Lastminute.com not giving me a refund

[Inastatus]

I booked return flights with Lastminute back in June. The airline later cancelled our return flight and there were no other suitable flights to get home on so I had no choice but to cancel the whole trip. The airline has said that I am entitled to a full refund for the whole trip but Lastminute are refusing to refund the money for the outbound flight because that wasn’t cancelled!

They keep spouting about different PNR numbers and that they were separate flights but I booked it as a return trip and obviously did not want to go if I couldn’t get back. The airline can’t refund me directly because I booked via Lastminute and Lastminute are refusing to request the refund. Their customer services are appalling and there appears to be be no one to complain or escalate it to so I seem to have hit a brick wall.

I have put a bad review on TrustPilot (and noted that there are lots of others who have had issues). I’ve used Lastminute before without having any problems so didn’t hesitate to use them this time. Never again!

Any advice?

Try this method - I've had great results from travel companies using it.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/resolver/

Give LastMinute a deadline for their final response (say, 7 days) and if they don't refund, make a chargeback claim on your credit card.

You'll win that - I did this with Mark Warner for a ski holiday they cancelled at the start of the pandemic and got the money back. And will never, ever, book with Mark Warner again.

Thanks for your replies. @PinkFootstool - I’ve had a look at Resolver, thank you. It states on their site that Lastminute are not responding to any complaints via them due to the impact of coronavirus 😡 However, they’ve got some good guides and templates I could use.

@Littlelightchink - good idea to go through credit card company - thanks.

Did you book by credit card? If so then get them to handle it.

@bootsyjam - yes I did use my credit card. I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to help with something like this but both you and littlelight have suggested it so I think I’ll contact them. Thanks.

Check your booking agreement VERY carefully. If you were made aware that you were being sold two one way tickets at the point you bought the holiday then technically they are right. It’s sneaky and underhand as if you book a holiday you assume it’s all covered if one element cannot be delivered. Expedia have done the same and I have had huge problems. I have agreed to accept a voucher for future travel with them as a “refund” because yes, in the small print, it was stated that the flights were sold as singles (but it wasn’t clear the impact this would have on me if one of them was cancelled).

It took me literally days on the phone to an Indian call centre to get it to this point though.

@Zodlebud, thanks. I have checked the small print and you are right, it does say the following:

‘Your trip includes flights which have been booked separately. In the case of cancellations or price or schedule changes, you will only be able to request a refund for the flight affected by this alteration. Should such circumstances arise, our Customer Service Team will help you find an alternative solution.’

This was certainly not made clear at the point I booked and in any case I would argue that an alternative solution was not possible because only one airline operates the particular route and there were no other flights available for the whole week.

I’m really hoping my credit card company can help me. I also managed to find the email address for the CEO so I have emailed him 😅

I think there has been some very underhand tactics being used by these online companies to sell holidays at the moment. Likewise I had used Expedia for years but never again. Good Luck!!!

You’re right about that. Thanks very much.