mario

Don't understand why MCOL would be way down the road. Write them a letter before action giving them 7 days to refund you and after go straight to MCOL, which takes 10 minutes.

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Soccerjoshj07

My amex chargeback opened on March 25 estimated May 14 as estimated completion date, still unresolved

CoweyB

Amex initially credited my account but TAP challenged the chargeback and in a letter they sent to Amex, which was forwarded to me, they said "the clients are not eligible for a full refund therefore the client must contact the airline to be issued with a voucher". Amex has unfortunately accepted TAP's view so I contacted Your Europe Advice who provided me with a lot of useful information the same day I contacted them!

The advice is below - I have gone back to Amex based on some of this and am waiting a response before going down the various routes referred to below

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find below the reply to your enquiry. Please note that the advice given by Your Europe Advice is an independent advice and cannot be considered to be the opinion of the European Commission, of any other EU institution or its staff nor will this advice be binding upon the European Commission, any other EU or national institution.

Dear Sir

Thank you very much for having contacted Your Europe Advice

We are pleased to inform you as follows:

1 - Indeed, it has been practice of the Portuguese airline - TAP - to offer to passengers vouchers instead of reimbursement after the cancellation of their flights due to Covid19. Consumer organisations (namely the Portuguese Deco Consumer's Association) say some major airlines are already flouting the refund rules, obliging customers to take vouchers.

2 - The Portuguese civil aviation regulator, ANAC - Autoridade Nacional para a Aviação Civil (National Civil Aviation Authority) - the National enforcement body under Regulation (EC) 261/2004, issued a note on the 25thMarch warning several airline companies including TAP, that they have to comply with the law in force and inform passengers about their rights, namely the choice between receiving the refund of a canceled trip or a voucher. So, passengers should be able to choose which between total reimbursement or a voucher.

3 - Under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, a passenger can choose between reimbursement (refund), re-routing at the earliest opportunity or re-routing at a later date at the passenger s convenience in the case of a flight cancellation. Regarding the reimbursement, passengers must have the choice between the acceptation of a voucher or the right for reimbursement.

4 - You may present the case to ANAC - Autoridade Nacional para a Aviação Civil (National Civil Aviation Authority) through the AIR PASSENGER RIGHTS EU COMPLAINT FORM available at website:

https://www.anac.pt/SiteCollectionDo...clamingles.pdf

5 - We also advise you to gather all concerned documentation and in separate letters (with acknowledge of receipt) or online (through the Complaint's Book) present the case to the following entities:

- European Consumer Centre which exists in every European Union Member State:

Website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-...ork-ecc-net_en

- Centro Nacional de Informação e Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo (CNIACC) (National Consumer Conflict Information and Arbitration Center:

Website: https://www.cniacc.pt/pt/

- Deco Proteste - the Portuguese Consumer's Association:

Website: https://www.deco.proteste.pt/reclamar

- Secretário de Estado das Infraestruturas (State Secretary for Infrastructure):

Website: https://translate.google.pt/?hl=pt-P...nfraestruturas

- Provedor de Justiça (Portuguese Ombudsman) - the mediator organ between citizens and public administration or public-owned companies in Portugal (such as TAP):

Website: https://www.provedor-jus.pt/?idc=34

- European Commissioner for Justice - responsible for consumer protection:

Website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/department...d-consumers_en

6 - If you purchased the ticket online, you can submit your complaint through the Online Dispute Resolution (RLL) platform. Website:

https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/m...ain.home2.show

7 - As a British citizen you may ask for the support of the Embassy or Consulate of the United Kingdom in Portugal and of British Associations in the country.

8 - You may access to COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION - Commission Notice Interpretative Guidelines on EU passenger rights regulations in the context of the developing situation with Covid-19 at website:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...2020XC0318(04)

We give you now further information on this subject:

A - In a bid to mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to remind carriers that passengers in the European Union are protected by a full set of passenger rights – whether they travel by air, bus rail, ship, or coach, the European Commission has published guidelines to ensure EU passenger rights are applied in a coherent manner across the EU.

B - Therefore, the European Commission has issued these guidelines (we referred above) in order to reassure passengers that their rights are protected. The EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said presenting them:

In light of the mass cancellations and delays passengers and transport operators face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission wants to provide legal certainty on how to apply EU passenger rights. In case of cancellations, the transport provider must reimburse or re-route the passengers. If passengers themselves decide to cancel their journeys, reimbursement of the ticket depends on its type, and companies may offer vouchers for subsequent use.

The Commissioner has also stated that «airline companies have to put their energy and thinking into making the vouchers more attractive if they want to use mainly this instrument, but allow passengers to exercise their right to be reimbursed.»

C - One of the co-authors of the EU s legislation on passenger rights - Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 - says the failure to provide ticket refunds for flights cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic is completely unacceptable .

D - Also, the European consumer rights organisation, BEUC, said travellers should not be the ones to bail out the airline industry. Website:

Consumer Rights & Enforcement | www.beuc.eu

E - Other useful contacts:

- Embassy of the United Kingdom in Portugal:

Website: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisatio...embassy-lisbon

- Consulate of the United Kingdom in Portugal:

Website: https://www.consulate-info.com/consu...gdom-in-Lisbon

- UK help and services in Portugal:

Website: https://www.gov.uk/world/portugal

- British Associations in Portugal:

Website: https://www.expatica.com/pt/moving/i...part-i-105328/

Sincerely
Your Europe Advice

To submit another enquiry, please visit Your Europe Advice, but do not reply to this e-mail.

