Your coronavirus consumer rights guide

Times have changed but your consumer protection hasn’t

The big day has been ruined for many by virus restrictions (Getty/iStock)

Covid-19 has filled our hospitals, shut down our workplaces and transformed how we live – but it hasn’t changed our fundamental consumer rights.

Across the country, consumers have had gigs, flights and weddings cancelled. They have struggled to return faulty goods because the shops are closed, they have had emails about refunds ignored and they have been left in financial limbo as their rights seem to be disregarded.

Yet consumer rights have not changed and people still have important legal protections. Of course, most businesses are trying to do the right thing in a really difficult time, while they also deal with the pressures of the pandemic. Some may be overwhelmed by customer demands at a time when they are also short-staffed.

But if you are going to enforce your rights then you need to know what they are and how Covid-19 might be affecting how quickly they can be resolved.

Here’s a rundown.

No one will refund my travel plans

This is a widespread issue for would-be holidaymakers across the world. The government is currently advising against travel overseas and non-essential travel in the UK is banned, effectively ending tourism until the lockdown eases.

People with travel booked for later in the year face tremendous uncertainty as they wait to find out if their holidays will be cancelled or otherwise.

And people whose travel plans have definitely been cancelled are struggling to secure refunds from providers, often being fobbed off with vouchers or the offer of a postponement.

If your holiday has been cancelled then you are entitled to a refund. However, the consumer champion Which? has found that 10 of the UK’s biggest package holiday providers and 10 of the largest airlines are failing to refund customers in the statutory timeframe of 14 days after you request it.

Of course, it may be a struggle for providers to refund everyone immediately and many customers will be happy to accept their break being rescheduled. If you are happy to accept a new holiday or a credit note then make sure it comes with Atol protection so your money is not at risk if the provider goes under.

If you are not happy to do so then put your request for a refund in writing and keep pestering the provider until your consumer rights are met.

My wedding is delayed and my insurer won’t pay out

Many couples were looking forward to spring or summer 2020 for their weddings and now face the heartache of cancelling or delaying their big day. But many face distressing financial consequences as well.

A number of wedding insurers say their policies do not cover weddings being cancelled for this kind of reason, leaving couples without the financial protection they thought they had.

Once again, your rights do not change just because the world has. If you have read your policy carefully and believe that it should cover this kind of event (many have quite limited cover so read carefully) then the first step must be a formal complaint to the insurer themselves.

If that is rejected then the next step is a complaint to the financial ombudsman. It is free to make a complaint and they will investigate on your behalf. If they find in your favour then they can order the insurer to pay you.

The service is under pressure, as you’d expect, and its website warns that at busy times it can take around four months to assign new cases to a handler. That’s all the more reason to get the ball rolling on your complaint now.

My wedding is delayed and I can’t get any refunds

Not everyone has wedding insurance, and many people want their money back from the suppliers and venues they had booked.

While many businesses are doing what they can to help couples postpone their events, some are refusing refunds or demanding additional payments.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has put out additional guidance to businesses, including highlighting that it expects in most cases a full refund would be paid if a business has cancelled a contract without providing any of the goods or services as a result of the current lockdown.

If you’ve been affected by unfair cancellation terms, you can report the businesses involved to the CMA using its online form.

My childcare provider is charging me

This is a very difficult time for nurseries and childminders, many of which struggle to make ends meet even without a lockdown. As a result, some have continued to charge parents for childcare even when the children are unable to attend because of the lockdown rules.

Many childcare contracts do specify that parents must continue paying even if their child is unable to attend, although the majority have not done so during this crisis.

However, for parents whose childcare settings are still billing, the CMA has said it expects refunds to be paid when “no service is provided by a business, for example because this is prevented by the restrictions that apply during the current lockdown”.

Again, there is the opportunity to highlight unfair treatment to the CMA through its website.

I cannot return my faulty item because of the lockdown

Many retailers have agreed to longer returns periods as a result of the lockdown as they know that it may be harder for customers to enforce their rights. If you are shopping online then make sure you find out first what the returns policy is so you know what your rights are.

If you want to return an item or reject a service then it’s important to understand your rights to do so. If the current lockdown makes it harder to enforce your rights then it is a sensible idea to email the company.

That way there is a record that you intended to complain or return an item within the accepted timeframe but were prevented from doing so.

The current situation doesn’t mean you have fewer rights but it may mean you have to fight harder to reinforce them.

Keep calm, keep notes and keep on demanding that your consumer rights are met.