Information for consumers: travel vouchers and refunds
Last updated: May 25, 2020
We continue to get questions about consumer transactions in the time of COVID-19 including travel bookings and other types of businesses offering vouchers for future goods or services.
Many travel plans and other services have been disrupted over the last few months. When trying to resolve an issue, we encourage you to always start by contacting the business – in the case of travel, talk to your licensed travel agent, travel service provider or airline to find out what your options are. Please read all the fine print to fully understand the implications with any consumer contract.
The following information is focused on travel-related bookings, but the rules apply to any business offering vouchers, credits or gift cards, or anyone who has purchased a good or service online or by phone. Please note that these rules apply not only to BC-based businesses and but also to any business dealing with a BC consumer.
Vouchers & credits
It’s our understanding that many businesses are offering vouchers to accommodate their customers. Consumer protection laws do not address whether vouchers or credits are an appropriate method of refund. A business can offer you the option of a voucher and in most cases, it’s your choice whether to accept it or not.
The following information applies if you live in BC or if you live outside of the province but dealt with a business located in BC.
If a business offers you a voucher, they need to be aware that BC’s prepaid purchase card law says that, in most cases, prepaid purchase cards/vouchers/gift certificates are not allowed to have expiry dates.
Times when an expiry date is allowed:
When it’s issued for a specific good or service
When it’s issued for a charitable purpose
When it’s sold for a promotional purpose or at a discount
Here are a couple of examples:
You had a fishing package booked on Vancouver Island and the trip has been cancelled.
If you are offered a voucher specifically for that type of excursion, it can expire.
If you are offered a voucher or future credit with the company for the monetary value of the excursion (i.e. a $500 credit), that voucher or credit can’t expire.
You won a return flight from Victoria to Kamloops at a fundraising event and you booked your tickets but then all flights were canceled. The original gift certificate could expire and so can the voucher for the trip you booked.
If you got a voucher or a credit andyou still aren’t sure if it can expire – using an airline travel example, perhaps you booked on points and the flight you booked was cancelled – please contact us so we can offer some guidance.
If your voucher with a monetary value (i.e. $500 to be used with the company at a later date) has an expiry date, we recommend the following steps:
Go back to the business and notify them that your voucher or coupon can’t expire using this form. (Reference: Part 4.1, Prepaid Purchase Cards, section 56.1-56.2 of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act). Ask that the business reissue the voucher or coupon without an expiry date.
If you still can’t resolve the expiry date issue with the business, you can file a complaint with us. Please try to work it out with the business first before coming to our office.
Remember that this process applies if you live in BC or if you live out of the province but the business you dealt with is located in BC.
If you wish to pursue a refund instead of a voucher, keep trying to get a refund directly from the business. If that doesn’t work, there are some other options to consider.
If your travel dates have passed and the business did not provide the service (as opposed to you choosing not to go) or if you have been informed by the business that your future travel has been cancelled, and you paid by credit card, check with your credit card company to request that the charges on the card be cancelled/reversed. If you are denied by your credit card company, you will need to go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or court (depending on the dollar amount) to seek compensation from the business.
If you booked your travel online or by phone and didn’t get your services (as opposed to you choosing not to go), you can cancel your contract under BC’s distance sales contracts provisions and be entitled to a refund from the business or chargeback from the credit card company. There are several steps to this process, waiting periods, and the remedy only kicks in 30 days after you don’t get the service you bought (which means the date that you were supposed to travel). To understand and follow the process, visit the “Problem with an online purchase” page on our website, and follow these steps:
Step 1: Read the section called “My product never arrived” and follow the instructions using the cancellation form. If the business doesn’t respond to issue you a refund within 15 days, go to step 2.
Step 2: Read the section called “I tried to cancel but didn’t get a refund” and follow those instructions to obtain a reversal or cancellation of the charges from your credit card provider.
Step 3: If the business and the credit card company both fail to provide you a refund, contact us to file a complaint. (Please follow all the steps above first.)
Remember that these options apply to any transaction done over the phone or online, it is not limited to travel bookings.
