New report finds £781m of consumer cash locked up in ‘refund credit’ from COVID-19 cancelled holidays
It also found that 43% of consumers surveyed who accepted an RCN were not offered a full cash refund when their holiday was cancelled - despite this being their legal right.
A new white paper exploring the impact on consumers as a result of holidays cancelled due to COVID-19 has been published today.
As YouGov data on the volume and value of Refund Credit Notes (RCNs) that are currently in circulation comes to light, the paper – which was commissioned by one of the UK’s largest holiday companies, On the Beach, and has been written by financial broadcaster, journalist and consumer expert, Georgie Frost – has revealed that a whopping £781.5 million of consumer cash is currently tied up in said RCNs, or “IOUs” with many travel companies.
It also shows that 43% of the consumers surveyed who accepted an RCN were not offered a full cash refund when their holiday was cancelled, despite this being their legal right.
As a result of the findings, On the Beach has set out five recommendations to help restore consumer trust in the industry – including a call for holiday companies to proactively contact their customers still holding RCNs from 2020 and offer them a full cash refund.
The beach holiday expert is also encouraging consumers currently holding an RCN but don’t want one, to contact their holiday provider now and ask for a full cash refund.
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It’s estimated that around 8.1 million people had a package holiday cancelled due to COVID-19.
Only half of those with a cancelled holidays received a full cash refund, and 851,000 (nearly 11%) accepted an RCN rather than cash, with the white paper outlining that over a million people with an RCN or rebooking were not offered a cash refund at the point of cancellation, even though this is a legal requirement.
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What’s more is that 52% of consumers surveyed were unaware of their legal right to cash.
“It’s sad to think that a family who has saved for months or even years for their one summer holiday abroad has had to fight to get their money back, and in many cases have not been provided with full and transparent information of what they are entitled to when their holiday was cancelled.” said Anna Richardson, who has written a foreword for the white paper.
“Looking forward to your holiday is a massive part of the whole experience, but while there is still so much uncertainty and disruption, people are understandably lacking the confidence to plan and book again because they’re unsure of their rights if it gets cancelled.
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“The smoke and mirrors being used by some holiday companies is wrong.
“I urge people who had their holiday cancelled to use their right to a full cash refund and contact their travel provider today to ask for their cash.”
Simon Cooper – Chief Executive of On the Beach – added: “COVID-19 shocked the travel industry and it was challenging for everyone in the early months to manage the disruption and volume of cancellations.
“We’re over 14 months on now and yet the knock on impact of refunds on consumer confidence continues to affect the industry. Even now, only a third of people say they would consider booking a holiday to a green list destination, so we have to do something to restore their confidence.
“Without it the industry will continue to be in trouble.”
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He continued: “There are millions of people still holding these IOUs, in some cases over a year later with very limited opportunity to go on holiday [and] this is all because some travel companies actively avoided offering cash and used their customers’ money for future holidays as cash flow. No one would expect to receive a loan for this long and pay no interest, so why should these companies continue to hold onto their customers’ money for future holidays?
“To begin regaining consumer confidence and trust in the industry, we want those people with refund credit notes from 2020 to be refunded in full.
“We’re also urging regulators to enforce that holiday companies and airlines hold their customers’ money in separate, regulated trust accounts until the date of travel.”
Why are RCNs not in the best interests of consumers?
Where consumers are not aware that RCNs can be exchanged for cash, RCNs hold them to one travel provider, which means that they don’t have their own cash in the bank to spend as and when they want, or put into a savings account earning interest.
RCNs remove the consumer’s ability to shop around for the best holiday deals and dates when they want to rebook.
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It’s also reported that 6% of all vouchers issued in the UK go completely unused.
What does the report recommend?
On the Beach has set out five recommendations in the white paper to help rebuild consumer confidence in the travel industry, which are:
Automatic Refunds: Automatically refund customers in cash when RCNs have been held for a year.
Proactive Contact: Customers holding RCNs from 2020 should be contacted proactively, notified of their rights and offered a full cash refund.
New RCNs Offered Fairly: Any new RCNs offered to customers who have holidays cancelled in the future must be accompanied with the alternative choice of a full cash refund, with equal prominence.
Financial Protection: Greater protections for customers’ money with ring-fenced trust accounts should be a requirement for all ATOL holders and airlines.
Greater Transparency: Regulators to report on the number and value of RCNs in circulation, allowing potential customers to make informed decisions on who to book future holidays with.
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You can find more information, and access advice and assistance regarding RCNs from OnTheBeach here.
Featured Image – Unsplash / Dan Gold
UK News
Gavin and Stacey will return with a 2024 Christmas special for its final episode
Danny Jones
After some pretty big rumblings earlier this year, it’s finally been confirmed that Gavin and Stacey will be returning for a Christmas special this year and what will be its last-ever episode.
