Aer Lingus has cancelled my flight and denied refunding me!

Unforgiven78

Hello Aer Lingus has cancelled my flight and in fact denied me the refund for my ticket. I applied for the refund with them and they only returned 30 euro out of 230 euro of the total cost of my ticket. That was the mocking "refund" I got from them! They only refunded me the taxes part but not the actual fare. They state that their Standard fare is non-refundable. I am wondering if they are allowed to do this under EU law, considering the European Regulation No. 261/2004? And if my rights have been violated, what is the best way to file a complaint about this? Thanks.

Long_Wave

FFS man the airlines are on the verge of collapse

Wuff Wuff

did they cancel the flight or did you request a taxes and charges refund

travel froum has many threads on refunds

Paddy19 is the main man to ask for help

Long_Wave

Long_Wave wrote: »

FFS man the airlines are on the verge of collapse

Still doesn't give them the right to cancel a flight and keep the cost of the ticket.

Unforgiven78

Long_Wave wrote: »

FFS man the airlines are on the verge of collapse

Man you wouldn't be so generous if it was YOUR money, would you

deisedevil

Unforgiven78 wrote: »

Hello Aer Lingus has cancelled my flight and in fact denied me the refund for my ticket. I applied for the refund with them and they only returned 30 euro out of 230 euro of the total cost of my ticket. That was the mocking "refund" I got from them! They only refunded me the taxes part but not the actual fare. They state that their Standard fare is non-refundable. I am wondering if they are allowed to do this under EU law, considering the European Regulation No. 261/2004? And if my rights have been violated, what is the best way to file a complaint about this? Thanks.

If you filled in the cancellation form and it wasn't Aerlingus that actually cancelled the flight then they gave you exactly what you were entitled to.

Unforgiven78

Wuff Wuff wrote: »

did they cancel the flight or did you request a taxes and charges refund

travel froum has many threads on refunds

Paddy19 is the main man to ask for help

They cancelled the flight due to the coronavirus thing. And I applied for the full refund. Thank you!

SusieBlue

It sounds like the flight is going ahead as of now and you applied for a refund, which does state that you only get the taxes and charges back.

I have flights booked for May with them and when I go into ‘manage my booking’, there is an option to reschedule and an option to apply for a refund but the refund option clearly states it’s only for taxes and charges because as of now, the flight is still technically going ahead.

If they have in fact cancelled your flight then you are entitled to a full refund, but it sounds like you opted for a refund for a flight that is still technically going ahead.

As well as that they only issue the refund after the date of travel, I think they are allowed 21 days to process the refund so it’s very confusing that your flight for next month has been cancelled and you’ve already been offered your refund and had it processed.

Unforgiven78

deisedevil wrote: »

If you filled in the cancellation form and it wasn't Aerlingus that actually cancelled the flight then they gave you exactly what you were entitled to.

I got an official notification from the Aer Lingus about the concelation of my flight. And then I applied for the full refund.

deisedevil

Unforgiven78 wrote: »

I got an official notification from the Aer Lingus about the concelation of my flight. And then I applied for the full refund.

Then they have to completely refund. What were the instructions on the notification? Did it say to go online and fill out the form. Did you go to manage your booking option online and then select the cancel option. If the flight was still showing as going ahead on there then that's maybe why it refunded you in the normal way.

I have a flight coming up and was waiting to see myself how this would work out.

Unforgiven78

deisedevil wrote: »

Then they have to completely refund. What were the instructions on the notification? Did it say to go online and fill out the form. Did you go to manage your booking option online and then select the cancel option. If the flight was still showing as going ahead on there then that's maybe why it refunded you in the normal way.

I have a flight coming up and was waiting to see myself how this would work out.

Me and my friend had a return flight inbound on the 11th of May and outbound on the 20th of May. Then I am getting this e-mail from them:

Regrettably your flight on EI450 between dates 02 May to 15 May departing from Dublin has been cancelled. This is due to the current extraordinary circumstances.

So EI450 was my inbound flight. They offered me refund so I filled out their refund form, clearly stating the number of my inbound flight EI450.

Then the next morning they are giving me their so called "refund" for both inbound (EI450) and outbound flights (EI451) ?!?!

Also, they sent me my booking confirmation where the inbound flight marked as cancelled but the outbound one marked as still confirmed ?!?!

NSAman

Long_Wave wrote: »

FFS man the airlines are on the verge of collapse

What happens if they only offer a voucher?

Refunds are the norm and expected by customers.

If the airline goes into liquidation then the voucher is useless .....

I don't particularly care if the airline goes into liquidation or protective bankruptcy, I would prefer the money that was refunded when the flight was cancelled, instead of being a debtor in a long long line of debtors.

