Cancelled flights ...and your rights

IF you’ve been hitting a brick wall chasing a refund for a cancelled flight booked via a third-party website, you are not alone.

During the pandemic, readers have been contacting me on a daily basis to complain about this, and it has highlighted the fact that consumers are getting the runaround due to both booking sites and airlines flouting the law.

YOUR STORIES

Mary, of Wellingborough, Northants, has been chasing a refund for a cancelled flight since March 2020. She booked via a third party site and was told by the airline that she had to claim her refund from them. The site said she had to claim from the airline.

Jacob, from Cardiff, booked a flight via a booking site. When the flight was cancelled due to Covid, he asked for his money back. He was told he could only have a voucher because the company's terms and conditions provided that cash refunds were discretionary.

Francesca, of Ealing, West London, was told by a booking site she would get her refund when the airline had in turn refunded them. The airline says it has already done so – and she has been on this merry-go-round for seven months.

THE LEGAL POSITION

Many websites which offer "legal advice" say you must pursue the third-party booking site, not the airline, as this is who you entered into a contract with.

They are wrong for two reasons. Most of these booking sites act as agent only – meaning their terms will clearly say you are in fact contracting with the airline. There are, however, some sites where you do contract with them. And the law (known as EU261 across the EU, and now UK261 in the UK) trumps the contractual position.

The legal position is therefore that passengers are entitled to a cash refund within seven days, regardless of whether they booked through an airline or a third party, and this legal obligation to refund rests with the airline. So it doesn’t matter who your contract is with.

THE PROBLEM

When you book via a third-party booking site, it adds its commission to the flight cost. If you claim against the airline, you can only claim the amount the booking site paid the airline – the commission will have to be claimed from the booking site.

ESCALATING YOUR COMPLAINT

If the airline is subscribed to an alternative dispute resolution provider, you can lodge a complaint with the relevant ADR scheme

The Civil Aviation Authority has a list of airlines subscribed to one of the two approved schemes (Aviationadr and CEDR) on its website. All airlines are very familiar with their obligation to refund passengers following cancelled flights, so you will eventually get your money if you keep pushing it and asserting your rights.