Airline canceled flight - refund issue

M

masterboy123

Registered User
Messages
409
Hi All,
We were traveling via Lufthansa (booked through MyTrip) from Dublin Airport in July 2024 and our flight was canceled by Lufthansa due to climate activists sitting on the runway of Frankfurt Airport. The Lufthansa told us to look at alternatives ourselves as they couldn't accommodate us.

I contacted MyTrip and they offered a full refund as we didn't travel at all.
I received a refund of approximately 60% from MyTrip. The travel agency told me not to worry and that the remaining refund will be issued and they are working closely with Lufthansa.

It's been 3 months today since the flight was canceled.

I have made multiple phone calls to MyTrip, and the agents keep providing false reassurances that they are still working on my case and in touch with Lufthansa.

I submitted a case to my bank's chargeback team, and they required more documents, which I sent 2 weeks ago. I am waiting to hear from them now. If unsuccessful, I plan to file a small EU claims court case (as the company is registered in Finland).

Any other suggestions, please?

It's a very stressful situation with no help. When I contacted Lufthansa, they didn't help as tickets were not purchased through them.

Many thanks
 
I don't have much to offer. Their terms and conditions around cancellations say to go to the airline, whichever you did to no avail.
Did you buy their additional insurance or support for them to refund directly (even if only 60% so far)?
 
Luternau said:
I don't have much to offer. Their terms and conditions around cancellations say to go to the airline, whichever you did to no avail.
Did you buy their additional insurance or support for them to refund directly (even if only 60% so far)?
Click to expand...
Where did you find that they say to go to the airline directly? Because I didn't pay to the airline directly so it did make sense to get the refund from MyTrip. Even MyTrip agents are saying that they are contacting Lufthansa and need additional time.
I have MultiTrip premium insurance but they don't cover flight cancellation by the airlines.
Do you think I should go to EU small claims court now? Or wait for the outcome of cash back?
 
This sort of thing is very frustrating. You are in a reasonably strong position as they have agreed a full refund (hopefully in writing) and already paid it. You probably just need to keep hounding them. In my experience if it drags on this long you have to switch it up a couple of nothes and chase them more frequently and make it clear that you aren't going to go away. You should also consider making a formal complaint as this usually triggers an internal review via different channels.

Aside from a refund, did you make a compensation claim under EU 261/2004 ? It costs nothing to do so. Only issue is that they may well claim "Exceptional Circumstances" in this instance. More details here ?
 
masterboy123 said:
Where did you find that they say to go to the airline directly? Because I didn't pay to the airline directly so it did make sense to get the refund from MyTrip. Even MyTrip agents are saying that they are contacting Lufthansa and need additional time.
I have MultiTrip premium insurance but they don't cover flight cancellation by the airlines.
Do you think I should go to EU small claims court now? Or wait for the outcome of cash back?
Click to expand...

Terms and conditions applicable to your booking should always be your first port of call.

As per @Freelance , you also have EU 261 rights whére a flight is cancelled.
Mytrip should have advised you of these. You are unlikely to get compensation as the event, like bad weather, was outside the control of Lufthansa.

I guess your experience highlights the risks associated with not booking directly with airlines when things don't go as planned. I am wware the reason for using an OTA can offen be that the routing booked is not offered by the airline or is substantially more expensive to book direct.

I hope it works out.
 
Freelance said:
This sort of thing is very frustrating. You are in a reasonably strong position as they have agreed a full refund (hopefully in writing) and already paid it. You probably just need to keep hounding them. In my experience if it drags on this long you have to switch it up a couple of nothes and chase them more frequently and make it clear that you aren't going to go away. You should also consider making a formal complaint as this usually triggers an internal review via different channels.

Aside from a refund, did you make a compensation claim under EU 261/2004 ? It costs nothing to do so. Only issue is that they may well claim "Exceptional Circumstances" in this instance. More details here ?
Click to expand...
They said full refund on the telephone as we were at the Dublin airport and deciding whether to go home or travel. However, their app states my itinerary was canceled and took a screenshot.

The EU compensation didn't work out in my case as it was an "exceptional circumstance, outside of airlines control". But the law also states a full refund (for round trip) if the tickets were booked together, that was the case here.

Also I have an email from Lufthansa stating they were unable to rebook us and look at alternatives ourselves and get a refund.

I did lodge a complaint on MyTrip but no actions taken, as well as lodged complaint via online dispute resolution (ODR) on EU commission website. But MyTrip did not engage.
 
Update:
After numerous calls and no help via the EU commission portal, I pushed my bank to get the chargeback.

I received the remaining refund now. But my bank letter says, "The refund could be reversed if the bank who processed the transaction challenges this dispute."

What are the chances that they could reverse this?
 
masterboy123 said:
Update:
After numerous calls and no help via the EU commission portal, I pushed my bank to get the chargeback.

I received the remaining refund now. But my bank letter says, "The refund could be reversed if the bank who processed the transaction challenges this dispute."

What are the chances that they could reverse this?
Click to expand...
Mary Lou has a better chance of being taoiseach in 10 days time. :p

It's a standard response in case the "seller" provides proof that the refund was invalid.
 
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