Posted at 4:00 p.m.
I would like to know if FICAV has started to reimburse customers for travel packages canceled due to COVID-19. Where is it?
Monique Lavallee
Endless ! The word is weak to describe the expectations of travelers who have submitted a claim to the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents (FICAV).
After 22 months, several customers whose trip was canceled due to the pandemic have still not seen the color of their money. But it must be said that the FICAV, which depends on Quebec, was itself delayed by Ottawa, which took a long time to react.
A quick reminder: while the American and European authorities quickly ordered carriers to reimburse customers at the start of the pandemic, the Canadian Transportation Agency (OTC) instead flew to the defense of carriers who were content to offer travel credits. This pseudo-solution has also served as an excuse for certain insurers to also refuse to compensate customers who have found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
Travelers were held hostage for more than a year before Ottawa changed its tune and forced carriers to reimburse them, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar bailout.
All the while, FICAV was waiting for Ottawa to get hooked up. It was not until last October that he sent forms to claimants asking them to update their files.