Wigan holidaymaker angry at Lastminute refund refusal

Paul Johnson booked a four-night break in Torremolinos, Spain, with Lastminute.com for April 17, but his flight was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

He was due to fly with Jet2 who refunded his money within four days - but Mr Johnson said Lastminute.com has refused to refund the £156 he paid for his accommodation.

The firm has told him that the refund does not depend on them and that it needed to follow up the policy of the provider, which is that there is no refund in the event of cancellation.

But the Swinley 43-year-old, who works in the NHS, believes the decision is unfair and said that he had not cancelled the accommodation.

He said: “My flight was cancelled and Jet2 refunded my money within four days. I tried to contact Lastminute.com to do the same but they have refused and would not except calls until seven days before my trip. “

He said the firm also expects him to use accommodation that he can physically get to, but travel restrictions due to the coronavirus prevent him from doing that.

He said: “I have also asked for vouchers as I believed I was booking with Lastminute.com, but apparently I was not and they have rejected this request.

“I think that this is unfair that I am to lose out on a refund as the laws of the land will not allow me to attend. I do not want to cancel, I just can’t make it.”

A spokesman for Lastminute.com said: “Our customer service team is on hand to offer customers full support and answer any questions they might have in regards to their booking. Unfortunately due to the large volume of requests, we are facing delays in replying to our customers.

“Be assured that we have flagged this booking to our escalation team so they can review the booking with both partners (airline and hotel). Our customer service teams are doing their best and should contact the customer with more information.”