Refund Status

data point; refund posted to cc July 30, dated july 20.

flight cancelled on march 20, for a march 31 MAN JFK.

Miles + money, miles were refunded immediately, and full refund of money

Virgin have not yet sent any email notification of the refund.

was about 10 days shy of the "refund in 60 days " from the email received June 10

I've been waiting for refunds on three itineraries:

* LHR - SFO, one return ticket, purchased 28/12/2019, outbound 30/05/2020, refund requested 16/05/2020
* LHR - BOS, three return tickets, purchased 29/08/2019, outbound 13/06/2020, refund requested 02/06/2020
* LHR - LAX, two return tickets (with miles upgrades), purchased 01/02/2020, outbound 09/07/2020, refund requested 08/06/2020

I requested all three refunds by text; all were confirmed by text as having been logged for processing. The miles for the upgrade on the third itinerary above were refunded almost immediately. I received emails confirming the logging of the refund requests for the first two itineraries above, but oddly, never received an email confirming the logging of the refund request for the third itinerary above (even though the miles for the upgrade were refunded).

I purchased all three itineraries directly from VS by UK AmEx. I have received none of the three refunds yet. I was told "120 days, sooner if possible" when I requested the refunds. I do understand that it hasn't been that long yet--it's only coming up on 90 days for the refund requested earliest.

These three itineraries add up to a few thousand pounds. I've read from other V-Flyers that I have the option of filing a Section 75 claim with AmEx UK for canceled itineraries, and that AmEx UK tends to issue refunds very swiftly (though the refund is subject to review after AmEx UK consults the merchant).

I confess that as the delay of the refunds through VS's slow process drags on (despite their announcement that they are reducing delays on refund processing), I begin to wonder whether I'd be better off just filing Section 75 claims with AmEx UK. Can I ask V-Flyers with experience: what are the pros and cons of my going the Section 75 route with AmEx UK, and is there any problem with filing a Section 75 claim after having requested a refund from VS, and become dissatisfied with the delay in issuance of the refund by VS?

Thanks,
-Brad

[mitchja]

At the end of the day it’s your money so it’s up to you but you will now struggle to find anyone who has got any remaining sympathy or understanding for VS due to the way they are treating all their customers when it comes to refunds.

AA refunded me in 3 days for a couple of AA flights I had booked for August. VS are now approaching 6 weeks and nothing so far

I’ve currently had 2 flights cancelled now. One I’ve left open, the other I’m waiting for a refund. A third flight in September is probably shortly going to get cancelled leaving me with 1 remaining booking for the New Year.

In total I’ve spent over £7000 for those 4 Upper Class bookings this year. VS are not getting another penny out now of me until I get back the money I am owed in refunds.

I’ve also spoken to Flying Club about a further status extension and apparently so far nothing is planned, though it’s been constantly monitored.

In case anyone isn’t sure, you are perfectly entitled to start a section 75 or chargeback claim whilst still waiting for a promised refund from VS or any other supplier. You just need to be careful that you only 1 refund from any of the options available to you.

That's not great James.

I'm contemplating starting the process for our now cancelled September flights.

You just need to be careful that you only 1 refund from any of the options available to you.

Just to clarify though, I'm assuming you mean you can only keep one of the "refunds".

No idea if anyone knows this but if you S75 it and it comes through and then so does VS refund. Is the S75 undone automatically or do you have to tell the card company to take it back?

[mitchja]

Sorry yes that’s what’s I meant. Usually though the company is aware of the section 75 claim as I believe they have to co-operate with the credit card company over the claim so in theory the company should close their end of the case at the same time once the claim is complete, sometimes they don’t though.

Thanks, James. I'm sorry to hear we've been in similar situations about long-overdue refunds for canceled VS itineraries.

I just filed Section 75 claims for all three itineraries on the AmEx UK web site. Very straightforward, and as others have reported, within seconds of filing each one, for a total of around GBP 2500, the site showed that all these amounts have been credited to my account. I understand from others that the credits may be retracted later if AmEx UK determines that VS has in fact delivered the promised service, but I am reasonably confident that won't happen (or if it does, I have evidence of the flight cancellations, and my texts requesting refunds).

Best of luck to all who've requested refunds with obtaining them on a shorter timescale!

-Brad

Thanks James.

Back on topic, although I hope it doesn't happen again based on this thread I do wonder if I need to switch to an AmEx.

Been waiting around 40 days so far for our refund. Paid with a Virgin Money Credit Card.

