Following the cessation of trading of Flybe as of 5 March 2020, UK Finance has developed guidance on those protections available to consumers who have purchased travel using a debit or credit card.

We will update this page as more information becomes available.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) advises that all Flybe flights are cancelled and therefore, customers should not go to the airport as their flight will not be operating. The CAA advises Flybe customers to make their own alternative travel arrangements via other airlines, rail or coach operators. 

The CAA advises that customers who booked through an airline ticket agent should speak to the agent in the first instance. Customers may be eligible for a refund from travel-related customer refund schemes or via their travel insurance policy. Customers who booked flights directly with Flybe via a debit or credit card may have protection available from their card issuers.

Chargeback for credit and debit card purchases

There is a mechanism for your card issuer to reclaim money from the retailer's bank where you do not get the goods or services you paid for, including if the retailer has gone out of business. This is called a?chargeback.

Chargeback is not a legal right. You should address a chargeback claim to your debit or credit card issuer, which in turn will put in a request to the retailer's bank. The process for managing these claims is determined by a set of rules from American Express, MasterCard or Visa. There are no guarantees your issuer will be able to recover the money through chargeback, but they will assess your claim fairly. With a chargeback, the value claimed cannot exceed the value of the original transaction.

Section 75 for credit card purchases

If you booked your flight using a credit card, you may also have what is known as Section 75 protection. This provision (part of the Consumer Credit Act 1974) protects you if you use your credit card to buy something costing more than £100 and up to £30,000.

There are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled for a Section 75 claim to be available. The company from whom you bought the goods or services must be the supplier of those goods and services.

You are legally entitled to get your money back if the supplier you bought the product or service from:

• breaks their contract with you, including if they go out of business; or
• does not deliver what they have promised.

You are even able to claim if you only used your credit card to pay for part of the cost of what you bought. The protection may also cover any losses you have over and above the original amount you paid or if you incur additional reasonable costs to get back home. We strongly recommend customers talk to their credit card provider before incurring additional costs to see if they will be covered.

There are some instances where Section 75 does not apply, such as when goods or services are paid for by a secondary cardholder or are bought through an intermediary. This includes aggregators which sell on flight and hotel bookings. However, agencies like these often have their own payment protection systems in place.

More detail on chargeback and Section 75 claims can be found in our consumer guide. Customers should speak to their card issuer in the first instance before they incur further costs as these will need to be considered on a case by case basis.

Protect yourself against fraud - Take Five to Stop Fraud

Consumers should also be vigilant of criminals attempting to use the cessation of trading of Flybe as an opportunity to trick people into revealing personal or financial information.

Criminals will often use the publicity around these sorts of events as a chance to pose as a genuine organisation, including banks, police officers, retailers and travel companies. Often the criminal will pretend to be from the impacted company, such as Flybe, or claim they are dealing with an issue resulting from the collapse.

Fraudulent emails, phone calls or text messages and social media posts often claim to be able to help customers and assist with refunds.

Using Flybe as a cover story, the criminal will then attempt to get the recipient to disclose personal or financial information, which they will then use for their own fraudulent purposes.

Consumers are urged to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign:

• STOP: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

• CHALLENGE: Could it be fake? It's ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

• PROTECT: Contact your bank immediately if you think you?ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.