EasyJet just like most other airlines has been under pressure to process refunds for their passengers and is now advising customers that they “try” to process refunds within 28 days.
At the same time they ask customers to “not contact EasyJet unless it has been more than 90 days since you made your submission for a refund” which casts doubt on their policies.
It seems that many carriers have lost control of their finances and refund procedures even in the wake of applying for government funds.
II saw this post from EasyJet on their Twitter page and it struck me as somewhat odd.
So is it 28 days or 90+ days? Why would customers need to contact the carrier if not for the purpose to chase up their refunds and seek to get their money back which according to easyJet’s own statement should take around 28 days.
Affected passengers with cancellations can access the easyJet service page her.
You need to dig a little bit because they aren’t realy forthcoming that you are entitled to a refund, instead they try to make you change the flight or request a voucher – don’t do it!
It takes a few clicks to find the respective refund request page:
You can then fill out a refund request form in the next step.
Change your flight
Because your flight has been cancelled, you can transfer for free onto any other flight within our network up until April 2021. You won’t be charged a change fee or fare difference.
Change your flight >Choose a voucher
We recognise that you may not be ready to decide upon your next trip just yet, so that’s why we’re offering you a flight voucher for the full value of your ticket. Your voucher will be valid for 12 months, so you can redeem it for flights right through to the end of Summer 2021.
Choose a voucher >We understand that you may prefer a refund. To apply for a refund you’ll need to fill in our refund application form >
The text on the form that is supposed to deter people from requesting a full refund is absolutely laughable.
We want to say thank you to customers opting to take a flight voucher, so for every request currently being made we are sending customers an additional £5 per person per flight to use against future bookings. For a family of 4 on a return trip, that’s an extra £40.
A whole £5 extra for choosing a voucher instead of cash? How generous. What a complete joke!
Conclusion
Passengers should always and without exception ask for their full money back in order to preserve their own interests. Offering passengers £5 in order to exchange cash against a voucher is an absolutely ridiculous marketing ploy, not sure who is supposed to take this seriously.
Airlines who want to issue vouchers instead of cash should take an example from the cruise lines who offer between 25-125% bonus for those customers who choose vouchers over cash. In order for me to chose a voucher over cash there needs to be a huge bonus. Cash I can invest or use any time at will while vouchers are static, don’t gain value, are usually not transferable and there is the real danger of them being invalidated in case the company goes bankrupt.
