Combined trip
By definition, an end-of-course trip is, undoubtedly, a combined trip of those provided for in article 151 of RD 1/2007, of November 16, which approves the consolidated text of the General Law for Defense of Consumers and Users, and therefore article 160.2 of the same regulation that provides the right to terminate the contract without penalty and to obtain a full refund.
This article says: “when unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the destination or in the immediate vicinity that significantly affect the execution of the combined trip or the transportation of passengers to the destination, the traveler will have the right to terminate the contract before the beginning of it without paying any penalty. In this case, the traveler will be entitled to a full refund of any payment made, but not to additional compensation. ”
This article, added to the system of guarantees articulated around the travel agencies, could be used, in normal period, in the return of the money.
However, we are not in a normal period, and today the solvency of airlines and the hotels themselves is seriously compromised. The government being aware of this, a few weeks ago and shortly after the crisis began, it approved RDl 11/2020, of March 31, which adopts urgent complementary measures in the social and economic field to deal with COVID- 19.
Such rule already modified the way of reimbursement of this type of travel, which could preferably be replaced by a voucher for another later date, duly guaranteed.
What if my trip has been canceled?
In the case of the provision of services that include various providers, such as package tours, the consumer or user may choose to request a refund or make use of the voucher, with sufficient financial support, which will be provided by the organizer or, in its case, the retailer. Said voucher may be used within one year from the conclusion of the state of alarm and in the event that it is not used during that period, the consumer may exercise the right of reimbursement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the organizer, or where appropriate the retailer, must proceed to make a refund to consumers and users in the event that they request the termination of the contract, in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of article 160 of the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws, provided that the service providers included in the package travel contract had fully returned the amount corresponding to their services.
If only some of the combined trip service providers make the return to the organizer or, where appropriate, to the retailer, or the amount returned by each of them is partial, the consumer or user will be entitled to the partial refund corresponding to the returns made, being discounted from the amount of the bonus delivered by the termination of the contract.
The organizer or, where appropriate, the retailer, will proceed to make the aforementioned refunds within a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of the termination of the contract or from that in which the service providers had proceeded with their return.