It is worth asking them directly.
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Hi Georgie
As you will notice, I have moved your post to an existing thread where there is discussion about the same topic.
You may wish to have a look at the earlier discussion and see what has already been covered.
You may also be able to try for a reversal (refund) from your credit card institution.
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Do you know who is taking that amount? It is worth following up. For example if part is from airlines, many airlines are waiving cancellation fees so Tour Radar and Flag Travel should not be levying them.
It might pay to research the individual suppliers and if they are waiving fees, the middlemen should not be taking them even if they legally can. At the least you would be able to call them out if that were the case.
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My sister booked a 1 way flight from Adelaide to Melbourne for Easter through Flight Centre. She was going to stay with a friend and have them and her husband drive her back. With the border closure all 3 of them would need to go into self-isolation, which isn’t feasible. Plus she has asthma putting her at higher risk if she contracts COVID-19
She bought travel insurance the same day she booked it, but it was booked the day after WHO declared a pandemic, so am thinking travel insurance wouldn’t cover it. She couldn’t get through to Flight Centre on the phone so she contacted them via webform asking what her options are. She got a response back tonight to say that her she was had been booked onto an earlier flight on the day she was due to leave. So she;s a bit unsure what to to do now. I’ve only ever booked through the airlines own sites, and after this it seems the best way to go
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Hi BBG
Today I received a message that my tour is now cancelled (no airfares). I paid Tour Radar but operator is Flag Travel Holidays. Still being offered a credit. If tour is not proceeding, is this grounds for a full refund do you think? I am currently on hold to Tour Radar.
Cheers
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I hope you are not still on hold 
From Flag Travels T&C, bold added.
ESCORTED TOUR CANCELLATIONS BY FLAG TRAVEL : From time-to-time a tour departure may be cancelled for lack of participation or other operational reasons. In such a case, FLAG TRAVEL ’ sole responsibility is to provide a complete refund of monies received without any other liability whatsoever including any additional costs or fees related to cancellation of airline tickets or other travel reservations not made by FLAG TRAVEL
Tour Radar has their own T&C that are a bit less focused, but should be read to help answer your question. Since Flag Travel should refund, you could reasonably expect Tour Radar to do likewise. Unknown is how Flag is actually responding to Tour Radar.
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Hi all,
We’re about to be live with a special travel insurance Q&A. Now’s a great time to jump in with your questions, you can view the stream here:
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An email from Qantas regarding their changes for coronavirus.
Dear XXXX,
This is a challenging time for everyone as we all navigate our way through the Coronavirus crisis.
At Qantas, we’re aware that travel plans are just one part of people’s lives that have been significantly disrupted.
We want to provide you with as much flexibility as possible so that you can have the confidence to travel with us, when the time is right for you.
Qantas flight credit extension
From today, anyone holding a Qantas ticket for travel before 31 July 2020 can get a flight credit and retain the full value of their booking. You need to do this by 30 April 2020 . The flight credit is valid for booking and travel by 31 December 2021 . This gives you more than 18 months to plan, rebook and travel.
If you already have a Qantas flight credit issued on or after 31 January 2020 , this will also be automatically extended but may take a few weeks to update in our system.
No change fees apply when rebooking but please note that the flight credit can only be used towards a fare of equal or higher value than the original fare you purchased.
Find out more about flight credits and your options here.
Our call centres are under significant pressure responding to the rapidly evolving travel situation. We thank you for your patience, and ask that you avoid calling unless you’re due to travel in the next 48 hours.
Alternatively, you can wait until we make the changes. If your flight is affected, we will contact you as soon as possible with your options.
Booked through a travel agent?
If your flight was booked through a travel agency or third-party website, please contact these companies directly to make changes to your booking.
Lounge closures and membership extension
As a result of new government restrictions announced this week, all Qantas domestic and international lounges are closed until further notice. Our team will be contacting all paid Qantas Club members next week with information about extensions of these memberships. Stay up to date here.
This is in addition to our recently announced automatic 12-month tier status extension for Qantas Frequent Flyers. Visit qantas.com/statusextension for more information.
These are trying times for everyone. We hope that these additional options will provide some relief and certainty for you, our customers.
Warm regards,
Stephanie Tully
Group Chief Customer Officer
Stay up to date
We will continue to stay in touch via email for significant changes. As the situation continues to evolve, you can stay up to date with all the latest information on our dedicated Coronavirus travel updates page.|
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I was wondering if anyone else paid for flights with bank transfer and tried to raise a dispute ?
