NEWS bcast dedicated to legal issues, held in partnership with Travlaw. Lucy Huxley reports


Chargebacks: ‘Claims will not go away but problem is easing’


C


hargebacks are “not going to go away” and travel companies are seeing varying levels of success fighting them, according to Travlaw solicitor Krystene Bousfield.


Customers have been turning to credit cards to try to


claw back the money they have paid for holidays cancelled as a result of Covid-19. Bousfield said firms fighting chargebacks had seen


“varying levels of success” and urged businesses to “keep on top of them”. Speaking in a Travel Weekly webcast, Bousfield said:


“Chargebacks are still very much present in the industry and something that’s not going to go away, unfortunately.” She said that quoting Mastercard and Visa guidance


in responses to clients was having “great success” but said chargebacks made for American Express were proving “a lot more difficult” as “they haven’t given specific guidance”. Bousfield advised agents to continue to acknowledge


disputes, warning that chargebacks “are still going to be underlying” despite travel’s resumption. She said insurance claims were also an issue and urged


travel agents and suppliers to maintain a “strong stance”. “People are pointing customers towards insurance


companies,” Bousfield said. “But insurance companies are protecting themselves and pushing back as well. We’re giving refunds as and when they’re due, but if customers can claim via that route, we need to make sure we’re


helping them do that with any correspondence or any copy documents we can issue them to support that.” She also warned companies to be “wary” that the date by


which some refunds must be paid was looming, with many February and March claims needing to be paid by July 31. Referring to refund credit notes, Bousfield said


customers might now be less likely to cash them in as borders were reopening and FCO travel advice easing. She advised agents to call customers to make them aware of the date of due payments but to take the chance to see if they would prefer to rebook given the greater clarity about future travel. “You may be able to change a request for a cash refund into a new booking,” she said.


Statutory demands: ‘New insolvency act offers protection’


Statutory demands and winding-up orders served on travel firms during the Covid-19 crisis will be void, according to a new law that has been fast-tracked through Parliament. Travlaw solicitor Krystene


Bousfield highlighted the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act that came into force two weeks ago. She said: “It’s been brought


in to try and support struggling businesses as they cope with the repercussions of Covid-19.”


Krystene Bousfield


Bousfield said it could help the


travel industry in two ways. “If a statutory demand has been


served on a company between March 1 and September 30 this year, it’s void. So if you receive a statutory demand between those dates, it doesn’t count for anything,” she said. “But you should still


acknowledge it, because [it suggests] something has clearly gone wrong. But it doesn’t apply; it


doesn’t have any standing in law.” Bousfield said the act


would also guard against most winding-up petitions. “With winding-up petitions,


it’s not quite a blanket ban, but if the winding-up petition is presented after April 27, the court will very much consider the impact Covid-19 has had on that business and why the winding-up proceedings are being issued,” she said.


travelweekly.co.uk


9 JULY 2020


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PICTURES: Shutterstock


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