Their Club Med family vacation was not meant to be. Does this spouse and children have to settle for a credit rating? | Travel Troubleshooter

Emily Moerer’s Club Med family vacation receives canceled when the pandemic hits. Then her rescheduled holiday receives canceled. Can she get a refund?

Q: We booked a weeklong holiday vacation by way of a travel agent affiliated with American Categorical (Altour) for very last spring break. We had accommodations at the Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda, which include spherical-excursion airfare, for our relatives of four.  

For the reason that of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resort closed two months just before our departure, and our journey was canceled. Club Med offered us a upcoming journey credit score for the land part and an air credit for the flights. Last May, we rebooked with Club Med for spring break 2021.  

Now the vacation resort has not reopened, and our trip has been canceled a second time. They are once more only giving us a future travel credit rating. For the airfare, which we booked via Club Med but is with American Airlines, we must use the flight credit score ahead of the close of this year.  

We have been seeking to perform by means of our travel agent, but we have gotten only delays and obfuscation. I’m not sure if it’s the travel agent or Club Med.  

At this level, we do not want to rebook, and we merely want a entire refund of both the land and air portions of our journey. Club Med offered us a journey twice and canceled it 2 times. They have had $11,573 of our funds for over a calendar year. We truly feel it is not our responsibility to invest in anything else from them due to the fact they offered us a journey they simply cannot deliver. We’ve explained to the vacation agent that we want a refund, but she states they can only rebook. Can you aid us get a refund? — Emily Moerer, Merion Station, Pennsylvania

A: Club Med simply cannot hold your money indefinitely. I believe you should have a total refund for your getaway.

I also consider you were good to get the job done with a vacation adviser. You experienced an added layer of protection. Altour should really have advocated for a speedy refund or presented an appropriate choice. It is unclear what Altour did for you. If I experienced to guess, I’d say it was not stalling but was possibly confused with other COVID-19 refund scenarios. 

A good deal of tour operators available vouchers soon after the original outbreak. And lots of customers accepted them, hoping the pandemic would be around before long. But this is the journey industry equal to “long COVID-19,” a situation the place people today proceed to practical experience COVID-19 signs or symptoms for more time than regular. It would have been simpler if Altour experienced located a way to get your 1st getaway refunded. Then you could have booked a redo oneself when it’s safer, as an alternative of scrambling to use your expiring flight vouchers.

By the way, your tough-earned funds does not expire. So why ought to your flight credits? 

You could have appealed this to American Convey. I record the names, quantities and electronic mail addresses of the Amex supervisors on my consumer advocacy website, Elliott.org. I also publish the Club Med government contacts.

I contacted Altour on your behalf. It made preparations for a total refund.