Coronavirus travel rights

A poll we ran between 19 November and 4 December 2020 – which was our third looking at refunds for those unable to travel due to coronavirus – asked travel firms' customers about their refund experience. We asked them to rate it as 'great', 'OK' or 'poor' (and to say if they actually got a refund) – we had 42,653 individual responses.

Big names with dire overall feedback included Lastminute.com, with just 8% of customers telling us they'd had a full refund, while Teletext Holidays (12%), Loveholidays (32%) and Ryanair (33%) also performed poorly.

On the other side of the coin, Jet2 Holidays and Jet2 had the highest proportion of full refunds, with 89% of customers of both brands whose bookings were cancelled saying they'd had their money back. Hays Travel also did well, with 73% reporting full refunds. For full details, see our Covid travel refunds MSE News story.

The standard flight cancellation rules (which have now been written into UK law) state that if your flight is cancelled you are entitled to choose between a full refund or an alternative flight. If you've booked a specific return deal with the same airline and one leg is cancelled, you would expect a refund for both parts.

However some say they've struggled to get refunds, and it may be because some budget airlines don't consider it a return flight but two individual flights.

There's no easy answer here, and we need to be straight – we're still researching this and hope to add more info as we get it. In the meantime, here's our provisional list of what to try:

• Get in touch with the airline. The start point is always to contact the airline and ask. Before things get militant, you may just find you're pushing at an open door – we have certainly heard of a few (but not many so far) refunds in these circumstances.

• Under flight rules, you can push for a refund. So if softly softly fails, let's start to consider the rules. EU regulation 261/2004, which has now been written into UK law, gives specific cancellation rights for EU-regulated flights, which is defined as:

  – Any flight departing from the UK/EU

  – Any flight arriving in the UK/EU provided it's operated by a UK/EU airline

  Within these rules, it states that what counts in terms of getting a refund for the return flight if the outbound flight is cancelled is if the flights are part of the same 'booking'. If they are, you should be offered a full refund on both flights.

  Sadly, the Civil Aviation Authority has admitted the precise definition of the same booking can be a grey area – for example, it says if you booked through a ticket agent and the two legs are with different airlines, it wouldn't count as the same booking. One key help though is if the outbound and return flights have the same reservation numbers. If so, then:

  1) Contact the airline and ask for a refund in writing.

  2) If this doesn't work or you don't hear back, you can make an official complaint and demand a refund. You may also be able to escalate your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution service – most are free to use, though double-check first as some may charge fees. See our Flight Cancellations guide for more info.

  3) If you've no luck speaking to the airline and you paid by debit or credit card, you could try and get a refund from your bank or card provider under the chargeback scheme, or Section 75 legal protection if you paid £100+ on a credit card. (Though while it's rare, after that the airline can dispute this and push for the money back – so don't think once it's in your account it's done and dusted.)

• If you booked the flights before the pandemic and had travel insurance in place then too, speak to your insurer. You may be able to claim (assuming your policy covered pandemic cancellations), as clearly an unusable return flight is a knock-on cost.

  However, most insurers are pushing for people to go the whole way with their airline first before they will provide cover. That doesn't necessarily mean they are right to insist on you exhausting every possible avenue with the airline first, just that it isn't easy. So if your insurer isn't paying out when you feel it should, again you can take it to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

We've heard from MoneySavers who have had 'cancellation charges' of up to £75 per person taken off their refunds by their travel agent after an airline or package holiday firm has cancelled their trip.

Travel agents' association ABTA says agents ARE allowed to do this, as long as this is included in their T&Cs – though if in doubt, check what you agreed to when you booked.

Yet even if a travel agent does cover this in their terms, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute told us there's a chance it may not be a "fair term", so might not be allowed. It told us it couldn't comment on whether such terms are fair at this stage, or whether holidaymakers can successfully challenge these fees – but if you think a cancellation charge is unfair, contact your travel agent and ask it to justify the fairness of its fees.

Also note that tour operators and airlines can't charge you a cancellation fee if you booked direct, so if this happens, make sure you demand a refund in full.

As of 30 September 2022, refund credit notes for Covid-related cancellations issued between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021 no longer have any extra financial protection.

Your credit note may still be valid, as the expiry date depends on the travel firm that issued it. If so, you can still redeem it for a new trip – but if the firm goes bust, you won't be able to get your money back from ATOL (the aviation regulator's financial protection scheme which covered these credit notes).

Those who receive holiday refunds get it returned to the payment method used. This can often mean being £1,000s in credit on credit cards. And many have contacted us worried that they'll pay the usual 3%-ish fee to pay this into their bank account – yet those are money transfer fees, for shifting debt.

If you're significantly in credit, you should be able to ask your provider to transfer the credit back into your bank account free of charge. You can do this by getting in touch with your provider directly and requesting a "refund of credit balance".

All the providers we spoke to, including major names such as Barclaycard, HSBC and Lloyds, told us they offer this service to customers.

