As restrictions start to ease, many people will now be making holiday plans for 2021 and helping the economy to recover. “Securing refunds for cancelled travel bookings was one of the most common issues raised with our advisers last year.
In February, paid out £1 million to thousands of customers whose holidays were cancelled because of Covid-19, but only after being threatened with similar court action by the CMA.Ĭommenting on the development, Colin Mathieson from Advice Direct Scotland, which runs Scotland’s national consumer advice service consumeradvice.scot, said: “This is welcome news for holidaymakers, who have had to wait months for the refunds they are entitled to. Therefore, we are extremely disappointed with the CMA announcement that seemingly ignores the reality of the challenges we face through no fault of our own." "We have also provided real-time plans on how and when we can refund all customers. "We have been in continuous dialogue with the CMA providing evidence of why the refund process has been delayed. It went on: "Teletext Holidays have consistently stated our commitment to refund all customers as quickly and practically as possible. Teletext Holidays said in a statement that customers' money for flights is passed on to airlines at the time of a booking, and it is "experiencing very long delays" in that being returned. It told the firm it could avoid potential court action by signing formal commitments to refund affected consumers and ensure compliance with Package Travel Regulations, but, the company has not agreed to provide undertakings ‘that are sufficient to address the CMA's concerns’, according to the watchdog. The CMA said it wrote to Truly Holdings Ltd - which operates Teletext Holidays - in March, setting out its concerns and giving it ‘an opportunity to address them’. Consumer tips on refund policies as people start making holiday bookings and spending money on the high street.Essential guide to travel insurance when planning a staycation anywhere in the UK this year.While it is hard not to have some sympathy for travel companies, as they have been hit as hard as anyone by the Pandemic, it is one thing to have a holiday cancelled in the knowledge that you will receive a swift refund, but quite another to be left not only without a holiday, but also unsure as to if and when a refund will be received.The Competition and Markets Authority said the firm has failed to address its concerns over refunds (Image: Daily Record) Read More Related Articles Bearing in mind that date is still some weeks away, and the fact that the commitment to repay relates to all customers that Teletext Holidays 'accepts are owed a refund', this story may yet rumble on for some time. The CMA had publicly stated that it 'takes very seriously the ongoing failure of Teletext Holidays to meet its obligations'.įurther, the CMA had threatened to 'pursue this case in Court' in the absence of a commitment from Teletext Holidays to make the refunds without further delay.įor their part, Teletext Holidays said that they were 'extremely disappointed with the CMA's announcement' and say that they 'have consistently stated their commitment to refund all customers as quickly and as practically as possible'.įortunately for all concerned, the CMA has very recently confirmed that an agreement has now been reached with Teletext Holidays regarding the refunds, which will apparently all be made by 31 August 2021. Recently, it has become apparent that Teletext Holidays owes around £7M to customers whose holidays have been cancelled due to Covid-19.Ī number of customers have made complaints about Teletext Holidays as they were promised refunds for a certain date but these were not received and then a different date was given. Since Covid struck, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has had to write to more than 100 package holiday firms reminding them that they are obliged to act within the Law and provide these refunds. Unfortunately, many people have been left waiting considerably longer for refunds during the Pandemic as many travel firms have cancelled flights and/or holidays but due to the cashflow problems that they have found themselves with, they have not made the refunds - and this is a contravention of Consumer Protection Law. The same applies if you booked a flight through a holiday company, as long as the flight was departing from or arriving in an EU country or the UK, or it was with an EU or UK airline.
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