Arena Travel Reviews 

In terms of the company response to my original posting : 1). they say they never refused me a refund but these are 2 direct quotes from their customer service manager's emails "I'm really sorry but we simply cannot give any refunds at the moment." in April and "I am sorry I cannot give you a refund" in June - that was 3 months after I first requested a refund. 2) Yes I have now had a refund but it was not given until July 4 MONTHS LATER WHEN I COMMENCED LEGAL ACTION AND ALSO MY CREDIT CARD SUPPLIER PUT PRESSURE ON THEM. My original posting follows.

I am a Pensioner and have status as a vulnerable person in this Coronavirus nightmare. In March I received an email from Arena saying the balance was due for my saved for holiday in Switzerland in June. I emailed expressing alarm at the Covid-19 developments and asking what future possibilities there were for cancelling etc. . March 5th I received a personal email reply stating that if I were to cancel I would lose my deposit. Further it explicitly stated that if I paid the balance but the holiday did not actually take place then Arena would refund me in full. Only on the basis of that cast iron commitment did I pay the balance.

Inevitably they later cancelled the holiday so I wrote for a refund as promised. They adamantly refused. I tried again to more senior personnel including the CEO. They refused again, in dismissive terms, despite it being an illegal act (under the Package Travel Regulations I am legally entitled to a refund within 14 days of cancellation).
Adding weight to this legal right is the fact that without their cast iron guarantee of a refund in their email of March 5th I would never have been coerced into paying the balance. I tried once more but they said only that they were sure I wanted to safeguard the financial health of their company!!!!! What about my financial health???!!!
In current circumstances I am now desperate for this money. (They offered a credit note for a future holiday - absolutely useless to me as I need cash urgently now -plus I see no prospect of them being able to arrange  a holiday -or me taking one - in the foreseeable future. They say that in July they will consider a refund of the credit note - but that the date is likely to be put back!!!! And who would trust them after their previous blatant disregard of a promise) Other travel companies, big and small, are providing monetary refunds as they are legally required to do. Arena will not even discuss their illegal act. They have left me with no option other than to take legal action. My health is now suffering because of this lack of money and the added mental stress they have brought me in these terrible times.