Brittany Ferries won’t refund my dead husband’s £883 ticket saying I have the WRONG type of death certificate: CRANE ON THE CASE

This September, my husband and I had planned a holiday travelling around different cities in Spain. Sadly, he died in April. 

Before he died, my husband had booked two overnight crossings with Brittany Ferries – going from Portsmouth to Bilbao in late September, and returning from Santander to Plymouth in late October. The total cost was £883.80.

A month after my husband’s death, I contacted Brittany to ask to cancel the trip and have the money returned, either in cash or vouchers.

I was asked to provide a death certificate. What I sent was a copy of the interim death certificate, which I was issued because my husband’s death is subject to an inquest. 

However, Brittany said it can’t cancel any booking without a full death certificate. 

I’ve used the interim death certificate to sort out all his other financial affairs – but for some reason, it isn’t good enough to cancel a ferry crossing.  

The inquest isn’t going to happen before the ferry sets sail, so do I just have to accept I will never get the money back? S.M, Warrington

Difficult demand: Brittany said only a full death certificate was acceptable

Helen Crane, This is Money’s consumer champion, replies: First of all, I am sorry for your loss. 

I am also sorry that you faced such an ordeal to cancel a ferry crossing, which should have been one of the simpler things on your list after your husband passed away. 

You found it astounding that you could use the interim death certificate to sort out your husband’s bank accounts and even apply for probate, but that it wasn’t good enough for Brittany Ferries. 

I agreed. Companies should accept an interim certificate anywhere they would accept a full one, unless they require specific information about the deceased’s cause of death. 

An interim certificate is a version of the full death certificate, which is handed out to families when their relative’s death is subject to an inquest or post-mortem – meaning their cause of death has not been established. 

Once the inquest or post-mortem is concluded, they will get a full certificate, including the cause of death. However, the process can take months. 

In your case, a date hasn’t been set for the inquest yet and you had been told this wouldn’t happen before the date the ferry was due to depart in September – but you were told you needed to provide the full death certificate before this date for your refund.   

I think the person you dealt with at Brittany was misinformed, rather than malicious in their decision to follow the ‘full death certificate’ policy to the letter instead of applying common sense. 

That said, staff should be trained on this to avoid making life harder for those who’ve recently been bereaved. 

I contacted Brittany Ferries, and was pleased it apologised and acted quickly to put things right. 

Your husband had sadly been having health problems for some time, and you had paid £800 of the cost of the trip using vouchers you had been given when you cancelled another journey due to his ill health. 

The same day I got in touch, it sent you back £800 in vouchers in the post, and also £135 to refund the money your husband had paid for his annual Club Voyage membership – a discount scheme for regular customers. 

Often, I advise people to push for cash over vouchers when it comes to holiday refunds, as the latter usually expire after a year and are easily forgotten.

But your situation was slightly different, as you’d already paid in vouchers. You told me you were happy to receive them, as you are a loyal Brittany customer and are confident you will travel again soon. 

A spokesman for Brittany Ferries said: ‘We are really sorry for the distress this has caused S.M at such a difficult time. 

‘We would like to apologise sincerely for the mistake we’ve made and are, of course, refunding her today as a matter of urgency. 

‘We’re also going to remind our staff of the procedures we have in place for sad events of this nature: maximum empathy and minimum stress is the mantra we should have followed. We will from now on.’

Should companies refund travel when someone dies? 

Often, families can get some or all of their money back when someone they are due to travel with sadly dies before the holiday starts. 

However, it depends on the ferry company, airline or other travel provider’s terms and conditions and the small print of your ticket. 

Most transport companies have a clause in their terms which says they will offer a full or partial refund on a ticket if the passenger due to travel dies – but that the decision will ultimately be at the company’s discretion. 

All companies have their own rules for this, which are usually found on their websites. For example, some might be willing to refund the person or people travelling with the deceased, while others will not.  

Safety net: Companies will often refund some or all of a travel ticket cost when someone dies, but it is important to take out travel insurance when you book a trip in case the worst happens

Some will give a cash refund, while others might only offer a voucher or credit. You might also be charged a cancellation fee in some circumstances.

Usually, the person seeking the refund must provide evidence such as a death certificate or doctor’s note. 

Large companies often have bereavement departments which can help.  

If a company doesn’t have a clause in its terms and conditions which says tickets are refundable on death, it is worth asking anyway. They may refund you as a goodwill gesture – but this is at their discretion and not a legal right. 

It’s recommended to get travel insurance as soon as you book a holiday, to make sure you are fully covered in sad situations such as this.

However, I appreciate this is often easier said than done – and can be very expensive – if one of the travellers has pre-existing health problems, as this reader’s husband did. 

When booking travel insurance, look for the ‘cancellation cover’ section to see how much the policy would pay you if you had to cancel the holiday.