Where do we stand? ...
 

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[Closed] Where do we stand? Travel agent/Ryanair refund- lack of.

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A group of 12 of us were due to go to Benidorm back in March. Covid hit and it was all cancelled.

It was booked through a local travel agent who put a package together of, flights, transfer and accommodation.

We are still waiting on a refund. 12 weeks ago we were told we would have it back within 12 weeks. Still nothing. TA is saying once they have the money from Ryanair we will be refunded. My argument is our contract is with the TA.

Also our refund is ~£20 less due to cover/fees?


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 4:17 pm
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I presume you paid on CreditCard? If so, Section75 them and claim it back.

We are waiting on £1900 from Canada flights - CreditCard are dealing with it.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/02/coronavirus-travel-help-and-your-rights/


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 4:20 pm
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We had a full refund from Ryanair. They seem to be working their way through a backlog of refunds and a couple of weeks ago had (IIRC) refunded everyone with flights up to and including July.

It might be worth getting in touch with Ryanair to find out if a refund for your flight has already been issued, in which case the Travel Agents have absolutely no excuse (not that I think they have anyway).


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 4:28 pm
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Sounds like your TA is trying to fob you off with a 'pay when paid' attitude.
You are correct that your contract is with them.
A deduction to cover fees is trying it on.
As matt says, if CC payment use S75.
If debit card, apply for a chargeback.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-youre-protected-when-you-pay-by-card


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 4:31 pm
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Also our refund is ~£20 less due to cover/fees

As said above, that is taking the piss somewhat and I cannot believe for a minute it is a valid claim.


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 5:23 pm
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We all transferred the money over to the friend that was organising it, I presume they then transferred it to the TA. I'll check though.

I'll not be darkening the doorstep of that travel agents again, or flying with Ryanair either.


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 6:22 pm
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or flying with Ryanair either.

Do you know that they are at fault?


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 6:27 pm
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Ryanairs take on delaying refunds isn't confidence inspiring. I dare say if they had been prompt the TA would of refunded a bit quicker, but then just because the TA's supplier is letting them down it shouldn't, in my eyes, be passed on to the customer.

Apparently the £20/30ish was for 3rd party insurance, thats non-refundable.


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 8:25 pm
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We’re in a similar position after no luck getting a refund from Ryanair. We escalated to our bank and they’re handling the claim. Worth calling your bank and see if they have a team to escalate it to.


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 8:30 pm
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I charged back Ryanair flights (booked direct), they had offered a refund but then the credit note email came out, my bank mondo charged it back, took about 10-12 weeks for money with bank, I asked them and it was a chargeback as Ryanair had not responded


 
Posted : 27/08/2020 8:34 pm
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Had the same with flights booked through lastminute, claimed through credit card & lastminute disputed the claim but bank backed me when I showed them the email trail & the devious refund offer that was nothing of the sort.


 
Posted : 28/08/2020 7:55 am
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Although technically the contract is with the agent, the Ryanair/Travel agent relationship is somewhat weird....
I'm a bit out the loop of the travel industry as I left earlier last year, however as far as I am aware it's still the case that for the most part Ryanair don't tend to sell tickets through the distribution systems used by travel agents, instead many agents will just go onto the Ryanair website and book a ticket on your behalf, using your name. This means if you have the booking details (probably just booking reference and name) then you should be able to go onto the Ryanair website and at least check the status of refund yourself, even though it is the responsibility of the travel agent as they sold you the flights (or in this case, sold you a service to book a flight on your behalf....).

If you don't have booking details it may be because some travel agents use one use cards and dummy email addresses to book on behalf of customers (for the most part this is the sophisticated OTA's and would guess less likely a small local agent), in this case Ryanair have got into a bit of a spat with travel agents over COVID refunds and it appears there is some sort of process in place for those left hanging on for refunds so you can bypass and go direct. Trawl through the Google search on it here for more detail.


 
Posted : 28/08/2020 8:32 am
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My daughter had a couple of (April/May) flights cancelled by Ryanair - took ages to get the money back, but it did get to her in the end. Although one was a voucher rather than the money itself.


 
Posted : 28/08/2020 10:51 am

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