The one and only refund thread [READ MOD NOTE BEFORE POSTING]!

footloose32

BOI Mastercard chargeback hit my account today.
Sent the chargeback form to BOI a couple of days after my Ryanair flights were cancelled, only took 3 weeks from cancellation to refund

pickarooney

Does anyone know what the official stance is on flights into Ireland in July?
We had planned a family reunion for my Dad's 80th, 7 of us flying in from France on the 20th of July (Aer Lingus) while my sister was due to fly in from the UK (Ryanair).
Her flight has been cancelled. Ours, so far, has not.

We can't in all good conscience go through with the reunion at this time. Travelling from abroad, the airports and planes themselves and then staying with elderly people is just not responsible. While travel restrictions out of France are being lifted, we are strongly advised not to take any foreign holidays this year. I have heard, but not been able to confirm, that there is a two-week quarantine period in place, so even if we were to take the risk, we would be cooped up in a hotel for a fortnight with 5 kids and unable to see my family. Obviously, nobody wants this.

Aer Lingus has offered us a change of flight, free of charge to be made up until the end of June. We don't know when we can expect to travel again and the route we're travelling on only operates in the summer. A voucher that we could use next year would be an acceptable compromise. However, it looks as though the flight will not technically be cancelled and we will simply lose the cost of all 7 flights.

Is there any provision for this kind of situation or any way of requesting a refund in the form of a voucher or even a partial refund?
Is it likely that the flight may end up getting cancelled eventually if it's completely undersold?
Would the best idea be to try reschedule for next year so as not to lose the money or to gamble on it being cancelled?

syndrome777

I posted this in to Rynair cancellation flight, but I'' put it here as well.

Getting email today from Rynair for all my canceled flights. Some I asked refunds from a month ago some a week ago (have 6 flights)


Ryanair
Dear Customer,

I refer to your recent request for a refund on your booking confirmation xxxxx.

Due to the high volume of flight cancellations due to COVID 19, we are experiencing an unprecedented high volume of requests. We are currently working through the backlog and assessing all requests. Please bear with us and please do not resubmit your request.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Ryanair Group Customer Care (Ryanair DAC, Lauda & Malta Air)

I wonder why are they emailing now with this/1 Prob to defer us from going chargback rout (too late)?!

.G.

Ryanair's "free flight move" also has T+C's they aren't disclosing. I tried to move my flights from June and July this year to June and July next year and was being charged flight change fees and fare difference. Checked about moving to September this year just to see and then it was actually free.

I'd actually take a voucher off them this time around but haven't been offered one!

.G.

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

I got an email from Aer Lingus regarding voucher in late March:

“ Thank you for your voucher request. Your booking has been cancelled and you do not need to take any further action.

Your Aer Lingus voucher - plus 10% - will be sent to you shortly. Due to the large number of people changing their travel plans, there may be a slight delay”

2 months late I haven’t heard any more. Is this abnormal?

Same here. I'm not too worried though I have the emails about it, I'll chase them up later in the year when things calm down.

Muscles Schultz

I have an Aug trip to Lanzarote out with Aer Lingus Aug 1 back 2 weeks later. Any hope they will cancel? Don’t fancy going at all

spideog7

.G. wrote: »

Same here. I'm not too worried though I have the emails about it, I'll chase them up later in the year when things calm down.

I'm based in the US, had flights home booked for Easter. Got no communication at all from Aer Lingus up to 2 days before the flight, ended up having to call and they told me it was cancelled and I was entitled to a refund. They gave me a claim number and that's the last I heard, no written or email communication whatsoever.

I'm thinking of filing a chargeback with my credit card, it's been 2 months now and not a peep from anyone. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt for a long time given the situation but now they're just taking the piss.

.G.

spideog7 wrote: »

I'm based in the US, had flights home booked for Easter. Got no communication at all from Aer Lingus up to 2 days before the flight, ended up having to call and they told me it was cancelled and I was entitled to a refund. They gave me a claim number and that's the last I heard, no written or email communication whatsoever.

