Holiday/flight cancellations and refunds ( title updated )

[JimmyCant]

3 hours ago, davemclaren said:

Did you just phone your bank to discuss a chargeback?

Yes Dave. They said they would need to see an email I sent asking for a refund which was sent more than 7 days ago and had been refused or not replied to. I’m with First Direct who I’ve always found great for stuff like this. Other banks might not be so willing to help of course. My 7 days is up tomorrow and I’ve heard nothing.

[davemclaren]

12 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Yes Dave. They said they would need to see an email I sent asking for a refund which was sent more than 7 days ago and had been refused or not replied to. I’m with First Direct who I’ve always found great for stuff like this. Other banks might not be so willing to help of course. My 7 days is up tomorrow and I’ve heard nothing.

Thanks. I paid with a Lloyds bank credit card. Will see what they say. 

[JimmyCant]

1 hour ago, davemclaren said:

Thanks. I paid with a Lloyds bank credit card. Will see what they say. 

Just an update Dave. Phoned the bank again today and they have begun the chargeback process. They will ask for all the flight details and booking numbers so have that to hand before you call. I’ve just got a form to return and I’ll get the money back in my account within 3 weeks. Girls said there is a massive backlog of these type of claim but the good news is that the airlines and travel agents are not challenging them as they don’t have the grounds to challenge if they themselves have cancelled a flight or holiday. I’ll still have to wait a few weeks but it’s better than several months Ryanair indicated it might be

[davemclaren]

1 minute ago, JimmyCant said:

Just an update Dave. Phoned the bank again today and they have begun the chargeback process. They will ask for all the flight details and booking numbers so have that to hand before you call. I’ve just got a form to return and I’ll get the money back in my account within 3 weeks. Girls said there is a massive backlog of these type of claim but the good news is that the airlines and travel agents are not challenging them as they don’t have the grounds to challenge if they themselves have cancelled a flight or holiday. I’ll still have to wait a few weeks but it’s better than several months Ryanair indicated it might be

Cheers. Useful info. 

[Stuart Lyon]

Airlines etc just passing on the work involved in a refund to the banks via the chargeback process. 

[inspector]

Quick question. Has anybody who has had their cash back from either the airline or hotel AND had insurance which is not going to be required, had a refund from the insurance company?

[CavySlaveJambo]

On 05/05/2020 at 10:18, westbow said:

I’ve been on google Alert with Walt Disney world for a few months which is good for keeping up to date ( and the rumours which can turn out to be fairly accurate).

I booked easy jet to Gatwick and virgin to Orlando. Renting someone else’s Disney timeshare for four days initially then one weeks Airbnb (never booked, phew!) followed by last 3 days at a Disney resort through Disney.

Bit of a mess to wade through as 5 separate bookings. Only the time share is an issue, which to be honest is a result.

Which timeshare resort and resort are you at? I've only ever stayed at French Quarter which is really lovely. 

As for flights, mine are separate bookings from LGW but they are all BA flights, unluckily I have also got an overnight stay at Gatwick. 

 

Also given the current state of things, I wouldn't be surprised if the two separate BA Orlando flights get merged into 1. 

 

[westbow]

1 hour ago, CavySlaveJambo said:

Which timeshare resort and resort are you at? I've only ever stayed at French Quarter which is really lovely. 

As for flights, mine are separate bookings from LGW but they are all BA flights, unluckily I have also got an overnight stay at Gatwick. 

 

Also given the current state of things, I wouldn't be surprised if the two separate BA Orlando flights get merged into 1. 

 

Grand Floridian - 2 bedroom villa. Because I was renting someone else’s time share I had to pay 2/3 deposit in January and 1/3 6 weeks before (14th May). Going to cancel but will lose deposit. They say if I pay final amount and then Disney hotels are still shut on 29th June i can defer to next year. But I reckon they will be open by then so not throwing good money after bad.

[davemclaren]

2 hours ago, inspector said:

Quick question. Has anybody who has had their cash back from either the airline or hotel AND had insurance which is not going to be required, had a refund from the insurance company?

Is that how it works? 

[graygo]

36 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Is that how it works? 

 

According to Martin Lewis it is, not all insurance companies though.