The beloved British comedy last aired back in 2019 with their previous Christmas special and fans of the show have been crying out for more ever since.
Well, it turns out they’ll be getting just one more go around the block as co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones revealed that they have now finished writing their third and final Xmas special which will tie a festive bow on the trio of series which started all the way back in 2007.
Sharing a picture of the script on social media, the pair wrote: “Some news… It’s official!!! We have finished writing the last ever episode of Gavin and Stacey. See you on Christmas Day, BBC One. Love Ruth and James”.
However, what was actually going on was a bit of a red herring as she carefully chose to talk down any notions of another series but didn’t categorically dismiss the potential Christmas special.
In fact, she actually went on to add: “All I can say is, if there was something to say on that front, James [Corden] and I would happily announce it, we would.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve done. Well played, Nessa.
As for details surrounding the final chapter in the Gavin and Stacey story, we have very few details at this stage but fans of the iconic show will already be wondering how they might pick up from where certain threads left off.
Production companies Baby Cow, Corden’s Fulwell 73 and Jones’ Tidy Productions are all behind the special and, given the momentous occasion, it will likely have a primetime slot on the TV guide when it finally rolls around this holiday season.
So get your remotes, baubles and bhunas at the ready because Gavin and Stacey is coming back for one last time and it’s sure to be a TV event that people all across the UK will remember for years to come.
Featured Images — BBC/James Corden (via Instagram)
UK News
Manchester Museum has been shortlisted for the 2024 Art Fund Museum of the Year
Danny Jones
Another bit of very well-deserved recognition for our city as the Manchester Museum has been shortlisted for the 2024 Art Fund Museum of the Year.
Organised by the independent and membership-based British charity, which raises funds through the collection of important works and artefacts, it’s world the single largest museum prize in the world.
Shining as one of the crown jewels in Manchester’s cultural scene, the museum has been named among five other impressive finalists for this year’s award, which is evaluating inspiring projects from autumn 2022 through to winter 2023.
This wonderful news comes at a good time for Manchester Museum, which recently welcomed its one-millionth visitor since reopening to the public in February last year, following a £15 million values-led redevelopment. It really is back with a bang.
With Art Fund keeping audiences and communities at their heart, the highly revered accolade has a particular focus on community engagement, sustainable ways of working, and demonstration of ambition by reinventing what it means to be ‘the best’ museum for the audiences of today and tomorrow.
For context, the Manchester Museum (which sits as part of the University of Manchester) was the most visited indoor museum in the North of England throughout 2023, despite being shut for an entire month, welcoming a total of 790,332 people through their doors.
Speaking on this year’s selection, director Jenny Waldman, who heads up the 2024 judging panel, has applauded each of this year’s finalists for delivering “something for everyone” and keeping “community at the very heart of their programming.”
“Their commitment to innovative partnerships whilst operating within an extremely challenging funding environment is incredible”, she added. “I’m so pleased to see the way they support and centre young people through their work.
“Across a wide range of size and scale, these organisations are all real leaders in their field. I urge everyone to go and visit these extremely special spaces.” So do we.
As for the museum themselves, DirectorEsme Ward said of the announcement: “Manchester Museum’s redevelopment was the result of 10 years’ collective endeavour, so being shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year is a moment of joy for everyone to share in, from staff and partners to our communities and Manchester itself.
“It is an affirmation of museums’ power to bring people together in building a more inclusive, hopeful future.”
Built on self-proclaimed values of “inclusion, imagination and care”, the museum’s recent reopening has positioned it at the forefront of the sector here in the UK, with new galleries, partnerships, visitor facilities, sector-leading programming and digital innovations.
These updates, along with their existing and award-winning South Asia Gallery – the largest and first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the experiences and contribution of the South Asian diaspora co-curated by members from the community itself – are what have helped put it in the running for this prestigious prize.
Visitor numbers for the first year following reopening were up 157% on 2019/20, with 57% of those being new attendees and more than one in seven’s first trip to a museum ever.
The other four shortlisted museums are the Craven Museum in Skipton, North Yorkshire; Dundee Contemporary Arts, the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Young V&A – Victoria and Albert Museum, also in the capital.
The winning museum will be announced at a ceremony at the National Gallery in London on 10 July and will receive £120,000 to put towards internal projects and cultural work. Better still, £15,000 will be given to each of the four other finalists, so everyone’s a winner in a way.
Congratulations again to everyone at Manchester Museum and well done for all your incredible hard work – we can’t wait to be right about you again in a couple of months when we’re confident you’ll be rightly named as the winner of the 2024 Art Fund Museum of the Year.