Unforgiven78

deisedevil wrote: »

If the flight was still showing as going ahead on there then that's maybe why it refunded you in the normal way.

Yes I believe that's what happened to me. Guys be careful with them they will try to use any trick to screw you!

kennethsmyth

NSAman wrote: »

What happens if they only offer a voucher?

Refunds are the norm and expected by customers.

If the airline goes into liquidation then the voucher is useless .....

I don't particularly care if the airline goes into liquidation or protective bankruptcy, I would prefer the money that was refunded when the flight was cancelled, instead of being a debtor in a long long line of debtors.

Book with credit card not too far in advance and you have 120 days to file a chargeback.

NSAman

kennethsmyth wrote: »

Book with credit card not too far in advance and you have 120 days to file a chargeback.

And if banks are refusing to do chargebacks due to the number of same??

daheff

Unforgiven78 wrote: »

Me and my friend had a return flight inbound on the 11th of May and outbound on the 20th of May. Then I am getting this e-mail from them:

Regrettably your flight on EI450 between dates 02 May to 15 May departing from Dublin has been cancelled. This is due to the current extraordinary circumstances.

So EI450 was my inbound flight. They offered me refund so I filled out their refund form, clearly stating the number of my inbound flight EI450.

Then the next morning they are giving me their so called "refund" for both inbound (EI450) and outbound flights (EI451) ?!?!

Also, they sent me my booking confirmation where the inbound flight marked as cancelled but the outbound one marked as still confirmed ?!?!

it might be that the 20th may flight still needs to be cancelled for their system to properly refund you.

rock22

The Irish government, along with others, is pushing the EU to suspend refunds so don't rely on the regulator here to help.

Xterminator

I just wanted to say that if an airline did go under, you would be treated as an unsecured creditor and would be bottom of the pile when it came to refunds and would be looking at getting pennys on the pound back if anything. So purely from a sensible consumer outlook, if the airlines are at risk of folding if refunds are forced on them, id take a voucher instead, as my least preferred option.

And thats before as a taxpayer you consider the job losses and redundancy payments the state might have to fork out for! Or any solidarity you might feel for the fellow human beings who lose their jobs!

So id thread carefully before saying things like the bank should do chargebacks and the regulator should be enforcing the rules etc. Because you could end up worse off, funny enough - there are extraordinay circumstances here, and the solution may not be your preferred option.

Getting back to OP check if the return flight was also cancelled, it could simply be a timing thing.

Get Real

NSAman wrote: »

If the airline goes into liquidation then the voucher is useless .....

I don't particularly care if the airline goes into liquidation or protective bankruptcy, I would prefer the money that was refunded when the flight was cancelled, instead of being a debtor in a long long line of debtors.

True, but ironically the airline could go into liquidation because of people's refusal to accept vouchers. So short term, they get their few hundred quid. In some cases, 50 or 80quid.

An airline goes, or even the big two go. You'll end up paying your refund and more in higher fares long term due to lack of competition.

Bikerman2019

NSAman wrote: »

What happens if they only offer a voucher?

Refunds are the norm and expected by customers.

If the airline goes into liquidation then the voucher is useless .....

I don't particularly care if the airline goes into liquidation or protective bankruptcy, I would prefer the money that was refunded when the flight was cancelled, instead of being a debtor in a long long line of debtors.

Saying refunds are the norm is irrelevant, this is not normal, this is a worldwide crisis.

Saying that you dont care if an airline goes into liquidation shows you dont give a damn about the direct or indirect jobs. A lot of people including the government do. It will take a long time to recover from this and anything that can be done to ease the situation has to be done.


That is such a selfish attitude, you should be ashamed of yourself. "As long as I am alright....."


If you get a refund - happy days, if you dont, **** happens.

paddy19

kennethsmyth wrote: »

Book with credit card not too far in advance and you have 120 days to file a chargeback.

120 days for flights is from the fly date not from the charge date.

It makes sense you could book a flight a year in advance and have it cancelled a week before you fly.

paddy19

Government are supporting mandatory vouchers for cancelled flights.

Letter to EU

"We believe that regulating the temporary issuance of vouchers is possible and acceptable for consumers"

If you want your cash you better get into the refund queue.

Otherwise Michael O'Leary or Willie Walsh are going to be looking after your money for the next 12 to 18 months.

Www.flightrights.ie or SCC guide at

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058073208&page=2

Leo Varadkar talking rubbish in the dail.
He does not know what his own government is signing up to.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058073699&page=6

Tow

NSAman wrote: »

What happens if they only offer a voucher?

