A 海角视频 holiday operator that was ordered to pay out millions of pounds of outstanding refunds to customers has been slammed by holidaymakers after failing to meet the first two repayment deadlines.
Truly Holdings, which runs Alpharooms, was told by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to issue cash refunds for holidays that had been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Hundreds of people made complaints against the company to the CMA and there are 2,700 individuals who have joined a Facebook group called ‘Alpharooms No Refund Support’.
READ MORE: {}
The CMA set out a repayment schedule for Alpharooms, with the first deadline for refunds on June 30 for people who had holidays cancelled before July 31 last year.
The second deadline for repaying customers (for holidays cancelled between August 1 and October 31, 2020) was at the end of last month.
But dozens of people have been in touch with BusinessLive to say they have still not been paid - with some owed thousands of pounds.
Dorothy, from Kirkcaldy in Scotland, is waiting to be paid £369 for a booking she made in January 2020, for travel in June last year.
She told BusinessLive she had “lost count” of the amount of emails and Facebook messages she had sent to Alpharooms and Truly Travel.
Most Read
“I have emailed, Facebook messaged and phoned numerous times and keep getting fobbed off,” she said.
“I was asked to be patient as they were dealing with it in date order. Well I'm sorry but waiting over a year for a refund is unacceptable."
Alan, who is based in Newton Longville in Buckinghamshire, booked and paid in full for a hotel in Tenerife in November 2019. The trip was cancelled due to Covid in April 2020.
His refund was meant to be paid by the end of June, but he has still not received any money.
“I have sent numerous emails including using an online claims form but never got a reply,” he said.
“I tried calling them several times, each time being kept on hold for an hour before either they answer and put the phone down or promise someone will call back; this of course never happens.”
Alan said he finally had an acknowledgement of his email after threatening to take the company to the small claims court.
Don’t miss
“I got a reply the following day from Alpharooms saying they would look into [my claim] and at the same time [the company] asked for my bank details and said I would receive a refund made by BACS if successful.”
Michelle, from Belfast, who is also waiting for a refund, said she is “disgusted” at how the company has treated people.
“I will never book with them again after experiencing their customer service,” she said.
"There’s no response from them at all. I’m disappointed, it has stressed me out, and caused unnecessary anxiety in an already challenging time.”
Martin, from Clevedon in North Somerset, said he was “furious” after Alpharooms took thousands of pounds from his bank account after his holiday to Madeira was cancelled.
He originally paid a £20 booking fee, but decided to cancel the holiday in May this year. Despite cancelling the trip, Martin said Alpharooms took two payments without his permission.
The first payment was taken on June 3, so he contacted HSBC to request the bank to stop any more payments to Alpharooms. He also cancelled the overdraft facility on his account.
He said he was therefore “shocked” to discover, on June 17, more money had been taken by Alpharooms from his account. In total, he said the company took around £3,000.
He then cancelled his HSBC debit card and went into a branch to get help, only to be told there was nothing that could be done.
“I discovered that Alpharooms had taken two payments which I had not authorised,” he said.
“On viewing my bank statement I was shocked to discover that Alpharooms had already taken payments of a combined total of over £3,000.”
Martin said he was able to claim the money back through HSBC - after telling the bank the payment had not been authorised.
BusinessLive understands that when HSBC was notified of the unauthorised transactions on the account it raised a dispute and provided temporary credit for all payments. The bank also compensated him with an extra £100.
“We are sorry that incorrect information was provided to [Martin] in branch and we have compensated him for the inconvenience caused,” an HSBC spokesperson said.
“We would always advise that customers contact the company they have purchased from to dispute transactions or to ask for a refund in the first instance.
“Investigations into the disputed transactions on [this] account are ongoing and we have provided temporary credit for all payments made.”
Will the CMA take action against Alpharooms?
BusinessLive contacted the CMA to ask what action it would take now Alpharooms has missed the first and second deadlines - and whether it would take Truly to court.
The CMA declined to comment on the record, but BusinessLive understands that Alpharooms is providing the CMA with reports on the progress of repayments, including whether or not the company will meet the deadlines.
The CMA analyses the reports when it receives them, BusinessLive understands, and then decides whether further action is needed to make sure the company is complying with the law.
There are various types of action the CMA can take, such as engaging with firms to probe and tackle any issues around repayments, or taking a firm to court.
When BusinessLive asked the CMA if it wanted to provide a statement to reassure consumers what it is doing to help, the CMA declined to provide a comment.
The CMA is currently advising people owed money to visit the Alpharooms website in the first instance, and submit a refund request through the online web form.
The CMA provided no on-the-record response when BusinessLive asked what people should do if they are still waiting for a refund from Alpharooms after the deadline has passed.
As BusinessLive understands, the CMA's advice to customers who have already used the Alpharooms’ webform, but have not yet received a refund, is to contact parent company Truly by email.
The email address is located at the bottom of the Covid-19 refunds webpage on Alpharooms' website.
Alpharooms and Truly did not respond to repeated requests for comment from BusinessLive .
To keep up to date with the latest business news, sign up to get stories like this straight to your inbox.