TUI UK to Issue COVID-19 Holiday Refunds by End of September

After thousands of people brought complained to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that TUI UK was not paying out refunds for cancelled holidays within 14 days, the company has pledged to dole out all unpaid refunds.

Full cash refunds will be given to customers with cancelled holidays by 30 September, The Guardian reported.

The CMA has dealt with thousands of complaints from consumers remarking that they have struggled to get refunds for cancelled holidays.

TUI UK previously offered credits to some customers, according to The Guardian, but now the travel company is going to be offering those people a cash refund instead. 

The travel industry has felt more discord over the pandemic’s restrictions than other sectors. The coronavirus pandemic caused package holidays from companies like TUI UK to be cancelled.

Major financial strain has been put on travel companies over cancelled holidays, and they struggled to give customers refunds. 

According to The Guardian, TUI UK reported a £1.8 billion loss in nine months after their profits collapsed by 98% between April and June’s lockdowns. The company has shut 166 stores in the U.K. and Ireland and 8,000 jobs have been cut.

Although TUI UK is facing tremendous financial stress, the CMA maintains that companies still have to follow consumer protection laws.

The CMA received over 25,000 grievances about cancelled holidays and companies refusing to refund them. The CMA reported that thousands of people with cancelled holidays complained that TUI UK was not following mandated laws to give refunds back within 14 days.

The BBC reported that one customer, Roy Parry of Wigan, dealt with a cancelled holiday due to the coronavirus pandemic. He booked a £2,500 holiday to Barbados in April with TUI UK to commemorate the end of his chemotherapy.

Parry says he spent hours on the phone trying to receive his refund from TUI UK. Finally, he was given a credit from his credit card company.

TUI UK called Parry back to offer him his refund, but he denied it because he already had been given one by his credit card company.

Then, the credit card company retracted the refund.

“It was a lot of hassle,” Parry said. “If TUI had done what they should have done and refunded people at the time, people wouldn’t have been in that situation. There’s enough difficulty in the world as it is. TUI added to that. They said it was a COVID issue. I don’t buy that. I work in telecoms; we were getting things sorted within days.”

“I don’t think you should use the COVID for an excuse for not behaving the way your customers expect a seriously large company like them to behave,” he added.

Know Your Rights

If you have to deal with a cancelled holiday, you should know your rights.

If your holiday is cancelled by the vacation provider, then you should receive a refund within 14 days, according to the BBC. 

Cancelled flights entitle you to a full refund within seven days, but many airlines are having trouble meeting that deadline.

If you are offered a voucher or the option of rescheduling, you can accept or deny it.

If you accept a voucher for a cancelled flight, know that they will most likely become worthless if the airline goes out of business.

If you decide to reschedule, then you will not be refunded.

All airlines are different, so be sure to check with their policies. Many airlines are waiving fees for rebookings right now. 

“It’s absolutely essential that people have trust and confidence when booking package holidays and know that if a cancellation is necessary as a result of coronavirus, businesses will give them a full, prompt refund,” CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said. “The CMA’s action ensures that TUI UK customers will get their refunds by the end of the month.”

He added: “The CMA is continuing to investigate package holiday firms in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. If we find that businesses are not complying with consumer protection law, we will not hesitate to take further action.”

Did you struggle with getting a refund for a cancelled holiday during the pandemic? Tell us your story in the comments.

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