Refund when booked with gift vouchers that were a refund

scottishblondie

Sorry for the confusing title. 

My DH booked a tour of a football stadium for a group of people due to overseas relatives visiting. There were only 2 dates they could do the tour on due to other pre-booked plans. 

He booked date 1, but then a few days later the tour was cancelled by email. They attached a refund in gift vouchers to be used if you were rebooking, and said if you wanted a refund to the original payment method to call them. 

After some discussion with his family DH rebooked the tour for the other potential date using the gift vouchers. Yesterday the tour was against cancelled, and again refunded in gift vouchers attached to the cancellation email. DH replied stating that we needed a refund in “real money” and they have now responded that they will not do that as he booked with the gift vouchers. 

These gift voucher are effectively useless for us. We would not spend that much with this football team in the next 2 years. The only reason for the original spend was to take the visiting relatives who wanted to go and now that won’t be possible.  It wasn’t really made clear that rebooking using the provided vouchers would mean no possibility of a cash refund if it were cancelled a second time. 

Other than continuing to argue with them over their own internal policy, is there anything we can state in consumer rights to get them to refund?

I am willing to take them to small claims over this as it is a not insignificant amount of money and I am not happy to lose it. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I recall people getting caught in a voucher trap with holiday and other bookings in the pandemic, where accepting vouchers meant a proper refund opportunity was then lost.  I fear that's the case here.  Perhaps a letter before action, threatening small claims court might generate a different response?  If it doesn't, you'll have to decide whether to follow through with it.

scottishblondie

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I recall people getting caught in a voucher trap with holiday and other bookings in the pandemic, where accepting vouchers meant a proper refund opportunity was then lost.  I fear that's the case here.  Perhaps a letter before action, threatening small claims court might generate a different response?  If it doesn't, you'll have to decide whether to follow through with it.

Thanks. It really feels like they have intentionally done this in order to trap the money as it was not clear that their policies would then result in the money being stuck as vouchers.  It should be standard practice to refund the original payment method without the purchaser having to chase up to get it.  If we had originally purchased gift vouchers then used them to pay I could totally understand it, but at no point did we actually buy the vouchers, we bought a tour which they could not provide!

I'm definitely willing to take them to small claims.  I find it ridiculous that a football team with a multi-million a week budget is using these tactics.

Okell

You might want to look at the advice issued by the Competition & Markets Authority during Covid lockdown.

"Credits and re-booking

Consumers can normally be offered credits, vouchers, re-booking or re-scheduling as an alternative to a refund, but they should not be misled or pressured into doing so. A refund should still be an option that is just as clearly and easily available.

In particular, businesses should not give consumers the impression that they are not entitled to a cash refund where that is their legal right, and in the CMA’s view this would be likely to breach consumer protection law.

Any restrictions that apply to credits, vouchers, re-booking or re-scheduling must also be fair and made clear to consumers."

See - Statement on coronavirus (COVID-19), consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds - GOV.UK

While that statement related specifically to cancellations that came about as a result of lockdown, I see no reason why the general principle of making clear any restrictions on refunds made by voucher should not still apply.  Particularly as in the is case it was the football club, and not you, that cancelled the booked date.

So if the football club did not make clear that by opting for vouchers rather than cash you were forfeiting your right to a cash refund down the line, you might have a good argument.

Only you know what conditions - if any - you agreed to when accepting the vouchers.

I suggest you go back to the football club and put the above to them before suing

scottishblondie

@Okell thank you I was not aware of that statement - might actually have come in handy 4 years ago!!

I have been over the email that they sent my husband after the initial cancellation and there is no information about this, literally just "due to club operations your tour on X date is cancelled, please use the attached vouchers to rebook or call us for a refund to the original payment method".  I also read all of their T&Cs and there is no mention of this either.

They are still insisting that having used the vouchers to rebook means that we cannot get a refund, but are unable to point out where in their own policies it says that.

Jumblebumble

scottishblondie said:

Sorry for the confusing title. 

My DH booked a tour of a football stadium for a group of people due to overseas relatives visiting. There were only 2 dates they could do the tour on due to other pre-booked plans. 

