BUSINESS NEWS


Stephen Mason, Travlaw


The advice we’re


giving is not so much what the law says but solutions that might work regardless of the strict letter of the PTD


Companies across Europe flout PTD to avert failure


Calls for action on refunds are not confined to the UK. Ian Taylor reports


Travel companies across Europe are being forced to flout Package Travel Directive (PTD) rules on consumer refunds or face financial ruin. The governments of Italy, France,


Belgium and Denmark have confirmed vouchers will suffice in place of cash refunds despite the PTD requiring consumers be refunded within 14 days, the German government is pressing the European Commission to sanction a relaxation of the rules and Abta has lobbied the UK government to do the same. But tour operators and agents are


34 9 APRIL 2020


in any case looking to replace refunds with vouchers or refund credit notes to stave off insolvency, with a leading industry lawyer in Germany reporting “no one is paying money”. Leading UK industry lawyer


Stephen Mason, senior counsel at Travlaw, said: “Refunds are due for cancelled holidays but nobody can afford to pay them and suppliers are not giving money back.” He told an International Travel


Law Network videoconference: “The advice we’re giving [industry] clients is not so much what the law says but


solutions that might work in the real world regardless of whether it’s the strict letter of the PTD.” Klaus Siebert, partner at law firm


Engels-Siebert in Dusseldorf, said: “What happens now in Germany is that all tour operators and cruise companies offer credit refunds – future credits or vouchers – with different validities, from up to the end of the year to up to December 2021. Of course, consumer associations say


Continued on page 32 travelweekly.co.uk


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