Two years after seeing COVID-19 unravel her travel plans, Roxanne Delisle never expected to wait so long to get her money back. As travel advocates criticize the industry, the final call is approaching for 13,000 unresponsive travellers.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Each month, the travel agency Orleans Travel and Cruise Center in Orleans follows up with Air Canada. Each time, the carrier replies that M’s fileme Delisle is in treatment and you have to be patient. The problem: the payment does not arrive.
“I understand that these are extraordinary circumstances, but I think that after two years, we have shown enough patience, don’t you think? “says M.me Delisle, who contacted The Press because she doesn’t want to let go.
The case of Roxanne Delisle illustrates the bureaucratic maze through which airline agencies, customers and employees must navigate.
Curiously, the tickets for her spouse and daughter, purchased at the same time with the same credit card, were refunded a few days after her travel agency requested them from Air Canada in the spring of 2021.
For request of The PressAir Canada checked Roxanne Delisle’s file.
“In this specific case, I confirm that Air Canada has not received any request for reimbursement from the travel agency in question,” said Pascale Déry, spokesperson for the carrier. However, now that this file has been brought to our attention, we will communicate directly with the client in order to resolve the situation. »
The travel agency claims to have submitted the request. As with all of her claims, she did not receive an e-mail confirmation of receipt from Air Canada.
“It’s not a pleasant situation, but I will have no choice but to continue doing business with Air Canada, because there is little competition in Canada,” laments the traveler.
Whose fault is it ?
A year after seeing the Trudeau government fly to the aid of several airlines, it is not normal that consumers are still waiting, says the president and CEO of Late Flight, Jacob Charbonneau.
This one points to Ottawa’s approach.
“The agreements were piecemeal with each carrier,” says Mr. Charbonneau. Deadlines varied from company to company. Refunds only affected Canadian carriers, not foreign companies. It was done to protect the carriers. »
Refunds were not automatic. You had to ask. Some carriers, like WestJet, have not received federal government assistance. There was therefore no obligation to repay.
Unlike places like the United States, airlines have been able to issue customers travel credits rather than cash back while waiting for help from Ottawa. They said they acted in this way because they did not have the necessary cash.
The situation has created confusion among consumers, said Sylvie De Bellefeuille, lawyer at Option consommateurs.
“There are people who had lobbied their travel agency or carrier and didn’t know they had to reapply for reimbursement,” she explains. Some have missed the boat. The deadlines were very short to make a request for reimbursement. »
Travelers Wanted
When the claims cannot be reimbursed by the carriers, the file falls into the hands of the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents (FICAV). PwC, the firm mandated to manage these claims, has no news from 13,587 claimants while in 3,710 files, the information provided is incomplete, but the people have all been contacted.
“There are therefore almost 18,000 Quebecers who could be eligible for a refund, but who have not done the necessary follow-up,” says Charles Tanguay, spokesperson for the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC).
“Between October 5, 2021 and today, we have made three reminders,” he continues. In May, the Office called on a firm of telephone operators to reach these people directly, i.e. a fourth follow-up1. »
According to the most recent FICAV data, updated on May 2, 7,048 claims for compensation were settled by sending a check or by bank transfer, 2,411 files are being processed, 997 files have been rejected because claims were ineligible, and 15,677 claims were canceled as they were reimbursed by a third party, such as the airline, travel agency or insurer.
Initially, 43,430 claims were sent to FICAV.
For the moment, the OPC is not able to provide an estimate of the complete end of repayments.
Those who are still waiting for a refund must be patient, according to Mr. Charbonneau. Some files are more complex to process, for example when a ticket was purchased with a foreign online agency that no longer exists.