AIR NEW ZEALAND CANCELLED FLIGHT - NO REFUND

ColinPC

A frustrating situation has arisen ... any advice / help would be appreciated.

A one-way flight from New Zealand to Australia in September has been cancelled by Air New Zealand because of Covid-19.  ANZ is refusing to refund my money because the fare was a "saver" fare.  The airline has cancelled this flight not me.  I booked via ANZ's UK website (www.airnewzealand.co.uk) and paid in UK pounds.  Despite this, ANZ is claiming that the flight is covered by NZ and Australian rules, which seems a little odd to me ...

My question: Because I booked through a UK website and paid in £s, am I covered by UK / EU financial regulations such that I am entitled to claim a refund?

DCFC79

How did you pay ?

ColinPC

Credit card - I realise that a chargeback may be on option, but this isn't guaranteed since ANZ is trying to apply their local 'rules' to the situation.  Far better if there's a way to quote chapter and verse to ANZ and force their hand into issuing a refund.

Nebulous2

I don't think there is anything to support your argument, I'm afraid. EU rules cover flights out of EU and EU owned airlines, but not the situation you describe. 

Going through your credit card company or your travel insurer might work, but you might also have an argument there. I'm assuming ANZ has offered a voucher? If that's the case they may argue you have been made an offer.

ColinPC

Thanks "Nebulous2" ... I tend to think you are correct - I just wanted to see if there was anyone on the forum who knows a 'different' way to overcome this hurdle.  I have been offered a voucher, but (sadly) there's no way I can use it next year, so I won't be going down that line.  I have to hope that my insurance company doesn't put up obstacles ... 

ciderboy2009

Read through ANZ's terms and conditions that you signed up to when purchasing the tickets.  I would imagine that there's a statement in there that the purchase will be subject to NZ laws.

As Nebulous2 states - you are only going to be covered by EU rules for flights in or out of the EU.

ColinPC

Done this "ciderboy2009", and also had a chat (after a 75 minute hold) with their customer service team.  ANZ's Ts&Cs are a bit unusual in so far as they constantly refer to "Local Legislation".  In our case, the flight into NZ started in the USA, and US legislation states that a full refund is required if a flight is cancelled, so ANZ has refunded us for this leg of our trip.  However, flying from NZ to Australia means that Aussie legislation applies, and the rules are different.  In other words, ANZ will always go by outside legislation rather than impose their own rules.

I'm not a stupid person but, like most of us, I didn't clock the implications of all this when I made the reservation - I will be much more careful with ALL flight and hotel bookings going forward ... this pandemic is proving to be an education for all of us in so many different ways ...!!!

He

Just a thought - if ANZ gave you a voucher, is it transferable? If so, could you recoup at least something by selling it on?

prowla

Hmmm - ".co.uk" websites are reserved for UK registered companies, so they are presenting themselves as a UK presence when selling.

I don't know the nuances as to whether their T&Cs (if they exist) can override that, though.

Caz3121

prowla said:

 ".co.uk" websites are reserved for UK registered companies, so they are presenting themselves as a UK presence when selling.

.co.uk domain names are intended for any business either located or doing business in the United Kingdom. However, anybody can register a .co.uk domain name as long as it is available.
You will often find Chinese sellers with no presence in the UK using .co.uk addresses. It is not an indication that there is a UK registered business or even a UK address (although some people may think so)

Nebulous2

I saw some New Zealand people complaining earlier in the lockdown. ANZ was having to comply with local legislation in EU and America and refund, which meant overseas people were getting more favourable treatment than their own citizens.

I had return flights from South Island to North Island with Jetstar and I managed to get a refund for them quite early in the lockdown. Looking back now I reckon I was pretty lucky.