eBookers not refunding insurance

mazzy1026

Hi All

After a bit of advice here as I am at a loose end now.

Brief story: Grandparents booked a return flight last year through eBookers, with gold insurance worth £70 (on British Airways). EasyJet bought out the airline, which meant that they were entitled to a full refund of the costs. They are in the process of getting the refund (they don't want to fly with EasyJet) but eBookers will NOT give us the £70 insurance back.

The way I see it - eBookers broke the contract and keep trying to blame the Airline - I've been on the phone to them on behalf of my Grandparents, but I am fighting a losing battle.

I've asked them to see their bank to see if they can refund etc, and maybe see if they can see Citizens Advice. I'm trying not to rant here, as I am totally ******* off with eBookers - it's theft if you ask me.

Any advice?

Thanks
Maz.

Sam_Bee

I presume they are travelling on another airline for the same dates then if they cancelled the easyjet flights? So surely the insurance is still valid.

And if they are not travelling, i'm not sure why it's ebookers fault? It's completely out of their control, so i'm not sure why they should be out of pocket (as they would have paid their insurers already), AFAIK the same thing would have happened no matter who they booked with, ebookers, expedia, or bob.*

*P.S As an ex-employee, I promise that if I could find any fault or reason to blame e-bookers, I would.

mazzy1026

Thanks for the reply Sam, however I think you're missing the point.

It's like going into a Ford garage and ordering a brand new Mondeo, paying £200 extra for metallic silver colour. Yet when you go to pick up the car, you are told you can't have it in metallic silver, and it's actually purple - oh but you can't have your £200 back.

It's completely wrong - we entered into a contract with EBOOKERS and we paid money to EBOOKERS - so when they change the terms of the contract, it is effectively null and void. They have offered us a full refund, yet not including the £70. It's daylight robbery, and anyone agreeing to it is just as bad!

Incapuppy

I'm guessing here but maybe the problem has arisen because they could have travelled with Easyjet but chose not to?

As far as I know, with insurance the risk starts from the moment that you buy the policy so maybe that is why they can't get a refund - because they have had insurance cover (and the risks to the company associated with that) in the period between the original flights being booked and their decision not to travel with easyjet?

Also are eBookers underwriting the insurance policy or did they sell a policy on behalf of another company? Perhaps it is the insurance company you need to take this up with rather than eBookers themselves?

To back up what Sam has said - surely if they are re-booking the policy should still be valid for the re-arranged trip?

Sam_Bee

Mmmm. I disagree with your analogy, and i'll tell you why.

One of the major advantages of travel insurance is cancellation cover.

Should your parents have had to cancel before (and I appreciate the irony now) then the travel insurance would have covered them.

In effect, they have been using their travel insurance already, despite the fact they havn't claimed. ebookers have paid their insurers. It is not ebookers fault that BA sold out to easyjet.

ebookers didn't break their contract, they acted as an agent for the airline. They are acting on the airlines behalf.

I won't ask why they are no longer travelling on those dates, or why they turned down the easyjet flights (and yes I know what an inferior airline they are in many respects). If they had booked their insurance not through ebookers, they would be in the same situation. I'm not being antagonistic, but I think a refund of the insurance is highly unlikely, and the only people to blame, BA, won't be paying out.

mazzy1026

Sam_Bee wrote: »

It is not ebookers fault that BA sold out to easyjet.

Then why did they continue to sell tickets, knowing full well that the airline sale would be going ahead and that everyone would have to re-book? You only have to read the press and there are hundreds of people infuriated at the same situation. A company takes your money, and when things change, they don't refund.

They chose to travel with BA, hence booking with eBookers - they are quite within their right to have a full refund of everything, including insurance for a product which no longer exists! The insurance is related to the product which is the flight with BA - as this no longer exists (through no fault of ours) then how can they possibly keep our money? I don't know how else to illustrate other than with my above analogy - how can you insure something that doesn't exist?

mystic_trev

How long had your Grandparents had the Insurance? If more than 14 days,then they've been 'on risk' to the Insurers, which is probably why they are refusing to refund. I understand your frustration, but I don't think there's a lot you can do.

mazzy1026

Yes more than 14 days Trev - problem is, 14 days after the purchase, everything was fine - no talk of airlines selling etc. Not trying to appear the stooze here, but I just can't stand it when companies can get away with this kind of thing. I'm a perfectly reasonable person, and I expect companies like this to be reasonable. They don't do themselves any favours.

dmg24

TBH I think you are missing the point mazzy1026. Your grandparents have had the benefit of the travel insurance up to the point of cancellation, and it does not relate only to the flight, but also the time that the passengers would have been away.

Unless the route was actually cancelled, no one had to rebook flights.

As others have asked, have they rebooked flights?

mjon3105

I am afraid Mazzy 1026 that your Grandparents find themselves in the position where the are caught between several different parties. As others have said they HAVE been protected against risk of cancellation from outset and that cannot not be disputed I think you will agree.... One might have been able to "negotiate" a partial refund in certain circumstances less an administrative fee. In the REAL world what is at stake here is NOT the "insurance" premium but the commission that E-Bookers get from their insurers and that is the only part of it you could reasonably expect e-bookers to refund.. If your Grandparents write to the MD of E-Bookers and copy to the MD of the Insurers you just MAY find they get a partial refund as a "gesture of goodwill" BUT I am afraid that if YOU write or phone again,on their behalf, you are NOT likely to get even that as they will almost certainly say that they have already spent much more than their commission payment on their discussions with you.

You must understand that E-Bookers are NOT at fault for the change of ownership of GB Airways (who operated the flights for B.A under a franchise agreement) ; nor can they be blamed for retaining the INSURANCE premium since the INSURER ... not EBookers..... WAS ....at risk for quite some time . So the only thing they could be criticised for would be for retaining their commission which just MIGHT be as much as 40 to 60 percent of the total premium... ... Any hope of any partial refund now rests on your Grandparents writing themselves as pensioners and very politely asking for a refund ..... even then it will depend on the generosity of E-Bookers......but having spent so much time so far is it not worth a first class stamp and a few minutes of their time? .......


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mazzy1026 wrote: »

Hi All

After a bit of advice here as I am at a loose end now.

Brief story: Grandparents booked a return flight last year through eBookers, with gold insurance worth £70 (on British Airways). EasyJet bought out the airline, which meant that they were entitled to a full refund of the costs. They are in the process of getting the refund (they don't want to fly with EasyJet) but eBookers will NOT give us the £70 insurance back.

The way I see it - eBookers broke the contract and keep trying to blame the Airline - I've been on the phone to them on behalf of my Grandparents, but I am fighting a losing battle.

I've asked them to see their bank to see if they can refund etc, and maybe see if they can see Citizens Advice. I'm trying not to rant here, as I am totally ******* off with eBookers - it's theft if you ask me.

Any advice?

Thanks
Maz.

Voyager2002

Of course, the obvious solution would be to use the insurance cover to take another holiday at the same time as the cancelled trip. Or even see if the insurers could be helpful and change it to cover slightly different dates.