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Update:
- A proposed class action lawsuit over expiring WestJet credits was dismissed by the B.C. Court of Appeal.
- The court reversed a decision to certify the class action lawsuit over WestJet’s one-year expiry policy for “travel bank credits,” saying they’re not equivalent to gift cards and don’t fall under the same consumer protection laws, according to CBC.
- Appeal Court Justice Patrice Abrioux said the lower court judge erred in her approach.
(December 23, 2020)
The British Columbia Supreme Court has approved a class action lawsuit that challenges WestJet’s policy of issuing travel credits that expire after one year.
WestJet travel credits are issued through the airline’s travel bank program. According to the WestJet class action lawsuit, tens of thousands of travelers have either had their WestJet travel credits expire or have had to pay for an extension.
WestJet Travel Credits are Allegedly Gift Cards and Should Not Expire
Plaintiff Tiana Sharifi of Vancouver argues that the WestJet travel credits are legally gift cards, which are prohibited by law from expiring.
Sharifi says she booked two round-trip WestJet flights from Vancouver to Paris in January 2018. She cancelled the flights in May 2018 and received a $993.23 credit from WestJet, which imposed a one year expiry on the credit.
Sharifi used a portion of the WestJet credit on a trip to Calgary, but she lost about $400 in remaining travel credit when it expired.
According to the WestJet travel credit class action lawsuit, the airline’s travel bank program issues “hard” credit for flight changes or cancellations and “soft” credits for issues like lost luggage and customer dissatisfaction. Travelers can pay $20 to extend their hard credits for an extra year. Soft credits reportedly cannot be extended.
Consumer protection laws in many of Canada’s provinces prohibit companies from imposing expiry dates on prepaid purchase and gift cards, the WestJet class action lawsuit claims. Sharifi argues that WestJet’s travel credits should be legally treated as gift cards and therefore should not expire.
WestJet Maintains Travel Credits are Not Gift Cards
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Amy Francis noted in her ruling that no decision about the merits of the WestJet class action lawsuit had been made; she simply determined that the case could proceed as a class action lawsuit.
Gabor Lukacs, an air passenger rights advocate, told CBC News that he was glad the WestJet travel credit class action lawsuit had been approved.
“Airlines are unjustly enriching themselves by taking the money of passengers and after 12 months, just pocketing it without providing any services in return,” Lukacs said.
WestJet has opposed the certification of the travel credit class action lawsuit and argues that it is “plain and obvious” that its travel credits are not a gift card or a prepaid purchase card. According to WestJet, the policy is similar to a store credit for a retail purchase which can be time-limited.
Air Canada is facing a similar class action lawsuit over allegations the airline’s flight passes meet the definition of a prepaid card. In 2019, the Quebec Superior Court determined that the case was not suitable to move forward as a class action lawsuit because the provinces have different consumer protection laws.
However, Quebec’s Court of Appeal disagreed and will allow the Air Canada class action lawsuit to proceed.
Airlines Face Mounting Legal Issues During COVID Crisis
Numerous industries have taken an unprecedented financial hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and airlines are no exception. The COVID-19 crisis has caused widespread disruption to the airline industry, including flight cancellations. Many airlines have responded by issuing travel credits instead of refunds, which many customers believe is an inadequate remedy for an uncertain future.
On Nov. 8, the Minister of Transport announced that federal support for Canada’s airline industry would be contingent on the airlines issuing refunds to travelers whose flights were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A COVID-19 plane ticket refund class action lawsuit was launched against five Canadian airlines seeking refunds for flights that were cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by the federal government.
WestJet Says It Will Issue Refunds for Some Flights Cancelled Due to COVID-19
In October, WestJet announced that it would issue refunds to some customers whose flights were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline says it was not prompted by the government to issue the refunds.
WestJet president and CEO Ed Sims sent an open letter to MPs and senators earlier this month, stating that the airline “took this action without any prompting from the government because it remains the right thing to do and we did so at the very first opportunity.”
