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What is This Claim About?
U.K. citizens who had their flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but were unable to get a refund are participating in a group action to try to recover money from the airlines.
While many airlines have issued refunds, others have been less willing to do so.
Who’s Eligible?
If your flight was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and you were not offered a refund or were refused a refund, you may be able to make a claim.
Law firm PGMBM is particularly interested in speaking to those who had their Air France, KLM or Ryanair flights cancelled without a refund.
How Much Compensation Will I Receive?
If the case is successful, qualified Class Members will be compensated for their cancelled flights and stress caused by the airline. The amount of each payout will be determined in court.
How Do I Join?
PGMBM is now accepting claimants, particularly those who had Air France, KLM or Ryanair flights cancelled.
More law firms may be added before the case goes to court.
U.K. citizens who had their flights cancelled due to COVID-19 but were unable to get a refund are taking part in a group action to try to recover some of their money from the airlines.
While many airlines and holiday companies have refunded their customers, others have reportedly been less willing to do so.
Airlines Issue Vouchers Instead of Refunds
Consumers who had flights cancelled due to COVID-19 should know their rights when it comes to getting their money back.
In many cases, airlines have been issuing vouchers instead of cash refunds, even though customers may still be unable to use them, according to a Forbes report.
The use of Refund Credit Notes was reportedly introduced to help airlines avoid bankruptcy in the spring.
In May, the European Commission recommended airlines automatically refund unused vouchers within 14 days after they expire.
However, each airline has a different policy on if and when those vouchers can be turned into refunds.
Ryanair and others allow the vouchers to be exchanged for a refund at any point, Forbes reported.
But others, such as British Airways and EasyJet, say vouchers can never be exchanged, meaning they’ll go to waste if customers can’t use them before the expiration date.
An EasyJet spokesperson reportedly told The Telegraph passengers who chose to go with a voucher when their flight was cancelled could only get a cash refund “in exceptional circumstances.”
For some would-be travellers, the vouchers were difficult to redeem, The Guardian reported. Customers were sometimes asked to pay more costs, in addition to facing restrictions on what flights the vouchers could be redeemed for.
Travellers accepting vouchers in the U.K. should consider whether they are a Refund Credit Note, which is backed by Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL), according to Forbes. Refund Credit Notes will be linked to the customer’s original booking; a cash refund must be available at any point before the voucher expires.
Passengers who get vouchers backed by ATOL also are entitled to get their money back until at least September 2021 in the event the ticket-issuing company goes bankrupt.
CMA Orders Consumer Refunds
While the government has banned all travel that is not essential as part of a second lockdown, The Guardian reported, not all airlines are issuing refunds willingly on cancelled trips.
Earlier this month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered Virgin Holidays to refund £203 million to travellers whose plans were cancelled due to the pandemic.
Hundreds of consumers had complained to the CMA that they were not getting refunds on their holiday travel packages.
If Virgin Holidays doesn’t refund customers within timeframes established by the CMA, the watchdog said it plans to take the company to court.
Europe’s Biggest Airline Refuses Refunds
Travellers using Ryanair, Europe’s biggest airline, will not be offered refunds on flights that are operating in November, The Guardian reported.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said the airline would allow passengers to change their flight date with no fee, but refunds would not be given if a flight was operating.
O’Leary has called the lockdowns “ineffective” and said they show the government has failed in its response to the pandemic.
Ryanair has reportedly refunded £1.35 billion in cash or vouchers since the pandemic hit in the spring.
The airline posted a £178 million loss for the six-month period ending 30 Sept. and said it expects its second-half loss will be larger.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland shamed major flight operators’ actions during the pandemic.
“As we head into a winter that is bound to bring more flight cancellations, it’s extremely concerning to see the U.K.’s biggest airlines disregarding European guidance and letting their passengers down when it comes to their refund rights,” Boland told Forbes. “BA and Easyjet must immediately make it clear that passengers will not face losing their money if they are unable to use a voucher, while all airlines should be offering cash refunds to passengers prevented from travelling by lockdown laws.”
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One thought on COVID-19 Airline Refunds Group Action Open Claim
I had a Ryanair flight cancelled in 2020 – they said they issued credit, but it’s not actually on my ryanair accoutn, they say it’s since expired. I asked for a refund to my payment card and they said they couldn’t find record of my having paid and the credit had expired… how can both of those things be true?