Were you one of many UK holiday-goers whose trip got cancelled due to the pandemic?
If you received vouchers in compensation, then you must spend these before your financial protection expires.
According to research, there is still £132 million worth of unspent vouchers issued – yours could be in there.
Why Refund Credit Notes (RCNs)?
During the pandemic and its associated lockdowns, many travel businesses faced collapsing if they were to return huge cash refunds after the industry had to temporarily close and therefore opted to hand out credit notes (vouchers) instead.
In turn, holiday-goers were outraged at this solution, especially since many worried they would lose out on money if the travel business they booked with closed down.
How can customers use the vouchers?
The vouchers allow customers to either put the money towards new holidays and flights or exchange for cash under the ATOL Insurance Scheme.
However, the refund protection will end on 30 September 2022.
While this date might seem far away, with other countries going into lockdown, now is the time to think about how you will use the credit note.
When does the ATOL refund protection end?
The ATOL protection will end on 20 December 2021, revealed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). After this date, travel firms will no longer be able to issue the ATOL-protected cover.
When were RCNs first offered due to the pandemic?
The RCNs were first offered to customers from March 2020, which was the first month of lockdown for the UK.
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