Consumer advice center informs: Tour operators are obliged to take part in Corona return campaigns
Around 67,000 tourists have received cost notices from the Foreign Office for the repatriation campaign due to the corona pandemic. According to the consular law, holidaymakers should contribute 200 to 1,000 euros towards the costs totaling 94 million euros. What many people don't know is that you can get the money back from the tour operator. The Brandenburg Consumer Center (VZB) provides information about this.
During the first wave of the pandemic in March, many tourists were stuck in distant regions. There were entry restrictions, quarantine measures and restrictions on public life around the world. At the same time, international air and travel traffic came to a standstill. As a result, many tour operators were no longer able to fulfill their obligation to bring holidaymakers back to Germany.
Package holidaymakers can recover costs
“By taking part in the return campaign, the package holidaymakers have remedied a lack of travel themselves and can demand reimbursement of the costs,”
emphasizes Robert Bartel, legal expert at VZB.
“Since no flights were offered, in our opinion the normally required deadline for the tour operator was not necessary,”
said the lawyer. The fact that the Corona pandemic was an unavoidable, extraordinary circumstance that caused the problems is no excuse.
“After the start of the trip, the travel provider bears the risk of such a circumstance,”
explains Bartel.
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Affected holidaymakers should act quickly once they have received the cost notice:
“Check the notice for accuracy, settle the claim and inform the tour operator of the costs you have incurred. Give the contractual partner a reasonable deadline for reimbursement.
said the consumer advocate.
“If they have not already done so, package travelers should also assert their claim for a reduction if the trip is canceled prematurely.”
The consumer advice center, for example, can help.
Backpackers also receive part of the costs back
Even individual travelers do not necessarily have to bear the costs of the return campaign: If they had booked a flight with an airline in the EU, they can in any case request that the airline reimburse the price for the flight that was canceled.
“However, the chances of getting the difference between the flight price and the additional costs back through the return campaign are slim,”
said Bartel. There is no compensation payment under the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance if the cancellation occurs due to COVID 19, for example if flights or entry are banned.
Advice at VZB
• telephone advice, make an appointment on 0331 / 98 22 999 5 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or online at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/terminbuchung ,
• Email advice at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/emailberatung
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Source: Brandenburg Consumer Center
Article image: Shutterstock / By Eduard Goricev
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