 

As an aside I got a refund from Maple Parking at Edinburgh airport today for a holiday I had booked this Sunday, a month after telling me that I couldn't get my money back as it was non refundable. 😁

[Greedy Jambo]

If you want to know who has money on JKB, Just check this this thread out. 

Probably the pandemic thread as well. Millionaires the lot of them. 

[davemclaren]

58 minutes ago, Space Pirate said:

If you want to know who has money on JKB, Just check this this thread out. 

Probably the pandemic thread as well. Millionaires the lot of them. 

🤨

[Greedy Jambo]

Just now, davemclaren said:

🤨

 

Here, Dave, how do you do a poll on here? 

[Ethan Hunt]

Just received a refund from Easyjet for cancelled flights in April. 

[davemclaren]

1 hour ago, Space Pirate said:

 

Here, Dave, how do you do a poll on here? 

You have to be a rich ( subscribed ) member. 

[Greedy Jambo]

12 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

You have to be a rich ( subscribed ) member. 

Maybe one of the benefactors could sort me out with a subscription. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Space Pirate

[davemclaren]

1 hour ago, Space Pirate said:

Maybe one of the benefactors could sort me out with a subscription. 

You can ask them. 

[Sooperstar]

11 hours ago, inspector said:

Quick question. Has anybody who has had their cash back from either the airline or hotel AND had insurance which is not going to be required, had a refund from the insurance company?

Your insurance covers you from the moment you buy it, not just while you are on your trip. I think you'll struggle for a refund there.

 

Edit: that said, I think I maybe heard that Martin Lewis mentioning partial refunds for annual policies.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Sooperstar

[kjc2006]

13 hours ago, inspector said:

Quick question. Has anybody who has had their cash back from either the airline or hotel AND had insurance which is not going to be required, had a refund from the insurance company?

I got my money from the insurance company pretty quickly, its everything else that is taking forever to get back. 

[Walter Payton]

18 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

Yes Dave. They said they would need to see an email I sent asking for a refund which was sent more than 7 days ago and had been refused or not replied to. I’m with First Direct who I’ve always found great for stuff like this. Other banks might not be so willing to help of course. My 7 days is up tomorrow and I’ve heard nothing.

 

It's definitely good advice to be proceeding down the chargeback route Jimmy. One thing I'd say though, is that the banks we all have our accounts with are "issuing banks" according to the card schemes, and it's the card scheme rules that they have to process your chargeback requests if you request it (and non-payment of a refund within 14 days of the company cancelling the product is certainly reason enough to request it).

 

It shouldn't be a matter of whether the bank are "willing to help", and you would have been entitled to tell them to process the chargeback request immediately instead of waiting the 7 more days (though obviously that would have strengthened your case even further if Ryanair had challenged it). Completely understand if people are tired about complaining about poor service though, and are more willing to accept a 7 day wait than have an argument with your issuing bank!

[graygo]

I've got flights to Gdansk booked with Ryanair early August and just had an email telling me the flight times have changed by 1 1/2 hours so they must be confident that they will have resumed flights by then, I'm not so sure.

[JimmyCant]

2 hours ago, Bring on the Future said:

 

It's definitely good advice to be proceeding down the chargeback route Jimmy. One thing I'd say though, is that the banks we all have our accounts with are "issuing banks" according to the card schemes, and it's the card scheme rules that they have to process your chargeback requests if you request it (and non-payment of a refund within 14 days of the company cancelling the product is certainly reason enough to request it).

 

It shouldn't be a matter of whether the bank are "willing to help", and you would have been entitled to tell them to process the chargeback request immediately instead of waiting the 7 more days (though obviously that would have strengthened your case even further if Ryanair had challenged it). Completely understand if people are tired about complaining about poor service though, and are more willing to accept a 7 day wait than have an argument with your issuing bank!

All agreed. I just think it’s sometimes better to bend a little when your asking for something. Even if you are 100% entitled to it. Customer service people get pissed off if you go in too aggressive and start making demands from the outset. Mine asked me to email one more time and wait 7 days. Having waited 4 weeks and got no where, with the prospect of waiting several months for Ryanair, I thought it was a reasonable ask. 

