Travel Firm ‘Must Refund €1.14m to Customers Over Cancelled Holidays’

TRAVEL firm Lastminute.com has been warned it must refund £1 million (€1.14 million) to customers for their cancelled holidays or face legal action.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) claim the travel firm still owes 2,600 customers the money after promising to refund them for their cancelled holidays.

According to the CMA, the company failed to repay holidaymakers within 14 days of their package holiday being cancelled on or after December 3.

It is also accused of telling some customers to speak directly to the airline to get the cost of their flight back, in breach of consumer rules.

Under a 2018 law, if a package holiday is cancelled by the provider customers are entitled to a full refund from the agent within 14 days. Millions of holidaymakers had their holidays cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.

The CMA had also written to more than 100 package holiday firms, including Virgin Holidays, TUI and Sykes Cottages, to remind them to comply with the law.

After receiving complaints from Lastminute.com customer, the CMA told the company in November to repay what it owed by January 31 2021.

According to the CMA, €1.14 million of that is still owed.

Chief Executive of the CMA, Andrea Coscelli, said it is “wholly unacceptable” that thousands of customers still have not received  refund.

She said: “We take breaches of commitments extremely seriously.

“If Lastminute.com does not comply with the law and pay people their outstanding refunds quickly, we will take the company to court.”

The company said it is committed to refund customers but blamed delays on technical and operational issues, and a third national lockdown.

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