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Safe Vacation – How To Pay And Not Lose


The latest hot topic in Poland is travel agents’ problems, which in fact means also problems of people using their services. First Sky Club went bankrupt, then Alba Tour. And right after that, Africano Travel. The news of these companies surprised thousands clients who were halfway through their vacation, thousands of miles away.

Safe Return Home

The priority in such a situation is for the tourists to return home safely. One can hope that the trip’s insurance will cover the costs, but, as recent events have shown, the Foreign Office is of great help with organizing and paying for return journeys.

After finally returning home, another thought comes to mind – lost time and money.  And although no one will make up for the wasted vacation, is there a way to get back the money spent on the trip?

How To Get Back The Money?

A lot depends on the contract we’ve signed with the travel agent. If the trip is insured, we have to right to remand a refund. However, this claim might not result in a getting the whole sum back. Such insurance covers also those who paid for the holidays, but didn’t get to enjoy it – but once again, it’s doubtful that they see all of their money again.

That’s why it might be worth to get an additional insurance. It doesn’t require any special action – all you need to do is pay for the trip with a debit or credit card. In such a case, we get a guarantee from the bank, not the travel agent or other middle-men. Just like with any other card payment, we can demand a refund if the seller doesn’t fulfil the contract.

Chargeback

Chargeback is a procedure thanks to which you’ll get your money back. If paying for your holidays was easy, getting a refund is even easier. All you need to do is contact your bank to request a chargeback and… wait. All other actions will be from now on done by the bank. They can either credit the money – in such a case we get it right away, or dispute with the merchant, which means we have to wait for the funds until they resolve the matter. In any case, as the victim, we get preferential treatment.

It sounds almost too good and many people wonder where the catch is. The truth is, there is none – that’s just how card payments work. Mechanisms such as chargebacks are supposed to give customers the sense of safety, so that they’re not afraid of paying with cards. That’s why banks make merchants go through such a detailed verification process before allowing them to accept cards – to protect financial institutions from potential risk connected to their services.

Consumer’s Awareness

Consumer’s awareness differs depending on the country, but credit and debit cards are becoming more and more popular around the world. As you can see, the choice of a payment method isn’t just about the convenience and speed of transaction, but also safety and possibility of getting our money back in case of a bankruptcy or fraud merchant.

photo source: SXC.hu


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