My Britrail Flexi Pass refund is taking forever. What should I do?

Dear Travel TROUBLESHOOTER: In February 2020, I purchased two Britrail England Flexi Passes by way of ACP Rail, a journey company specializing in rail passes.

A calendar year later on, it grew to become obvious that we would not use the passes. Because they ended up refundable, I questioned ACP for a refund. It agreed to acquire the tickets back again, and in February 2021, I mailed the tickets again to the company.

I under no circumstances bought the income.

I checked with ACP numerous moments. Each time I did, it would deliver me e-mails that mentioned “due to authorities restrictions,” its workplaces have been shut. It blamed the closure on a hold off in processing our refund. “We will observe up and confirm as quickly as probable,” they promised. But I never ever received a affirmation.

As I create this, it is November 2021 — virtually two decades soon after I acquired my Britrail passes — and I still have not obtained the $558 that ACP Rail promised me. I read through your column about another ACP scenario and was hoping you could assist me get a refund.

— Katherine Spokes, Jamaica Basic, Massachusetts

Solution: Did you say ACP Rail had your income for just about two several years? That is obtained to be some variety of report. In situation you’re just signing up for us, a refund need to take no a lot more than a 7 days. The greatest firms can do it in a handful of minutes. Two several years? Where’s that amount for Guinness?

Just before I get to the resolution on your situation, l want to acknowledge the a lot of emails I have acquired from viewers about pandemic refund conditions. You are carried out with them, you say — and I listen to you. So am I! I consider this may perhaps be our past a person. Two a long time actually is a record. And in addition to, we have a ton of other troubles to remedy for vacationers, really do not we?

You had been way far too patient with your on-line company and Britrail. I list the Britrail govt contacts on my consumer advocacy web page at www.elliott.org/enterprise-contacts/britrail/. I would have arrived at out to them — politely — and requested them for a refund. Alternatively, you could have contacted your credit score card issuer to see if they would enable you to dispute the cost. A fantastic credit rating card corporation would have fought for you to receive a prompt refund. A published promise to return the dollars would be seen as a credit history memo by some credit score card dispute departments, and you would have acquired your money rapidly.

I really do not know why it took ACP Rail so lengthy. It seems to be as if your Britrail passes ended up refundable. According to the conditions (www.britrail.com/britrail-passes/eligibility-circumstances-of-use/), you experienced 11 months from the date of situation to ask for a total refund, unless of course your travel agent specified other conditions, which it did not. You were inside the refund window. Probably ACP’s places of work have been closed for a although all through the preliminary outbreak, but it was however accepting reservations, which usually means it was even now in organization. And if it’s in business enterprise, it can situation a timely refund.