Due to the corona pandemic, many events were canceled, courses could not take place, trips had to be canceled. It was not always clear which contracts would incur costs despite the Corona measures and which would not, or when consumers could claim their money back or when they had to accept a voucher solution. The Saarland consumer advice center also felt this uncertainty.
Money back for canceled flights?
There were many complaints about air travel, says lawyer Eva Ludwig from the Saarland consumer center. Instead of refunding travelers the money for flights canceled by the airlines, the airlines had tried many times to offer consumers vouchers. The European Court of Auditors had recently criticized this behavior as a disregard for consumer rights.
Until now, the reimbursement has been slow, says Eva Ludwig from the Saarland consumer center. Even now, many customers would still turn to the consumer advocates because they have not yet got their money back for failed trips in the past year.
Lots of inquiries about package tours
Passenger rights are regulated by a European regulation: Air travelers have a right to choose, according to Ludwig. You wouldn’t have to settle for a voucher, you could insist on getting the money back. The consumer center supports the travelers and writes to the airlines to ask for the money back. In many cases it worked, says the lawyer.
There were also many questions about package tours. Consumers received advice on how to deal with trips that have already been booked – for example, whether they should cancel them themselves or rather wait.
In addition to travel law, leisure activities were also part of the discussions. The fitness studio played a major role, as did events that were canceled or postponed. The Saarland consumer center advised customers in which cases they could claim their money back and when they had to get involved in a voucher solution.
Voucher solution is valid until the end of 2021
The deadline was also particularly important here: March 8, 2020. For all events for which tickets were bought before that day or for contracts that were previously concluded, the providers had the option of giving their customers vouchers instead of transferring money back to offer. The federal government decided on this regulation last year.
With one restriction: if consumers were unable to redeem the voucher by the end of 2021, they can request a refund from January 1, 2022. This also applies if, for example, an alternative date for a concert was offered, but the consumer was unable to attend it. The organizer cannot stipulate that the consumer should participate in the alternative date. That is not permissible, so Ludwig.
Lots of complaints about online stores
The complaints about online shops have also increased significantly during the pandemic, according to the Saarland consumer center. Many consumers would have ordered in the belief that they were buying from a German online shop. In fact, however, the goods came from China and often of poor quality.
“The problem is, these are not these classic fake shops where you pay in advance and get nothing, but something actually comes from China, but in very poor quality,” says consumer advocate Ludwig. Sometimes the items do not correspond to the item description, clothes are often much too big or too small. However, some customers also received things that they did not even order. The big problem in these cases is the reversal of the purchase.
Check the online shop carefully
The Chinese shop owners are often no longer within reach. If a payment service provider is designed in between, the consumer advice center can register this and defend the consumers’ claims.
The consumer advocate advises to check the online shops carefully before ordering. First, consumers should take a look at the imprint. It could also be worthwhile to copy the names from the legal notice and enter them into a search engine and look for reviews there, adds the lawyer. “I noticed that every shop that consumers fell for had complaints.”
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