Travel agencies receiving an influx of debit memos and credit card chargebacks from angry customers won’t be held responsible for payments if the disputes meet a certain set of criteria relating to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement released today to travel advisors from the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).
Specifically, ARC — which provides ticket transaction settlement services to airlines, travel agencies and travel management companies — will not take action against travel advisors who receive debit memos or chargebacks if the client’s flight has been canceled by the airline due to COVID-19 or the debit memo or chargeback is the result of a passenger compensation dispute that arose due to COVID-19.
Not only will these agencies be alleviated of responsibility for these claims, but ARC has also promised not to act against an agency in a way that would affect its accreditation.
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) sent out a statement applauding ARC on these changes, which came soon after ASTA publicly urged airlines to revise cancellation and ticketing policies, to refrain from holding travel advisors accountable for chargebacks and to issue refunds in a timely manner.
“ARC not taking action on debit memos that involve flights canceled by an airline or government, or debit memos that are related to a passenger compensation dispute — either resulting from COVID-19 — is exceptional,” according to a statement issued by ASTA. “By not holding travel agencies liable for the payment of such memos, nor taking action against agencies that could affect their accreditation status for failure to do so, is a strong testament to the value and trust placed in the travel agency community by ARC and its owner airlines.”
This is a strong testament to the value and trust placed in the travel agency community by ARC and its owner airlines.
ARC has also extended its Ticket Resolution Services (TRS) compensatory fee grace period from 15 to 45 days. (Note: These fees are normally issued by ARC if an advisor receives an Agent Reporting Agreement infraction.) This extended grace period gives advisors increased time to manage a dispute if it was filed on or after April 9, 2020.
Additionally, a chargeback fee that is normally issued for transactions processed through ARC Pay (the organization’s credit card processing service) will also be suspended in the interim.
“One of ARC’s core functions is facilitating efficient commercial relationships between its participating airlines and accredited travel agencies,” according to a letter to travel advisor customers that was jointly signed by Chuck Fischer, ARC’s vice president of airline retailing and settlement, and Doug Mangold, ARC’s vice president of product. “ARC has also been closely working with a core group of travel agencies and airlines, including the Debit Memo Working Group, to develop mitigation strategies for the increasing number of chargebacks and debit memos resulting from this unprecedented period.”
Note
Advisors with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to ARC’s customer care team by emailing [email protected] or by calling 703-816-8003.
If advisors are disputing a debt memo, ARC is asking that they enter the code “COVID19” into the ARC Memo Manager’s “Agency Reason” field.
The Details
Airlines Reporting Corporation
www.arccorp.com
Read more from TravelAge West about the COVID-19 outbreak.
