Whizz air and APD non refund. Is this theft or fraud?

Mcbreeden

I booked return journey for 10 passengers for a June departure from Luton airport to Budapest.  Due to Hungarian and UK travel advice at the time the group did not fly.  

Travel insurance are ok to refund minus excess and airport duty tax.   Whizz air are refusing to refund apd which amounts to 130ukp for the group of 10.
The terms and conditions for whizz air state the fare includes apd.  HRMC states the airlines claim tax on those passengers that actually fly.  It is a type of ‘true up’ mechanism post the event.

Whizz have confirmed we did not fly.  So I now want my money back.   I have challenged them but now they say I must take this through the proper channels Re complaints as I do not qualify yet they have confirmed I have pay tax if I fly from a uk airport.  (Which I have not)

The question I would like to know is this:  as Whizz has taken my money for APD and refusing to give it back knowingly that they do not need to pay HMRC are they being fraudulent or is this theft?

I would like to report this as a crime and get a crime number.  If Whizz air are doing this to everyone, the 13ukp per passenger, who did not fly during COVID, is adding up to a lot of money.   Advice on the question please or am I being silly and just chalk this up as a whizz air experience?

Caz3121

you are correct that the APD should not be payable however airlines are also allowed to charge a fee to process the refund which may well be more than the APD amount....eg to reclaim APD of £13 on Ryanair you would pay a £17 service fee (which nobody is likely to do)...Wizz Air as a low cost carrier are likely to have a similar fee

Westin

Did you follow the process laid out by Wizz Air?
https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/prices-discounts/refunds-and-compensations

Did you check your Wizz Air account for the credited amount (= paid APD)? They however indicate that the credit into the account is only held and valid for 90 days.

If a case that your party simply decided not to fly and just no-showed at the airport, as Caz3121 indicates, whilst an APD refund is technically due, WizzAir will likely off set the £13 pp refund against administration fees to process this.

mattyprice4004

It seems harsh to say you're being silly, but as per the other comments they are entitled to have an administration fee for processing these refunds, which will likely be similar to (or more) than the amount refunded.

It's another one of those annoying quirks with the travel industry I'm afraid.

Thrugelmir

mattyprice4004 said:

It's another one of those annoying quirks with the travel industry I'm afraid.

Employing people costs a considerable amount of money.  Someone has to foot the bill. 

[Deleted User]

No, it's not theft, nor fraud. That is my opinion but go ahead and report it to the police if you feel a crime has been committed.

Mcbreeden

Hi everyone,  thank you for your replies.  The refund I received from whizz was according to their calculations. I have no issue with that part.  It is clearly laid out.   What is not clear is if the refund included the APD.  I have requested that clarity and awaiting the answer.  I guess it is the principle not the value which is difficult to swallow.  I await their response.  Appreciate the comments.  I am struggling to work out it there is a law that has been broken - ie take money and not give it back.   Once they confirm re refund include APD I will let this forum know. 

CKhalvashi

The APD is included in the ticket price with Wizz (and most other budget carriers).

If the flight went, you have no right to a refund (unless you purchased Flex and even then it's down to whatever conditions are on offer). If you do have a right to a refund, pop them an e-mail, although there may be a fee for the processing of this, which is completely legal as they have to pay someone to do the job.

You chose not to fly and it's your responsibility to ensure that you can enter the country.

Mcbreeden

Hi CKhalvashi,  you incorrect on a few points.   Like I said,  APD is only payable if you fly - the reason is for no fly is not material.  That is the laid HMRC true up mechanism.  It boils down to did the refund include APD.  

Westin

Mcbreeden said:

Hi CKhalvashi,  you incorrect on a few points.   Like I said,  APD is only payable if you fly - the reason is for no fly is not material.  That is the laid HMRC true up mechanism.  It boils down to did the refund include APD.  

You previous said “The refund I received from whizz was according to their calculations. I have no issue with that part.  It is clearly laid out. ”

So you have the breakdown, can you not work it out? No one here has the information you seem to have so how can we help you? 

CKhalvashi

Mcbreeden said:

Hi CKhalvashi,  you incorrect on a few points.   Like I said,  APD is only payable if you fly - the reason is for no fly is not material.  That is the laid HMRC true up mechanism.  It boils down to did the refund include APD.  

Lets try again, as it wasn't spelled out too clearly on my end.

The fare plus administration fee is the total that you pay. The cancellation fee is £55 if you cancel at least 2 weeks before, £80 plus services if you cancel within 14 days, unless you purchased the Wizz Flex service, which comes with its own terms and conditions. As you simply did not arrive for the flight, you have no entitlement to a refund as you stopped the seat being sold to another paying customer due to not letting Wizz know.

If you want a refund of the tax element of the flight, then this will be minus the appropriate fee, which unless you're travelling to Kutaisi (which is a route that isn't coming back) or Tel Aviv (which hasn't operated for some months and is suspended until mid-December for now) means that attempting to reclaim would be pretty pointless. As you admit not flying on one of these routes, this is where my stance has come from.

Wizz are correct in stating that they do not put APD separately in their invoices and this is included in what you pay. Other budget airlines do the same thing. Ryanair charge £17 per passenger for a refund of £13 per passenger, so I'd assume that for Wizz, this will be a starting point. You chose not to fly (as you said, why is irrelevant to both us and Wizz) and therefore would be causing the airline additional administration, so it is fair that they recharge you their costs so as not to be unfair on other customers or shareholders.

If you have received a refund at either 100% or 120% due to a cancelled flight (or 100% minus £55 if this is more relevant), this will clearly include any element of taxes that you have paid, as they weren't separated out on the original invoice, nor are they legally required to be. You will have received a negative invoice in relation to this and can fully check how this has been calculated. As I understand, you received this and your issue is with the terms and conditions that you agreed to, not how this has been worked out.

If you feel the company has committed a crime, please do forward it to the police. You cannot report a crime via MSE. And please learn correctly how to spell the name of the company, as you seem to struggle with this.