Cancel holiday over corona virus?

[LeonG 14,850]

18 minutes ago, Gambatte said:

I keep calling. The best their computer at the German number tells me is "there is no record of your booking". Then it hangs up.

This is the best, and only, message I ever get.

 

 

I tried the UK number too.  It accepted my booking number but I never got a live person.  One time waited 5 hrs. on hold.  Eventually it was either the emails or contact form that got through and they sent an email to my friend saying they are working on it and it will take time.  I hope it's not going to be a voucher because I can't use that.

[warsteiner70 291]

It's good to hear some people at least are getting their money back and it seems to be people who book with the 3rd party sites (Expedia, Opodo, etc.) that are having problems. I don't know whether this is the 3rd party sites dragging their heels or whether they need to get the money back from the airline before they can refund the person but in either case, it's not ideal and would put me off from booking with a 3rd party site for at least the next year as this situation could drag on for a while.

 

I was supposed to be flying to Japan today for a couple of weeks but Japan Airlines cancelled the flight a couple of weeks ago. I was able to get a full refund via the website (even though the ticket was non-refundable) so no need to contact a Call Centre and wait for someone to answer and the money was refunded within 2 days. Great service from them and I'll be rebooking with them once the flights start up again and hopefully visit Japan in the Autumn.

[atinherne 69]

Small update:

Expedia refunded the hotel march 21st and it showed up today on cc. 

It was a package deal as I wrote before but flights are still not refunded. 

[keith2011 2,678]

I'm still waiting the the promised full refund for the holiday I booked in Egypt which was cancelled by the travel company. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow since I got notice of the refund, no problem contacting the travel agent Check24 who confirmed they were working on it, but still no refund. I will give them till tomorrow then if still no go start talking the the credit card company. Anyone know how far back you can go for a credit card refund, there were 2  payments one at the end of last year and the final one end of Feb. approx. 50/50 each.

[atinherne 69]

9 minutes ago, keith2011 said:

I'm still waiting the the promised full refund for the holiday I booked in Egypt which was cancelled by the travel company. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow since I got notice of the refund, no problem contacting the travel agent Check24 who confirmed they were working on it, but still no refund. I will give them till tomorrow then if still no go start talking the the credit card company. Anyone know how far back you can go for a credit card refund, there were 2  payments one at the end of last year and the final one end of Feb. approx. 50/50 each.

My credit card company that had the payment on hold said if there is no refund by 24.04.2020 i will be receiving mail that I have to fill in and “they will take care” of the rest or so I understood.

 

[UpToWick 46]

Lufthansa yesterday told me that it will take at least 8 weeks to get a refund of my ticket credited on my credit card...wow, do they have a human processing every single refund manually, or do they just want to get interests out of this withheld money as long as they can?

I understand they are in deep trouble financially, but of all the airlines, they are the one that will probably survive, since they'll be bailed out by the government. Condor instead, whose future is much less certain, will "only" take 2 weeks to refund me the money.

[warsteiner70 291]

6 minutes ago, UpToWick said:

Lufthansa yesterday told me that it will take at least 8 weeks to get a refund of my ticket credited on my credit card...wow, do they have a human processing every single refund manually, or do they just want to get interests out of this withheld money as long as they can?

I understand they are in deep trouble financially, but of all the airlines, they are the one that will probably survive, since they'll be bailed out by the government. Condor instead, whose future is much less certain, will "only" take 2 weeks to refund me the money.

 

They are probably just saying this as a worst case scenario so you don't keep chasing them up for the money and calling/emailing them and stopping them from dealing with other customers who are also looking to rebook flights or get refunds.

 

When I cancelled my flight with JAL I received an email saying it could take up to 2 or 3 months for me to receive my refund but it was credited back to my credit card within 2 days.

[Space Cowboy 1,466]

15 minutes ago, warsteiner70 said:

 

They are probably just saying this as a worst case scenario so you don't keep chasing them up for the money and calling/emailing them and stopping them from dealing with other customers who are also looking to rebook flights or get refunds.

 

 

No, LH is deliberately stalling on refunds because of this:

 

https://onemileatatime.com/lufthansa-refund-policy/

[yesterday 2,027]

I rang up my rechtsschutz firm the other day, they said I have the right to getting my money back - I do not have to accet a credit note, I my firm will help me do this if they do not give me the cash.

 

Trouble is, I fear the the travel agency I booked through could go bust if everybody asks for there money back !!!

 

 

[keith2011 2,678]

23 minutes ago, Space Cowboy said:

 

No, LH is deliberately stalling on refunds because of this:

 

 

Yes not surprised at all, the government have already relaxed the requirement for cash refunds for pauschale  holidays, looks like I may get stuck with a voucher for the holiday I booked for Egypt 22nd March which was cancelled and now my LH flights to London in May!

[atinherne 69]

2 hours ago, keith2011 said:

 

Yes not surprised at all, the government have already relaxed the requirement for cash refunds for pauschale  holidays, looks like I may get stuck with a voucher for the holiday I booked for Egypt 22nd March which was cancelled and now my LH flights to London in May!

