Tourism is not responsible for the appeal: will the money for the disrupted vacation be returned?

In connection with the news of partial mobilization, it was decided, just in case, to postpone not only the men theoretically subject to conscription, but also their relatives. Trips are canceled even by those who were going to travel not in the company of a potential conscript, but separately: they want to be there at a psychologically difficult moment of uncertainty. But what will this purely humanly invaluable support cost to the conscripts’ entourage: will they be returned at least part of the money for unused tours and tickets?

Lawyers so far only shrug their shoulders: fortunately, this situation has not arisen before, so no one is ready to firmly state that travel agencies are obliged to return the full cost of canceled trips. Or, on the contrary, that tour operators have already completed their work by transferring money to their counterparties and organizing the holidays ordered by customers, and they are not responsible for mobilization. So far, only the flagship of Russian air transportation has given a clear answer, promising to return money for unused air tickets, but only specifically to those who were called up. To receive them, you must show a summons or other documents confirming that this citizen is canceling the flight, as he is going to the NWO zone.

– My husband has been working in a trading company for the last 10 years, – Marina, the wife of a 35-year-old resident of the Moscow region, shares her doubts. – But at one time he graduated from a military school, has a military engineering specialty. He has not yet received a summons, but the company where he works promises to make a reservation for him, they really need a husband. But for now, these are all words. But in fact, at the beginning of summer we bought a 10-day tour to Egypt with a departure on September 26th.

According to Marina, if her husband does not receive a summons before the day of departure, then, most likely, the spouses will safely fly to Hurghada, as they dreamed. But here’s where the question marks come in. What will happen if the husband is called to the military enlistment office when he is not in the country? Wouldn’t they write him down as a dodger for this? What are the guarantees that they will be able to return home, according to the purchased return tickets?

“To be honest, it’s somehow disturbing to leave in such a situation,” Marina admits. – What if the borders will be closed or flights will be canceled? After all, it was already in a pandemic, when people want to fly out, but cannot. In general, we decided not to risk it. But then a new piano in the bushes: the travel agency refused to return the money to us, supposedly she had already transferred them somewhere.

We are interested in whether this is legal, with a lawyer specializing in protecting the rights of tourists.

– Alas, it is, – Andrey Kuzin answers. – If there is no actual call – that is, the agenda – the contract with the travel agency is terminated in the usual manner. And the usual one is according to Article 32 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, that is, with “reimbursement to the contractor for actually incurred expenses.” And if the trip is canceled just a few days before departure, it means that the contractor in the person of the travel agency has already accurately transferred money to partners – hotels, carriers, and so on. And the performer will not return his commission, he worked, and it is not his fault that the tourists changed their minds.

It seems to be logical, but, on the other hand, tourists also changed their minds not just like that, but in force majeure conditions. Maybe they have travel insurance? We are interested in insurers.

– If you are talking about whether it makes sense now to purchase travel insurance in order to receive compensation in the event of a draft, then we do not recommend it, – insurance brokers answer. – Yes, the call is scary, but not insured. Mobilization is not an insured event.

– Well, will the usual insurance “against recognizance” included in the tour package work? It also means any situation in which the tourist did not leave.

– But not any. You will first study the materiel.

And here it is, announced in the civil code: “Expenses are not covered in the event of an event that has signs of an insured event: due to military operations, as well as maneuvers or other military events, civil war, strikes, uprisings, riots, riots, popular unrest; service of the insured person in any armed forces and formations.

– The only thing that can be advised to those who are still thinking about whether to fly on vacation is to pay attention to article 964 in the civil code of the Russian Federation, – recommends lawyer Andrey Kuzin. – Or rather, on the part of the wording, emphasizing that “the insurer is exempt from the payment of insurance compensation and the sum insured, unless otherwise provided by law or the insurance contract.” That is, you can demand in advance to enter into the contract something that is not recognized as an insured event without additional clauses.

Let’s look at what else we have “not insured” without special additions to the contract with the insurance company. And the insurer, it turns out, does not owe anything to the insured, not only in the event of sudden mobilization, unrest and strikes, but also if “the insured event occurred as a result of the effects of a nuclear explosion, radiation or radioactive contamination.” You can, of course, separately insure your trip against a nuclear explosion, but even the insurers themselves admit that few people can compensate for such an “insurable event”.