Travel refunds, credits still months away

Adding to the disappointment of cancelled trips, customers might be waiting at least until Christmas for refunds or credits.

Travel agencies are working through an estimated $690 million of cancelled bookings, and Travel Agents Association (TAANZ) president Brent Thomas said it was a time-consuming process because the payment system was not set up to work in reverse on such a large scale.

‘‘It takes months but we would expect the bulk to be done by the end of the year.

‘‘I can think of an airline that has changed its position 19 times, they have a certain rule, then two weeks later they have changed that rule, then two weeks later they change the rule again, it is very difficult.’’

Thomas said that as time passed, customers were becoming increasingly desperate for cash, rather than credits.

‘‘There was a fair amount of goodwill some months ago but some people’s patience is running out and the economic situation is not getting any better; people are looking at their bank accounts and saying: I’d rather have it [the money] in my hand.’’

A government scheme is paying travel agents a commission to process cancellations so customers are not left trying to deal with a multitude of overseas travel suppliers such as hotels and airlines.

Deloitte administrators of STA Travel, which has collapsed and is now headed for liquidation owing $11.1m, are waiting to hear if they can hook into that funding and rehire some former STA staff to assist more than 1000 creditors.

Administrator David Webb said it had been difficult getting data on bookings and payments, much of which was held overseas, but there was still the possibility of refunds for some customers.

‘‘If we can ascertain that the third party, whether that be an airline or a travel provider, is holding funds that directly relate to a specific traveller, we may be in the position to pass that money directly back to the traveller, which is what we are looking to do,’’ Webb said. A recent report to creditors said that instead of client money being held in a separate trust account, as TAANZ requires of its members, STA Travel transferred it into an account used to pay operating expenses such as wages and rent.

Webb said that if cash refunded to STA Travel prior to administrators being appointed had gone into overseas accounts, the chances of being able to return it was ‘‘not only slim, but highly unlikely’’.

‘‘I can think of an airline that has changed its position 19 times.’’ Brent Thomas Travel Agents Association