Turning Credit Refunds Into Cash Refunds

meddleuk

Hi All,
Going into the pandemic, I had relationship with a partner in Canada. Therefore, I had flights booked through Lastminute.com for AirTransat departing in May 2020.
These got cancelled obviously, and eventually, LM.com got in contact and asked if I wanted a refund minus booking fees or a credit refund that offered me more in return than what I had originally paid out.
I naturally picked the credit refund option, naively thinking either a) Covid wouldn't go on as long as it will or That that relationship would last.
I finally got the credit refund notes yesterday, nearly 10 months after the agreement. Sadly, that relationship has come to an end and thus the desire to book another real trip to Canada is minimal.
They have offered a small amount as LM.com credit and the rest (Nearly £400) as a credit refund with AirTransit.
Only now, I don't have a need to travel with AT (Mainly a Canadian low cost airline) and am a bit stuck as to how I will get my moneys worth. I have tried contacting AT but they have told me plainly that the issue is with the 3rd party. Which seems pretty truthful, from what I have read.
LM.com have been terrible since the world came to a standstill due to the pandemic. As far as I am aware, there is literally no direct way of contacting them. AT told me that if I ask LM.com, they can go back to AT and ask for a refund, but I am struggling to see how that is going work with them being so hard to pin down.
Does anyone know how I can get out of this hole? I guess I could book flights with AT, insure the trip and then cancel (Or have it cancelled by COVID) and get a cash refund then? Is that plausible? How long will that take?
Are there any other avenues open to me?

Thanks In Advance,
Si

Alan_Bowen

Air Transat has been a complete nightmare. In the beginning and for at least 6 months they refused any refunds at all, at the time they were in negotiation to sell to Air Canada and may well have wanted the bank account to look better than it ought to have done. Very reluctantly and after threats, they are now offering a refund of the outbound flight from the UK but not the return portion. The law is clear you are entitled to a refund for both flights if the flight did not operate and Air Transat is now in a very precarious financial position as Air Canada is considering pulling out of the deal to buy it and the entire airline is currently sitting on the ground in Canada and not flying at all
I cannot pretend that LM have covered themselves in glory in the last 12 months, but for once the culprit is the airline. If they were UK based I would suggest suing but they are not and although they have been named by the CAA as an airline not complying with the rules, they appear happy to continue to deny refunds and as you did not book directly with them, which would have allowed a section 75 claim if you used a credit card, I am honestly at a loss to suggest a way forward, almost a first for me, sorry

bagand96

The Canadian Government initially said that a voucher is an acceptable form of refund, so all Canadian airlines hid behind this and refused cash refunds, issuing vouchers instead.   

As Alan says, EU legislation means that the airlines must refund for cancelled flights departing the EU.  Air Transat's position is that they will refund the flights departing from the EU (i.e. your outbound) but not the return flight.  The information is here:

Informations about coronavirus (COVID-19) | Air Transat

Transat cancelled my flight/package. Will I get a refund?

If your flight from the United Kingdom to Canada was cancelled by Air Transat before December 1, 2020, you may be eligible for a partial refund, for the flight segment from the UK to Canada only. However, if your return flight was on a route that is suspended indefinitely, such as certain direct flights from Western Canada, then you may also be eligible for a refund for the value of your flight segment from Canada to the UK.

If your flight from the United Kingdom to Canada was cancelled by Air Transat on or after December 1, 2020, you may be eligible for a full refund. You may also be eligible for a full refund if you booked your flight in the Eco Flex or Club Flex fare on or after October 1, 2020.

Refunds will be made in the method of payment on file.

If you booked directly with Air Transat (via www.airtransat.com or our contact centre):

• You will receive written notification informing you of your options.

If you booked with a travel agent or via a website other than www.airtransat.com:

• Your travel agent or Web intermediary will receive a confirmation email from Air Transat and they will then notify you.

Agree with Alan, that whilst Lastminute.com have not acted well in the pandemic, your situation is a bit more complex.  I expect the LM.com voucher is in respect of your outbound flight (because they've had a refund from Transat), but the Air Transat voucher is for the return flight, because that's all the airline will offer.

You could push for the LM voucher to be converted to cash, but for the rest LM won't refund for something they won't be reimbursed for themselves.

PGTips1234

We had flights booked with AT for August 2020, the flights were not cancelled by AT but we were unable to fly as we couldn’t leave our local lockdown area in Lancashire and also more fundamental, we would not have been granted access to Canada on arrival. 

We have been sent a refund for the outbound portion of our flights and now have a voucher for the remaining inboard half of the flight costs. 

I suspect there’s little else we can do? 

Westin

PGTips1234 said:

We had flights booked with AT for August 2020, the flights were not cancelled by AT but we were unable to fly as we couldn’t leave our local lockdown area in Lancashire and also more fundamental, we would not have been granted access to Canada on arrival. 

We have been sent a refund for the outbound portion of our flights and now have a voucher for the remaining inboard half of the flight costs. 

I suspect there’s little else we can do? 

At the time, with the circumstances described, perhaps the alternative would have been to make a travel insurance claim.  That is probably now not an option given you now have credit voucher from the airline for the return segment of your original trip.

A refund as a credit voucher for ex Canada flights is permitted under Canada rules.

I can’t see the airline exchanging the credit for cash if that had crossed your mind.

To muddy the water, the proposed merger of Air Transat with Air Canada fell through this week.  This potentially leaves AT in a very very weak position.

Alan_Bowen

Alas, I agree with Westin, AT is now a very weak airline and probably should not be on anyone's list for new bookings. They claim they will need $400 million by June to start flying again and I suspect only a bailout by the Quebec government will save them. Of course, if they fail you might have a better chance of claiming against a credit card