Refunds for cancelled trips and a warning about bling cake décor
Are you still battling to get a refund for your cancelled trip? You’re far from alone in that. Although Wendy Knowler has tackled this issue before, she revisits it as more people still need help. This week on Consumerwatch, she also looks at the sparkly glitter that we all love on our cake.
Wendy Knowler has received a deluge of complaints from South Africans across the country who had their paid-for overseas trips cancelled because of COVID-19 - flights, tours, accommodation - and while many service providers have issued refunds, others have dug in their heels and refused.
Pensioners Allan and Sandy Jack were in just that position. The impact of COVID-19 hit world travel when they were already overseas in March and they were forced to cut their trip short and fly home, missing their Club Med stay in the Maldives, for which they’d paid R57,000. They’d been battling to get a refund from Club Med, their best offer being a voucher valid for three years. And while consumers are being encouraged to accept a voucher or postponement of their trips in order to enable the travel industry to get up off its knees, in cases where it's just not feasible - such as elderly people who do not want to travel internationally again - a refund is legally due.
This week, Allan emailed Wendy to say they’d been refunded by Club Med. That’s after he lodged a complaint with the Consumer Goods & Service Ombud, which forwarded it to the Tourism Complaints Officer at the National Department of Tourism. Wonderful news!
So if you paid for a trip that was cancelled due to COVID-19 lockdowns, and you have yet to get a refund, send an email to [email protected] and please keep me posted!
READ: About those extra costs on your store account...
All that glitters is not edible
With Christmas just around the corner, the season of all things sparkly, it’s a good time for a fresh warning about cake glitter and sparkly glitter balls.
If it’s very bling, it’s not food grade; in other words, it’s not edible and has no business being in your body.
Many of these products are labelled “Non Toxic”, which means they won’t kill or poison you, but they’re not considered food and are not subject to the same rigorous testing as products designed for human consumption.
Listen to the podcast as Wendy Knowler looks deeper into the glittery cake and cancelled trips.
READ: Companies - get your own (throwaways) back!
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Contact Wendy
Get in touch with Wendy via her website or her Facebook page. Please note that Wendy is not able to personally respond to every email she receives. If she is able to take up your case, she will contact you directly. Here are other avenues for you to consider.
IMAGE CREDIT: iStock