I made payment to the travel agent for flight fare with Poli. Poli was used to transfer money from my bank account to the travel agent’s account. Raising a dispute on a bank transfer is not the same as raising a dispute on a credit card transaction. Apparently, it is harder. Now that my flights have been cancelled, and I am unable to reach the travel agent, I am trying to raise a dispute on the bank transfer.
Has anyone else had experience of this kind ?
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Welcome to the .community @raygl
I am not aware you can lodge a ‘dispute’ on or about a cash transfer unless the funds were sent to an incorrect account and can be recovered. A bank transfer is essentially paying with cash and any refund or credit is at the whim of the seller, in this case your travel agent. Poli does not have buyer protection like paypal. Their complaints paragraph is short and to the point at this page.
Can anyone refine or correct that?
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@BrendanMays, @jhook, @JodiBird
There are so many variations on this theme of people having booked and not being able to travel. Therefore potentially losing thousands of dollars each. All these losses added together, this could be a very large amount?
Perhaps it is time for Choice to try to put some pressure on the Federal Government to sort this out cancelled travel cost?
As an aside, I know of a group who had booked overseas accommodationf during May in northern Italy (COVID-19 HOT spot), but the venue steadfastly refuses to give a credit or refund. So far the travel insurer has been unwilling to help. Loss to the group… over $10,000 just for this one location.
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What you have said is also my understanding in relation to bank or EFT transfers. Our bank when we do external EFTs comes up with a warning that external EFTs can be near impossible to recover if a mistake is made and that one should check BSB and account details before confirming the EFT.
In relation to credit cards, there can be a time limit in relation to when charge backs can occur. They usually are up to about 120 days can can vary between credit card providers. One needs to check with their provider to see what the time limitation is.
This is what the FOSA says in relation to EFTs…
The above and also what @PhilT has indicated is correct as one can’t request recover of funds as the FOSA states:
What if I paid the right person, but they didn’t supply the goods or services?
If you transferred money to the right person, but they didn’t supply the goods or service,
or the goods are not what you were expecting, this is not a mistaken internet payment.
Your bank or credit union cannot help you get the money back because you authorised
the payment. Some websites have a buyer protection policy and you should contact the
operator of the website to see if you can claim under that policy.
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So what happens where Qantas have cancelled the flight and you’ve paid on credit card, can you go to the credit card company for not providing service? Qantas are offering me a credit, but like others I do’t know what the future holds and need the money back.
Paid with Amex
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Sorry. I just posted the Qantas email for everyone’s information but I am sure other forum members will respond to your question.
OK thanks I’ll repost I guess
Sorry if my answer was not clear. No need to repost as other members will read your original post and respond as appropiate.
Cheers.
We purchased a cruise trip from Mauritius to Venice from Cruise Café mid last year. The 27 night cruise with Costa Mediterranea was supposed to start from Mauritius on the 14/3/2020 and finish in Venice 10/4/2020.
Costa cancelled the cruise on the 2nd day whilst still in Mauritius. It was scheduled to sail 9.00pm on the 2nd day.
Costa paid for overnight accommodation in a hotel, meals, transfers and return Emirates flights back home.
Costa is offering a 150% refund voucher for a future cruise with them within 12 months.
Can we insist on a cash refund instead of the 150% refund voucher as Costa may go bankrupt and also we may not be in a position to do a cruise within the 12 months depending on our circumstances and what the Corona Virus does? How soon would a refund be issued?
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Hi Ray & welcome to the forum.
I have moved your post to an existing thread with other COVID travel related issues.
As you will see from other posts here, the 150% credit offer is amazing. On the Costa useful information page, there is information about their travel insurance.program. I would suggest you contact the insurers and see if you can make a claim through them to get a refund.
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Asked for a refund for domestic flight coming in April. Only offered Voucher which expires in 6 months. Pandemic may not be over by then. Any advice please?
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Welcome to the .community @ShonaC
The Jetstar website states the voucher must be redeemed within 6 months for travel within 12 months, so it is not quite as dire as first appears.
There is also a page showing Jetstars ‘customer guarantees’ including their vouchers program. It appears they are doing nothing special for their ticketed passengers who will not be flying anywhere anytime soon, however as yours is a domestic flight you are probably in better circumstances than those having international destinations.
You may be well served to read this topic from its beginning regarding what others are experiencing as well as your possible rights.
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