Gargždiškės mentions the thresholds of the courts: he has spent 5 thousand LTL for the anniversary abroad. vacations not received

In April, Gargždiškės, who was planning to celebrate his seventy with his family in Egypt, did not receive a trip or pay 5,000 euros for it. It is true that in September the tour operators transferred the money, but now the woman seeks to pay the costs of the litigation, which Novaturas does not want to pay and explains that the amount was paid in accordance with the 90-day term in force in Lithuania.

And European law tells us to do it in fourteen. The European Commission has taken our country to court for such contradictions.

Gargždiškės Liucija mentions the thresholds of the courts. This spring, the woman and her husband decided to join the two of them in their seventies in Egypt. Seven family members and friends were also invited to the anniversary abroad. The woman transferred almost 5,000 euros to the tour operators, the Novataras company, for the trip and to the hotels with all-inclusive service.

However, on March 13, Lithuania announced that it was not recommended to go to Egypt due to the coronavirus, so Novaturas canceled the trip. The woman then demanded a refund from the tour operator.

“It was written, called on March 16, March 23, April 2, and no one answered. So we say we have to go to court. 4,925 euros is a lot of money for me, “says Liucija Širvinskienė, a Gargždai resident.

The woman went to court on April 9, but only in early July she received promises that the money would be returned within 90 days. The money arrived in her account in early September. However, the woman had already paid a lawyer, so now Novaturo seeks to pay the costs, more than a thousand euros.

“I am a business person, I can use the money elsewhere, not for someone to use my money and do business for himself,” says L. Širvinskienė.

And here the representatives of the tour operator explain that the coronavirus is to blame for everything. It is said that the trips had to be canceled so much that the company did not have enough money for everyone to return them immediately. Customers have reportedly already paid 1.5 million euros. Therefore, it is supposed to wait. And Gargždiškės will not cover the legal costs as they have reimbursed the amount within 90 days, as required by Lithuanian law.

“If we look at it in accordance with the letter of the law, which provides for a refund for travelers who did not travel due to the pandemic within 90 days of being restricted to the country in which they purchased the trip, our goal is to reach an agreement with travelers before, “Novatur said. communication manager Dovilė Zapkutė.

The lawyer for the woman who did not go on a trip maintains that European Union law must be followed in this case. According to it, the organizers of the trip must return the money for the lost trip within fourteen days, not within 90 days, as required by the laws in force in our country.

“It is for this reason that the European Commission has initiated an infringement procedure against the State of Lithuania and this provision of the Civil Code is contrary to the law of the European Union and believes that this provision of the Civil Code will be modified in the near future” said Donatas Lengvinas, the victim’s attorney.

What the appropriate court will decide in October. And this case, in which people who did not make trips due to the coronavirus, demand that the tour operator return the money is one of the first in Lithuania. Its result may set a precedent in other similar cases in the future.