Please help! LASTMINUTE.COM agree to refund my flight tickets with Lufthansa, with options.

jackymg

Sorry for another LASTMINUTE.COM refund thread. But glance through the forum, not been able to find what I need. 

More specifically, I booked my Lufthansa flight with LM (not package holiday). Flight has now been cancelled by Lufthansa, LM now offering me 3 options:

1. Refund me in full as Travel Credit issued by LM; valid for 12 months; plus extras £80 worth of credit
2. Refund me in full as LM Voucher (not sure what's the difference between this option compare and option 1, apart from the extra £80)
3. Airline Refund method, full amount - £30 fee - the airline will be the one who make the decision of reimbursement - either by rebook, airline credit or refund to original payment method, depending on the airline's T&C.

If I were to choose option 3, I am not clear whether I will be able to get a full refund back to my card or not. I have tried to approach Lufthansa, but the just push me around and ask me to query LM. LM did the same, asking me to check with Lufthansa. 

Ideally, if I can get a full refund as cash, even with the -£30, I'd pick that as I have got over £2k tied up here. But since I booked via LM, Lufthansa refuse to comment on what I can get if I choose option 3. LM is unable to answer also as the decision lies with Lufthansa. 

I am stuck here unable to make an inform decision. If I choose option 3 and if I am only able to get a rebook/airline credit, I'd rather get LM credit as that gives me more flexibility in the future. 

Can someone help or suggest where I should take this? 

[Deleted User]

Well the bottom line is if the airline cancelled your flight then you are entitled to a full refund. However as you have paid via a third party then they can claim an admin fee.  If it is unreasonable amount (which £30 doesn’t appear to be) then you can challenge it but it’s a bit of a grey area as in how much is too much etc.   

They try to get you to take vouchers obviously as it is better for them and the extra is an incentive but personally, I would opt for a cash refund. Mainly because nobody know when we will be able to fly without restrictions again.   Obviously if you are the type who is determined to go away as soon as possible  then the extras may appeal more?  

jackymg

Tedber said:

Well the bottom line is if the airline cancelled your flight then you are entitled to a full refund. However as you have paid via a third party then they can claim an admin fee.  If it is unreasonable amount (which £30 doesn’t appear to be) then you can challenge it but it’s a bit of a grey area as in how much is too much etc.   

They try to get you to take vouchers obviously as it is better for them and the extra is an incentive but personally, I would opt for a cash refund. Mainly because nobody know when we will be able to fly without restrictions again.   Obviously if you are the type who is determined to go away as soon as possible  then the extras may appeal more?  

Thanks Tedber,

I am not determine/desperate to go abroad anytime soon. 

My preferred option would be to get refund in cash/payment card. But I worry that if I chose the "Airline Refund Method" and Lufthansa only offer me rebook but not refund, I am kind of stuck in the worse possible option as I am tied to rebook with Lufthansa (as opposed to LM) and unable to get my cash back.


Are you suggesting that if Lufthansa is the one that cancelled my flight, I am entitled to full refund regardless my ticket class? (£30 fee charge by LM is not ideal, but considering the lump sum, I can can bite the bullet and at least get my cash back) 

Nebulous2

When were you offered these options? Last-minute has done a deal with the CMA which was announced this week. Look up the details, but I'm sure they committed to full refunds within 14 days for new cases. It might be worth pointing that out, assuming the offer you received was since then. 

Butts

Nebulous2 said:

When were you offered these options? Last-minute has done a deal with the CMA which was announced this week. Look up the details, but I'm sure they committed to full refunds within 14 days for new cases. It might be worth pointing that out, assuming the offer you received was since then. 

I'll believe this when I see it, does full refunds mean they will not be deducting any of their "legendary" spurious fees ?
When you say "new cases" what about the existing claims ?

eskbanker

Butts said:

Nebulous2 said:

When were you offered these options? Last-minute has done a deal with the CMA which was announced this week. Look up the details, but I'm sure they committed to full refunds within 14 days for new cases. It might be worth pointing that out, assuming the offer you received was since then. 

I'll believe this when I see it, does full refunds mean they will not be deducting any of their "legendary" spurious fees ?
When you say "new cases" what about the existing claims ?

The recent LM undertakings to the CMA related specifically to package holiday bookings, rather than flight-only ones (which are subject to different regulations).

jackymg said:

I booked my Lufthansa flight with LM (not package holiday). Flight has now been cancelled by Lufthansa, LM now offering me 3 options:

[...] Airline Refund method, full amount - £30 fee - the airline will be the one who make the decision of reimbursement - either by rebook, airline credit or refund to original payment method, depending on the airline's T&C.

No, as an EU airline (and presuming EU flights), Lufthansa are bound by the EC 261/2004 regulations, obliging them to offer a full cash refund when cancelling flights - they can offer other options but have no legal right to insist on them, so it's your decision, not theirs.  LM have form for trying to palm customers off and saying they need to contact the airline, but as Lufthansa have said, LM are their customer and you have no direct relationship with them, so you need to pursue this via LM only, insisting on a full refund if that's what you want.  They can impose admin fees for processing refunds, but only if they're specified in their Ts & Cs....

bagand96

As others have said above, Lufthansa have to offer a full refund for the cancelled flights, and they will do.  As you booked via an agent, the refund will go to the agent.  They are entitled to charge an admin/processing fee if it was in the T&Cs at the time of booking.  £30 seems about standard and isn't particularly excessive.