Virgin travel insurance asking me to try sec 75

anticlaus105

Thanks for all the responses. My options are to procure new travel insurance that still covers us or cancel. Despite the FCO advice Easyjet seem hell bent on operating the flight and the hotel emailed today offering express check-in, so they think it's happening. The trip isn't essential and I'm beginning to question if it is safe. I have tried contacting Easyjet but this isn't going to happen, so I can't cancel the flight. I filled in a refund request form but am unsure what that will achieve given the flight is going ahead and we are checked in. If I can't contact or speak to them it's just a case of not turning up I guess. I'll have to call the hotel and see if a refund is forthcoming from that direction, but I doubt it somehow.

Thrugelmir

anticlaus105 said:

 Easyjet seem hell bent on operating the flight 

Where else is the plane rostered to fly that day? Flight scheduling is complex and the cancellation of your flight would have knock on effects, not least potentially to bring passengers home. 

anticlaus105

Thrugelmir said:

anticlaus105 said:

 Easyjet seem hell bent on operating the flight 

Where else is the plane rostered to fly that day? Flight scheduling is complex and the cancellation of your flight would have knock on effects, not least potentially to bring passengers home. 

That's good point. I guess despite the FCO advice some people will still have to travel. The problem is no refund is offered unless the flight is cancelled, but I guess that's where my travel insurance comes in. I called my insurance company again and this time was told insurance is void if travel against FCO advise, so I have no idea what the previous chap was on about. They said something like they will only action a claim if FCO is still essential 48 hours before expected departure. I'm not sure if this means that if I cancel and the advice changes then I won't be able able to claim. Again trying to nail down the finer points was difficult especially as the reception during the call was poor. I also explained getting a cancellation invoice from Easyjet may prove difficult, given I can't speak to them. I will call the hotel tomorrow and warn them if FCO still says no on Mon am then we wont be coming and then see what happens between now and Monday.

anticlaus105

Tomorrow is flight day and we won't be going. The hotel have let me move the booking to next year and the car park refunded in full, which is odd as for my March trip they only refunded a portion.

I filled out a refund request for Easyjet and emailed separately saying I can't travel due to FCO so please refund. It looks like the flight is going, so I very much doubt a refund will be forthcoming.

I called my travel insurance and they asked that I start a section 75 claim first but have opened a claim and sent documentation. I called AMEX and was offered a dispute or sec 75, so went with sec 75 as I doubt Easyjet will be in breach of their own T&C's which sounded like a dispute would require.

Was sec 75 the correct way to go, or will this prove a waste of time? I'm choosing not to get on a flight that is going, but only because the government say I can't, so does that mean as I don't receive the service through no fault of my own I can claim on sec 75, or should be chasing my travel insurance?

eskbanker

Section 75 gives you the same rights against the card company as you have against the retailer, and to claim entails demonstrating breach of contract or misrepresentation, so if you're (rightly) not asserting that EasyJet have breached their Ts & Cs then a s75 claim will fail.  A chargeback is also unlikely to succeed for the same reason, but by fruitlessly pursuing both that and a s75 claim, you'll at least have something to take to your insurer to show them that you tried....

anticlaus105

Thanks. AMEX said they will send a letter in a few days. When I have this I will complete my travel insurance paperwork. Is it possible the travel insurance will close the claim down if I'm pursuing (even if it will fail) sec 75? Or will they leave it open (also allowing them to stall) until the sec 75 inevitably fails? I'm hoping they don't try to refuse the claim saying wrongly that sec 75 should cover it.