Does anybody know how to get a full refund from Eurostar due to travel ban to France?

[nhow]

We were planning to stay in Paris over New Years weekend but now have had to cancel due to the French travel ban. We would like to get a full refund from Eurostar
as France will not allow us entrance from the UK. Has anyone with similar circumstances managed to get a refund from Eurostar? Thanks in advance.

 

[AlterEgo]

Wait and see if Eurostar cancel your train first. In that instance, you will be due a full refund. Else, you can postpone the trip, or claim on your travel insurance. Sadly, France saying you are not allowed to enter is not Eurostar’s problem…unless they cancel your train! (I suspect they will thin out the service over the coming days)

 

[nhow]

Really annoying. We bought the insurance offered through Eurostar but hoped not to have to use it. How really stupid that the destination country closing isn't a perfectly legitimate reason to get a full refund. Grrrrrrrrr. Appreciate your reply anyway. Not shooting the messenger.

 

[Esker-pades]

If you're more than 7 days out, you could exchange the ticket for another date several months in the future. Eurostar are only charging the difference in prices (no admin fee) for a change in trains if it happens more than a week in advance.

 

[nhow]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think we'll just get our money back from the insurance if Eurostar don't cancel the train. Too much up
in the air at the moment to be able to plan another trip so soon.

Just checked the terms on the trip insurance we bought with the Eurostar tickets. It says they will not cover cancellation due to the pandemic, including border closures!!! Unbelievable. I'm also going to check with my CC company. It has trip cancellation coverage but not sure if that includes border closures due to the pandemic.

 

[30907]

In the circs you might find ES will let you rebook.

 

[nhow]

Just checked with CC company. They also will not cover us in these circumstances....so I guess our only option is to wait and see if the
train is cancelled. If it isn't I guess we will need to request a voucher for future journey....only good until June. Not at all happy about this. A lot of money and not a good recourse. Sigh....

 

[AlbertBeale]

Just checked with CC company. They also will not cover us in these circumstances....so I guess our only option is to wait and see if the
train is cancelled. If it isn't I guess we will need to request a voucher for future journey....only good until June. Not at all happy about this. A lot of money and not a good recourse. Sigh....

So does this imply that you can amend a booking (subject to paying any price difference of course) without charge, providing you do so at least a week beforehand, but you can "cash in" tickets for a voucher until nearer the last minute? (Given that the cancellation of a service, and hence certainty of non-cancellation, if it isn't, might - in present circumstances - be within the last week before the train is/was due to run, that implies being able to get a voucher at the last moment.) I'm not sure I understand - at least from Eurostar's point of view! - the logic of that.

 

[nhow]

From Eurostar's point of view it's about keeping our money

 

[Mainline421]

https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-safe-with-eurostar/flexible-bookings

If you’re booked to travel by 10 January 2022, we’re giving you extra flexibility for greater peace of mind. You can now rearrange your journey at any point before departure and you won’t have to pay an exchange fee.

Eurostar don't officially cancel trains until the day before so worth waiting until then if you'd prefer a cash refund.

 

[nhow]

https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-safe-with-eurostar/flexible-bookings

Eurostar don't officially cancel trains until the day before so worth waiting until then if you'd prefer a cash refund.

But they don't give refunds on standard tickets unless they cancel your train.

 

[Mainline421]

But they don't give refunds on standard tickets unless they cancel your train.

Which is why I advised waiting until the day of the travel (before departure time), if you want refund to cash.

 

[nhow]

Indeed

 

[tony6499]

I contacted ES earlier in the month as I've vouchers that will expire on the 31st and they said they'd give another 6 months validity to use them. The other thing they said is that if the train you originally booked on ran whether you could travel or not there's no refund

 

[nhow]

That's interesting. Hopefully if our train is not cancelled and we end up getting vouchers we can also get an extension in the event France remains closed by June.

 

[AlterEgo]

That's interesting. Hopefully if our train is not cancelled and we end up getting vouchers we can also get an extension in the event France remains closed by June.

France will not be closed from now until June. Not even a remote possibility of that!

 

[nhow]

But you never know.

 

[TravelDream]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think we'll just get our money back from the insurance if Eurostar don't cancel the train. Too much up
in the air at the moment to be able to plan another trip so soon.

Just checked the terms on the trip insurance we bought with the Eurostar tickets. It says they will not cover cancellation due to the pandemic, including border closures!!! Unbelievable. I'm also going to check with my CC company. It has trip cancellation coverage but not sure if that includes border closures due to the pandemic.

I'm sorry this is of no use to you, but should serve as a warning to other travelers.

Never buy insurance from the operator (it's generally very overpriced and offers poor coverage. Eurostar has no link to the insurance other than the commission the insurance company pays them) and, if traveling during these Covid times, always ensure you buy insurance with travel coverage and read through the benefits to see exactly what it covers.
All of the big online comparison sites allow you to search only insurers which cover Covid.

 

[Ken H]

I'm sorry this is of no use to you, but should serve as a warning to other travelers.

Never buy insurance from the operator (it's generally very overpriced and offers poor coverage. Eurostar has no link to the insurance other than the commission the insurance company pays them) and, if traveling during these Covid times, always ensure you buy insurance with travel coverage and read through the benefits to see exactly what it covers.
All of the big online comparison sites allow you to search only insurers which cover Covid.

And if you travel a fair bit, consider an annual policy instead of a short policy for each trip.

 

[nhow]

Very good advice. Hope others will be forewarned. Funnily enough I never buy travel insurance but naively thought I'd better this time because of covid.

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

Very good advice. Hope others will be forewarned. Funnily enough I never buy travel insurance but naively thought I'd better this time because of covid.

except that the insurance you got specifically doesn't cover pandemic related cancellations woops lol

 

[nhow]

Mirabile dictu!!! Eurostar just cancelled our train. Offered a full refund. Happy Christmas one and all!!

 

[tarq]

Mirabile dictu!!! Eurostar just cancelled our train. Offered a full refund. Happy Christmas one and all!!

What were your travel dates? I’m booked to travel in Jan but i’ve heard they only cancel on the day..

 

[nhow]

Our departure was 30 Dec. so exactly a week ahead of time.

 

[AlterEgo]

Mirabile dictu!!! Eurostar just cancelled our train. Offered a full refund. Happy Christmas one and all!!

Super! Spend it on a few bottles of bubbly.

 

[nhow]

Ha! Sounds like a plan.

 

[thaitransit]

It seems absolutely stupid for a train service like this to not offer fully flexible tickets including full refund upto 1 hour before departure for any covid related reasons.

however the eurostar through routes to Amsterdam if I recall correctly are those services available still? if so you could go there instead of france.

 

[DanielB]

The Amsterdam services do run, but the Netherlands classifies the UK as high risk so quarantine is mandatory.

 

[Cdd89]

When I got Amber-Plussed with two days’ notice last year, Eurostar let me reschedule for a dummy date far into the future for a change fee of £80. It was very irritating, but better than losing the value of the ticket and I rescheduled again for a journey once ready.