Outrage on Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca as easyJet, BA and Jet2 make thousands of passengers wait for their money back

THE UK government has been asked to step in and help as thousands of passengers waiting months to claim a refund on cancelled flights but Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca residents want answers too!

According to a survey by Which?, just 14 per cent of easyJet customers received a refund within seven days, and around 63 per cent are still waiting for their money back.

However, 23 per cent of British Airways customers and 19 per cent of Jet2 customers are still waiting for their money back, with 39 per cent of BA customers receiving their money back within the legal time frame.

The local viewpoint

This ridiculous situation does not just affect the UK of course as thousands of expats bought seats on flights that were cancelled, requested refunds, and are still waiting for their cash back. As it was only recently announced by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez that “Spain is open for tourism,” Brits over in Spain were hesitant to accept vouchers or to rebook flights, not knowing when or even if they could get over to the UK.

Local British resident Johnathan Hamilton from Marbella said: “The problem is that in Spain we don’t have, or don’t know of, an organisation that can speak on our (expats’) behalf and we have to just look and observe what happens in the UK before we can make a move. I’m personally not going to rebook or accept a voucher as I’ve heard stories of prices being hiked, which is totally wrong, I’ll have my money back and drive to the UK, petrol prices are down and so is the traffic!”

Airlines respond

In response, an easyJet spokesperson said: “Customers on cancelled flights can transfer to an alternative flight free of charge or receive a voucher for the value of their booking online.

“Customers may also request a refund by submitting a claim in writing via a dedicated refund web form, online. We are processing refunds for customers and aim to do so in less than 28 days.”

A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “Like all other airlines and tour operators, the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have impacted us. With aircraft grounded, our focus has been on looking after the many thousands of customers whose flights and holidays have been affected, and we are very proud to have been repeatedly praised by customers, media outlets, industry commentators and consumer organisations for how we have been treating customers in response to the pandemic.

“We are continuing to operate a fully staffed call centre, and even though our teams are subject to the same difficulties and restrictions as everyone else, they are working tirelessly to proactively contact customers in departure date order to discuss their options.

“We believe that contacting customers in departure date order is the fairest way to deal with this, and the feedback we have received tells us this has been the right thing to do.”

A BA spokesperson said: “If a customer’s flight has been cancelled, they should call us to discuss their options. They can rebook, refund or choose to take a voucher to fly at a later date. Refunds can be requested at any point up to 12 months after the start date of the journey.”

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Written by

Tony Winterburn

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Comments


    • Alec Smith

      29 May 2020 • 03:15

      What about Virgin ,they cancelled my flight after taking payment Cuba to Uk, when I ask
      Whats going to happened they say ,stop sending us e mails ,we are very busy.

    • S dunlop

      29 May 2020 • 17:55

      We were booked to go with jet 2 money all refunded without one phone call from us. They emailed us a month before we were due to go and told us someone would phone us. Two weeks before we were going they contacted us and we were fully refunded that week. Great service from jet 2.

    • Christine Johnson

      29 May 2020 • 18:12

      Jet 2 called to let us know our holiday was cancelled we were suposed to fly Belgium 8th May. They offered me replacement date etc this was back late April and fresh docs and info were supposed to be sent. I asked how long will it be she said 7 days. No sign of anything. This is gettimg pn nerves so I have dscided I will have money back. Cant get hold of anyone or anything. Will I go to Solicitor? .

    • Andrew Barrie

      29 May 2020 • 20:42

      I’ve been waiting months for my money from easy jet .I cant get through on their telephone or email address. they advised only flights placed from oct 19 and march 20 were compromised .however my card company advise they got contacted regarding my details .they at no time advised me dreadful.

    • Nikos

      30 May 2020 • 20:46

      Lufthansa have not paid a single customer since the beginning of the virus. THEY ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER. DO NOT BOOK AGAIN UNTIL ALL REFUNDS ARE MADE!

    Comments are closed.