Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Flip

Original poster

Camp America will not give full refund

17 replies

BetterCare · 28/07/2020 13:55

My niece was due to travel to America, this Summer, for Camp America.

She paid in full the cost of the package which included flights. Camp America then booked her flights for her.

Obviously, because of Covid19, she was unable to attend. She was given the option to either defer her place or to get a refund. She made the decision to receive a refund as she will be at university this time next year.

Camp America has now come back to her to say they can not give her a full refund because they book non-refundable flights and United Airlines will not refund them.

Could someone please advise where she stands legally. Does she have the right to a full refund because she paid her monies to Camp America and it was their decision to book non-refundable flights?

Thank you in advance for your help.

OP posts:

underneaththeash · 28/07/2020 17:53

Did the fight to the US go or was it cancelled? Did she actually book flights through camp America or another travel agent?

My0My · 28/07/2020 19:18

Could she not change her mind and defer? School summer holidays are very long in the USA. Could she not go earlier? Our universities generally stop mid June and don’t start again until September.

Otherwise if she’s cancelled and the flight still went she might have a problem because she’s disinclined to travel. Not sure insurance will cover this either.

lukasiak · 28/07/2020 19:22

I have a niece who was in the same position. They forwarded the email to the travel insurance company and got the money back that way.

prh47bridge · 29/07/2020 07:51

The package travel regulations apply. Camp America cannot perform the contract due to circumstances outside their control. They are therefore required to provide a full refund. Their inability to get a refund from United Airlines is their problem, not yours.

Original poster

BetterCare · 29/07/2020 07:55

@underneaththeash As per my post, Camp America booked the flights. I don't know if the flights still went. My understanding at the time she couldn't fly to America due to lockdown rules.

@My0My As per my post they gave because of lockdown rules to either defer her place or get a refund. The question is not whether she would change her mind or not. I posted in Legal to get some legal advice as to the situation with them not being prepared to give a full refund.

OP posts:

Original poster

BetterCare · 29/07/2020 07:57

@lukasiak I will check. Her Visa interview was even cancelled so I am not sure how far she got and if she has travel insurance. I will ask her.

OP posts:

Original poster

BetterCare · 29/07/2020 07:57

@prh47bridge That is what I thought and we did respond to Camp America to say as such but were not 100% sure.

OP posts:

MorningManiacMusic · 29/07/2020 08:09

If the flight left, then it's unlikely she will be refunded. A lot of these "study holidays/work experience/voluntary" packages are asking students to defer, you obviously have the right to say no, you'd prefer a refund. But, lots of national govts have included protective clauses for their travel industries in their emergency Covid legislation. It's a situation where both parties are in the right, despite saying completely different things.

The company I work for has refunded everything even for "change of mind" but the students won't get their flight money back because the flight went and they were on non-refundable tickets. They have received vouchers which allow them to ask subsequently for a refund from the airline if not used in 18 months.

It sounds as though your niece is in the same situation as our students, it might be worth checking United's latest policies as all the airlines are changing constantly. When I took the vouchers for my kids, they were non-transferable and for 12 months, that's now been changed to 18 months and transferable. Option to have refund instead but with a longer wait time.

Good luck!

Zoflorabore · 29/07/2020 08:11

The US has not been receiving international flights for a while now and Camp America usually starts end of May/beginning of June which means that the flight wouldn’t have gone ahead anyway so she is entitled to a full refund.

That may be a different angle of approach to them. Your niece had absolutely no control over the situation, same as them and nobody should be profiting from her not going. Good luck

MorningManiacMusic · 29/07/2020 08:12

Wrt insurance, most travel companies in this sector insist you either take out theirs, or provide confirmation of your own at the time of booking so it's unlikely she doesn't have it, it probably won't make any difference to the refund though as it will presumably have been taken before Covid and in any case won't cover pandemics or a simple change of mind (flight goes, but you don't) But you never know.

bruffin · 29/07/2020 08:15

Dd was going back to do Camp America for 3rd year but was booking on her own. She couldnt get a visa interview which she paid direct to US gov and that hasnt been refunded
Camp America does its own insurance as part of the package so it might be covered under that. I think ir covers travel and health but not luggage.

Original poster

BetterCare · 29/07/2020 08:18

@MorningManiacMusic Thank you for this. I will check with her. I don't know if it makes a difference but they gave the option, on their website, to either defer or get a refund and at the time of refund they didn't state that they would not refund in full.

I will check with regards to insurance.

@Zoflorabore Thank you I will get her to check with regards to the flights. I am sure she was due to travel late May, early June.

OP posts:

MorningManiacMusic · 29/07/2020 08:29

Do check directly with the airline as well, and see (irrespective of CA) what their Covid change of travel plan policy is. She can't absolutely get nothing back as far as I know, at least she should get a voucher.

Original poster

BetterCare · 29/07/2020 10:11

@bruffin & @MorningManiacMusic I will get her to check.

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 30/07/2020 08:01

MorningManiacMusic is wrong. Any holiday booked in the UK is covered by UK law regardless of the destination. If the holiday includes travel and accommodation it is a package holiday. If the operator is unable to provide the holiday they must provide a full refund. Whether or not the flights actually departed is irrelevant. Whether or not the tickets purchased by the operator were non-refundable is irrelevant.

A significant number of travel operators are attempting to avoid their legal responsibilities. I have some sympathy as many will struggle to survive if they have to provide full refunds to everyone. But the law is clear.

bruffin · 31/07/2020 12:57

I dont think Camp America is counted as a travel agent. They are more an employment agency .
Its not a holiday,.
Camp America provide the introduction to the camps, help with the visa and and book the plane tickets if required (suspect they get discount for block booking) and health and somesort of travel insurance at a price. The applicants are interviewed in the UK to see if they are suitable. They provide job fairs and put the applicants on a database where the camps will look at and then contact the applicants if they are suitable for their camp.
The camp pays the wages, provides the accomodation and food.

bruffin · 31/07/2020 13:01

I would also say any young person going on Camp America scheme will be soon disallusioned if they think they are going on a holiday. DD been twice and was going a 3rd time but its very hard work, on duty from 7 in the morning to 10 at night with only they odd day off

Flip