But if your provider refuses to transfer your credit back to you for free for some reason, you can appeal to the Financial Ombudsman – and do so on the grounds that it's not following standard industry practice. There's full info on how to do this in our Financial Ombudsman guide.

If you accept a voucher or you felt you were given no choice but to take vouchers then whether you can later change that for a cash refund will likely be determined on a case-by-case basis. But you can try the following steps: 

• Step 1: Complain to the airline directly. As outlined above, when an airline cancels flights, you're entitled to a full cash refund or alternative flight under 'EU 261' rules (which apply to all flights leaving the UK and to flights to the UK with a UK or EU airline). Refunds can be paid by voucher but only with the signed agreement of passengers. 

• Step 2: If unsuccessful, take your complaint to the relevant ombudsman. If an airline ignores your complaint or it doesn't offer the resolution you want, you can use an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. Check which one your airline is signed up to using the CAA's website. 

• Step 3: You could try claiming on your insurance or via your card provider but it may be a long shot, particularly with insurance. If you don't want to go to court, which is the final step, you could try the following, though there are no guarantees of success: 

  - If you paid by debit or credit card, you can try getting money back via your card firm. Card firms often give money back (sometimes by law) when you don't get the service you paid for, eg, if a flight is cancelled. It's often easier claiming from an airline but if you don't get a refund then ask the card company.

  Yet if you're given vouchers instead of cash it's a grey area as the card provider may argue the voucher is the refund even if you don't think so. If you paid on credit card for something costing more than £100 then you can try under Section 75. If you paid by debit card or your flight was less than £100 on credit card then try Chargeback.

  - You can try speaking to your insurer but you may struggle to get a payout. Most travel insurers no longer cover Covid-related cancellations unless it's because you get Covid. It's even harder when you argue you should have got cash instead of a voucher as the insurer may claim the voucher is the refund so to them the case is closed. 

• Step 4: Finally, go to the small claims court. We've heard of some success doing this - see our BA passenger wins cash refund in court after being 'pushed' to accept vouchers MSE News story. There is a fee to go to court but you can reclaim this if you win, although if you lose you won't get fees back and you may also have to pay expenses (but not legal costs) to the other party too. See our Small Claims Court guide for full info on how it all works.

We've been asked this a lot, so we put it to aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority. It told us that if you accept a voucher for a cancelled flight and use it to book a second flight, you're subject to the T&Cs of the second booking – and these will often state that if you booked using a voucher, you can only get a voucher back if the flight is later cancelled. 

In essence, the second booking will generally be regarded as a completely new transaction with no reference to the previous booking – though it's worth checking directly with the airline as T&Cs can vary.

It's also worth noting that the above doesn't apply to package holidays – if your package holiday is cancelled by the travel firm, you're entitled to a full cash refund regardless of how you made the booking. For more info on the extra protection you get with package holidays, see our Holiday Rights guide.

If you are quarantined during a trip abroad, you may incur extra costs, such as paying for more accommodation or booking new flights home.

The first thing to do in this situation is to speak to your tour operator or the agent you booked your trip through to see if you can recover any extra costs.

For any unrecoverable costs, you may be able to make a claim through your travel insurer if you have the right kind of policy. This situation will generally fall under 'disruption to travel', so check for this clause in your travel insurance documents – though in any case, it's worth speaking to your insurer directly to see if you're covered.

Some people will have medical risk factors that make coronavirus a more serious threat – for example, the NHS says older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease) are more likely to become seriously ill with the virus.

If you're due to travel to an area which has a high volume of coronavirus cases but there's no Foreign Office warning at the time you travel, and you're worried about the heightened risk of the virus due to your age or underlying health conditions, speak to your insurer to discuss your options.

The Association of British Insurers says that whether you'll be covered by your insurance depends on your specific policy and your situation. You may be asked to provide evidence of your pre-existing condition – a doctor's note, for example. Many insurers will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.

In general terms, don't expect a refund if you cancel in these circumstances. Unfortunately, if no warning is in place at the time that you're travelling, then airlines, tour operators and insurers won't usually offer a refund if you decide not to travel.

Yet if you've booked a package holiday and were sold on the basis that you'd be able to visit a specific attraction and this was the main reason you booked the trip, you could argue that the attraction being closed counts as a "significant change" to your holiday under the Package Travel Regulations, and therefore ask for a refund.

Check the documents and T&Cs from your travel provider to see whether you may be able to argue this. However, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) says it's unlikely that many packages would have been sold on this basis.

Many cruise lines have cancelled trips or altered their itineraries to avoid stopping at ports in affected areas.

If you were due to travel on a cruise that has been cancelled, you'll generally receive a full refund – though check your cruise line's policy directly. If you have consequential losses, you can follow the steps above to try and recover them.

If your cruise itinerary has been altered and you no longer want to travel as a result, your cruise line may let you cancel and get a refund or credit to spend on another cruise – again, you'll need to check directly to find out your options.

If you can't get a refund this way and you had booked your cruise as part of a package holiday, you may have some protection under the Package Travel Regulations if you had a major alteration to your itinerary – though it's unlikely that changes to a couple of stops on a long cruise would count as "significant".

