Complaint to a travel agency for a refund

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Published: 05/21/2018

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When planning to travel, tourists completely rely on the integrity of the tour operator, and often later it turns out that the tour operator’s services do not meet the paid level of service.

How to write a claim, what are the features of this document, how to correctly convey your written demands to the addressee?

Basic provisions
How to write?
What should I include?
How to direct?
Review period
Useful video
Conclusion

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Basic provisions

Inspired by the upcoming holiday abroad, and even having managed to buy a last-minute ticket, the user of the travel agency’s services begins to see the light immediately upon arrival - everything turns out to be completely different from what was expected.

Buying a tour is not the cheapest pleasure, so you shouldn’t hush up problems and file a claim with the tour operator.

Protection of consumer rights through pre-trial settlement through a claim procedure is appropriate in the following circumstances:

information about the tourism product turned out to be incomplete or false;
the quality of services is low;
the obligations specified in the contract have not been fulfilled;
deadlines for fulfilling obligations were violated;
the consumer suffered harm to health or suffered material or moral damage.

In practice, these dry formulations can be implemented in the following problems:

the departure date has been postponed;
the conditions of transport services turned out to be an order of magnitude lower than those paid for;
the accommodation did not meet the promised conditions and did not meet the level specified by the tour operator;
the room turned out to be unbooked, and we had to pay for the accommodation on the spot;
there was no transfer, which led to problems with delivering tourists to their place of residence;
insurance, for which a lot of money was paid, does not cover the basic level of medical care. service;
The promised entertainment and organization of pastime in fact did not turn out to be.

Counting on the fact that the lion's share of services is paid for when purchasing a tour, travelers are often forced to spend significant additional funds to brighten up their vacation a little. As a result, the consumer receives services of very questionable quality at significant financial expense.

Upon return, you should immediately submit written demands to the tour operator, the meaning of which may be as follows:

refund of money for a paid tour package;
reduction in the cost of the tour, according to the class of vacation;
compensation for losses and expenses;
compensation for moral damage, etc.

A travel agency's reputation could suffer greatly if consumers do not remain silent. If the tour operator is not suspended in time and forced to work more responsibly, then many more of our compatriots will have their impression of an overseas holiday spoiled.

Inadequate quality of tour operator services falls under the following articles of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”:

Art. 12, concerning the responsibility of the contractor for lack of consumer awareness;
Art. 27 (on the terms of provision of services);
Art. 36 (regarding the obligation of the contractor to bring to the attention of the consumer of services about circumstances that may lead to a decrease in the quality of services).

Violation of even one of the clauses of the legislative act gives grounds to terminate the contract or demand satisfaction, but in reality, the rights of the consumer are often violated under several articles of the RF PZPP, giving grounds for filing a claim with the tour operator.

Claims dispute resolution practice

The claims procedure is a convenient tool for resolving disputes, significantly reducing the time spent on conflict resolution.

It is important to note that sometimes tourists are incorrectly informed about the range of responsibilities of participants in the tourism market, and a competent, timely response from a travel service provider to a claim eliminates lengthy useless disputes. In other cases, on the contrary, a reasonable appeal allows the conflict to be resolved as quickly as possible.

It is important that the claim is completed correctly and submitted in the prescribed manner. The document must contain all the details of the travel agency, the applicant’s data, a full statement of the essence of the problem, ideally, links to legislative acts and justification for actions in case of refusal of the claim.

How to write?

Services for the sale of a tourism product are a special type of relationship between the parties, secured by contract. The user’s responsibility is to pay for the tour package on time, while the tour operator undertakes to provide a range of comprehensive services.

It is important for the consumer to carefully study the contract: it may turn out that it was the client who did not follow the requirements of the contract.

When filing a claim, the name of the tour operator must be taken from the contract, below indicate your personal data, as well as contact numbers and email address (if available).

Below in the center, place the name of the document - Claim, and from the paragraph begin to briefly and clearly state the facts: when the contract was concluded, what the services consisted of, and then list the violations, referring to the relevant articles of the laws of the Russian Federation.

A sample claim can be viewed here.

Next, you need to formulate specific requirements, and here it is unlikely that you can do without consulting a qualified lawyer.

