Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
Money
Deposits, refunds and chargebacks: what comes back
Whether you get money back after a cancelled tour depends on three things decided before you travel: the cancellation table in your contract, the way you paid, and whether the seller was a real company. This page goes through each.
Contents
Four words that get mixed up
Deposits
Asking for a deposit is normal. Scams use it too: the Ministry of Industry and Trade described fake tour and room offers that ask for 30 to 50 percent in advance and then keep it. The deposit itself is not the warning sign; the payee and the paperwork are.
- Pay the deposit only after you have a written contract or confirmation with the cancellation table.
- Pay the company, not a person. The account name should match the legal name on the register.
- Ask what the deposit is spent on. Some suppliers, such as airlines, need payment early and refund little.
- Get a receipt from the company showing the amount, the booking reference and the balance due.
Sources: Ministry of Industry and Trade — warning on booking, flight and tour scams; Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025 · last checked .
What you can realistically get back
| What happened | Likely outcome | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| You cancel well before departure | A refund minus the charge in your cancellation table and any listed non-refundable supplier costs | A table that lists those costs by item |
| You cancel close to departure or do not show up | Little or nothing, if the contract says so | Travel insurance with cancellation cover for the reason you cancelled |
| The company cancels | What the contract says the company owes; ask for this to be stated | A table that works in both directions |
| A typhoon, closure or other force majeure event | Whatever the force majeure clause provides: refund, credit or new dates | A clause that names events and consequences |
| Services missing or downgraded on the tour | A partial refund claim, if you can show the difference | The contract description, photos, a note from the guide, and a written complaint made at the time |
| The seller was a fake | Nothing from the seller; possibly a card dispute or a bank recall | Card payment, fast action, a police report |
If you booked a package from a seller in your own country, its rules may give you more. The UK Foreign Office notes that UK package travel rules require a refund when there is a significant change at the destination after booking. Those rules apply to the UK seller, not to a Vietnamese company booked directly.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 39 — travel contracts; UK Foreign Office — about travel advice: changing or cancelling plans · last checked .
Card disputes and chargebacks
When you pay a company by card, your card issuer can raise a dispute with the company's bank under the card scheme's rules if a service is not provided or not as agreed. The company can contest it, and the issuer decides on the evidence. Time limits are set by the scheme and the issuer and are counted from dates such as the payment or the expected service date, so ask your issuer as soon as something goes wrong.
The strongest disputes have paperwork: the contract or confirmation describing the service, proof of payment, your written request to the company for a refund and its answer, and evidence that the service was not delivered. Some countries also give credit card buyers extra legal rights against the card provider; your issuer or a consumer adviser at home can tell you whether that applies.
A card dispute is a bank process, not a judgement on the company. It is most useful in clear cases: a tour that never happened, a refund promised in writing and not paid, a seller that disappeared.
Sources: GOV.UK — consumer protection rights · last checked .
Bank transfers, wallets and cash
A transfer is fast to send and hard to reverse. If you paid by transfer and the seller vanishes, contact your bank immediately and ask whether it can request a recall; success depends on whether the money is still in the receiving account. Report the fraud to the police and keep the report, which banks and insurers usually ask for.
Cash paid to a guide or driver on the day is recoverable only from the company, and only with a receipt. Ask for one that names the company and the booking.
Sources: UK Foreign Office — victim of crime abroad; Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025 · last checked .
The operator's bank deposit
To hold a travel licence, a Vietnamese company must place a deposit with a bank, as Article 31 of the Law on Tourism requires, with details set by government decree. Travellers sometimes assume this money will repay them if a company fails. We could not confirm a procedure by which an individual traveller claims from it, or the deposit amounts in force when we checked, so do not plan around it. Your contract, your payment method and your insurance are what protect you.
Sources: Law on Tourism 2017, Article 31 — conditions for travel businesses · last checked .
Asking for a refund in writing
- Write to the company's email address, not only by chat. Give the booking reference.
- Quote the clause of the contract you rely on, or the service that was not provided.
- Say what you want: the amount, and the account or card it should go back to.
- Give a reasonable date for an answer and keep a copy.
- If there is no answer, use the routes on the complaint page and, for a card payment, contact your card issuer.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Is a deposit refundable if I cancel early?
Only as far as the contract says. Look for the cancellation table and the list of non-refundable supplier costs before you pay.
Can I get a chargeback if I paid by bank transfer?
No. Chargebacks apply to card payments. For a transfer, ask your bank about a recall as quickly as possible and report fraud to the police.
Does the operator's bank deposit protect my payment?
We could not confirm a procedure for travellers to claim from it. Rely on your contract, your card and your insurance instead.
The tour went ahead but the hotel was not the one in the contract. Can I claim?
You can ask for the difference in writing, using the contract description and evidence from the trip. Raise it with the guide and the company at the time, not only afterwards.
Related
Read next
Paperwork
Contract and confirmation
The five items the Law on Tourism requires in a travel contract, plus what a good confirmation adds.
Before you book
Red flags
The scam patterns official warnings describe, a table of red flags, and what to do if you have already paid.
Money
Insurance
The operator's legal insurance duty, what your own policy should cover, common exclusions and how claims work.
When something goes wrong
Complaints
The order of complaint channels in Vietnam, what each one handles, and what to put in your complaint.
Before you book
Check a licence
Step-by-step check of a travel company on the official VNAT register, with licence number formats and limits.
Independent guide for travellers
Home
Start here: the checks to run on a travel company in Vietnam, from licence to complaint.
Start planning
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