‘My Las Vegas holiday was cancelled but Teletext won’t refund me’

Do you have an issue you need put right? Which? is here to help get your consumer problems sorted.

Dear Which?,

My family and I booked a trip to Las Vegas with Teletext Holidays in March 2020. We made payments throughout lockdown, totalling almost £8,500.

Teletext cancelled the holiday around 10 days before we were due to fly. We pushed for a refund but Teletext initially refused, saying the hotel and airline hadn’t refunded it.

We were then told the refund would be issued by the end of November 2020, but this was later pushed back to December 2020, only to be delayed again to January 2021.

January came around and (surprise!) we didn’t hear anything. I started badgering them on social media as it was the only communication they’d respond to. They weren’t replying to phone calls or emails.

It’s frustrating because some of my family members have been on furlough. My partner and I are saving for a house and my sister is a nurse for the NHS, but we continued to pay for the holiday throughout lockdown. There are other things we could be using the money for.

Can you help me get my money back?

Amber Gabrielle

Put to Rights

Hannah Downes consumer rights expert at Which? says:

Countless plans were thwarted last year as a result of the pandemic. If cancelling your long-awaited holiday wasn’t frustrating enough, some travel firms have left customers out-of-pocket for trips that couldn’t go ahead due to Covid.

Teletext, unfortunately, is one of the travel companies that’s left many customers high and dry during the pandemic.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the travel company in February 2021 after customers shared similar experiences to your own, Amber, with Teletext promising refunds by a certain date, only to repeatedly push the date back.

In May, Teletext said it would pay all outstanding refunds for package holidays cancelled due to the pandemic. But the CMA announced in October it’s launching court action against the travel firm over inadequate progress on refunds.

We contacted Teletext with your story, Amber, and they’ve now offered you a refund in full – but there will be Teletext customers who are still missing refunds for cancelled trips from last year.

Travel should be simple and fair, and it should come with protections if something goes wrong. But from millions owed in refunds for trips cancelled due to Covid, to chaotic government travel advice, travellers now face a minefield of complicated decisions and potential disruption.

As travel opens up again, we’re demanding the government gives strong new powers to the aviation regulator so it can take action against companies breaking the law and failing their passengers.

The government must also overhaul the Covid testing system, and companies should provide flexible booking policies to protect travellers if something goes wrong.

Need to know You’re entitled to a full refund if your package holiday was cancelled during the pandemic. Find out more about how to get your money back. If you’re met with radio silence from the travel company, you can make a chargeback claim (if you paid by debit card) or a Section 75 claim (if you paid by credit card) with your bank. Use our tool to start a claim against your card provider. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes offer a cheaper or free alternative to going to court. There are varying schemes so do some research to see which one you should use for the travel company you’re in dispute with. We’ve compared holiday providers’ Covid travel policies so you can check before you book.

Get in touch. If you’ve got a consumer rights problem you need put right email us at yourstory@which.co.uk

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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/10/my-las-vegas-holiday-was-cancelled-but-teletext-wont-refund-me/