How to get your cash back
Nearly all of us are out of pocket to some degree because of COVID-19.
Maybe you can’t get refunds for a cancelled holiday. Or you’ve paid annual charges for services you couldn’t use, such as a senior railcard, a season ticket or National Trust, English Heritage and art-gallery memberships.
Holiday insurance was useless while all travel was grounded. Council Tax for second homes was still due even when you were not allowed to visit.
Your legal rights are quite clear. If you have paid for something that does not take place, you’re entitled to a cash refund without any administration fees being deducted.
Often companies that were suffering a dramatic loss of sales sought to cajole customers into accepting vouchers rather than cash refunds. Choose to take vouchers if you wish, but vouchers have expiry dates – if the company later collapses, they could become worthless.
Customer backlash forced some of these reluctant payers to do the right thing eventually. Eurostar initially encouraged customers to take vouchers which had to be spent by the end of September. Customer reaction persuaded the company to extend the expiry date and offer refunds in cash as well.
Others were quicker to respond. Sky Sports and BT Sport suspended payments while there were no live sports to watch.
Yet others are still hesitating. Train companies have made no decision about whether to compensate senior railcardholders either by refund or by extending the expiry date though they have not, at the time of writing, ruled it out.
Sometimes the regulators have had to force members to comply with the law. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set up a COVID taskforce to monitor the way companies treated their customers.
It threatened court action against those that failed to comply, as some outfits had tried to avoid giving refunds in any form.
Most complaints to the CMA were about getting refunds for holiday accommodation and flights, but it also focused on difficulties with package holidays, weddings and events, nurseries and childcare providers.
The Financial Conduct Authority asked insurers to review all their products to establish where the risk is now so low that policies are all but redundant.
It is a changeable situation. When fewer people were driving, motor claims plummeted and a handful of insurers quickly offered small refunds to their customers. But as soon as more motorists ventured out, claims shot up because people’s driving skills were rusty.
As for house insurance, burglaries all but disappeared when everyone stayed at home, but in April the number of garden-fire claims trebled because we lit more barbecues and bonfires.
If you’re still waiting for a refund, you can approach your bank. If you paid between £100 and £30,000 by credit card, you can claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, because credit-card providers are jointly liable with retailers when goods or services fail to materialise.
Refunds are less certain when you pay by debit card, but you can still make a chargeback claim. It isn’t a legal right but it is worth trying.
Treating customers fairly should be a priority if retailers want to stay in business, now perhaps more than ever. You should report delinquent companies to the CMA (www.coronavirus-businesscomplaint.service.gov.uk).