![]() Head of the CMA’s Covid-19 Taskforce Will Hayter said: Ultimately only a court can decide how the law applies in each circumstance. The CMA’s statement on consumer protection law, setting out its views, is designed to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly. It is the CMA’s view that the Package Travel Regulations apply to these group travel packages, and that individual customers should be entitled to a refund if they have paid money in advance for a group trip that is cancelled because of the pandemic. ![]() This follows complaints about some package travel organisers advising customers that they are not entitled to a refund as their contract was between the company and a group, such as a school, rather than made directly with the customer. The CMA has also written to certain package travel companies involved in group trips to explain its view on when customers should be offered a refund. In other situations, it will not always be the case that a full refund is due because government guidance does not create legal restrictions and will not necessarily mean that a contract cannot be performed.īut even where that is the case, it is important for businesses and consumers to follow government guidance and it is the CMA’s view that businesses should treat their customers fairly and responsibly, including trying to find a mutually acceptable solution. As these are guidance and not law, whether a consumer is entitled to a refund will vary according to the specific circumstances.įor example, if a package holiday is cancelled in light of Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice against travel to the relevant country, there are specific protections which mean that consumers should be entitled to a full refund. The government has issued guidance in place of or in addition to lockdown laws. If contracts are partially affected by lockdown laws then, depending on the circumstances and the scale of the impact, consumers may be entitled to a refund or a price reduction. If contracts cannot go ahead because of lockdown laws then, for most consumer contracts, the CMA would expect a consumer to be offered a full refund. These are pieces of legislation such as the various Health Protection Regulations across the UK. Given the evolving situation, the CMA has provided more detail on issues such as the difference between lockdown laws and government guidance, and their impact on cancellations and refunds. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) remains of the view that a consumer will generally be entitled to a refund when they have paid money in advance for services or goods that cannot be provided because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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