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Trips are sold but do not refund money
Reader Arūnas (a person known as “Delfi”) said in late January that he had purchased three tickets to Egypt from the travel agency “Travel Express” (organizer – “Tez tour” – ed.).
As claimed, the family initially paid 10 percent. advance and the remaining amount at the beginning of March. The trip was scheduled for the end of March and involved a total of 1.7 thousand people for three people. EUR.
Before transferring the remaining money, Arūnas said he was interested in knowing if the trip would not be canceled, but after receiving assurances from the agency that everything was in order.
DELFI in brief
1. Readers say they no longer understand exactly when to calculate the 90-day reimbursement period for trips that did not occur due to a pandemic.
2. Tez’s tour states that reimbursement will begin not only at the end of quarantine, but also at the end of the emergency, as required by law.
3. Under SCRPA, each refund case will be treated on a case-by-case basis.
4. Lidija Bajarūnienė, Head of the Tourism Policy Division of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, says that 90 days must be counted from the day it will be possible to resume travel to the selected country.
However, on March 13, as I recalled, the situation fundamentally changed. On that day, flights to Egypt were canceled and the travel contract was terminated on Arūnas’ own initiative.
“14 days later, I wrote a complaint to the State Consumer Rights that the company does not refund the money paid for the trip.
They claimed that within 2 months. It will investigate the complaint and then received a response with a compromise proposal, as an article in the Tourism Law has already been amended where tour operators can offer travel coupons to customers. We abandoned this option and sought a full refund.
I wrote letters to the Tez Tour customer service department, we contacted them, then the Seimas decided several times on the deadlines to reimburse the travel money. “When the 90-day deadline was reached, I received a response from Tez Tour that the money would be reimbursed when the emergency, quarantine, and everything in the Civil Code and the Tourism Law ended,” he said.
When the end of the quarantine in the country was announced, the man said he had again asked the company to find out if he understood that he would get his money back within 90 days after the end of the quarantine, but said he was surprised.
“I received a response that the refund will be made within 90 days at the latest from the end date of the war, emergency, mobilization, quarantine, emergency or emergency.
In other words, it has been argued that, in a systematic way, the state of emergency has not been lifted, so the reimbursement will be made within 90 days after its completion, “he said, adding that it is not clear exactly when will stand up. both next year.
He said he did not understand how clients might not be refundable given that the tour operator was already operating and clients were flying to other countries, in addition to offering tickets in August to the same address the family was due to visit.
“Even more so when I requested a refund on March 13, and at that time there were no amendments to the Civil Code or an amendment to the Tourism Law. This means that I have already been harmed by not returning the money in 14 days,” he explained.
“Now is the summer holidays, I would spend that money in Lithuania or in the Baltic countries.” I don’t have a bag of money in the bank, so I can give it away, so maybe one day it will be returned to me. This is our family’s money, “said Arūnas.
The deadline will count when the emergency ends
The editorial team sent a comment to Inga Aukštuolytė, Head of Public Relations and Marketing at Tez Tour.
When asked when the company will calculate the exact 90-day deadline to return the money to customers, she said it would be the day that all the restrictions provided by law would no longer exist and she cited the law.
“If the tourist and the tour operator do not agree with the reimbursement of the money paid for the failed organized tour, the tour operator must do so within 90 days from the day the restrictions specified in the Tourism Law are already there are no, i and after the end of the war, emergency, mobilization, quarantine, emergency or emergency, or after the prohibition for citizens of the Republic of Lithuania to leave the Republic of Lithuania or after the prohibition for citizens From other countries enter the Republic of Lithuania, all money paid by or on behalf of is reimbursed, he said, adding that to date no company had reimbursed any Tez travelers for COVID-19 cancellations.
“Since protecting travelers and their rights is a priority for our company, to reimburse the contributions paid to travelers as soon as possible, we plan to apply and use the facility” Loans for Tourism Service Providers. “
After receiving the financing, we will begin to settle the accounts with the travelers according to the payment schedule, ”said I. Aukštuolytė.
Delfi also asked about the return policy of another tour operator: Novadades.
“Legally, tour operators have the opportunity to return the money paid to travelers within 3 months from the date of cancellation of quarantine or emergency and / or resumption of tour operator activities.
