TravelCenter UK / Ryanair - refund refusal - Section 75?

itsallaboutme

In February this year I booked a trip for two to Kiev, scheduled for July.  I paid a single price for flights, accommodation and excursions of £299 per person (£598 total).

On 9th June, I contacted TravelCenter UK to enquire about options and they responded that day saying that it would be cancelled and that I'd get a credit voucher.  I called and spoke to their agent saying that I'd rather have a refund and his response was that I would need to wait until they'd received the money back from the suppliers.  I figured that was ok, I could wait as long as I knew I'd get my money back.  7 months later, they're now saying that RyanAir ran the flight and therefore they can't refund me for that - just the accommodation and excursions.  My understanding of the ABTA rules is that a single price constitutes a package as at no point did I receive a breakdown of the holiday costs, nor was I offered any options other than dates/times.  It was advertised on TravelZoo as a package and that's what they sold me.

I received an email yesterday saying that RyanAir had run the flights on 10th and 13th July and therefore I can't have a refund for that element.

I'm fed up now - should I raise a Section 75 claim via AMEX?  I've already tried disputing the transaction, but TravelCenter sent them a badly scanned email dated 22nd September showing that the flight had left and they closed the dispute.  I reopened it in November and they are still awaiting a further response from TravelCenter.

Should I also complain to ABTA about them breaching the rules?  I'm so confused and feel sick with all the hassle I've had from this company.

Thanks in advance for advice.

itsallaboutme

Also, I meant to say I've been told that RyanAir is banning anyone who raises a Section 75 claim.  Not sure how possible that is, but there's always a slim chance that I might fly with them at some point in the future.

Caz3121

Do you have an ATOL certificate? what does it show on the certificate re package?

Alan_Bowen

This appears to be Moresand who are well known in these parts. Yes, you are entitled to a full refund, this was almost certainly a multi-contract package which a lot of online agents sold assuming, wrongly, that clients had separate contracts with each supplier and there was no financial liability if the holiday was cancelled. As other similar companies have found, the CMA has made it clear that customers are entitled to a full refund. 
Your section 75 claim would not be against Ryanair but Moresand if you have the ATOL Certificate. 
It would be a fascinating job to see how many of the hundreds of thousands of complaints come from bookings made through the likes of Travelzoo, Skyscanner and the like as they seem to be the home of some of the worst agents here and now frequently abroad too