Intrepid Travel, a major tour operator, reneged on a promise to provide refunds for trips cancelled due to Covid-19 by changing its refund policy and applying it retrospectively.

Intrepid is at least the second major player in the sector to abruptly alter its refund policy and apply it to past bookings, as the industry battles to survive the coronavirus crisis.

Travel restrictions have forced many companies, including Intrepid, an adventure tour operator, to cancel trips en masse.

The situation prompted advice from the competition and consumer watchdog that tour operators are not allowed to change terms and conditions in a way that denies customers a refund, if they were entitled to one at the time of booking.

When it first began cancelling trips, Intrepid told some customers they were entitled to a refund, minus any costs the company was unable to recover.

That was in line with the refund policy in place, which said: “If we cancel your trip, you can transfer amounts paid to an alternate departure date or receive a full refund. In circumstances where the cancellation is due to external events outside our reasonable control refunds will be less any unrecoverable costs.”

Intrepid has since told customers its refund policy has changed.

Now, effective 14 March, customers are being told they are not entitled to a refund, but will be given a credit voucher of 110%, which can be used for future travel with the company for trips departing before 30 April 2022.

On its website, the company said the “altered conditions will take precedence” over its previous refund policy.

The “unprecedented impact of Covid-19” had forced it to “adapt” its booking conditions and cancellation policy, it said.

“We’ve tried to communicate any changes to terms as quickly as we can and to be as transparent as possible with customers,” the company said. “Intrepid is committed to doing our best by all the people around the world that rely on our business and providing travel credits helps us to do that.”

Its actions closely mirror those of another tour operator, Topdeck, which has also altered its refund policy and applied it retrospectively.

The actions of both companies have infuriated their customers, prompting complaints to the consumer watchdog and state authorities.

Guardian Australia has been contacted by a number of Intrepid customers angry at their treatment.

Declan Gallagher, who had his $6,000 tour of India cancelled, said Intrepid had initially offered him a 75% refund. The tour had been booked through Flight Centre, which wants to charge its own $300 cancellation fee to process the refund.

“We agreed but then this offer was rescinded within 24 hours and we were advised by Flight Centre that Intrepid had ‘changed their policy’ to only offer 110% in travel credit,” he said. “This is of no use to us when we have no jobs and desperately require the funds to live.”

Intrepid’s emails to Gallagher show it would not budge on its position, despite Gallagher raising financial hardship as an issue.

Intrepid told Gallagher that, if he still disputed the matter, he should wait several months before contacting the company again.

“This is our offer given the current environment,” Intrepid told him. “Should you wish for this to be reviewed further, we ask for you to contact us after the 31st of July, 2020.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued specific guidance for customers of the travel sector about Covid-19, saying: “If you had a right to a refund under these terms and conditions at the time you purchased your ticket, businesses are not permitted to change the terms at a later time to deny you a refund.”

The ACCC also says affected customers should be given a remedy for cancellations, which could be in the form of “a credit note or voucher”. Other tour operators, such as Contiki, have changed their terms and conditions to give customers vouchers, but have not applied the new policies retrospectively.

Documents also show another Intrepid customer, on an Intrepid tour at the time travel restrictions were imposed, was guaranteed a refund when her trip through Israel was rendered impossible.

A letter from Intrepid said “we will be refunding in full the unused portion of your tour with us”.

The customer did not receive a refund but says that others on her tour did. Two weeks later, she was advised that the terms had changed and she was entitled to a credit.

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“I have repeatedly called and emailed them requesting, then demanding, my refund,” she told the Guardian. “It is disgusting that during this time when our income is significantly reduced and may stop at any time, we are hanging on by our fingertips, that they refuse to release my money.”

In a statement to the Guardian, Intrepid said it was doing everything it could to help more than 30,000 customers affected by the crisis.

Intrepid said it was not denying refunds, but rather applying a travel credit policy and speaking with individual customers to resolve any concerns.

“This has been a completely unprecedented situation for the travel industry globally, and like other travel companies we have had to update our booking conditions and cancellation policy to adapt to the constantly evolving nature of this … pandemic,” the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said the company was working closely with the ACCC to ensure customers were treated fairly. She said the situation was highly complex, because the various suppliers Intrepid used for its tours all had different cancellation fees and booking conditions.

Most customers were happy with the credit note of 110%, she said, but Intrepid recognised that individual circumstances varied. The company was working through individual cases with customers, the spokeswoman said.

“We appreciate their patience as we try to work through individual situations as quickly as possible,” she said.

The tour operator peak body, the Council of Australian Tour Operators, held crisis talks last month and tried to map a path out of crisis. It has lodged a formal submission to the ACCC saying credit vouchers should be viewed as an acceptable means of compensating for cancelled travel.

“Cato believes that it is in the best interest of consumers that future travel credits are issued instead of cash refunds,” the organisation said on its website. “This will ensure maximum returns for each client, and help to preserve cash flows through each part of the travel supply chain.”