Before you begin filing a claim with an unscrupulous tour operator, it is important to decide what exactly the consumer’s requirements will be.

The fact is that you can demand termination of the contract and a refund of the full cost of the trip only in the case when the trip did not take place at all, and the tour operator was to blame for this unpleasant event.

For example, if an air transport flight was delayed due to bad weather conditions, then the agency is not to blame and the claims cannot be satisfied.

When the trip took place, but the room was booked in a hotel not 4*, but 3 or 2 star, then there is a decrease in the quality of services, and the client’s demands can only consist of compensation for the difference in the cost of living: the service was still provided .

It is also necessary to mention that a complaint was sent to the travel agency, but no response was received, and the second copy. this document with evidence of its sending and receipt by the addressee.

At the end you need to put your signature and the date of execution of the document, as well as provide a list of attached documents.

How to properly file a claim with a tour operator for a refund

A complaint against a tour operator must be written in writing. There is no single established form - you can write arbitrarily, but subject to certain conditions:

In the upper right corner you need to enter the name of the company and the full name of its director, then your personal data.
Just below, in the middle, the word “Claim” is written.
Next, you should describe the situation in detail and competently, indicating all the important points, but at the same time try to be quite concise, present your claims to the tour operator: unplanned expenses, inconvenience, lack of overnight accommodation or food at the airport.
Indicate the amount of compensation that the tour operator is obliged to pay.
Indicate where the compensation should be transferred: account or card number. If desired, you can receive funds in cash.
References to articles of current legislation that were violated are required.
Place your signature and date below.

When writing a complaint, you must not use obscene language or be too emotional. Of course, mistakes, abbreviations and corrections should be avoided.

Those who have been denied voluntary payment of money need to draw up the document correctly. The claim must have a “header”, which is located in the upper right sector of the sheet. Opposite it on the left there is an empty space; this is where the registration mark in the incoming correspondence journal is entered. The title of the document is written slightly lower in the middle.

What should I include?

The claim is usually accompanied by copies of documents confirming the fact of the relationship and the existence of obligations of the tour operator, as well as evidence of violation of consumer rights.

You can attach the following documents:

agreement with a travel agency;
receipt for payment of services;
photo or video shooting;
witness's testimonies;
copy claims;
checks, receipts confirming additional payments for services, the cost of which is included in the contract, etc.

A legal specialist will help a consumer ignorant of such matters to correctly file a claim and select the documents that best illustrate the violation of the traveler’s rights.

We invite you to familiarize yourself in detail with the features of filing a claim for the return of high-quality and low-quality goods or funds.
Find out whether it is worth sending a claim by email here, as well as other possibilities for pre-trial settlement in this article.

List of services you can complain about

Writing a claim (a standard sample later in the article) is possible for any poor-quality service, regardless of whether it was provided by a private commercial, municipal, government organization or individual entrepreneur. This could be a service in the field of medicine, insurance, banking, education, hotel business, goods supply, construction, transport, legal and many others.

This is also important to know:
How to return money to the buyer

Poor-quality services are not always of a material nature, such as education or medicine, but everyone has the right to file a claim for not receiving what they paid for and what they expected for this money.

In case of prosecution in the field of non-material services, a complaint can be drawn up according to a standard template, but such situations are more complex to consider than the same delivery of defective products. For this reason, enlisting the help of an experienced lawyer is essential.

To support your accusations, you can attach the following to your claim statement:

A copy of the service agreement;
Documents confirming payment;
Conclusion of an independent examination;
Photographs and videos;
A copy of the work acceptance certificate;
A copy of the warranty card;
Other relevant evidence depending on the situation.

How to direct?

If the dispute between the consumer and the travel agency cannot be resolved pre-trial, then the client has the right to sue, but before the start of legal proceedings it is necessary to present evidence of attempts at reconciliation by filing a claim (the mandatory nature of the claim procedure is regulated by Part 7 of Article 10 of Law No. 132-FZ “On basics of tourism activities in the Russian Federation).

If the client did not exercise the right and obligation to file a claim regarding the quality of the tourism product, then, on the basis of Art. 135 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the court has the right to refuse to consider the case.

Therefore, it is important for the consumer to have documentary traces of attempts to resolve the conflict through a claim procedure.