I'm thinking of filing a chargeback with my credit card, it's been 2 months now and not a peep from anyone. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt for a long time given the situation but now they're just taking the piss.

Oh if I was after a refund of cash I wouldn't be as passive about as I have been regarding the voucher. In your case I'd be hounding them every week or just filed a chargeback by now.

paddy19

spideog7 wrote: »

I'm based in the US, had flights home booked for Easter. Got no communication at all from Aer Lingus up to 2 days before the flight, ended up having to call and they told me it was cancelled and I was entitled to a refund. They gave me a claim number and that's the last I heard, no written or email communication whatsoever.

I'm thinking of filing a chargeback with my credit card, it's been 2 months now and not a peep from anyone. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt for a long time given the situation but now they're just taking the piss.

I'd be inclined to give www.flightrights.ie a go.
It pretty simple and free and all online.

It's a bit less hassle than a chargeback where depending on the bank
they may demand a hardcopy of the request and receipts which could
be a pain as your based in the US.

paddy19

footloose32 wrote: »

BOI Mastercard chargeback hit my account today.
Sent the chargeback form to BOI a couple of days after my Ryanair flights were cancelled, only took 3 weeks from cancellation to refund

Excellent.

Fair dues to B of I they are showing the rest of the banks that there is
no need for these nonsensical 30 day waits and all that crap.

paddy19

syndrome777 wrote: »

I posted this in to Rynair cancellation flight, but I'' put it here as well.

Getting email today from Rynair for all my canceled flights. Some I asked refunds from a month ago some a week ago (have 6 flights)


Ryanair
Dear Customer,

I refer to your recent request for a refund on your booking confirmation xxxxx.

Due to the high volume of flight cancellations due to COVID 19, we are experiencing an unprecedented high volume of requests. We are currently working through the backlog and assessing all requests. Please bear with us and please do not resubmit your request.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Ryanair Group Customer Care (Ryanair DAC, Lauda & Malta Air)

I wonder why are they emailing now with this/1 Prob to defer us from going chargback rout (too late)?!

Not too late at all for chargeback. In fact for chargeback you have to show evidence that you requested a refund. You may have to hustle but don't take any crap about waiting for 30 days. Just quote Ryanair site nothing till after crisis.

Caranica

Based on people having had refunds from Ryanair, and me getting yet another holding email today, I had a chat with them this evening (4 minutes wait so not bad at all). The key bits, some other stuff omitted:

....
ME: I'm concerned now that people whose flights were later than my cancelled flight have started receiving refunds, I applied for my refund on 11 March. I know I'm now on record as rejecting the voucher, my concern is that I'm millions of places further back in the queue than I should be?

AGENT: I have confirmed all this details, and your booking is still on the queue for payment. Although the queue is long, you do not get placed at the back of the queue, as it is based on the date when you first applied for a refund.

ME: So why does it appear that people who applied for refunds after I did have received refunds in the past 48 hours?

AGENT: I am not able to confirm that, but I can promise you that your refund will be processed too, as it has been already long delayed....We apologise for the delay. As explained when you contacted us days before, we could not process refunds earlier. Even now, we are not working at full capacity.

ME: Can you confirm that my refund application was registered as being made on 11 March?

AGENT:Yes, that is correct...

So hopefully not too much longer to wait. It'll hit 80 days this weekend!

ri3mann

I'm also waiting for Aer Lingus to reply to my voucher request since 24 March. I have travel insurance that may cover such case I guess. Need to check conditions. Anyone succeeded with travel insurance in case of C-19 related flight cancellation?

paddy19

pickarooney wrote: »

Does anyone know what the official stance is on flights into Ireland in July?
We had planned a family reunion for my Dad's 80th, 7 of us flying in from France on the 20th of July (Aer Lingus) while my sister was due to fly in from the UK (Ryanair).
Her flight has been cancelled. Ours, so far, has not.

Is there any provision for this kind of situation or any way of requesting a refund in the form of a voucher or even a partial refund?
Is it likely that the flight may end up getting cancelled eventually if it's completely undersold?
Would the best idea be to try reschedule for next year so as not to lose the money or to gamble on it being cancelled?