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) says if changes "are significant in relation to the overall trip", customers may be entitled to a refund.

It said: "With cruises, there is the cruising element with the facilities and entertainment on board as well as ports of call, and all aspects of the trip must be considered in any decision about the significance of any changes to the itinerary."

If your flight home is cancelled and it's leaving from the UK or an EU country, or it's to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline, then the operator must get you home by any means at the earliest opportunity. If your flight doesn't fall within this scope, you're at the mercy of the rules of your flight operator.

For those on a package holiday, there is also an obligation on providers to arrange for you to get home, but this won't necessarily be as soon as possible.

For travel by any other means, contact your provider. If you're struggling to get help, you can also try contacting the UK embassy in the country for assistance.

If you're stranded due to a cancelled flight which is leaving a UK or EU country, or it's to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline, then your airline must pay to put you up in the meantime, although you may need to pay and later claim this back. Keep hold of receipts and only expect reasonable costs to be reimbursed. If your flight doesn't fall within this scope, check with the airline if it's responsible.

For package holidays, trade body ABTA says providers are only obliged to put you up for three nights if your return trip is cancelled.

For travel by any other means, contact your provider. If you're struggling to get help, you can also try contacting the UK embassy in the country for assistance.

If you're abroad for longer than planned due to your return journey being disrupted by travel bans, insurers we spoke to said your cover would be extended.

But while this means you'll continue to be covered under the usual terms of your insurance – so for example, you should be able to claim for emergency medical expenses – insurers we spoke to said you won't be covered for extra costs incurred by having to stay longer, such as extra accommodation or travel. Though always check with your insurer as policies differ.

If you do want to push for cash or you're struggling to get any refund, here's what we'd suggest, but there are no hard and fast rules:

1) Insist on a refund in writing. Firms will naturally want to push you to accept a voucher or rebook your holiday, as it avoids them having to cough up. So make it clear, in writing, that you expect a refund. Sadly, pushy customers tend to be more successful than those who just leave it, though be firm and polite rather than rude and aggressive. It's also worth quoting what the CMA has said in cases about refunds in this situation.

2) Try going to your card firm and asking it for a refund (ask for chargeback first, then try Section 75 if that doesn't work). Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you pay for something costing between £100 and £30,000 on a credit card, the card firm's equally liable if something goes wrong, so you may be able to claim your money back from it.

Under chargeback, which isn't a legal requirement, just a customer service promise, your bank will try to get money back from the bank of the firm you bought from, and you can try it on debit card purchases and those which are less than £100. See our Section 75 and Chargeback guides for full info.

As MSE founder Martin Lewis explains though, try chargeback first. Here, Martin explains why: "Even if you actually have a credit card and qualify for Section 75, I wouldn't ask for that at this stage. I would ask for a chargeback. That's because under the chargeback process, which is part of the Visa, Mastercard or Amex rules, your bank is asking for money back from the holiday firm's bank, which your bank is unlikely to have an issue doing.

"If you claim under Section 75 though, then you are asking the credit card company itself to cover you, and while it may be legally obliged to do this, it is likely to be much more reticent to do it. So it's worth trying Section 75 only if chargeback fails. And with both, if you are rejected you have the right to go on to the free Financial Ombudsman, which can adjudicate."

There's no guarantee this will work, but some who've struggled to get other travel refunds, eg, for Ryanair flights, have had joy this way. Do be aware that even once you're paid the money with chargeback, the firm can dispute it with the bank and the money may later be clawed back. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. See chargeback clawback help if it does.

3) If you are prepared to play hardball, threaten court action. This is the route a very senior, and often litigious, lawyer told us he would take if it happened to him. This is about writing a formal note that you plan to file a county court claim if it doesn't pay a refund. Keep it short and sweet, with just the basic information about what's happened, and state a time (say, three weeks later) when you expect a response or you'll go ahead.

Think carefully about whether you want to do this and how hard to push. Consumer lawyer Dean Dunham previously drafted two template letters for Sykes Cottages customers, and we saw some report that they'd successfully used them to get a refund. Of course, these should no longer be necessary for Sykes Cottages customers as it's now committed to provide full refunds, but they could give you a sense of what this type of letter could look like if you want to write to another firm. (Some details will be specific to Sykes, so should be treated as inspiration rather than as direct templates.) 

4) File a county court claim online. This is following up on your promise to go to court – and again, it's what our senior lawyer says they'd do, but of course everyone is different. Essentially, it will hopefully go through the small claims route – a low-hassle online process for simple cases where you can represent yourself – though it will take some time, and it does depend on how good you are at this type of thing. This can be objected to by the other side though, and be pushed up to a district court, where you may need legal representation.

There is a cost for doing this – it's £25 to £300, and it's refunded if you win. If you lose, there are no costs against you in the small claims court, but there may be if it goes up to a higher court (you'll know beforehand though and could drop the case then). See our Small Claims Court guide for full help.