There are the following ways to transfer a consumer’s complaint to a tour operator:

deliver the paper in person, having received confirmation of delivery in the form of a secretary’s mark with recording of the incoming number or signature of a company employee and setting the date of receipt on the second copy;
use the services of the Russian Post by sending a registered letter with acknowledgment of delivery;
send by courier;
send to the tour operator's email address.

If the tour operator responds to a claim sent by email, then you can safely go to court: the travel agency does not intend to insist on non-receipt of the tourist’s written demands.

But to be on the safe side, it is better not to take risks, since in this case pre-trial dispute resolution is mandatory, and to use more traditional methods of sending documents.

Tourist complaints

Complaints from tourists are commonplace. Almost every travel company has encountered both “inadequate clients” and tourists whose complaints were justified. At the same time, judicial practice shows that often it is not the real culprit who bears responsibility for mistakes, but the most vulnerable participant in the business process - the travel agency.

In this article we will look at the answers to the following questions: - In what time frame can a tourist, dissatisfied with the quality of travel, make a claim to the company? — When should a claim be considered? — How to formalize a refusal of a tourist’s claim? How to justify this?

Deadlines for filing a claim

If a tourist is dissatisfied with the quality of the service provided to him, he has the right to file a claim with the travel agent (tour operator) within 20 days from the date of expiration of the contract.

This is stated in Article 10 of the Tourism Law. By agreement of the parties, the period for filing a claim may be increased (clause 4 of the letter of Rospotrebnadzor dated August 31, 2007 No. 0100/8935-07-32).

But we note that this period cannot be reduced. It is recommended to include the deadline and procedure for filing a claim in the terms of the contract for the sale of a tourism product.

If a tourist violates the deadlines for filing a claim, this situation is considered in two ways. On the one hand, this is considered a violation of the terms of the contract concluded between the tourist and the travel agent (tour operator). But, on the other hand, the fact that a tourist submitted a claim untimely does not relieve the travel agency from the obligation to respond to it. Moreover, this does not deprive the tourist of the right to go to court. After all, according to civil law, the expiration of the contract does not relieve the parties from liability for its violation (Clause 4 of Article 425 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, the general limitation period is three years (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). It should be noted that a tourist’s presentation of a claim to a travel agent (tour operator) is a mandatory pre-trial procedure for resolving a dispute.

Need help filing a claim?

How should a claim be made?

The tourist makes a claim to the travel agency, of course, in writing. But it is compiled in any form. As a rule, the complaint includes: information about the tourist (last name, first name, patronymic, address, contact numbers), information about the travel agency, details of the contract, a description of the terms of the contract that were violated, an indication of what exactly the violation consists of, requirements, presented by the tourist. The claim is accompanied by evidence of the circumstances stated by the tourist in the claim. These can be photographs, statements or certificates signed by the receiving party (hotel), written statements of witnesses, etc.

By the way, on our website you can download the Notice of Cancellation of the Agreement for the Provision of Tourist Services

What should a travel agent do when receiving a complaint from a tourist:

the claim must be accepted and registered indicating: the date and time of receipt, the name and position of the person who accepted it;
return a copy of the claim with a note of acceptance to the tourist;
if the claim is made by a consumer representative (lawyer, attorney, relative), request a power of attorney for the representative;
if the travel agency for any reason does not accept the claim, the consumer can send it to the company by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

I need legal advice

Consideration of the claim

The claim must be reviewed and responded to within 10 calendar days.

When considering a claim, the travel agency needs to assess its validity. Thus, in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights,” the contractor (travel agent or tour operator) is liable if:

- he provided the client with incomplete information about the tourism product and the contractor, including for causing harm to the life, health and property of the client due to the fact that he was not provided with complete and reliable information;

— the implemented tourism product contained shortcomings;

— the terms for the provision of services and other terms of the contract for the sale of a tourism product were violated;

— the contract included conditions that infringed on the rights of the consumer in comparison with the conditions established by law. The travel agency is also responsible for causing harm to the life and health of the consumer, his property due to shortcomings of the tourism product (clause 22 of the Rules for the provision of services for the sale of tourism products, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 18, 2007 No. 452).

