KLM continues to send travellers who want their money back after a cancelled flight “from pillar to post”. And hundreds of customers of the bankrupt travel group D-Reizen are still waiting for the money from their cancelled KLM tickets. Dutch consumers’ association “Consumentenbond” is complaining about this and asking supervising body ILT (a Dutch acronym for the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate) to intervene and assist KLM victims to reclaim the money through the courts.
According to the consumer advocate, passengers whose flights have been cancelled should be given the choice between a replacement flight or a refund. However, travellers who have purchased a ticket through a travel agency or ticketing site are sometimes incorrectly referred back to that party by airlines for a refund.
This is also the case with a group of customers of the former D-Reizen. KLM has previously said that it has refunded the ticket money to D-Reizen and thus has fulfilled its obligations. But the tour company went bankrupt before the money was transferred to the victims.
Last month, ILT fined KLM over 40,000 euros for failing to refund the cancelled tickets. KLM appealed against the fine, and the victims are still waiting for their refunds. Last month, ILT also ordered KLM to improve its communication with passengers. The Dutch airline then adapted its website within two weeks, which is why ILT has decided not to collect the penalty.
The Consumers’ Association believes that the victims should not wait any longer and has thus decided to take action itself by assisting one of the customers in a trial procedure.