Have you had airline travel credits that expired? Do you believe the airline travel credits should be treated like gift cards that don’t expire? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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25 thoughts onB.C. Judge Dismisses WestJet Class Action Over Travel Credits
I was told they(west jet dollars) didn’t expire! Go to use the West Jet dollars…and poof gone, more than $11k! Expired. No history to look at either-why can I not see anything?
I called and was told:
It was a company wide decision to have points from Covid travel cancellations expire within a year.
This stinks, and it’s theft. I would not have taken west jet dollars if I knew this.
I would like to join this class action. We are also being ripped off by the rubbish travel bank credits.
I’m out approximately $3000 because my travel credits with WestJet expired in March of 2022. Travel wasn’t advised during 2021 for sure, and early 2022 was still iffy with the prevalence of COVID? Also, many restrictions re vaccinations during this time.
I have close to 11 thousand West Jet dollars set to expire at the end of 2022!!!! West Jet won’t allow us to use the West Jet dollars to pay for any of the taxes on future trips yet wouldn’t refund the taxes. I can’t possibly use this by end of year.
How they can keep and literally steal our money is beyond me. They state you knew the risks of traveling during a pandemic, ironically if no one attempted to travel they would be out of business yet turn around and blame the customer and treat us like garbage.
Does anyone know if there are any other avenues to persue?
I am in the same boat. We need to,plaster this all over social media, have others aware. I am thinking of suing them
We too had a Trip Booked in August of 2020 that was cancelled due to the travel bans and Covid 19. We are talking about 5-6000 dollars that are set to expire between the five of us.
No company has the right to expire money from a customer. And it’s shocking for airlines to do this in a Pandemic.
I’ll do some research to see if we can join this class action suite.
We were in Cuba on April 2019 and Canada close all flight for covid.. Westjet never did the flight that we pay for or get a return or credit of our money.. Finally, the Canadien goverment got together a flight with Air Canada to bring us from Holguin Cuba to Edmonton with an extra cost of $3000.00 for both. Westjet stole my money. They never answer the phone ,i waited for hours on the line with not luck. Westjet is outcontrol abusing us the customers.Where are the goverment agencies doing their job?
If you pay for your flight using your credit card and then cancel your flight they should give you back your money. If they don’t that is stealing! If they give you travel credit that expires, money does not expire! This is not fare.
We had a big family vacation planned and canceled due to Covid. Tried to email and contact westjet with no luck getting through. When I finally got through it was ya pay us 21 bucks yo keep your money fir another 12 months. They said write us asking for a refund which I did but have heard nothing, not even. We received your request. This is such poor business. We are in a fixed income and we’re going to test our kids and grandkids to a family vacation celebrating my husbands bday. There is no way for us to contact them trust me I have been trying, this is just horrible. How do I get in on this class action suit
I have travel credits which expire in April. I paid for two flights to BC in February 2020. We were supposed to travel in early May of that year. I paid the additional cost for premier flex to allow for changes cancellations. Once the PM told us to avoid all unnecessary travel, I cancelled the flights. Besides we were going to be staying with older relatives who were concerned for their health. I asked for a refund and was refused. I have asked for a refund two other times and was refused. They ended up cancelling the flights during the period I would have travelled. Had I waited I would have been able to get a refund but because I did the responsible thing, I cannot get a refund. I am not comfortable booking anything until we are free to travel without restrictions. Both my husband and I are in our 60s with some health problems. I still work and cannot afford extra time off. Yes, I firmly believe this is like a gift card. I paid for the service and should not have a term imposed on when I can use it. Better still I should be able to get a refund
WestJet has now made it impossible to follow up on travel credit issues with them on the phone. I would also like to join this lawsuit and get my credit back. What are our next steps?
I also would love info on how to join! As i was ripped off and told me a agent in August that me expiration date of October would automactically renew. Well October came and it didnt and they took my money and say theres no way to get my credits back!!