Noticed on virgin money's website they have a claim form - https://uk.virginmoney.com/vmforms/credit-card-dispute/

It says about using it after 30 days of requesting a refund but not getting one, but also says it's not a Section 75 claim, and if you want to do that you need to mail them. Just wondering if anyone has used this online form, and if it works? Seems like they will contact the vendor and try and get the money back without going down the section 75 route?

I could be wrong of course! Thoughts appreciated

Thanks
Ben

[mitchja]

Welcome to V-Flyer

That online form is for charge back claims. Don't use it for a section 75 claim.

If you want to make a section 75 claim with VM, you need to follow the instructions on that same page:

This form isn’t for Section 75 claims. To make a Section 75 you can write to us at:

Virgin Money Credit Card address: PO Box 10234, Wigston, LE18 9FA or
Virgin Atlantic Credit Card address: PO Box 10609, Wigston, LE18 9FA

Please include a covering letter with the following information:

Your Virgin Money or Virgin Atlantic Credit Card number.
Amount and date of the transaction or purchase.
Name of the company and details of your purchase or transaction.
Reason for the claim.

You should also include any relevant documents (i.e. receipts or emails which confirm your transaction and any contact with the company you made the purchase through). We will keep you updated as we process your claim.

I waited 4 weeks and now I'm in the process of a section 75 claim here now. I'm a little over 6 weeks now since VS initial acknowledged the refund.

I sent everything they asked for to the above address (recorded delivery) which included a covering letter, a copy of the original booking email confirmation from VS showing the total cost and date booked, a copy of the cancelation email VS sent me, a copy of the card statement showing the VS transaction along with screen dumps of the WhatsApp conversation I had wit h VS requesting the refund.

VM wrote back to me a little over a week later confirming and acknowledging my section 75 claim request and stating that the transaction has now been put in dispute on my account. The means you now longer have to pay interest on it or make a payment towards that transaction amount.

In my case neither are applicable as I pay my balance off every month anyway.

Another letter received the following day stating they have now submitted the claim to VS and are awaiting their response.

Hi James,

Thank you for your reply

Out of interest, is the Section 75 Claim supposed to happen quicker than Virgin are taking to process refunds normally?

Or is it a case that getting a section 75 claim in now, protects incase they go bankrupt whilst waiting for a refund from them directly?

Thank you in advance.

[mitchja]

I don’t know really but I suspect it should speed things up. Do remember though that with a section 75 claim you then also have the FOS behind you because it now falls under a financial complaint.

My refund of taxes from a cancelled rewards flight (they cancelled not me) has finally posted to my credit card.

130 days after I claimed it.

Suggest everyone raise a charge back to get your money quicker.

Mine was only £100 so no biggie, but TBHO I would have raised a charge back if I'd have know it would take this long, just to clear it up quicker.

I've been waiting for refunds on three itineraries:

* LHR - SFO, one return ticket, purchased 28/12/2019, outbound 30/05/2020, refund requested 16/05/2020
* LHR - BOS, three return tickets, purchased 29/08/2019, outbound 13/06/2020, refund requested 02/06/2020
* LHR - LAX, two return tickets (with miles upgrades), purchased 01/02/2020, outbound 09/07/2020, refund requested 08/06/2020

I requested all three refunds by text; all were confirmed by text as having been logged for processing. The miles for the upgrade on the third itinerary above were refunded almost immediately. I received emails confirming the logging of the refund requests for the first two itineraries above, but oddly, never received an email confirming the logging of the refund request for the third itinerary above (even though the miles for the upgrade were refunded).

I purchased all three itineraries directly from VS by UK AmEx. I have received none of the three refunds yet. I was told "120 days, sooner if possible" when I requested the refunds. I do understand that it hasn't been that long yet--it's only coming up on 90 days for the refund requested earliest.

These three itineraries add up to a few thousand pounds. I've read from other V-Flyers that I have the option of filing a Section 75 claim with AmEx UK for canceled itineraries, and that AmEx UK tends to issue refunds very swiftly (though the refund is subject to review after AmEx UK consults the merchant).

I confess that as the delay of the refunds through VS's slow process drags on (despite their announcement that they are reducing delays on refund processing), I begin to wonder whether I'd be better off just filing Section 75 claims with AmEx UK. Can I ask V-Flyers with experience: what are the pros and cons of my going the Section 75 route with AmEx UK, and is there any problem with filing a Section 75 claim after having requested a refund from VS, and become dissatisfied with the delay in issuance of the refund by VS?

Thanks,
-Brad

Brad,
I just filed a chargeback with Amex which you can do online via the dispute transaction drop down box under account management.

I have a charge card but you can Also do chargebacks with a credit card too, this is often quicker than the S75 route. You still have the option of using S75 later if you have no luck with a charge back.

