Have you received the holiday refund that you are due?

Package holiday firms face extra scrutiny from watchdog over coronavirus refunds

We asked our Silversurfers Community back in early April ‘Are you due a holiday refund?‘ and over 1,000 members voted and 81% told us that their holiday had been cancelled due to Covid19 and a refund was due.

The Competition and Markets Authority revealed holidays and airlines account for almost 27,000 complaints in just over two months.

Package holiday firms will face greater scrutiny from the competition watchdog over failures to refund customers, officials have revealed.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its coronavirus taskforce would be prioritising the sector after seeing a spike in complaints from holidaymakers struggling to get their money back for cancelled trips.

Airlines and travel agents have faced growing criticism from customers, with pressure tactics to force through refunds in vouchers, complicated processes and outright refusals.

Investigators at the CMA said they have now received 60,000 coronavirus-related contacts from March 10 to May 17 2020, with the majority relating to the travel, holiday and hotel businesses.

It added: “Since mid-April, the large majority of complaints received by the CMA have been about unfair practices over cancellations and refunds.

“In the week to May 17, cancellation complaints were being received at a rate of 850 per day on average.”

Watchdog officials have already advised the Government that without emergency laws they will find it harder to crack down on unscrupulous businesses trying to cash in on the Covid-19 crisis.

But on Thursday it said legal avenues were being explored for a handful of companies in certain sectors.

It added: “Based on the number and nature of complaints being received, package holidays has now been included in the scope of the investigation.

“Practices of concern include refusing refunds; making it very difficult for consumers to obtain refunds; and insisting that consumers rebook or accept vouchers.”

The problem is so bad, the CMA also revealed: “Almost all the complaints about the ‘top 10’ companies relate to issues around cancellations and refunds.

“Nine out of the 10 companies supply services, all of which are to do with travel, holidays and accommodation. Only one of the top 10 sells goods.”

The 10 most complained about companies account for 37% of submissions, it added.

In one example, seen by the PA news agency, a Lastminute.com customer who had a flight cancelled was later told she would have to pay a £30 processing fee to receive a cash refund – which could take two months.

Alternatively, she was told she could have a voucher, without the fee, but was given just two weeks to decide – otherwise she would be automatically processed with the coupon.

What is your experience to date? Have you had a refund for your holiday that was cancelled? Have you been offered/received cash or a voucher? Are you happy with how you have been treated or unhappy?