 

I also think when you reach the hotel

directly and discuss could be also a chance you could at least get refunded for that. I reached the hotel in Ibica

directly and then they told me they will talk to Expedia and solve the issue.

Could there be a chance for you if you try it that way? 

[keith2011 2,678]

7 hours ago, atinherne said:

 

I also think when you reach the hotel

directly and discuss could be also a chance you could at least get refunded for that. I reached the hotel in Ibica

directly and then they told me they will talk to Expedia and solve the issue.

Could there be a chance for you if you try it that way? 

I already have an email from the travel company (who organise the flights, hotel and transport etc.) confirming a full refund but I booked and paid via an online travel agent, Check24, and they just say they are working on it but sent me an email saying that the regulation for giving a cash refund had been recently relaxed and they can now give a voucher refund. To date I have received neither.

[syedalisajjad 66]

So an update from my side, in case any of you have tickets booked on Eurostar.

I had two non-refundable tickets booked on Eurostar from London to Paris for April 8. The train got cancelled so i sent an email to them asking for a refund. As expected, they offered me a voucher instead with no mention of cash refund. Went to their website and searched for cancellation policy, which says a full refund in case of cancellation regardless of booking condition. So i replied them with the link and screenshot of their cancellation policy and got a full refund their cancellation policy can be found at https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/service-information/claiming-compensation

[Space Cowboy 1,466]

11 hours ago, keith2011 said:

I already have an email from the travel company (who organise the flights, hotel and transport etc.) confirming a full refund but I booked and paid via an online travel agent, Check24, and they just say they are working on it but sent me an email saying that the regulation for giving a cash refund had been recently relaxed and they can now give a voucher refund. To date I have received neither.

 

What regulation did they tell you has been „recently relaxed?“  If it is EC261 they are referring to, they are simply lying to get you accept a voucher.   EC261 has (not yet) been changed.

 

Unfortunately,  stories are pouring in from all over that airlines and travel brokers are actively engaged in deception and lies to avoid paying refunds.

[Space Cowboy 1,466]

https://travelingformiles.com/warning-dont-accept-travel-vouchers-if-an-airline-cancels-your-flights/

[MollyWolly 59]

On 4/5/2020, 12:43:59, keith2011 said:

Just for clarification, at no time did Lufthansa contact or inform you, in any way, of the cancellation?

I wonder what would have happened if you had turned up at the airport?

We were supposed to fly to the US tomorrow, which obviously isn’t happening, but Lufthansa never told us. If you check the flight status for our flight number online it comes up empty, so cancelled (duh). But no email, no SMS, nothing from Lufthansa. We weren’t planning on traveling but we’re playing chicken to get them to cancel so that we could get refunded.
 

Husband called today and the agent said yes it’s cancelled, and offered a rebook for later or refund. Thought the rebook would be fine, checked out our available window in November, and LH wanted €400 more per person. Uh, no thanks. We got the refund instead.

 

I do find the pricing structure odd... LH and every airline is desperate for keeping cash, but yet is asking for such ridiculous future fares. Some other airlines flying our route are discounting if you book now for the fall. Sorry LH, we like you but not that much!

[keith2011 2,678]

5 hours ago, Space Cowboy said:

 

What regulation did they tell you has been „recently relaxed?“  If it is EC261 they are referring to, they are simply lying to get you accept a voucher.   EC261 has (not yet) been changed.

 

Unfortunately,  stories are pouring in from all over that airlines and travel brokers are actively engaged in deception and lies to avoid paying refunds.

I believe it is the German rule that if your travel company goes broke or your pauschle holiday gets cancelled for whatever other reason you are entitled to a full money back refund. As I understand it EC261 is an EU regulation that concerns flights only and does not apply in this case, as at best it would only cover a small part of the cost.

[keith2011 2,678]

Update:-

Earlier this week I got an email confirming that I will get a refund for the cancelled holiday in Egypt in the next 10 days, it has not yet arrived, waiting and hopping....

 

Today I got an email from Lufthansa saying there had been a change to my flights to the UK in May, with a link to their website for details, where it said one of my flights had been cancelled and I should phone their service centre, there was a further link for more details but that just shows the there and back flights booked with no indication of change or cancellation. Tried phoning the service centre but after some wait I got a recording saying get off the line unless your booking is for the next 72 hours (or words to that effect)!!!!

All I can find on the LH website is options to rebook and claim the €50 Euro discount, nowhere to claim a refund. Anyone got any other info on getting a refund from LH?

[Space Cowboy 1,466]

You need to keep calling.  As I said previously, LH is deliberately making it difficult to get a refund.  Don’t let them win.

[msam 506]

Ryanair had their refunds page working and all seemed well. Then they sent an email saying it will take longer because they're oh so busy. Now they sent an email with a voucher and the booking has been deleted from my booking history and cannot be found on their website. To get a refund I'm supposed to contact them (which will very likely not work but I'll try) and I will be put in a refunds-queue. They also state they will slow down/stop the refunds until the crisis is over. 

Oh and the voucher is only valid for 1 year!