Yohann Tritz, edited by Laura Laplaud 2:29 p.m., March 18, 2022
For more than two years, the coronavirus crisis has forced some French people to cancel or postpone their trip.
A binding situation for many since it is sometimes difficult to get reimbursed.
Consequently, the number of disputes has exploded and mediators are increasingly in demand.
In 2021, requests for mediation continued to increase, by more than 10%, to exceed 20,000 disputes.
Canceled trips, postponed mainly due to Covid-19 and reimbursements sometimes difficult to obtain.
“The numerous cancellations of flights or stays, due to Covid-19, have led to a lot of congestion in the processing of files”, comments Jean-Pierre Teyssier, the tourism and travel mediator, who admits having had difficulty to follow the request.
"Opaque" repayment terms
“We have observed abnormally long delays in reimbursing passengers when reimbursement was due,” he concedes.
Reimbursement times that can sometimes exceed several months.
According to Jean-Pierre Teyssier, the "opaque" reimbursement methods pose a problem: "there are two types of difficulties. First, the fact that we had to find, without the net of case law, solutions to the unprecedented situations which were brought by the pandemic. And second point, the professionals themselves did not see how, legally and legitimately, they could respond to the complaints of their customers", he says.
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98% of cases handled last year ended in an amicable settlement.
But Jean-Pierre Teyssier is now asking for more transparency on information.
He reminds that any consumer having a dispute concerning an unreimbursed trip can report by mail or on the Internet to use his services.