You have to read everything and beware of their tricks. For example I had flights booked with BA in June. They cancelled one leg and gave options to moved to different flight or get a voucher. This is all they offered on the website. I had to phone them an look for a refund. They had no problems giving a refund (yet to arrive) over the phone. It took a couple of tries and ~30 mins holding time. I recorded the call for training and quality control purposes. These were multiple hop flights transiting Hong Kong. In theory possible, but would require 2 weeks quarantining on arrival and another two weeks on return!

NSAman

Bikerman2019 wrote: »

Saying refunds are the norm is irrelevant, this is not normal, this is a worldwide crisis.

Saying that you dont care if an airline goes into liquidation shows you dont give a damn about the direct or indirect jobs. A lot of people including the government do. It will take a long time to recover from this and anything that can be done to ease the situation has to be done.


That is such a selfish attitude, you should be ashamed of yourself. "As long as I am alright....."


If you get a refund - happy days, if you dont, **** happens.

Unlike many here, it is not a flight for 300euro I am talking about. it is thousands.

Luckily I didn’t book before all this took hold.

You can say it is selfish, for many people 300-2000 euro is a hefty chunk of change. I didnt realise that ordinary people were now investors in airlines (without any of the perks).

I am far from ashamed of myself for worrying about people who may/May not have that sort of money to throw away!

Not everyone is in a privileged position that they can give a large amount of money to save an airline.

if you are in such a position .... FINE. I know many who do not know where the next few euro are coming from. They are the people that I will invest in.... not airlines... Thank you!!

Del Griffith

Bikerman2019 wrote: »

Saying refunds are the norm is irrelevant, this is not normal, this is a worldwide crisis.

Saying that you dont care if an airline goes into liquidation shows you dont give a damn about the direct or indirect jobs. A lot of people including the government do. It will take a long time to recover from this and anything that can be done to ease the situation has to be done.


That is such a selfish attitude, you should be ashamed of yourself. "As long as I am alright....."


If you get a refund - happy days, if you dont, **** happens.

Get real will you, it's not up to him or any of us to bail out the airlines with our own money.

If you want them supported so badly jump on the website there and book yourself a few flights to NYC in May. They'll take your money no bother.

Jonybgud

Del Griffith wrote: »

Get real will you, it's not up to him or any of us to bail out the airlines with our own money.

If you want them supported so badly jump on the website there and book yourself a few flights to NYC in May. They'll take your money no bother.

It's theft, plain and simple, just because they're a huge concern doesn't give them the right to get away with it. I really don't understand the empathy with a big company like Aer Lingus when it comes to robbing people's money.

And the so called regulator should hang their heads in shame. This reminds me of the bank regulator before the big bust saying all was rosey in the barrel when there wasn't one good apple left and all the while pocketing hundreds of thousands of hard earned taxpayers euros.

Has this lockdown actually made us docile enough to accept this crap? Maybe Leo should just go on telly and ask people for their bank accounts, just to mind them for people while they rot indoors.

Taking money for a service and then not providing that service while keeping the money is theft. Why is this accepted so readily just because it's a big corporation involved?

Phoebas

Jonybgud wrote: »

It's theft, plain and simple...

I'm paying for private health insurance but I can't get private healthcare right now.
I'm paying taxes but my children aren't getting an education right now.

The airlines are paying their operating licence fees etc but they are being prevented from operating. Is that theft plain and simple too?

It's far from plain and simple. We are not living in normal times where the normal rules apply.

Jonybgud

Phoebas wrote: »

I'm paying for private health insurance but I can't get private healthcare right now.
I'm paying taxes but my children aren't getting an education right now.

The airlines are paying their operating licence fees etc but they are being prevented from operating. Is that theft plain and simple too?

It's far from plain and simple. We are not living in normal times where the normal rules apply.

Do you need private healthcare right now? If you do, and you have paid for it and can't get it, well then yes, that is theft, plain and simple.

The taxes you are paying are for a hell of a lot more than your children's education.

As with any business who needs a license to operate, if you don't have it you can't operate, if there are significant fees involved then negotiate with the license provider. Do you think for a second that Aer Lingus isn't negotiating a reduction in fees?

It is plain and simple. Theft is theft. Empathy for any corporation in a pandemic situation does not alter that fact.

Pauliedragon

It might be something to do with several EU governments asking the EU to suspend the law regarding flight refunds.

Phoebas

Even if the flight was operating, the OP would likely not be able to take it because of the restrictions.
A voucher is a reasonable outcome.

pl4ichjgy17zwd

I was happy to take a voucher from Aer Lingus for flights to Vegas but their vouchers have a big caveat - you can't use them on flights that have a connection with a different airline. I only ever fly to the States and never somewhere direct.

They've agreed to refund me after I argued this wasn't made clear before I accepted the voucher but I didn't even ask for a refund, I just asked for a credit that would let me rebook the trip that was cancelled. I would have been okay with that. I actually feel bad about the refund while simultaneously hoping I still get it.