A canceled flight or a neighbor's war. UOKiK: The customer does not have to agree to the voucher

If unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the place of departure or its immediate vicinity, e.g. hostilities, the consumer may resign from the trip – the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection announced on Friday. The customer can then apply for compensation.

According to the Office's announcement on Friday, when resigning from a tourist trip, a consumer may refer to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, e.g. war operations. They must occur at the destination or in its immediate vicinity and have a significant impact on the implementation of the trip, including transport to the destination.

“If there are no direct hostilities or warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the destination, but you are afraid of leaving due to the proximity of an armed conflict, the assessment of whether you can withdraw from the contract without incurring costs depends on specific circumstances,” the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection noted.

He added that if the stay was shortened due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the client may apply for a price reduction for the part of the unrealized tourist event. Importantly, you are not entitled to additional compensation or compensation if the shortening of your stay was caused by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

The antitrust office informed that in the event of withdrawal from the contract due to extraordinary circumstances the organizer should return all previous payments within 14 days. He may propose a different date, direction of travel or a voucher, but the customer does not have to agree to it.

If the organizer itself cancels the trip due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (e.g. due to the closure of airspace over a given country), it must immediately notify the client. The consumer should receive a full refund of payments made within 14 days from the date of termination of the contract, without additional compensation or redress.

If the consumer has not received the refund, he or she should file a complaint. If necessary, you can use the consumer hotline: 801 440 220 or a consumer ombudsman. “In the event of a dispute between a consumer and a travel agency, the final interpretation of a given individual case rests with the court,” the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection said.

In addition, the organizer is obliged to immediately provide assistance to travelers in a difficult situation. He should provide another hotel and when it is of lower quality, the customer is entitled to a price reduction. Additionally, the organizer ensures return home under the same conditions, although “if there is a problem resulting from extraordinary circumstances, e.g. lack of flights, it provides up to 3 days of accommodation in comparable conditions.” (PAP)

jls/mmu/