Congrats on your dad's 80th, you must have been looking forward to a great celebration.
Hopefully zoom will provide some consolation.

Hopefully Aer Lingus will be upfront and inform you the flight is cancelled well in advance.
This has not been my experience.

The golden rule is do not cancel your flight. If you do, you get nothing except fees,
even if the flight never takes off.

The good news is that Aer Lingus are allowing you to "Book With Peace Of Mind
No change fees for all travel up to 30 September 2020".

This is a great offer because it allows you, if required, to move your booking
to flight that is very unlikely to fly. You can actually change flights up to two
hours before take off. Obviously I would not leave it that tight .

Now you have to start doing some detective work. with www.flightaware.com.
You can look at the flight history (extended history if you register for free).

The closer you are to flight day the better the data you have to predict
your flights chance of going. Flights are scheduled everyday or certain days of the week.

The ultimate check is the Flight Status tab on the Aer Lingus home page
which shows a 3 day window of flights that are flying
by route for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Select one way, enter destination and today's date.
This will show all flights that are flying.

Try it with DUB LHR for a few days and you'll see how it works.

Two days before your flight check the status.
If your flight is not showing on the date you booked then you know it has been cancelled.
Be careful that there isn't another flight within 2 hours of yours.
If there is they can put you on that flight and no refund is due.

If your flight shows, you need to shift your flight to a new day.
Note that "If your booking was made on aerlingus.com, you can change the travel dates, times, destination".
so you can pick another destination that has more flights and more cancellations.
You can look at the flight history and you can make a reasonable
prediction of what will and will not fly. You still have to pay the
fare difference so that can be a bit of a gotcha.
Very early morning flights are much more likely to be cancelled and tend to be lower fares.
Repeat as required. I don't think Aer Lingus have a limit of how many changes you can make
but I have no way of checking.

It's a bit of game but you have a very good chance of getting your money back.
You are due a full refund if the flight is cancelled for the original invoice
no matter what date you changed the booking to.

Getting the actual money back is a different problem but one step at a time.

Keep us informed of how you get on.

paddy19

ri3mann wrote: »

I'm also waiting for Aer Lingus to reply to my voucher request since 24 March. I have travel insurance that may cover such case I guess. Need to check conditions. Anyone succeeded with travel insurance in case of C-19 related flight cancellation?

The experience seems to be that if a voucher is offered insurance won't pay.

They have no way of knowing if people were double dipping.

paddy19

Risteard wrote: »

Outboun flight date was 26 March. Had gone through the whole process of requesting a refund, then being offered a voucher.

On the advice here I went on the live chat to request the refund. Then I was sent the voucher and told if unused after a year I would be refunded.

Didn't do anything after that and just got this email this morning.

Apologies wrong question:

When did you apply for the refund?

Cal04

Was due to fly to Reus June 27th, cancelled but flight home on July 4th not..what can I do..flights home over 700 e

paddy19

Cal04 wrote: »

Was due to fly to Reus June 27th, cancelled but flight home on July 4th not..what can I do..flights home over 700 e

If both flights are on the same booking you're due a full refund.

If they are on seperate booking then only the cancelled flight is refundable.

Uriel.

paddy19 wrote: »

If both flights are on the same booking you're due a full refund.

If they are on seperate booking then only the cancelled flight is refundable.

Thats interesting

We got an email from aegean today. Due to fly to Greece in July and return in August. The return flight was cancelled. Only offered to change flight or apply for a voucher. No mention of cash refund but more worrying, the outbound flight is not cancelled. Both flights booked together as a package

Not sure what to do here.

Does flight rights apply to all airlines?

Im still waiting Ryanair refund from March. Might use flightrights for both if that's possible.

paddy19

Flightrights is really for Irish registered companies only.
I assume Aegian are registered in Greece.

Bigger issue is Greek government has passed a voucher law.

One leg cancelled is enough for a full refund.


Chargeback might be the best option .