Your original enquiry was:
I purchased an airline ticket to fly from Lisbon to London on X May 2020 with TAP Airlines in Portugal but the flight was cancelled because of Covid-19. I asked TAP Airlines for a cash refund of the ticket as I believe that I am entitled to this under Regulation EC 261/2004. TAP Airlines have said that they are not giving cash refunds but only vouchers for future travel. I do not want a voucher for future travel, nor am I am looking for any compensation, I just want the cost of my flight refunded. Can you advise me on how I might get a refund from TAP airlines, please?

Yours sincerely,

Your Europe Advice

Mazzaschi

We started a credit card dispute for our TAP payment April 16. Done in writing with Capital One (US) with documentation to cover all the needed aspects and likely rebuttals. Today, May 17, the chargeback became permanent as TAP did not respond. We have written up an article with details and a sample letter - including items like time limit (120 days from date service was to be rendered) and a link to the Visa Rules. I can't give the url yet (Forum rules) so Google search 'Path to Lunch Get a Refund'.

Also of interest is a Facebook page called Unsatisfied TAP Customers (tautology is hard to avoid with TAP) with experiences, details, and multilingual rants.

Lastly, thanks for the help of posters to this Forum - you encouraged us first by sharing your stories and knowledge.

IAN-UK

Well done !

An additional satisfaction is that TAP is likely to receive a penalty charge. i understand the size of the penalty increases with the volume of chargebacks being handled.

FUNTOWNE

I've booked MUC -> (LIS) -> FNC & PXO -> (LIS) -> MUC in early June. The flights no longer appear to exist when searched for on the TAP website - either as the whole route or in individual flights/segments. Logging into my booking, however, does not show the booking as cancelled yet. Is it safe to assume my flights are in fact cancelled (and it is time to call for a refund), or am I missing something?

IAN-UK

To make life easier, wait until the airline cancels the flight. That way they owe you a refund in voucher form (+20%) or cash: your choice. But as the vouchers cannot be redeemed for cash, and simply fade away if unused within their lifetime or if the airline goes bust, better to go for cash.

They're likely to go to the wire before cancelling. And the wire would be 15 days before the scheduled departure time: within two weeks of departure they become liable to pay out not only cash refunds, but also chunky amounts of compensation.

FUNTOWNE

I didn't consider the EU 261/2004 regulation for some reason. It makes sense. Looks like I need only be patient a few more days. Thanks for the reality check!

FUNTOWNE

TAP just sent me an email with a new, illogical schedule. The flight is ~18 days out.

Flight #1 TP 2357
Depart: LISBON 05 Jun 20 07:45
Arrive: FUNCHAL 05 Jun 20 09:35

Flight #2 TP 551
Depart: MUNICH 05 Jun 20 20:00
Arrive: LISBON 05 Jun 20 22:15

Curious what my rights are for such a routing change..? Thanks to all in advance.

Barciur

I'm pretty sure it is well established that said cancellation won't give compensation during the pandemic?

IAN-UK

It shouldn't: I believe the pandemic has been established and confirmed as an extraordinary event.

However, where an airline has been fully aware that a flight will not operate for a considerable time, but has delayed formal cancellation until the last minute, causing anxiety and inconvenience to passengers, then I could imagine courts ruling that there was nothing extraordinary in an event that had been been waiting weeks to be confirmed.

For that reason I'd expect carriers to avoid cancellation within those crucial two weeks before scheduled departure, if they can.

cruisingmickey

mmff Often1 thank you for your help and response. I had success today on the phone with TAP. I was on hold for about 40 ish minutes. The agent was very helpful and nice. He offered me two options - voucher or a refund. I didn't even have to ask. He gave me a confirmation number and said to look out for an email when it gets processed. He mentioned it will take a few weeks. Good luck with everyone else on your refund.

TAP ended up canceling the second leg of my flight Lisbon to Newark. Budapest to Lisbon was canceled a few weeks before so my entire flight was canceled. Lisbon was a connection for my flight.

FUNTOWNE

I was only offered a voucher or a rebooking. Did I miss something? Seems like I need to hang up and try again. Looking at CoweyB's post above, I may have a bit of work to do. Thanks in advance to all in the thread for the datapoints!

** Edit ** I called a second time and got a much grumpier agent. He informed me that they "do not have the option to refund to a [credit] card at this time"... which is worrisome. I threatened a chargeback to my Amex, he replied: "if that's the option you want to take".

Both calls had the same script: I gave my reference #, they put me on hold to "see if it was valid for refund" and then came back with rerouting or cancel. The fare is a bit over 1100EUR, so I wonder if they have some sort of script against refunding larger amounts..?

** Edit ** Third call: It is now a TAP "Policy" to not give refunds regardless of what the EU regulation says. I was told to file a complaint on the TAP site and expect a reply in 4-5 days.

I'll play the complaint game, but take it up with Amex if they don't reply.

mmff

I don't think it's about the amount but the jurisdiction. Does your itinerary touch US soil? In theory, EC261/2004 and the latest EC notices make the rules for European and US flights the same (see the posts by Often1 above). In practice, it seems that a few European countries (e.g. Germany, France, Portugal, ...) are turning a bling eye and allowing their flagship airlines to illegally keep their clients' funds throughout this crisis. Unfortunately, the EC relies entirely on national authorities for enforcement, which makes its rulings ineffective compared to those of the DOT.

Good luck with your chargeback, make sure you keep it brief and to the point. Do not include unnecessary details but do not forget to attach all the relevant data: booking confirmation, e-tickets, cancellation confirmation, refund request, refund denial or a note saying they did no reply or process the refund within the 7 days required by law.

CoweyB

Another option might be the Alternative Dispute Resolution route which TAP is signed up to: https://www.cdrl.org.uk/

I might consider this after I hear back from Amex on my second chargeback