When forming a review, you should prepare written evidence confirming the position of the travel agency and restore the chronological picture of the events that served as the subject of the complaint.

The travel agent needs to obtain written explanations from the manager who directly communicated with the tourist, clarify the circumstances of the sale of the tour, the consumer’s motivation when choosing a tour, and the psychological portrait of the consumer. Restore all documents related to this tourist - contract, application, copy of the voucher, payment documents and other documents.

If you corresponded with the tourist by e-mail, print out the text of the letters. When responding to a claim, you should refer only to evidence that you can subsequently confirm in court. In your answer, do not deviate from the subject of the claim, argue your position, refer to the terms of the contract and the provisions of the law (if they are in your favor). If the contract with the tourist was not concluded for some reason, refer only to the provisions of the law.

I need legal advice

To the travel agent: the claim should be forwarded to the operator immediately with a covering letter containing an explanation of the merits of the claim. If the operator does not have time to respond within 10 days, the tourist should give a preliminary response (in writing), in which he should inform that his claim is being considered by the tour operator, indicate what actions are being taken on it, and, when a response is received, he will be given a reasoned response to the claim .

To the tour operator: if the circumstances set out in the tourist’s complaint require additional clarification, they must be obtained from the host party, hotel, air carrier, insurer or other persons related to this complaint. Evidence received in a foreign language must be translated into Russian. Evidence prepared at the claims stage of the dispute may subsequently be useful in court. The tour operator should take into account that, regardless of the existence of a contractual relationship with the consumer, the tour operator may be involved as a defendant or co-defendant when considering a consumer’s claim.

Response to complaint

According to Article 10 of the Tourism Law, the tourist’s claims must be satisfied within 10 days from the date of receipt of the claim.

The response to the claim is drawn up in any form.

However, it must be correct, polite, and reasonable. As evidence on the part of the travel agency in the response to the tourist’s claim, contracts, vouchers, payment documents, memos and rules for the sale of tours of the travel agency (airline, insurer and other persons), catalogues, witness statements, photo and video materials and other evidence capable of confirm the travel agency’s position in the dispute.

In case of deduction of your actual costs from the tourist, attach the corresponding cost calculation ; it is not necessary to attach the payment documents themselves.

You will have to present documentary evidence of expenses in court!

Confirmation of the actual costs of a travel agency can be payment documents confirming the transfer of money to partners, for example, a tour operator, sanatorium, hotel, carrier, insurer. Original documents cannot be attached to the response to a consumer complaint; you may need them in court!

I need a lawyer for court

It must be said that very few tourists are willing to spend time and effort on a trial. As a rule, tourists expect some small compensation or additional services, and often just want to speak out, so it is very important to approach the response to the complaint carefully and professionally.

It should be remembered that by responding to a tourist’s claim, a travel agency builds a reputation, creating its future. When responding to a consumer complaint, remember that your review can be used by a tourist in court as evidence of the position of the travel agency.

If it is possible to reach an agreement with the consumer and you are ready to offer him at least a small compensation, or some special discounts, bonuses, additional services, etc., be sure to indicate this proposal in the response to the complaint - this may subsequently have a positive impact on the decision court.

Very often, such behavior of a travel agent (tour operator) allows one to avoid a legal dispute and significant costs.

If, from the point of view of a travel agency, the counterparty of the company that provided this service, for example a transport company, should be held liable to the tourist for violation of certain obligations, the tourist should be provided with information about this counterparty.

Sometimes the tour has complaints caused by the client’s subjective perception of certain aspects of the holiday, such as the fact that the water in the sea was not so warm, the guide was not liked, and the snow on the mountain slopes was not as deep as we would like, etc. In this case, if the services provided comply with the contract for the sale of the tourism product, the travel agency should not be afraid of such claims - they usually do not reach the court. Although she is nevertheless obliged to answer them.

The response to the claim must be delivered to the consumer against signature.

If it was not possible to deliver the response in person, it can be sent by registered mail to the consumer with acknowledgment of receipt. A travel agent, having received a response from a tour operator, should not forward it to the tourist verbatim, as a response to a complaint - it is necessary to compose a review based on the response of the tour operator and send or transmit it to the tourist.

