Several citizens of Lanzarote have denounced the "tricks" of airlines to avoid returning money for canceled flights due to the coronavirus health crisis.
"It's a rip-off," says one woman, who has suffered cancellations on several flights to the Peninsula and has only been offered the option of changing the date of the trip or obtaining a voucher, despite the companies' obligation to refund the money. This situation, as La Voz has been able to confirm, is occurring with the three main companies that connect Lanzarote with the Peninsula: Ryanair, Iberia and Air Europa,
"They are deceiving us so they don't lose money," says another affected person, who has suffered the same problem with two of these companies, after the flights she had booked to travel from Lanzarote to Madrid during Easter Week and return to the island were canceled.
Iberia forces you to call a 901 number to request a refund
In the case of Iberia, when making a claim through their website, the company only offers the option of obtaining a voucher or changing the date of the flight. But to request a refund, they refer you to call customer service by phone, which is a 901 number.
In this regard, Iberia states that "it is technically not possible" to offer a refund through their website and that is why it is required to do it by phone. "It has to be done manually with each of the cases," they argue from the airline, where they also defend that their customer service phone number "has the same rate as a local call."
However, these calls are not included in flat rates, so they represent an additional expense. In addition, although calling from a landline the price is equivalent to a local call, if you call from a mobile phone, the cost skyrockets. For example, with Movistar, a five-minute call from a landline to a 901 number costs 0.28 cents, but from a mobile phone it rises to 1.54 euros, all without taxes.
"So, in order for them to return my money, I have to spend even more," complains one of the injured parties who has contacted La Voz, who emphasizes that the company itself tries to discourage these calls, warning you that the waits are long due to the volume of inquiries they receive. "They use tricks to prevent us from demanding our rights," she denounces.
Ryanair: a month to resolve the claim and finally offer a voucher
As for Ryanair, it does offer the option of a refund when making a claim through its website. However, people who have contacted La Voz explain that almost a month after requesting the refund, what they have received is an email with a voucher for the amount of the canceled flights, valid for one year, which is not what they had claimed.
In that email, the option is offered to reject the voucher, but the link that leads to do so leads to a new "dead end". And it is that as La Voz has been able to verify, when clicking on that link it refers you to a section of the Ryanair website where it explains how to use the voucher and its conditions, without giving the option to reject it or to claim the refund again.
Only in one section, at the bottom of the page, it indicates that you can request a cash refund instead of a voucher, but it does not explain how and, in addition, it states that the request will be placed "in the cash refund queue until the Covid-19 emergency has passed." In addition, all this information is only shown in English without giving the option to see its content in Spanish because, when trying to change the language, it redirects you to the home page.
"What happens then if I don't accept the voucher but I don't have the option to continue claiming? Are they going to return the money or are they going to keep it?", asks one of the affected people. And it is that, when trying to make a new claim from the beginning, the system also prevents it, with a warning that a previous one has already been processed with the same reservation number.
This affected person affirms that she has also tried to contact the company, through the chat that it has on its website, since no telephone number is offered either. However, she has not managed to have any agent of the airline attend to her in it either.
Air Europa and its "lack of transparency"
With respect to Air Europa, the situation is similar to that of the other two companies. According to another affected person, in the email that the company sent him to inform him of the cancellation of a flight that he had reserved, the airline directly offered him a voucher, without giving him more options. "They don't even explain what other options there are, if you can change the flight or request a refund," he says, criticizing the "lack of transparency."
This situation of the airlines was already warned by the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (Acave), which has already filed several complaints against some airlines before the State Aviation Safety Agency. And it is that the European Commission already stated at the beginning of April that companies are obliged to return the money if the customer demands it.
In the case of Ryanair and Air Europa, La Voz has also tried to contact both companies through their press departments, but without success. As for Air Europa, there has not even been a response. And with respect to Ryanair, its press department stated that it was going to consult the refund policy, but a week later it has not given a response.
