Vueling refusing to refund

Lovfinion

Greetings,

I had my flight VY7816 VY7816 scheduled to fly on 28/05/2020 cancelled due to the cornavuris outbreak. I requested a refunded, which I received as voucher. I have since been chasing vueling to request a monetary refund instead.

Two days ago they finally responded and below is the email message I received from them.

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Vueling.

We are contacting you in reference to booking XHDGHQ,
flight VY7816 on 28/05/2020.

First of all, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

After analyzing your case we inform you that according to the information registered in our databases your flight was affected by circumstances beyond the company’s control.

We regret to inform you that, in accordance with EC Regulation 261/2004, you are not entitled to compensation.

Some factors -such as adverse weather conditions, strikes, diversions, bird strikes, runway closures, etc.- are completely beyond the company’s control.

In consequence, we regret to inform you that, according to the Community Passenger Protection Regulations, your case does not correspond any type of economic compensation.

We remain at your disposal for any other doubts, suggestions or requests you may have. Our apologies again for the inconveniences caused.


Yours sincerely

Vueling Airlines, S.A.

I am serious flabbergasted by their stance, that they are sidestepping responsibility and I am left €150 out of pocket. Not a great deal of money, but still money I earned on a low wage salary.

Can anyone advice me, should I pursue this further, or do I have no legal rights anymore ?

Kevin

Caz3121

It sounds there is some confusion as they appear to think you were requesting EU261 compensation which, as they correctly respond, is not applicable.
If the flight was cancelled then you were entitled to a cash refund however airlines did / do not make that easy. (usually involves getting them on the phone and sticking firmly to guns)
There are a number of similar posts across various airlines where, once passengers requested and received vouchers, it is not them possible to change your mind and request cash instead....this is not just Vueling taking this stance.

bagand96

Agree with Caz, Vueling are correct in that they do not owe you compensation.  You are entitled to a refund though.  Is there a chance its somehow got confused? Did you ask for compensation, or fill in a form on their website for EU261 compensation?  The Vueling website does say that if your flight is cancelled you can request a refund via Manage My Booking, although that may be different now than it was in May.  

I would get in touch with them one more time and ask for a refund for the cancelled flight.  If they refuse again, go to your card provider for a chargeback (debit card) or Section 75 (credit card) claim.  Keep in mind you only have 120 days to register a chargeback, Section 75 you have longer.

Lovfinion

Thank you both for replying, my flight was cancelled on April 15th, through my booking I requested a refund. Which I subsequently received the below email on April 27th

Hi, Kevin Driske, We are writing to inform you that as your flight has been cancelled because of the impact that COVID-19 is having on airlines, we've turned the amount you paid for your booking into Flight Credit. Details of your cancelled flight:

- Route: EDI - BCN - Flight no: VY7816 - Date: 2020-05-28 - Booking code: XHDGHQ - Flight credit: 159.98 EUR

Please note that if your booking included several flights, you'll get one email for each cancelled flight. You will have the total amount of the different flights in a single Flight Credit. (There may be an hour's delay between emails) At the bottom of the email another message.  If you prefer to be refunded the price of your cancelled booking, you must call us so we can process your request*. Due to the current situation, this process may take up to 8 weeks. Took me literally weeks of trying to finally get a person to talk too, during the conversation I was told a monetary refund would be refunded to the card used for the flight, but nearly 3 months later I have had nothing. When I requested I was looking for a refund not compensation, I received the following reply today. Dear Mr./Mrs.: We contact you in response to your request [SR_Number: 1-19075035664] After having resolved your claim in our previous letter, we have reviewed the case, checking that our company acted in accordance to our Conditions of Transport and the current European Air Navigation Regulations. Once again, we regret that we cannot proceed with your request in the terms you request. Therefore, we will proceed to close the case, terminating the processing. Sincerely, Customer Services Department VUELING AIRLINES, S.A. I will probably not follow up, seems I am just a little pleb who doesn't deserve to be properly refunded.

bagand96

Go to your card provider.  They have not acted within European regulations.  The regulation is EU261 which gives you the right to a cash refund.

macman

bagand96 said:

Go to your card provider.  They have not acted within European regulations.  The regulation is EU261 which gives you the right to a cash refund.

No it doesn't. EU261 was suspended several months ago. As others have pointed out, the OP needs to request a refund, not the compensation that appears to have been refused.
If they refuse again, then a chargeback is the next step.

Lovfinion

macman said:

bagand96 said:

Go to your card provider.  They have not acted within European regulations.  The regulation is EU261 which gives you the right to a cash refund.

No it doesn't. EU261 was suspended several months ago. As others have pointed out, the OP needs to request a refund, not the compensation that appears to have been refused.
If they refuse again, then a chargeback is the next step.

I did request a refund, back in April and was given vouchers, it was a nightmare trying to call them to request a monetary refund.I got through mid May and was told I would get a monetary refund, which has never materialised.

I cannot menage this partucular booking anymore and again calling them is pointless they keep hanging up saying the are "too busy"
That I asked for compensation, I guess I got through to the only bloody customer service still operating at Vueling.and useless to me.

eskbanker

macman said:
EU261 was suspended several months ago.

Do you have a link for that?  I know some countries were pushing for it but don't recall it actually happening....

Lovfinion

The email I received from Vueling has them stating EU261

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Vueling.

We are contacting you in reference to booking XHDGHQ,
flight VY7816 on 28/05/2020.

First of all, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

After analyzing your case we inform you that according to the information registered in our databases your flight was affected by circumstances beyond the company’s control.

We regret to inform you that, in accordance with EC Regulation 261/2004, you are not entitled to compensation.

Some factors -such as adverse weather conditions, strikes, diversions, bird strikes, runway closures, etc.- are completely beyond the company’s control.

In consequence, we regret to inform you that, according to the Community Passenger Protection Regulations, your case does not correspond any type of economic compensation.

We remain at your disposal for any other doubts, suggestions or requests you may have. Our apologies again for the inconveniences caused.

Yours sincerely

Vueling Airlines, S.A.


I am unsure why they use the term 'compensation" I have always referred to my dispute as a "refund request"

bagand96

macman said:

bagand96 said:

Go to your card provider.  They have not acted within European regulations.  The regulation is EU261 which gives you the right to a cash refund.

No it doesn't. EU261 was suspended several months ago. As others have pointed out, the OP needs to request a refund, not the compensation that appears to have been refused.
If they refuse again, then a chargeback is the next step.

Yes it does. EU261 has not been suspended. The EU stated that Coronavirus is considered exceptional circumstances and as such airlines are not liable for compensation.

Other elements of EU261 still apply, so when an airline cancel a flight the passenger is entitled to their choice of or reroute or refund. 

By failing to provide a refund, Vueling are failing to comply.