ABTA boss will not support members refusing cash refunds

Monday, April 13, 2020

ABTA chief Mark Tanzer will take action against members who refuse cash refunds  and rejects the fact that firms should be denying their obligations under these rules.

When a holiday is cancelled by the operator, the customer is entitled to a full cash refund within two weeks which comes under the Package Travel Regulations.

Sadly, hundreds of holidaymakers have been refused of cash and many companies cited that  they claim to be advice from Abta that a voucher for future holidays is sufficient.

Jane Clifford said  that an Abta member company  had used several times in the past had refused her request for a refund after her trip to Dubai was cancelled.

Clifford was distressed and had spent more than £3,000, which is a lot of money to them at this present time of being in lockdown for 12 weeks.

Mark Tanzer said he was very aware of the concern and frustration and anger that’s out there at the moment and Abta would take action against any member company offering only a voucher for future travel.

He absolutely rejected the fact that firms should be denying their obligations under these rules.They do owe the customers a refund. The customer has to have that right. He will make sure that Abta members follow that rule.

Mr Tanzer went on saying that  travel firms should have the refund deadline extended at a time when not only are all the destinations closed so there are multiple claims for refunds, but there is no new business coming in to fund those.

Travel companies are essentially intermediaries, they take the customers’ money and  pass it on to the airlines and the hotels. They’re not sitting on bags of cash.

In order to pay refunds they have to get those monies back and the 14-day window just isn’t really deliverable for most travel companies.

The right is denied by some of the companies and they completely refute that they will take action against their members and  look for the Department for Business to take action against other companies.

They are trying to do in the middle ground where people are asking for more time is to bring some order to that.

A system of Refund Credit Notes has been proposed by ABTA which is effectively an IOU promising a cash refund on a specific date, which – if the customer chooses – can be spent on an alternative holiday through the same travel firm.

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