[westbow]

14 hours ago, Space Pirate said:

If you want to know who has money on JKB, Just check this this thread out. 

Probably the pandemic thread as well. Millionaires the lot of them. 

Multi-millionaires if you please. Millionaires - eyeeew!

[luckydug]

David Urquhart Travel are winding up the Coach Tour side of their business. 

All customer funds are held in a secure independent Trust account so no customers will lose money. 

Not a surprise really social distancing has done for them imo. 

[CavySlaveJambo]

18 hours ago, westbow said:

Grand Floridian - 2 bedroom villa. Because I was renting someone else’s time share I had to pay 2/3 deposit in January and 1/3 6 weeks before (14th May). Going to cancel but will lose deposit. They say if I pay final amount and then Disney hotels are still shut on 29th June i can defer to next year. But I reckon they will be open by then so not throwing good money after bad.

I have seen this problem with other people renting timeshare points on Disney holidaymaker forums I am on. 

 

Disneyland (the other one in the US), has postponed any bookings until the end of July. And Disney are cancelling reservations week by week. They currently have cancelled arrivals up to 31st May. 

one thing to do is look at your travel insurance, and see if they will pay out if you are unable to travel when you have booked.   

 

If you'd have booked direct through Disney then they have a really good cancellation policy (£50pp), so if your other resort stay at Disney, is booked with them, you may be worth speaking to them about that part.  I am holding on to the last possible moment before payment to rebook mine in the hope Disney extends the cancellation/change date to September. But I know if travel restrictions are not going to be lifted, I can cancel with Disney 9 days before I am due to travel and only lose the £50pp. 

[jvm32]

Yeh, I booked direct with disney as well, split stay. The first one was for a check in date before 30th June so got 100% refund on that, the second one is the first week in July so not bothered to cancel that yet in the hope the free cancellation gets extended, otherwise will just have to take the £50pp hit.

[CavySlaveJambo]

Well the latest from Disney is that some third party stores are reopening in Disney Springs. In two weeks. So it is still highly doubtful the Parks will reopen much before Late July at the earliest. Shanghai is reopening next week. But it is a couple of months after their downtown Disney reopened

[westbow]

18 hours ago, CavySlaveJambo said:

I have seen this problem with other people renting timeshare points on Disney holidaymaker forums I am on. 

 

Disneyland (the other one in the US), has postponed any bookings until the end of July. And Disney are cancelling reservations week by week. They currently have cancelled arrivals up to 31st May. 

one thing to do is look at your travel insurance, and see if they will pay out if you are unable to travel when you have booked.   

 

If you'd have booked direct through Disney then they have a really good cancellation policy (£50pp), so if your other resort stay at Disney, is booked with them, you may be worth speaking to them about that part.  I am holding on to the last possible moment before payment to rebook mine in the hope Disney extends the cancellation/change date to September. But I know if travel restrictions are not going to be lifted, I can cancel with Disney 9 days before I am due to travel and only lose the £50pp. 

I had booked my last three days with Disney directly through their US website using a VPN. It was hotel only so there no cancellation charge. Even got my international transaction fee credited back (used the wrong credit card when booking 😫). 

[westbow]

10 hours ago, CavySlaveJambo said:

Well the latest from Disney is that some third party stores are reopening in Disney Springs. In two weeks. So it is still highly doubtful the Parks will reopen much before Late July at the earliest. Shanghai is reopening next week. But it is a couple of months after their downtown Disney reopened

The hotels will be opened first along with Disney Springs. The Disney hotels are comparatively easy to have social distancing. Presumably the point of this is to have a gradual reopening of the whole of Disney world. The hotels could have a phased opening fairly soon if the figures keep falling.

When the parks open is anyone’s guess. On the one hand there is a sizeable gung-ho attitude over there but on the other Disney will not want to be seen as the company that initiated a second wave of Covid 19.

[westbow]

21 hours ago, jvm32 said:

Yeh, I booked direct with disney as well, split stay. The first one was for a check in date before 30th June so got 100% refund on that, the second one is the first week in July so not bothered to cancel that yet in the hope the free cancellation gets extended, otherwise will just have to take the £50pp hit.

