SpeedFerries flex ticket refunds

SOME SpeedFerries customers who paid by credit card have now received compensation for unused tickets using a process called ‘chargeback’.

The firm, which ran a fast Boulogne-Dover service, is under administration by Ernst & Young.

While the administrators advise those who paid with British credit cards to contact their providers for information on refunds, notably via the UK’s Consumer Credit Act (which entitles credit card holders to refunds for services not received), the UK’s largest credit card provider MBNA has already made successful claims via a process called ‘chargeback’.

MBNA, which is part of the Bank of America, provides a number of types of Visa and Mastercard in Britain.

A spokesman for the firm said ‘chargeback’ meant card providers could apply for refunds from an “acquiring bank” - an intermediary (in this case Danish) bank that allowed SpeedFerries to accept payments from cardholders.

This option is available to holders of several brands of credit card and, under certain conditions, also to some users of the same firms’ debit cards.

The spokesman said MBNA had already used ‘chargeback’ to reclaim on Flex tickets - bulk purchases of several crossings that could be booked at later dates.

“We have made successful claims for customers with Flex tickets. We can do a full chargeback for those who have not made any trips or a partial one covering trips not made.”

The MBNA spokesman said that although there was a time limit to initiate chargeback, Flex tickets with unused crossings could still be claimed regardless of when they were bought.

The process can take several weeks.

A Barclaycard spokesman said they had also been using the chargeback mechanism for SpeedFerries claims. To apply for a chargeback you should contact your card provider.