Exeter company says refunds not due for pandemic-hit trips

Sam Bardestani said only being offered to rebook "within a few years" was not possible given his university and career plans

A company offering volunteer travel to young people has refused to refund some trips cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic, customers say.

The BBC has learned of 51 people who have said the Exeter-based company GVI told them they would only offer rebooking for pandemic-hit trips.

Sam Bardestani, from Canada, said he felt "foolish" after finding out nearly £6,000 he paid would not be returned.

GVI said all customers who paid for flexible bookings had been refunded.

CEO Andrew Valentine said staff were working "tirelessly" to rebook all other trips. But the Package Travel Regulations on refunds did not apply to the type of travel they provided, he said.

Mr Bardestani's family set up a Facebook group for people trying to get their money back, after finding dealing with GVI a "frustrating" experience.

Its 51 members live in places as far flung as Devon, Tanzania, Australia, Scotland, and Hawaii, some of whom paid more than £7,000.

'Kids are broke'

Mr Bardestani was offered replacement trips after he could not go to Laos in June 2020.

However, he said with university and career plans, taking six months off to volunteer in the future was not a viable alternative.

He said: "It made me feel a little bit foolish, because you're going out to volunteer to help."

The Bardestani family set up a Facebook group for other people struggling to get refunds from GVI

His mother Janice Bardestani said it was "not fair" for GVI to keep the money "gaining interest while these kids are broke".

"It's heartbreaking to see these 18, 19, 20 year olds that have used their life-savings for an experience like this before they start their studies or start their career," his father Amin Bardestani added.

'Save that money'

Government regulator the Competition and Market Authority says it would normally expect a consumer to be offered a full refund where no goods or services were provided by a business because it was prevented by lockdown laws.

Bella Kortland, from Tanzania and studying at university in Brighton, was refused a refund of more than £3,000 and said she was lucky part of her trip had been paid for by her parents.

"As a student I'm wanting to save that money to help pay my rent, my tuition fees and my living costs," she explained.

Bella Kortland is studying at the University of Sussex in Brighton

Ms Kortland's mother Gabriella said their dealings with GVI started as initially just wanting their money back, but she felt they "shouldn't get away with this".

She said: "I wonder how many more people [there are] out in the world who are fighting for a refund who haven't even found this Facebook page."

The Kortland family in Tanzania

'Working tirelessly'

Mr Valentine, said the trips GVI offered were not package travel and therefore not covered by regulations which require an automatic refund, emphasising their approach was "entirely lawful".

He argued "not all travel is package travel" and people must decide when booking if they want flexibility.

Mr Valentine said: "Every GVI customer who chose to pay extra for flexible cancellation has already been refunded in full.

"For our other customers, we're still working tirelessly to rebook them all, at zero cost to them, for any destination, any time in the next four years."