Think you might be ok. Part of my holiday was 3 days at another Disney hotel check in 11th July. I booked it in January and cancelled a couple of weeks ago. As I paid in $ I actually made £50 more in the conversion because the £ fell so much in 4 months. 

[weegranty]

My flights with British Airways from Edinburgh - London - Las Vegas on the 30th June got cancelled. I phoned them today,got through within 30 seconds and asked for a refund.No problem was the reply and I will receive a refund between 7 - 10 days.

[Stuart Lyon]

Info received from Ian Murray this am. The letter is from Douglas Ross Under Secretary of State for Scotland

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Stuart Lyon

[CavySlaveJambo]

10 hours ago, westbow said:

Think you might be ok. Part of my holiday was 3 days at another Disney hotel check in 11th July. I booked it in January and cancelled a couple of weeks ago. As I paid in $ I actually made £50 more in the conversion because the £ fell so much in 4 months. 

Did you book through the Disney US site then? i am curious at to which hotel as well. 
But this may interest you given your first check in date. (And given Disney Springs not reopening for another couple of weeks) https://allears.net/2020/05/08/news-disney-world-now-only-accepting-reservations-for-july-1st-and-later/

[westbow]

11 hours ago, CavySlaveJambo said:

Did you book through the Disney US site then? i am curious at to which hotel as well. 
But this may interest you given your first check in date. (And given Disney Springs not reopening for another couple of weeks) https://allears.net/2020/05/08/news-disney-world-now-only-accepting-reservations-for-july-1st-and-later/

Yep. Used a VPN. It is cheaper and has more inventory. For our last three days I booked the beach club. As there are seven of us so we have to have the two bedrooms villa. The UK site always pushes us towards a phone contact and I hate being “sold” to. Very interesting that they have shoved back reservations to 1st July - thanks for the tip, maybe worth paying the deposit after all 👍

[Shanks said no]

The European Commission will tell countries in the European Union to provide state guarantees for travel vouchers during the coronavirus pandemic, if they prefer people to accept the vouchers instead of cash refunds, according to a strategy document seen by Reuters.

 

The EU executive is due on Wednesday to present guidance and recommendations for member states on gradually lifting internal border restrictions, restarting travel and reviving the ailing tourism sector.

 

 

[weegranty]

Phoned BA on Friday,received refund this morning,happy with that.

[The Real Maroonblood]

13 minutes ago, weegranty said:

Phoned BA on Friday,received refund this morning,happy with that.

That’s certainly good customer service.

[IronJambo]

2 hours ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

That’s certainly good customer service.

Reasonable customer service, given he had to ask.

 

Good customer service would've been BA saying "hey weegranty, your flight has been cancelled so we've refunded your money".

[Jeff]

Anyone heard from TUI who's holiday was meant to have been? my holiday was supposed to be in 3 days time, however not heard anything yet. Just wondering when I should phone and pester for a refund.

[davemclaren]

16 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Anyone heard from TUI who's holiday was meant to have been? my holiday was supposed to be in 3 days time, however not heard anything yet. Just wondering when I should phone and pester for a refund.

Surely they’ve cancelled it by now?

[Shanks said no]

27 minutes ago, Jeff said:

Anyone heard from TUI who's holiday was meant to have been? my holiday was supposed to be in 3 days time, however not heard anything yet. Just wondering when I should phone and pester for a refund.

Have you looked up your booking online? Or if the flight is still going ahead?

 

strapline of TUI front page at www.tui.co.uk

 

CORONAVIRUS LATEST INFORMATION
We are working as quickly as possible to contact everyone affected, prioritising customers due to travel on or before 11 June 2020. So for now we are asking you to hold off on calling us. We really appreciate your patience.
Please see our coronavirus information page for the most up-to-date guidance.

Edited May 10, 2020 by The Frenchman Returns

[Shanks said no]

.
TUI - all cancelled until 11 June

 

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY TRAVEL PLANS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED?

If your holiday falls into one of the below categories, due to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s advice against all but essential travel, your holiday will no longer be able to go ahead as planned.

