Consumer Agency: "Rapid Increase in Consumer Complaints Against Travel Agencies in Spain... Check Chargeback Deadlines"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Korea Consumer Agency recently warned on the 7th that consumer complaints regarding the Spain-based travel agencies 'Travelgenio' and 'Travel2be' have surged.

Travelgenio and Travel2be share the same parent company. Consumer consultations related to these two companies numbered 86 in 2018 and 89 in 2019, but this year, 103 cases were received by April 15.

Analysis of the 103 cases received this year showed that cancellation and refund delays or refusals accounted for the largest portion at 73.8% (76 cases), followed by delayed or cut-off contact with the business at 14.6% (15 cases).

According to the Consumer Agency, these two companies currently do not properly respond to customer service inquiries via email, chat, or phone. Since February 4 of this year, they have not replied even to the Consumer Agency's requests for explanations.

The Consumer Agency warned that with the financial conditions of global travel agencies deteriorating due to the recent spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), if these companies go out of business, consumer damages are expected to be significant.

In particular, for those who booked travel products between December last year and January this year, just before the COVID-19 outbreak, there is a risk of missing the deadline to apply for the credit card 'chargeback' service to cancel transactions while waiting indefinitely to contact the business, so prompt inquiries to the card company are necessary.

The chargeback service application deadline is 120 days from the transaction date for Visa, MasterCard, and Amex cards, and 180 days for UnionPay.

The Consumer Agency stated that if disputes are not resolved amicably, consumers can seek help through the 'International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network' portal. They also urged consumers to check for damage cases by searching reviews when using overseas online travel agencies and to purchase refund-ineligible products cautiously.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.