Consumer watchdog Which? estimates that British customers are waiting for more than £1bn in refunds due to package holidays being cancelled because of coronavirus. Under UK legislation, companies are normally obliged to issue refunds within a two-week period, but the sheer amount of cancellations has left most of them overwhelmed.
In a survey carried out among 7,500 persons, more than four out of 10 people said that they waited longer than a month for their refund. The average cost of a cancelled holiday was £1,784, the Which? research found.
The situation is expected to get worse after new rules are introduced across England later this week, banning most international travel.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “Without meaningful intervention from the government and the regulators in this space, many people will struggle to get their money back.
He called on the Competition authority to take firm action against any operators that drag their feet on refunding holidaymakers and appealed to the government to set out how it will support travel companies in fulfilling their legal obligations to passengers.
During the summer, the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into package travel companies’ handling of cancellations and refunds.
via Sky News
