Summer Holiday Refunds Must be Made Easier, Travel Firms Warned

Travel companies are warned they must prepare to give refunds to customers if their summer holiday abroad is cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reminds package holiday companies of their legal obligations.

Last year they received 23,000 complaints about cancelled trips, and took action against five big firms. This included Lastminute.com, LoveHolidays, Teletext, Tui and Virgin Holidays. As a result, Tui say they now commit to giving clearer information upfront about refunds.

The competition watchdog are calling on package holiday firms to make the refund process less hassle in future. They expect all companies to give clear options on cancelling. If the CMA see any companies breaking the law this summer by refusing or delaying refunds, they will consider appropriate steps.

Covid uncertainty

Package holiday rules state companies must offer customers a refund, not just a credit note, if a holiday is cancelled. Additionally, refunds should be within 14 days.

From the 17 May people in the UK are able to travel abroad again, with countries split into a tiered system based on their risk. Although holidays to most destinations will need people to quarantine on their return home.

However, many of the main popular holiday locations are not on the “green list” at the moment. But the travel industry worry that countries could be added or removed at short notice.

Online travel agent On the Beach have stopped selling all holidays for this summer due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid. If they went ahead with bookings, there is a risk of “administrative costs and loss of goodwill” outweighing profits.

Many people are wary because of experiences last summer, when lots of pre-booked holidays did not happen due to travel restrictions.

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