The head of Abta today issued a direct plea to customers amid growing public anger over the coronavirus holiday refunds controversy.
In an open letter publishing in national newspapers today (Tuesday) chief executive Mark Tanzer appealed for support from consumers over the difficulties faced by members over refunding for cancelled holidays
He sought to highlight how the standstill in international travel had affected hundreds of thousands of holidays while threatening the survival of travel firms.
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With the government so far failing to intervene, he outlined how temporary guidelines had been developed to create Refund Credit Notes where Abta members are financially unable to provide cash refunds in an attempt to “provide some order to the chaos”.
Abta has been lobbying for a change in the Package Travel Regulations to allow firms more time to refund customers, since the European rules require refunds be paid within 14 days.
‘These are not normal circumstances’
Tanzer explained: “Many customers have rebooked their holidays for a future date, but I completely understand why those who have asked for a refund may feel frustrated and concerned at the amount of time it is taking.
“In normal circumstances the rules to provide a refund for a package holiday within 14 days work well. But these are not normal circumstances and the 14-day refund rule is impossible for the majority of companies to stick to.
“Many travel agents and tour operators are unable to provide immediate cash refunds because they have not yet received money back from airlines and hotels around the world that may have temporarily closed.”
He added: “It’s in nobody’s interests for normally healthy travel businesses to go under.
“As well as the loss of thousands of jobs, the government-backed Atol financial protection scheme would be overwhelmed by a large-scale failure of businesses and it would take many more months for customers to get a refund.
“The European Commission, which is responsible for the relevant regulations, has advised member states to find ‘flexible solutions’ to demands for refunds on cancelled holidays during the crisis.
“Many other European countries with similar challenges have already taken action to support businesses while protecting customer rights.
Despite our pleas for support, the UK government has so far failed to act. For this reason, to provide some order to the chaos brought about by the current crisis, Abta has developed temporary guidelines for dealing with refunds for its members and their customers, where members are financially unable to provide an immediate cash refund.
“These are based on a system of financially-protected Refund Credit Notes where the customer’s fundamental right to a refund for a package holiday is preserved, as set out by law.
“This type of system is similar to those introduced in many other countries and is the framework under which Abta will guide its members and hold them to account.
“Notwithstanding the issuing of Refund Credit Notes, Abta’s expectation is that members should refund customers as soon as they are able to.”
Tanzer signed off by saying: “This crisis will pass, and I’m sure like me you want to ensure that when it does we have a healthy and competitive travel industry able to provide you with the choice of holidays that you deserve.”