SleetAndSnow

My path so far -
17/05/20 - Flight Cancelled
25/05/20 - Voucher received
29/05/20 - Finally got through to support and placed back into refund queue, with transcript of chat emailed and a further confirmation from ryanair cancellations.

Now to wait probably a few months

pickarooney

paddy19 wrote: »

Congrats on your dad's 80th, you must have been looking forward to a great celebration.
Hopefully zoom will provide some consolation.

Hopefully Aer Lingus will be upfront and inform you the flight is cancelled well in advance.
This has not been my experience.

The golden rule is do not cancel your flight. If you do, you get nothing except fees,
even if the flight never takes off.

The good news is that Aer Lingus are allowing you to "Book With Peace Of Mind
No change fees for all travel up to 30 September 2020".

This is a great offer because it allows you, if required, to move your booking
to flight that is very unlikely to fly. You can actually change flights up to two
hours before take off. Obviously I would not leave it that tight .

Now you have to start doing some detective work. with www.flightaware.com.
You can look at the flight history (extended history if you register for free).

The closer you are to flight day the better the data you have to predict
your flights chance of going. Flights are scheduled everyday or certain days of the week.

The ultimate check is the Flight Status tab on the Aer Lingus home page
which shows a 3 day window of flights that are flying
by route for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Select one way, enter destination and today's date.
This will show all flights that are flying.

Try it with DUB LHR for a few days and you'll see how it works.

Two days before your flight check the status.
If your flight is not showing on the date you booked then you know it has been cancelled.
Be careful that there isn't another flight within 2 hours of yours.
If there is they can put you on that flight and no refund is due.

If your flight shows, you need to shift your flight to a new day.
Note that "If your booking was made on aerlingus.com, you can change the travel dates, times, destination".
so you can pick another destination that has more flights and more cancellations.
You can look at the flight history and you can make a reasonable
prediction of what will and will not fly. You still have to pay the
fare difference so that can be a bit of a gotcha.
Very early morning flights are much more likely to be cancelled and tend to be lower fares.
Repeat as required. I don't think Aer Lingus have a limit of how many changes you can make
but I have no way of checking.

It's a bit of game but you have a very good chance of getting your money back.
You are due a full refund if the flight is cancelled for the original invoice
no matter what date you changed the booking to.

Getting the actual money back is a different problem but one step at a time.

Keep us informed of how you get on.

This is really fantastic advice. I can't thank you enough!

Decoda

Managed to get straight onto Ryanair chat this morning. I had flights cancelled to Edinburgh heading out on the 30th June so had applied for the refund, received the voucher email so went onto chat this morning to apply for the refund again. This is the response I got,

Hello XXXXXXX, good morning. I have informed Ryan Air refund team that you will not need voucher as refund, and you will get refund in Cash form back tot the card you used to make the payment.
Due to social distancing set up by the government, our refund teams must work from home, and because of this they have limited access to customers personal financial information. Once the government eases the social distancing guidelines, and the refund teams are back in office, refunds will be processed according to their normal timeline of 7-10 business days. We expect them back in office by the end of this month.
Just so you know even if I put you on the cash refund queue this voucher is still valid, just in case you do need it. In the mean time just wait for the refund​.
You will get email confirmation on this within 48 hrs. ​
Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation​​




I queried him again on the time to get the refund but all he kept repeating was the "end of this month" for the refund process to start? I'll believe it when I see it, looks like a standard cut and paste response.

D

Lucky76848

I have seen a few people on facebook being refunded for their cancelled March flights. Hopefully this is a start. I will have a long wait, I was due to fly 31st may - 10th june and applied for refund on the 15th of may. So I reckon my refund will be with me come September...

Uriel.

paddy19 wrote: »

Flightrights is really for Irish registered companies only.
I assume Aegian are registered in Greece.

Bigger issue is Greek government has passed a voucher law.

One leg cancelled is enough for a full refund.


Chargeback might be the best option .

Cheers Paddy, unfortunately flights were booked With AIB credit card who don't appear to be doing chargebacks.

paddy19

Uriel. wrote: »

Cheers Paddy, unfortunately flights were booked With AIB credit card who don't appear to be doing chargebacks.