Mine was for Emirates flights who are just as slow!

The process is very straightforward and I had a credit placed on my account in less than an hour.

Ben,
We did a chargeback rather than S75 for cancelled VA flights and paid for on a VA CC.

Process was painful and took six weeks.

Quite a bit of disinformation from advisors in the VA CC call centre.

Don’t let them stall you by saying you have to wait for 120 days or for your original flight dates to have passed before you can submit a claim.

Also ignore the instructions stating you must wait for your travel dates to have passed !

Here is the link as it is not easy to find:

https://uk.virginmoney.com/vmforms/credit-card-dispute/

They also automatically refund any interest that has been paid.

Good luck!

I received the email saying our refund has been processed on the 3rd of August for our cancelled 28th April flight, and would take between 1 and 14 working days to reach my account, which is pathetic. As of today, still no refund!! I have sent them a Whats App message

I just thought that I'd post my experience with chasing refunds - it probably isn't most helpful but it does seem consistent with others.

I was due to fly March 23rd on business, so hadn't paid for the original seats but had upgraded both ways direct with FC using miles & cash. Flights were cancelled on the 17th March, and despite having to explain multiple times to several different operatives that I had paid directly with VA (not through a TA) for the upgrades, my miles were eventually credited back that same day.

After much chasing and being told several different timescales, I eventually received a refund approx 115 days later, but only for the outbound flight upgrade. Again after several attempts to speak (and text) with someone who had any degree of understanding, it was explained that for reasons no one could explain, the return refund wasn't submitted. I was given assurances that it now had been and told that it would be a 'priority' - 54 days later and I am still waiting!

To contrast with this, I had immediate refunds on flights from AA and JetBlue with no messing about, and even Easyjet (who believe me have even worse customer services than VA) refunded my taxes very quickly.

I can only conclude that this is about the business being short of cash as it is not resource intensive to process refunds!

I received the email saying our refund has been processed on the 3rd of August for our cancelled 28th April flight, and would take between 1 and 14 working days to reach my account, which is pathetic. As of today, still no refund!! I have sent them a Whats App message

VA absolutely, unforgiveably dishonest:
I have finally had a notification of a refund, 130 days after ringing up.
However they are only going to refund the money for my ticket, not my wife's, which was on the same booking reference.
No doubt they will say that I didn't specifically request my wife's refund..
Difficult to say how angry I am about this, and how despicable VA are being.
But you can guess..

Well after 4 months we finally got our money back for a cancelled VH trip to Barbados via a S75 request with Virgin Money.

I've not had any correspondence from VH since the trip was cancelled, couldn't get through to them on the phone or email to talk to them about it and will probably never use them again.

On the flip side VM have been an absolute joke. They appear to have done everything they could to avoid their obligations and I will do everything I can to avoid ever having to deal with them again. They are the epitome of incompetence.

[mitchja]

Refund confirmation email received today from VS.

That took 66 days.

Now that VA have received financial support that they believe will keep them going for another 18 months, they may start to return some money... I've only heard of the odd refund so far, and then only for small amounts. I expect those of us with more expensive tickets are consistently pushed to the back of the queue - I asked for a refund for my cancelled UC flights 4 months ago, and have not got anything yet. Meanwhile... how many people on here think VA will still be in business in 2021?

Now that VA have received financial support that they believe will keep them going for another 18 months, they may start to return some money... I've only heard of the odd refund so far, and then only for small amounts. I expect those of us with more expensive tickets are consistently pushed to the back of the queue - I asked for a refund for my cancelled UC flights 4 months ago, and have not got anything yet. Meanwhile... how many people on here think VA will still be in business in 2021?

I booked three different flights via Netflights.com for my employees, for a business trip to MCO in April. All were flying out within a few days of each other. Requested refunds for all three flights on 7th April. One flight was refunded on 18th May but other two have not yet been refunded.

As of today it's been 150 days!

I'm struggling to understand Virgin's process for refunds, are they just picking and choosing bookings at random?? It's obviously not in chronological order from either the refund request or travel date!

I booked three different flights via Netflights.com for my employees, for a business trip to MCO in April. All were flying out within a few days of each other. Requested refunds for all three flights on 7th April. One flight was refunded on 18th May but other two have not yet been refunded.

As of today it's been 150 days!

I'm struggling to understand Virgin's process for refunds, are they just picking and choosing bookings at random?? It's obviously not in chronological order from either the refund request or travel date!

I thought they made an absolute promise that all refunds would be done by 120 days?

Well, I'm upto 138 days with no sign of any contact

112 days from cancellation to refund imminent email.
Feeling quite spoilt!