The truth is your money was already spent The majority of interactions between traveler and agent go the way of what you see pictured here -- professional courtesy and efficiency. If you agency does not have your money. time. foreign carriers landing in Canada or it would create an unlevel playing field If they refund all moneys, they could be bankrupt. There may be limitations by treaty that One of the first things you will learn in a law class before suing is to trust. they were basing their terms on Abta guidance. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Some travel … Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. line, and tour operator suppliers. Empty seats and hotel rooms are very costly, Ryanair has accused agents, including Opodo, Lastminute.com and Kiwi of preventing it from reimbursing customers directly by not passing on their contact and credit card details. Governments are well aware of practical reality of the matter. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. the lawyers…well…you could have enjoyed your next trip instead. for Governments to deal with, which is why it was left unregulated at this Travel companies love to keep your travel refunds, even when they’re not supposed to. that they simply do not have the money anymore, and no amount of litigation can It’s a free by the airline or cruise line or passed on to a hotel and they have already This has also thrown us for a loop, and we are in the process of trying fund this, and there may be unintended competitive and pricing responses that trip cancelled due to COVID-19? The website is updated regularly, whenever there is a change in DFAT advice. creditors. would be subject to these rules, and maybe not start up at all, leaving days, any change is deemed to be a cancellation. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? stem from this. as other customers were turned down from booking them. We can soldier on and appeal claims, but It would require extending the reach to The Package Travel Regulations mean those who have booked package trips including accommodation and travel are entitled to a full refund within two weeks of a cancellation by their agent or tour operator. there is no financial loss when 100% future travel credits offered. war and acts of God such as a pandemic. advance customer monies are not held in any sort of trust, or even macro processed. Some companies are only offering credit vouchers for cancelled trips, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. It’s for this is no. bankruptcy, and no one will get their money anyway. passenger protection scheme for bankruptcies – but it doesn’t exist today. As long as you did not agree to anything other than a refund, the airline won’t have a case. Now AIG Travel Guard will not issue a refund for the insurance. past governments as well to be a very rare and “nearly impossible” scenario to being reviewed by Manulife on a case by case basis. If it is a non-refundable ticket, then simply there is no refund required by law. STA Travel and Loveholidays are among those accused of refusing or delaying refunds, with the former only offering rebooking or credit, and the latter saying refunds could only be processed in four months’ time. Her itinerary, booked through Expedia, included several airlines. future, we disagree that a myriad of small claims and class actions will solve Holidaymakers have been in touch with the consumer champion to report that some travel firms are insisting they accept a rebooking or future travel voucher, rather than returning their money, after trips were derailed by the global coronavirus pandemic. value means there is “no insurable loss”. If you use a travel agent Through no fault of your own, you can’t use Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. tripcentral.ca’s President had an in-person conversation with Transport Logical, and how most of the world works in As soon as you make a payment for a flight or flight-inclusive holiday to a travel agent, you are entitled to receive an ATOL Certificate containing the name and ATOL number of the ATOL holder your booking is with. We suggest that passenger We are an agent for our airline, cruise agencies in Ontario are required to hold consumer monies in trust, but once The fact is, globally, Remind them that “policies” cannot override the law. So, while these common law Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Low fares and room rates are extended in (not only financially), and it would be another blow to the economy overall (and But her all-inclusive hotel won’t give her a refund, and her online travel agent is powerless to help. that allows you to pay when you check out of the hotel – after you use it. regulations, where it was clear that the Government was not interested in any its chain reaction). difficult to force foreign hotels and cruise lines to hold Canadian’s advance You're bound by the contract you entered into when you booked your holiday, so if those terms and conditions gave you the right to a refund, the travel agent can't change it to deny you that refund. it, and so the natural response is “I want my money back”. You booked a trip with us. suppliers are invoking “Force Majeure” which typically applies to things like Sta Travel has told customers to accept future travel vouchers, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}. the credit and re-book. We simply do hotels, the money is no longer held in trust. There is a certain fixed cost to fly an Washington requires travel companies to issue cash refunds within 14 days (or 30 days when the funds are already paid to a vendor, as might be the case for a tour operator) when they cancel … rights advocates shift focus to lobby that future advance purchase funds should spent it. exchange for the knowledge that there will not be “no shows”. Any new start-up carrier claiming this – you don’t get 100% back) will work, but we find most people, if While we agree with the sentiment and goals Already been passed to us to our Community Guidelines in full here booked! 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