I need legal advice

If the tourist is offered some kind of compensation , the procedure for receiving it should be explained. The transfer of money must be formalized by a written receipt indicating the amount, date, name and coordinates of the recipient.

The receipt must indicate what the consumer was compensated for.

If compensation is not made in monetary terms, but, for example, in the form of discounts, alternative or additional services, it is necessary to obtain written confirmation of the tourist’s consent to this form of compensation.

When paying compensation, it should be taken into account that the amount of compensation for moral damage is determined by the court, and the voluntary payment of compensation by a travel agency does not deprive the consumer of the right to go to court.

If a tourist is not satisfied with the response to the complaint or the solution to the problem proposed by the travel agency, he has the right to go to court.

Missing the deadline for filing a claim also does not deprive the consumer of the right to go to court.

The response to the claim that you provided to the tourist can be used by the tourist in court, but you have the right to change your position or negotiate a settlement agreement with the tourist.

It should be noted that the court, as a last resort in resolving a conflict, requires a significant amount of time and money to obtain legal assistance. Therefore, even at the stage of considering consumer claims, we recommend that the travel agency seek the help of a lawyer and, if possible, resolve the dispute with the consumer out of court.

Review period

In Art. 10 of Law No. 132-FZ “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” specifically specifies the deadlines for tourists’ claims:

must be presented within 20 days from the expiration date of the contract;
review must take place within 10 days from the date of receipt of the paper.

The response should be expected within the period required for postal operations with letters; the countdown must begin on the 11th day after delivery of the claim to the travel company.

You should know that the statute of limitations for such issues is 3 years (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

What to do if the tour operator refuses to comply with the requirements

In most cases, the travel operator's legal department will not provide compensation for damages.
If you are denied within the period established by law, you must file a lawsuit. It is customary to file a claim in court at the location of the defendant. But the law is on the side of the consumer and therefore gives the right to apply at your place of residence.

If the company that violated the passenger’s rights is well-known, then it has already had experience of being sued for poor quality services and delays in departure time. You need to find data on the Internet by entering the legal address of the company into the search, and then find the website of the court to which the company belongs geographically.

Important
If on the court’s website most of the decisions regarding a given travel agency are not in favor of the consumer, it makes sense to sue the court at your place of residence. Find a sample statement of claim and use it as an example.

How to file a claim in court

The statement of claim should include the following information:

plaintiff;
defendant;
cost of claim;
purpose of the claim.

You also need to attach receipts, photos and other documents that prove your expenses, and state the amount of moral damages.

This is also important to know:
How do refunds work for purchases on Google Play?

Important
It is necessary to calculate the amount of compensation and the cost of the claim separately. Compensation is all the money you want to receive from the tour operator. And the cost of the claim is your personal costs and the penalty imposed on you by law from the defendant.

The World Court considers cases in which the amount of the claim is less than 50,000 rubles, and if it is higher, then the statement of claim must be filed with the district court at your place of residence.

The statement of claim should require:

compensate for all costs that the operator was obliged to provide to passengers in the event of a flight delay of 2 hours or more;
compensate moral damages to all minors and adults;
pay 3% of the penalty for 1 day of flight delay from the amount of the tour package;
a fine for refusal to voluntarily satisfy a claim in the amount of 50% of the claim.

All points must be checked with the Civil Code of Russia, which regulates the preparation of claims from individuals.

It is necessary to make 2 copies, one sent to the operator, the second to the travel agency that sold the tour. A representative may be called to court to testify if necessary.

Important
To prevent the court from being postponed, it is necessary to indicate a clause according to which the case can be considered without the participation of the consumer. In this case, the judge will not reschedule it, and the hearing will take place as soon as possible. The application is accompanied by copies of all documents that you previously provided to the operator.

How to file a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor

There is one very important life hack that will help you get a refund if your flight is delayed. Before filing a lawsuit, you must draw up a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor, in which you describe all violations of your rights, in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights.

A claim to a tour operator for a flight delay may be rejected, but if, based on your complaint, the company is issued a fine, this will strengthen your position in court. Also, compensation for the delay of a charter flight may have been drawn up incorrectly, and Rospotrebnadzor specialists can help with advice on filing a claim.