What are my options

Masonsmith888 · 8 June 2017 at 11:28PM

So bit of back story

Booked a family holiday in February to Lanzarote. 7 of us in a Villa and booked flights seperately through Thompson.

Booked via credit card over £3k. We are supposed to fly out 15/06/17 so 1 week and unfortunately yesterday one of our party had a heart attack (he is alive) but has been told he cannot fly. We hadnt gotten round to taking out travel insurance so not covered there.

I was wondering what our options would be about getting any money back or changing dates to later on in the year.

For information the villa have point blank refused any date change or refund due to short notice period. I havnt heard back from T!!!!!on yet. Someone in the group thought maybe the credit card company might pay out but im not too sure about this.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

gettingtheresometime · 9 June 2017 at 1:12AM

I think you're only option, other than lose the money, is to go without the patient.

Would insurance have paid out for the entire group if there was only 1 person ill?

There are so many people who find them in the mess you're now in I'm not surprised that it's not essential as part of the booking process you have to quote an insurance policy number

Itsgottabedone · 9 June 2017 at 7:43AM

Agree with above poster. The only thing I can add is you could check whether the credit card used to make payments included travel insurance. If so, whether cancellation cover is included in the insurance, and whether cover is for the cardholder only or travel companions (unlikely IMHO).

WAYT · 9 June 2017 at 9:01AM

We hadnt gotten round to taking out travel insurance so not covered there.

As soon as I saw that i stopped reading.....

Caz3121 · 9 June 2017 at 9:15AM

there is some info on the Thomson website re flights
WHAT HAPPENS IF I CANNOT TRAVEL DUE TO MEDICAL REASONS?
If you have a medical condition, a serious illness, or undergone recent surgery, you’ll need to be cleared for travel by the airline. You may also require a ‘Fitness to Fly’ certificate from your GP. We’ll need at least four working days’ notice ahead of the flight to permit a cancellation. If you do need to rebook your flight, call 0203 451 2725. Please note that we’ll require a medical certificate from your GP as proof of illness or medical condition.

http://www.thomson.co.uk/flight/faq
whether that will be for only the affected passenger or the whole group would be a question for Thomson...although getting the flights changed to another date does not help with the accommodation situation

This is the exact situation that insurance would be there to cover...an expensive lesson

meer53 · 9 June 2017 at 9:47AM

The villa is still available for the rest of your party so i can see why they won't refund. I can't see you getting a full refund for the flights either as it's only one person who can't fly. Why can't you still go ?

You should always book travel insurance as soon as you book the holiday.

littlereddevil · 9 June 2017 at 9:58AM

Your options are to go or lose your money.
Surely you weren't all going to travel without insurance?

Placitasgirl · 9 June 2017 at 10:17AM

The harsh reality here is that neither the villa owner, Thompson or the CC issuer have any reason to refund; why should the villa owner be out of pocket if they're going to have the villa you booked empty for the week you should have stayed or will have to relet (probably on a last minute/cancellation deal) to fill it? Why should Thompson refund your flights because you can't take them? The credit card issuer won't refund again because this situation is exactly why travel insurance should be purchased by all travellers at the time of booking

A harsh lesson here, but the responsibility lies firmly with you and your fellow travellers who didn't buy insurance to cover such an event. Were you all planning on taking the holiday uninsured?

Why can't the remaining members of the party honour the booking and travel as planned? Surely the unfortunate passenger who's unwell wouldn't want you all to cancel?

Aced2016 · 9 June 2017 at 10:21AM

You've not booked a package holiday, so you've lost that protection. Thomsons may budge out of niceness but do not have to. You have no Insurance so really you have no options.

Having worked for a bank, I can assure you you do not qualify for a chargeback request at all. So only option is to go without him or see if thomsons will be nice to you. And going forward get insurance it's a must !! I got a family of 6 going to America with Asda insurance for only £22.00 it's nothing really, but so worth it.

leylandsunaddict · 9 June 2017 at 11:05AM

As per their Conditions of Carriage, Thomson flights are non refundable, which is why they also tell you to take out adequate travel insurance. Their website also makes you tick a box before you book that says you have read and understood that

"Having adequate travel insurance for the entire duration of travel is a condition of traveling and must be arranged prior to departure. Otherwise, you make and take these travel arrangements at your own risk and cost."

They may refund the person who is ill, but there is no reason for them to refund the other six who are still fit to travel.

You will be able to amend the flight dates but you will still lose at least 70% of the original fare.

The villa owner isn't going to refund you. Why should they be out of pocket because of their guests inability to take our holiday insurance?

The person who's credit card was used may be covered by any insurance that may go with the credit card, but that won't cover anyone other than the card holder. They will not do a chargeback under Section 75 quite simply because cancelling for medical reasons isn't something Section 75 covers.

It's just foolhardy to still not have insurance, four months after you've booked and one month prior to travel.

maman · 9 June 2017 at 11:37AM

Masonsmith888 wrote: »

We are supposed to fly out 15/06/17 so 1 week and unfortunately yesterday one of our party had a heart attack (he is alive) but has been told he cannot fly. We hadnt gotten round to taking out travel insurance so not covered there.

Thanks

So when exactly did you plan to get around to it?

As others have said. There's no reason why the 6 of you who are fit to fly can't go so even if you had insurance you wouldn't all be covered. I doubt a policy would have covered all 7 of you. Not wanting to go without the whole group being together isn't usually a valid reason. If it was, say your dad who had the heart attack then maybe your mum would have a chance of a refund on the flight too but that's about all. In any event these are academic musings as you don't have insurance anyway.

What are my options

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