He booked date 1, but then a few days later the tour was cancelled by email. They attached a refund in gift vouchers to be used if you were rebooking, and said if you wanted a refund to the original payment method to call them. 

After some discussion with his family DH rebooked the tour for the other potential date using the gift vouchers. Yesterday the tour was against cancelled, and again refunded in gift vouchers attached to the cancellation email. DH replied stating that we needed a refund in “real money” and they have now responded that they will not do that as he booked with the gift vouchers. 

These gift voucher are effectively useless for us. We would not spend that much with this football team in the next 2 years. The only reason for the original spend was to take the visiting relatives who wanted to go and now that won’t be possible.  It wasn’t really made clear that rebooking using the provided vouchers would mean no possibility of a cash refund if it were cancelled a second time. 

Other than continuing to argue with them over their own internal policy, is there anything we can state in consumer rights to get them to refund?

I am willing to take them to small claims over this as it is a not insignificant amount of money and I am not happy to lose it. 

My hunch is that if you go to small claims the football club  will cough up rather than go and tell a district judge why they are not willing to put you back in the position that you were in before you entered into a contract that they did not fulfill

Okell

Jumblebumble said:

scottishblondie said:

Sorry for the confusing title. 

My DH booked a tour of a football stadium for a group of people due to overseas relatives visiting. There were only 2 dates they could do the tour on due to other pre-booked plans. 

He booked date 1, but then a few days later the tour was cancelled by email. They attached a refund in gift vouchers to be used if you were rebooking, and said if you wanted a refund to the original payment method to call them. 

After some discussion with his family DH rebooked the tour for the other potential date using the gift vouchers. Yesterday the tour was against cancelled, and again refunded in gift vouchers attached to the cancellation email. DH replied stating that we needed a refund in “real money” and they have now responded that they will not do that as he booked with the gift vouchers. 

These gift voucher are effectively useless for us. We would not spend that much with this football team in the next 2 years. The only reason for the original spend was to take the visiting relatives who wanted to go and now that won’t be possible.  It wasn’t really made clear that rebooking using the provided vouchers would mean no possibility of a cash refund if it were cancelled a second time. 

Other than continuing to argue with them over their own internal policy, is there anything we can state in consumer rights to get them to refund?

I am willing to take them to small claims over this as it is a not insignificant amount of money and I am not happy to lose it. 

My hunch is that if you go to small claims the football club  will cough up rather than go and tell a district judge why they are not willing to put you back in the position that you were in before you entered into a contract that they did not fulfill

I would agree with your hunch...

Okell

@scottishblondie -  unless vouchers are giving you some amazing deal not available with a cash purchase, I would advise you never to accept vouchers where there is a cash alternative.

I don't buy them as gifts for other people and I don't want other people to buy them as gifts for me.  Once you've got them they basically aren't transferrable for cash value - unless as possibly here they haven't fully explained the consequences of accepting them.

If the club doesn't see sense and won't cough up and you decide to sue, make sure you know if you are suing in England or Scotland.  (I believe Scottish "small claims" is entirely different.

Good luck

scottishblondie

Okell said:

@scottishblondie -  unless vouchers are giving you some amazing deal not available with a cash purchase, I would advise you never to accept vouchers where there is a cash alternative.

I don't buy them as gifts for other people and I don't want other people to buy them as gifts for me.  Once you've got them they basically aren't transferrable for cash value - unless as possibly here they haven't fully explained the consequences of accepting them.

If the club doesn't see sense and won't cough up and you decide to sue, make sure you know if you are suing in England or Scotland.  (I believe Scottish "small claims" is entirely different.

Good luck

First thing I said to DH when he told me they had "refunded" in vouchers after the initial cancellation was that we needed real money back!  I think he was put off just doing it as he would need to call them up and he both hates phoning people and his working hours make it awkward.  Then since they decided to go on the second date he just did the rebooking as they had called it.

Small claims would be in Scotland, as both we and the club in question are here.  Similar to down south it can be lodged online for a sum of £22, but it's called a "Simple Procedure".