NEWS


Tanzer: We have shown leadership


Ian Taylor


The government is still to offer refund guidance but authorities will not take strict enforcement approach


axed on refunds


with the CAA. The CAA has never suggested they are not protected. Abta and the CAA are completely aligned on this.” A second industry source said:


“It’s ridiculous there is nothing from the government. If nothing is going to happen, someone needs to say that.” Speaking on an Elman


Wall webinar, Abta director of membership and financial services John de Vial said: “It’s clear the government does not want to come off the fence to avoid doing anything that could be construed as unfriendly toward consumers and is leaving it to


us and the CAA to see if we can do enough to reassure consumers.” Industry lawyers advised


businesses to follow Abta’s guidance in lieu of clarity from ministers. Stephen Mason, senior counsel


at Travlaw, said: “You get the odd company that thinks issuing a credit note is all you have to do. That is not what Abta has ever said. “If companies genuinely follow


what Abta has said, a good percentage of people are amenable to rebooking or accepting a Refund Credit Note if


you explain it properly.” i Elman Wall report: Business, page 33


Deben uses state loans to pay refunds


Deben Travel is using emergency government funding to pay back refunds to pacify and retain clients for the long term. Lee Hunt, director of the Suffolk-based agency, said he


Lee Hunt


had no choice but to dip into money his business has applied for from government to help clients who are yet to receive


refunds owed by tour operators but are in financial need. The business has received a £10,000 small business grant from


government and applied for £50,000 through the government’s Bounce Back Loans scheme, which went live on Monday (May 4).


travelweekly.co.uk 7 MAY 2020 5


Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer has defended the association against criticism of its role in pushing Refund Credit Notes as an alternative to cash refunds for cancelled holidays, insisting: “We’ve shown leadership”. Tanzer acknowledged trust


in Abta’s brand “will have been dented” but insisted: “I’m confident we can rebuild it.” He told a Travel Weekly


webcast: “It would have been wrong to have abstained from this and said, ‘It’s all too difficult. Let’s leave customers and members to a free-for-all’. “It would not have been right


to say to members ‘you have to pay refunds in 14 days’, when they can’t, or to say to customers ‘we’re sorry, you’re on your own’. “We stepped in to fill a gap


and bring order to deferred refunds. That was the right thing to do.” Tanzer suggested Abta could not have reacted quicker to the


Mark Tanzer: ‘We stepped in to fill a gap’


challenge posed by package travel refunds during the Covid-19 crisis. “As soon as the travel advice


changed we saw this was going to create a massive cancellation crisis. We were quickly in to talk to the government to say companies were not going to be able to make the 14- day repayment deadline,” he said. “The whole point of the Refund


Credit Note is it preserves the right to a cash refund. The path we’ve chosen is in the best interests of customers and companies. “We knew we were going to be


buffeted from both sides. But we felt this was the best solution given the pain all around. Nothing has changed my mind. It’s not a position we want to be in, [but] I can’t see what else we would have done. We’ve shown leadership.” He insisted: “If members are


miscommunicating [on refunds], we’ll take action. We have not hidden from this. It’s a difficult message. My correspondence is full of people who are angry and feel Abta has betrayed them because we’re not forcing companies to give a refund in 14 days.”


PICTURE: Shutterstock


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