Bond maturities and travel revival

Recently, on June 21 of this year, the key date established in article 36.4 of the Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, 2020, adopting urgent complementary measures in the social and economic field to face the COVID-19, has been met. of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, adopting urgent complementary measures in the social and economic field to face COVID-19, for the refund, by the organizers or, as the case may be, retailers, of any payment made by customers for package tours that were cancelled due to COVID-19 and for which, in substitution, a voucher reflecting the amount due was provided.

During the first months of the pandemic, under the provisions contained in Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, consumers were provided with vouchers whose acceptance was mandatory for them, being optional for the organizer and the retailer to deliver them or not. Most of the companies provided them, at that time, to avoid the possible liquidity problems that the reimbursement of the trips cancelled due to COVID-19 would have caused them. The oxygen balloon that the legislator provided at the time has finally deflated: the amount shown on the vouchers must be reimbursed at the request of the consumer.

Thus, as of the aforementioned date, since "the period of validity of the voucher has elapsed" and the voucher has not been used by applying its amount to another trip, "the consumer may request a full refund of any payment made."

Having said that, what are the options available to organizers or, as the case may be, retailers when faced with this possibility currently granted by the regulations to consumers to request reimbursement of amounts due?

Firstly, and before proceeding with the reimbursements, we have two options that are worth trying as they would free the reimbursement obligor to proceed with the disbursement of economic amounts. The first would be to offer, from now on, to the customers who are holders of the vouchers, substitute trips to which the amount of the vouchers can be applied, and the second is to reach an agreement between the parties to extend the voucher. Both options allow, with the consent of the customers, to avoid disbursements that could lead the companies to eventual liquidity problems either by contracting a new trip or by deferring payment. In neither of these cases must we forget, of course, the imperative need for this agreement to be formalized between the parties by recording its content in a document.

If none of the proposed options is accepted by the consumer, the amounts due to the customers must be reimbursed, either by the agency itself or by the suppliers of the travel services that make up the package, since article 161 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16, which approves the revised text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws establishes joint and several liability between organizers and retailers, regardless of who must perform the services.

If it is impossible to disburse 100% of the corresponding amount reflected in the voucher at the present time, as it is evident that there has been, since June 21 of this year, an avalanche of requests, another option is to offer the client a payment schedule in which the fractioned amount is established and the date on which each of the amounts must be satisfied. This payment schedule should be well documented with the sole intention of being able to prove, in the event of future claims, that the customer was aware of and accepted the installment payment proposed by the organizer or retailer.

Having said the above, if the organizer or the retailer does not reach the desired agreement with the clients, not being able to meet the payments of the totality of the amounts reflected in the voucher and whose reimbursement has been requested or if there is a breach of any of the payments established in the calendar, almost in all probability the client will file a claim that will be materialized directly (phone call, email, etc.) or in the form of a Claim Form, to which, yes or yes, depending on the Autonomous Community in which the obligors are located, a response will have to be given within a certain period of time and, in any case, within a certain period of time.) or in the form of a Claim Form to which, depending on the Autonomous Community in which the obligors are located, a response will have to be given within a specific period of time and, in any case, never in a period of time longer than one month. This Complaint Form may be submitted by the consumer to other organizations such as Consumer and User Organizations (e.g. OCU, FACUA, etc.) or to Municipal Consumer Information Offices (OMIC). Similarly, a response must be given to their request, bearing in mind that the case may be referred ex officio to the competent authority in matters of consumption or tourism, which may initiate an inspection procedure in order to ascertain the specific circumstances and determine whether the employer's actions have been appropriate.

If the consumer does not obtain a response in the extrajudicial channel or if the reply offered by the organizer or, if applicable, the retailer, does not satisfy or meet his requirements, the consumer may resort (or may do so directly avoiding the extrajudicial channel) to the judicial channel for the defense of his interests being very important, at this point, the amount of the amount claimed taking into account that, always, if this is more than 2,000€, the defense with the assistance of a lawyer and a solicitor will be mandatory.

From TOURISM & LAW we are at the disposal of all the businessmen who develop their activity in the sector to analyze their situation and under the experience and a legal approach to provide each of them with optimal solutions to each case with the sole objective of minimizing risks and ensuring the survival of the companies.

Inés Aguinaliu (Lawyer T&L)