Consumers are concerned as the expiry date of their corona voucher is getting closer. Many of the vouchers issued last March for canceled trips and flights expire after one year, according to travel companies. But that is not true according to voucher platform Checkkie.nl. The vouchers have been offered to travelers because their trip was canceled by the travel company. In that situation, consumers retain the right to a refund of the travel sum because the service - the trip - has not been delivered.  

“There are no regulations that attach a one-year expiration period to these vouchers,” says Remco Kuilman, initiator of the platform. This applies to vouchers for airline tickets, package trips and for holiday parks and events. 

The vouchers that fall under the guarantee of SGR must be paid out within one year minus one day if consumers do not want to use the vouchers. After the end of one year, vouchers are no longer covered by the SGR fund. Consumers will then lose their money if their vouchers have not been redeemed and the travel organization still goes bankrupt.  

Now that the lockdown has been extended in many countries, it pleads voucher platform also for extension of the SGR guarantee. The knife then cuts on both sides. Consumers have the certainty that they will get their money back and the travel industry ensures that there will be no run to cash in on the vouchers, 'says Kuilman.

Also read: No worries for consumers with ANVR / SGR travel voucher