If you can’t travel because of coronavirus, you might be able to get a refund or choose to rebook for another time. Show
You should check the website of the company you booked with or any emails you’ve received from them. They might have a coronavirus refund policy. You have different rights depending on whether:
If the company cancelled your bookingYou’ll automatically have the right to a refund if your booking was for:
Check how to get a refund if your flight’s cancelled. If your booking was for something else, check the terms and conditions to find out if you’re entitled to a refund and how long it should take. If you want to cancel your booking but it's still going aheadYou might not want or be able to travel if for example:
If the company doesn’t cancel your booking, you can ask for a refund but you don’t have an automatic right to one. Check the terms and conditions of your booking to see what you can do. You can find out if your travel is affected by coronavirus restrictions on GOV.UK. You can also check the foreign travel advice on GOV.UK. Remember coronavirus restrictions and government advice might change before you travel or while you’re away. Tell the company if the government say travelling to a country will put your health or safety at risk. This might help you argue for a refund. If the company won’t give you a refund, it’s usually better to wait and see if they cancel the booking later. If they cancel the booking, they should refund you. If you’re offered a voucher instead of a refundIt’s usually best to ask for a refund instead - you should contact the company you booked with and ask. They should give you a refund if they cancelled your travel. If you’re thinking of accepting a voucher, check the terms and conditions, including:
If the company you booked with has gone out of businessYou should check if your booking will still go ahead - for example, you could:
If you booked with a travel agent, you should contact the other companies your travel is with - for example, your flight or hotel provider. If your booking isn’t going ahead, you might be able to get a refund - you can find out how to try and get your money back if a company stops trading. Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for help working out if you can get a refund for a voucher. If your refund is taking longer than expectedYou should contact the company and ask how long the refund will take. It’s worth telling them if you need the money urgently - for example, if you’ve lost your job. If the refund takes longer than the company said it would, you can find out how to complain. If the company says they won’t give you a refundIf you have travel insurance, check if you can make a claim. You could read the terms and conditions or contact the insurer. You might also be covered by your home insurance or your bank account insurance. If you claim on your insurance, you might have to pay:
If you booked something for someone else, you might not be able to claim it back unless they’re named on your insurance policy. You could check if you can get a refund if you paid by card or Paypal instead. You can try to get a refund from your card provider at the same time as starting your insurance claim. You can only get a refund from one of them - if you keep the money from both it could be fraud. Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline if you need more help - a trained adviser can give you advice over the phone or by email. If you need more helpYou can check how to deal with a company that won’t give you a refund. You can also contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline - a trained adviser can give you advice over the phone or by email. If a company has treated you unfairly, you can report them to Trading Standards. You can check how to report a company to Trading Standards. As a charity, we rely on your support to help millions of people solve their problems each year. Please donate if you can to help us continue our work. |