An open letter published in The Post (IOL), calling travel agents’ refund policy ‘absurd’, has sparked outrage in the travel industry.
The letter says travel agents should provide full refunds for flights, transport and accommodation to the client as there were no services rendered, and therefore the contract between client and travel agent should be nullified.
“As the first point of contact for the traveller, travel agencies have been at the forefront of customer anger and frustration over refunds during the COVID-19 crisis. Travellers are often under the mistaken impression that the travel agent is holding on to their money and do not understand that the payments that have been made for travel, have already been passed on to the third-party travel supplier,” says Otto de Vries, ceo of Asata.
Asata has been lobbying to address these misconceptions and set the record straight, he says.
“Asata has taken an active and public stance, condemning airlines’ refusal to offer refunds to customers. We have stated categorically that these policies are in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act, which stipulates that the customer should be given both the option of a refund or a voucher. And, if the customer chooses the refund, he or she should be granted this based on the CPA. Asata has also spoken out about the fact that it does not condone unsecured vouchers as an alternative to the consumer’s right to a refund. We are working with our international trade association partners to call for strong action against airlines that are flouting the law by withholding refunds due following the cancellation of flights.”
The letter also says there should not be stipulations, such as handling fees and other hidden costs “because these are unique and exceptional [times]”.
Keitumetse Kepadisa, travel agent at Mathakging Travels, says the letter is unfair to travel agents, who spend valuable time working on a clients’ requests for travel. “So when we ask for a non-refundable deposit – that’s where we get our bread from. We interact with the clients, airlines, hotels – it’s work done. In a travel agency, we’ll have an administration officer that needs to be paid. So if we get a request for a full refund, where does it leave us? We’re pushed to bankruptcy.”
“Surely before writing an article of this nature the author would have the forethought to do research. A travel agent provides a service for which the client pays a fee. The contract is between the passenger and the [supplier]. The travel agent does not hold the funds,” says one agent, commenting on the article link on social media.
“A ticket is a transaction between airline and client. A travel agent is bound by airline rules in ticket sales and has no control over refund policies,” says Rachael Penaluna, business manager of Sure Maritime Travel.
