Norwegian Airlines will not refund £2,676 cash on tickets to Florida | consumer rights

We need to know if we have a realistic claim against Norwegian Airways to whom we paid £2,676 for flights to America which can no longer be taken.

In August 2019we’ve been saving for years bought flights to Florida for a one-time family trip to Disneyland. Covid has hit and the airline Canceled.

At the time we were persuaded to take ‘points’ rather than a cash refund and were told these could be used towards a rebooking. In December 2020 we booked new Norwegian flights to Florida and paid a cash top-up.

However, a month later, Norwegian announced it would no longer fly to the United States, and the flight was cancelled. The points were credited to our rewards account and the small amount of cash refunded.

Since then I have tried to get the airline to refund the original flights but to no avail. When I agreed to take the points, it was on the understanding that they would be used to purchase new US flights.

Points will expire on December 22nd this year. Can you give us hope?

KDby email

When airlines began canceling flights in March 2020, Guardian Money urged readers to wait for cash refunds, often in the face of rejection from airlines determined to offer vouchers instead.

The biggest problem is that Norwegian Air UK – the part of the company that sold you the original flight – has gone into liquidation and no longer flies to the US.

Unusually, parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle, still honors the rewards program that benefits you – and countless others. It does this to maintain a certain goodwill.

The company informed me that when you agreed to take the points you entered into a new contract and therefore cannot give you a cash refund.

Coby Benson, a flight lawyer at Bott and Co, describes the case as “sad circumstances and a cautionary tale regarding the acceptance of airline vouchers”.

As a result of the liquidation, he says, there is little prospect of a refund. He suggests contacting your credit card company, but you paid with a debit card.

However, I found a possible solution. If you decide the points are worthless to you, there’s nothing stopping you from using them to book other people on Norwegian flights and making a behind-the-scenes financial arrangement with them. Norwegian has confirmed that the booker does not have to fly.

It must be worth trying.

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