Major OTA to return more than £7m in outstanding refunds

Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, said: "Online travel agents have a legal responsibility to provide prompt refunds to customers whose holidays have been cancelled due to coronavirus, irrespective of whether the agent received refunds from airlines and accommodation providers.

"Our action means customers whose holidays were cancelled by lastminute.com will receive their money back without undue delay."

Coscelli added: "The CMA is continuing to investigate package holiday firms following concerns that people are not getting the refunds they’re entitled to when bookings can’t go ahead because of the pandemic.

"If we find that businesses are breaching consumer protection law, we will not hesitate to take further action."

The CMA has written to more than 100 package holiday providers to remind them of their obligations to comply with consumer protection law, securing refund commitments from Virgin Holidays, Tui, Sykes Cottages and Hoseasons parent Vacation Rentals.

A Lastminute.com spokesperson told TTG: "Since March, we made refunding customers our number one priority and we’re pleased to reiterate this commitment with the CMA.

"We engaged constructively with the CMA and while we have already refunded more than €200 million worth of bookings overall, it is the group’s commitment to work through those that remain to be paid.

"After the commitments already taken by Tui UK, Virgin Holidays and other players in the market, our effort highlights how we are actively working on this side. Many other competitors and especially some airlines do not have still reached any factual commitment to act for refunding the customers.

"The entire travel industry is facing an unprecedented crisis including enormous challenges that our systems and processes had to face to manage such a huge volume of cancellations and refunds.

"We appreciate that the CMA has recognised the special circumstances that Covid-19 has created both for many travellers and players from the travel sector."