Families told to pay up as planned holidays fall flat

It is unfair for Kiwis to foot the bill for cancelled travel bookings when it is completely out of their control, Consumer NZ says. Many people were being forced to front up for cancellations with airlines and travel agents despite having no hand in cancellation decisions.

Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, airlines had stopped flying to specific destinations and countries worldwide were on lockdown.

In one case, a family was charged $1400 in cancellation fees by a travel agency for a trip to Thailand worth $2300 which could no longer go ahead.

Several complaints had been made along those lines and businesses needed to be fair with consumers, Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said.

“What we’re dealing with here is circumstances that are beyond the control of the consumer, and in fairness, beyond the control of the business as well,” he said.

“But you’ve got to step back and [ask] where does the balance of power lie? The businesses charging these fees have got a much better position . . . consumers have very little power in these circumstances.

“We think businesses should be doing what they can to help consumers through. That’s not taking the view that there aren’t businesses out there struggling.”

People who thought they were being treated unfairly or illegally were told to go to the Consumer NZ website for advice.

They were also told to check where they were at with their travel provider and Consumer NZ was always available “in your back pocket”, Duffy said.