Otravo B.V., located in the Netherlands, was declared bankrupt on 20 December 2022. The company was one of the largest intermediaries of travel services in Europe. Its brands include Travelgenio.com, Tripmonster.com, Travel2be.com, Vliegtickets.nl, Vliegtickets.be, Flygstolen.se, Greitai.lt, Bookinghouse.ee and Flysiesta.lv. In addition to flights, it was possible to book accommodation and car rental services through the websites. Due to Otravo’s bankruptcy, the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) can no longer settle consumer disputes concerning these intermediaries.
On 16 December 2022, Otravo published a press release that provides customers with instructions concerning, for example, booked flight tickets and additional services related to them.
We have provided further instructions below to consumers in Finland.
A booking concerning a service that you have ordered has been confirmed – contact the service provider
If you have purchased a service, such as air transport or accommodation, from one of the intermediaries mentioned above and have received confirmation of it, you should ask the service provider directly (for example, the airline or the accommodation provider) about the status of the booking. Also make sure that the service provider has your up-to-date contact information.
Changes to the booking and refunds are carried out through the service provider, as the travel booking websites’ customer service is no longer operational.
A service that you have ordered has not been delivered – remember the creditor’s liability
If you have paid, for example, undelivered flight tickets by credit, you can contact the creditor. In the event of a seller’s bankruptcy, the creditor is obliged to return the payment to the consumer on the basis of the creditor’s liability.
If the service has been paid with a debit card, contact your bank. According to the terms and conditions of some banks, the same refund principles as those applied when paying by credit also apply to debit card payments.
Submitting a claim to the bankruptcy estate – prepare for a long processing time
Consumers can submit their refund claims to Otravo’s bankruptcy estate in the Netherlands if the ordered service is not delivered and taking the matter to the creditor or their bank does not produce results. However, it is good to be aware that a consumer’s position in a bankruptcy case is usually weak. The procedure itself may also take up to several years.
The contact details of the administrator of the bankruptcy estate are as follows:
D.J. van Dongen (De Vos & Partners), crediteuren.otravo@devos.nl
A claim to the bankruptcy estate should be submitted as soon as possible. You can use the following template in the email. The information concerning your own case must be filled in. In the template, you require that you be refunded the purchase price if the contract is not fulfilled. Attach the relevant attachments to your application.
Claim in bankruptcy
Dear Mr. van Dongen:
On <date>, I booked <service you ordered, for example, a flight> from <name of the intermediary, for example, Travelgenio.com>. The price was <price in euros>. Please find attached a copy of the order confirmation and the receipt.
Please let me know if the contract can still be fulfilled. If this is not an option, I herewith terminate the agreement. In that event, I request you to refund the purchase sum to my account. My bank details are as follows:
- Account number: <your IBAN account number>
- Account holder: <name of the account holder>
- The BIC code of my bank: <BIC code of your bank>.
With kind regards,
<name and signature>
Attachments :
- Order confirmation
- Copy of payment transaction
- Copy of previous correspondence, if any
- Other relevant documents