Originally AIB had a feck off no chargeback notice for covid claims.
They had to remove it .

AIB have to do chargebacks per their agreement with VISA/Mastercard.
Service was not delivered per EU261 8 1 (a) cash refund refund within 7 days.

Don't take any crap from them.

Tell them B Of I are doing it no problem.

The AIB folks hate to be told Bank is doing a better job than them

paddy19

Decoda wrote: »

Hello XXXXXXX, good morning.
Once the government eases the social distancing guidelines, and the refund teams are back in office, refunds will be processed according to their normal timeline of 7-10 business days. We expect them back in office by the end of this month.
I queried him again on the time to get the refund but all he kept repeating was the "end of this month" for the refund process to start? I'll believe it when I see it, looks like a standard cut and paste response.
D

Ryanair's response to the refund pressure is a constantly changing position.
The web site still says:

"Customers who choose not to accept a free move or voucher will receive their refund in due course, once this crisis has passed. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be working hard to process refund requests as quickly as we can. "
https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/useful-info/refund-voucher#!

The response you got seems to be trying to pressurise the government on the 2m rule.

" Once the government eases the social distancing guidelines"

Risteard

paddy19 wrote: »

Apologies wrong question:

When did you apply for the refund?

Based on my emails I think it was 28th March I sent through the initial request for a refund using their online system.

On 17 April they would have sent me the travel voucher. It was the 18 April then I went on the live chat to confirm that I wanted a refund.

That was my last correspondence with them. I got an email after that saying if the voucher was not used within 12 months that I would refunded.

Padraig Mor

Used some of my vouchers for a new booking yesterday (I feel dirty! ). Haven't dropped my SCC case yet though and am still thinking of responding to their solicitors just for pure devilment :pac:

Couple of points:
1. You can only use a max of four vouchers in a booking.
2. The T&C's say you can only use them against the currency of issue. I have a mix of euro and sterling vouchers and was able to use the sterling ones against a euro purchase no problem.

paddy19

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Used some of my vouchers for a new booking yesterday (I feel dirty! ). Haven't dropped my SCC case yet though and am still thinking of responding to their solicitors just for pure devilment :pac:

Couple of points:
1. You can only use a max of four vouchers in a booking.
2. The T&C's say you can only use them against the currency of issue. I have a mix of euro and sterling vouchers and was able to use the sterling ones against a euro purchase no problem.

If you have a number of cancellations pick a low value one for the SCC if you decide to go ahead. MOL could appeal and if you don't go ahead, you won't get the refund.

1. Where the feck did this come out of.

It's not in the "Travel Voucher Terms of Use":

2. I think they mean redeem for cash is only in the original currency.

Travel Voucher Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Travel Vouchers are issued by the Ryanair Group, Ryanair Dublin Office, Airside Business Park, Swords, Ireland (hereinafter “Ryanair”).
These Terms of Use apply to the use of the Ryanair Travel Vouchers. The Ryanair General Terms & Conditions of Carriage apply.
Travel Vouchers are valid for 12 months after the issue date and they can be redeemed within that time on our site. The validity of the Travel Vouchers can't be extended.
Travel vouchers can be redeemed for cash at the end of their 12 months’ validity period.
Travel Vouchers can only be redeemed in the currency of issue.
Travel Vouchers can only be redeemed by the recipient of the voucher.
If the total flight price exceeds the value of the Travel Voucher(s) used to pay for the booking, any price difference can be paid with by credit/debit card or with PayPal.
If you don't use all of your voucher balance at one time, you can use your voucher code for future transactions.
Travel Vouchers can be used as payment for flights, seats, priority, checked bags, fast track, baby equipment, music equipment, sports equipment, travel insurance and associated taxes, fees and charges (not car hire, transfers or hotel bookings).
Passenger name changes are not permitted if a booking has been paid for using a Travel Voucher.
Travel Vouchers are non-transferable.
Ryanair reserves the right to withdraw or amend these Terms of Use at its reasonable discretion. Ryanair will notify customers of any changes in writing.