them. She has no direct relationship with the airline ...no point in spending time phoning Virgin as they will just refer her to Hopper

That's not quite the whole picture.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/05/airlines-pass-the-buck-to-travel-agents-to-avoid-paying-refunds/

By law, customers must be refunded within seven days if their flight with an EU carrier, or departing from an EU airport, is cancelled, according to the Denied Boarding Regulation.

This regulation applies to the airline, not the online travel agent (OTA). And ultimately the airline is responsible for providing that refund, whether or not the customer booked directly or via an agent.

The legal obligation to refund passengers ultimately lies with the airline.

Airlines and agents may have their own agreements as to who physically provides the refund, but if the flight is protected by the Denied Boarding Regulation, the airline must cough up.

If you’re being given the runaround, Which? advises that you cut out the agent and ask your airline to refund directly into your bank account.