BUSINESS NEWS
The CMA’s Andrew Hadley (inset) says the authority is ‘looking at whether we need to take further [enforcement] action’ against package holiday providers over customer refunds
Travel lawyers and CMA clash over refund rights
CMA ‘sympathetic’ on refunds ‘but can’t change the law’. Ian Taylor reports
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has insisted on consumers’ right to refunds for holiday cancellations due to Covid restrictions, revealing it has received “more than 25,000 complaints”. But some industry lawyers have
challenged the CMA view and CMA assistant director for policy and advocacy Andrew Hadley conceded last week “one firm, in particular, was responsible for a lot of those” 25,000. Hadley told an Abta Travel Law
Seminar: “Package travel is one of the leading areas of complaint. We’re
40 1 OCTOBER 2020
sympathetic to the extraordinary circumstances so we haven’t been taking tough action on the timing of refunds, but we can’t change the law.” Consumer publication Which?
has repeatedly criticised package organisers for failing to pay refunds for cancelled bookings within 14 days as required by the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs). The CMA raised the pressure in
April when it added package travel to a “first tranche” of sectors – weddings, accommodation providers and child care nurseries – it identified for investigation after setting up a
consumer web form “so we could see where there were concerns” as “the CMA does not deal directly with consumer complaints”. Hadley said package travel “hasn’t
been the focus of our enforcement action yet, [but] we’re looking at whether we need to take further action”. He noted: “We largely hoped
Trading Standards would take on any issues in enforcement of the PTRs but they, like everyone, are incredibly stretched.”
Continued on page 38
travelweekly.co.uk
BUSINESSNEWS
PICTURE: Shutterstock
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