Many of our travelers have changed their travel plans and postponed them to a later date or have chosen an alternative travel voucher. However, we understand that some people may have experienced financial difficulties during quarantine and the issue of refunds is extremely relevant. Therefore, as soon as we have received state aid and a soft loan, our goal is to reach an agreement with the people as soon as possible and we will start paying this month, ”said Dovilė Zapkutė, manager of communication projects.
Each case will be evaluated on its own merits.
The editorial office contacted the State Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights (SCRPA).
Dalia Malinauskienė, Head of her Department of Public and International Relations, told Delfi that the general refund procedure is still full of questions, but advised that residents should first contact the tour operator for a refund, and after 90 days after quarantine and no refund, only then contact SCRPA.
According to her, SCRPA would examine each specific case separately, for example, as an insured, assess whether Lithuanian citizens can leave the country and go to a specific country, will verify the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania on travel , flights and ferries to Lithuania Restriction from affected countries, etc.
“In this case, the 90-day return period would be calculated from the moment there are no more restrictions for the tour operator to comply with the contract concluded with the consumer,” said D. Malinauskienė.
Overall, SCRPA has received around 50 consumer complaints about tours organized by Tez Tour that have been canceled due to quarantine restrictions.
Ministry: will depend on whether flights are operated
The representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation also asked how to understand and from when exactly 90 days must be calculated for the return of money. Lidija Bajarūnienė, head of the Department of Tourism Policy, stated that in this particular case, this is the date from which travel to Egypt will resume.
“The amendments to the Civil Code and the Tourism Law, approved in May, have extended the period during which travelers are entitled to a refund for a package of travel services from 14 to 90 days. Paragraph 5 of the Article 6,751 of the Civil Code, which stipulates that if the tourist and the tour operator do not agree to reimburse the money paid for the failed organized trip, the tour operator must return all the money paid for the trip no later than 90 days from the non-stay date – the restrictions specified in the law, on the basis of which the fulfillment of the tour operator’s obligations under the organized travel contract has become impossible.
Article 17.1 of the Tourism Law states that the fulfillment of the obligations of a tour operator by virtue of an organized touristic travel contract becomes impossible in case of war, emergency, mobilization, quarantine, emergency or emergency or when Lithuanian citizens they are prohibited from leaving the Republic of Lithuania or other countries. .
To date, tourist travel to Egypt has not been resumed due to the unfavorable epidemiological situation of coronavirus infection in Egypt and foreigners are only allowed to enter exceptionally, 14 days of self-isolation is recommended for all arrivals. This means that at the moment it is not possible to fulfill the contract for an organized tourist trip and the period of 90 days should start counting from the day when it will be possible to resume the trips to Egypt ”, explained L. Bajarūnienė.
It also caught the attention of Brussels
The editorial team recalls that the European Commission (EC) has launched an infringement procedure against Lithuania, which has extended the deadline to return money to tourists from 14 days to 90 during the pandemic.
According to the portal vz.lt, in response to the eyebrows raised in Brussels, the ministry promises to urgently modify the Civil Code and return within 14 days to settle accounts with travelers. The Lithuanian tourism business says that returning to the 14th would be a disaster for the sector, especially the promised support for tourism has not started so far.
It was declared by the EC on July 2. decided to initiate infringement proceedings against Lithuania and nine other EU countries for non-compliance with some provisions of the Package Travel Directive.
According to the Commission, the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of many trips, but even in current special circumstances, consumer rights remain in force and should not be undermined by national support measures.
Delfi also recalls that in 2020 May 30 The amendments to the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania went into effect, which, in case of cancellation in an emergency, legalized a longer reimbursement period for tour operators: money for Failed trips must be returned to tourists no later than 90 days after the restrictions specified in the Tourism Law. Other compensation options.
It should be noted that, pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 171 of the Tourism Law, the restrictions under which the obligations of the tour operator under an organized tourism contract become impossible include cases of war, emergency, mobilization, quarantine, emergency or emergency or the prohibition of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. leaving the Republic of Lithuania or having citizens of other states enter the Republic of Lithuania and, as a result, the fulfillment of the obligations of the tour operator under the organized tour contract becomes impossible.
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