• TUI holidays travelling on or before 11 June 2020

• Marella Cruises sailings on or before 30 June 2020 and all sailings detailed below
    o  All sailings on Marella Celebration
    o  Sailings on Marella Discovery 2 up to 30 April 2021
    o  Sailings on Marella Dream up to 4 May 2021
    o  Marella Discovery sailings in December 2020 and January 2021
    o  Marella Explorer 2 sailings between 5 May 2021 to 20 October 2021

• TUI River Cruises sailings travelling up until and including 25 November 2020

All other holidays are continuing to operate as planned and will be continuously reviewed.

[The Real Maroonblood]

55 minutes ago, IronJambo said:

Reasonable customer service, given he had to ask.

 

Good customer service would've been BA saying "hey weegranty, your flight has been cancelled so we've refunded your money".

Fair enough.

[Jeff]

52 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Surely they’ve cancelled it by now?

 

44 minutes ago, The Frenchman Returns said:

Have you looked up your booking online? Or if the flight is still going ahead?

 

strapline of TUI front page at www.tui.co.uk

 

CORONAVIRUS LATEST INFORMATION
We are working as quickly as possible to contact everyone affected, prioritising customers due to travel on or before 11 June 2020. So for now we are asking you to hold off on calling us. We really appreciate your patience.
Please see our coronavirus information page for the most up-to-date guidance.

 

Yeah they cancelled it weeks ago, however they said they'd be placing a voucher + 20% into your accounts to make up for it. Once that's there you can then exchange for cash instead.

 

Not heard anything since

[Shanks said no]

5 minutes ago, Jeff said:

 

 

Yeah they cancelled it weeks ago, however they said they'd be placing a voucher + 20% into your accounts to make up for it. Once that's there you can then exchange for cash instead.

 

Not heard anything since

You don't have to wait, from their pages

 

• If you’re unable to accept a refund credit you can apply for a refund; due to the volume of holidays impacted, we’re asking you not to contact us until you receive your refund credit so we can continue helping customers in date order. However, if you do need to request your refund before this you can do so using the details below. Please be aware that our call centre teams are incredibly busy, so call waiting times are considerably longer than usual. You can call 0203 451 2868 between 9am and 7pm from Monday to Friday.

 

Good luck

[Jeff]

1 minute ago, The Frenchman Returns said:

You don't have to wait, from their pages

 

• If you’re unable to accept a refund credit you can apply for a refund; due to the volume of holidays impacted, we’re asking you not to contact us until you receive your refund credit so we can continue helping customers in date order. However, if you do need to request your refund before this you can do so using the details below. Please be aware that our call centre teams are incredibly busy, so call waiting times are considerably longer than usual. You can call 0203 451 2868 between 9am and 7pm from Monday to Friday.

 

Good luck

 

Will give it a bash first thing tomorrow.

 

Thanks

[graygo]

I should be in Turkey right now. ☹️

[Governor Tarkin]

18 hours ago, IronJambo said:

 

Good customer service would've been BA saying "hey weegranty, your flight has been cancelled so we've refunded your money".

 

Had a week booked at CentreParcs which was cancelled. 

They contacted me to offer a rebook or refund. I asked for the refund and they said that due to the volume of canclations I might have to wait a couple of weeks.

A week or so later I got another email to say the cash was back in my account and a phone call to query into which account to refund all of the activities my missus had booked seperately. That was paid out the same day. 

Excellent customer service.

 

 

[vlad on the tyne]

Booked in store with Tui and fully paid up my holiday before it was cancelled. I should have flew out on Friday and I've  not heard a thing from Tui other than to cancel. 

Tried several times to call but lines always too busy. 

[Lee_Mellon]

Anybody got any experience of Jet2 issuing partial refunds?
 

My June holiday to Mahon was cancelled on 28/4/20 by Jet2. On Saturday (9/5/20) I had an email and a voicemail from Jet2 advising me that they were processing a full refund which I would receive in due course.

 

Today, my Visa account was credited with around £620, which I think comprises my initial deposit plus a part payment of £500 I made. While I’m happy with the speed of the response, I’m left wondering if the remaining balance of £1300 will be refunded automatically at a later date or if I should join the host of lost souls trying to get through on their helpline.

 

Any help gratefully received.