Another 15 corporate travel managers in the United Kingdom have contacted the Institute of Travel & Meetings about problems with obtaining British Airways and Virgin Atlantic fuel surcharge refunds following
last week's story on the subject in
EuroBTN. ITM is acting on behalf of disgruntled members to change the way refunds are being administered after buyers complained about receiving checks for less than they were expecting and without any supporting documentation.
ITM circulated
EuroBTN's story to buyer members last week, and 15 replied to chief executive Paul Tilstone within 24 hours that they too were experiencing difficulties. ITM has been communicating since early this month with Hausfeld, the law firm that negotiated a £73.5 million class action settlement in February 2008 with BA and Virgin for unlawful joint setting of fuel surcharges. ITM also has communicated with Feinberg Rozen, another law firm that Hausfeld appointed to administer the payment of partial refunds to both corporate clients and individual passengers who paid the surcharges.
"Our intention is to follow these claims to their conclusion to ensure our members receive processing according to their corporate needs," said Tilstone. "We are also engaging with the administrators about changing the process to account for the differing needs of corporate claims as opposed to independent traveler claims. We are making some progress but naturally we have had to demonstrate the severity of the situation to the administrator to gain any traction."