A massive £7billion could be owed to holidaymakers in refunds for cancelled trips amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
An investigation by consumer group Which?, has revealed some companies are refusing to provide refunds, while others are offering vouchers or credit notes "which may prove to be worthless" if holiday firms collapse.
Which? said none of the country's 10 biggest holiday companies have been offering full refunds within the legal time frame with some refusing to cash back altogether, the LiverpoolEcho reports.
The government has been criticised for not taking action when lenders and travel companies have illegally withheld cash refunds for customers - which should have been paid out within a week for flights and 14 days for package deals.
The Competition and Markets Authority revealed it is getting complaints every day and said four out of five complaints are from British customers who have been denied travel refunds.
Industry estimates suggest companies could be sitting on around £7 billion in unpaid refunds.
Airlines including easyJet, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Ryanair and TUI have all been accused of offering vouchers instead of entitled refunds.
Customers are allowed to reject a voucher in favour of a refund, though obtaining a cash pay out could be time consuming and difficult.
Meanwhile, British Airways revealed it is making up to 12,000 workers redundant and last week billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson asked the government to financially support his struggling Virgin Atlantic company, at a cost of around £500million.
Booking a trip on a credit card usually guarantees some protection, but those holidaymakers who booked a getaway using a credit card have also struggled to get cash back from banks.
The Association of British Travel Agents has been lobbying ministers to relax rules requiring airlines to issue refunds within a set timeframe.
