Cancelling a holiday with Thomas Cook

I have a holiday booked with Thomas Cook in February but I've just found out I'm pregnant and therefore will not be able to fly at that time as I will be too far gone for the airline to carry me.

I've paid a deposit of around £400 on the holiday but am unable to find out anywhere what I will be expected to pay in the event of cancellation. Would I just lose the deposit, would I have to pay the full amount or is there a fixed cancellation charge?
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Comments

  • deva
    deva Posts: 935 Forumite
    Your best bet is to cancel holiday but defer funds to a date in the future then you really wont loose anything- make the most of travelling with a young baby as it is as easy as it gets for a while!

    if this doesnt appeal you will rely on your holiday insurance but will probably still stand to loose your deposit.
  • I've not purchased holiday insurance yet as was planning to arrange this myself (didn't fancy the inflated Thomas Cook insurance pricetag!). Will I still be able to claim?

    I'm more than happy to bring the holiday forward...do you reckon they might allow me to do this under the circumstances? I don't really think I'd be able to cope with taking the baby abroad as I have 3 very lively sons who are going too!!!

    Sorry for the bombardment of questions...it's the first time we've ever gone abroad as a family and their website is patchy to say the least.
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  • dmg24
    dmg24 Posts: 33,925 Forumite
    You will not be able to make a claim on insurance purchased now.

    I would ask if you could bring the holiday forward, I would hope that they would waive any charges for the change under the circumstances.

    By the way ... congratulations! x
    Gone ... or have I?
  • Thanks

    I hope so too!!!

    I think I'm going to ring them on Monday and find out where I stand. The worst case scenario is that I lose all of the money but surely that won't happen will it? I'm more than happy to move the holiday so hopefully they will accommodate me.
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  • budgetflyer
    budgetflyer Posts: 5,949 Forumite
    Hopefully they will be accomodating, however £400 is just a drop in the ocean compared to what this baby is going to cost you over the next 18+ years;)
  • :rotfl: Tell me about it...this could be the last holiday I even consider until I'm well into my 50s


    :(
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  • Nenen
    Nenen Posts: 2,379 Forumite
    If you booked with Thomas Cook direct (and not through another travel agent) then this web page might answer your questions:
    http://thomascooknew.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/thomascooknew.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=132&p_created=1113383760&p_sid=nA_7FkIi&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NjMmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9Q2hhbmdpbmcgdGlja2V0cw**&p_li=&p_topview=1

    It looks to me as if you cancel more than 56 days before you go then you lose your deposit but don't have to pay any more.

    If you amend your booking then various charges apply (which are very wooly to say the least). It looks to me (and I'm NOT a travel expert) that a rough guide might be £30 to change dates but it's not clear if that is per person or the whole booking! They also have a £30 charge to change each of the following: the hotel, the flight and/or the departure airport so I don't know if they'd add all these together or not (e.g. if you pay to change the date do you also have to pay to change flight)?:confused:
    Sorry I couldn't be more help.... do you have anything written from them that will tell you about cancellation or ammendments?
    “A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles.”
    (Tim Cahill)
  • stacey21_2
    stacey21_2 Posts: 939 Forumite
    If the OP purchased travel insurance today could she not claim as she may not know she is pregnant right now ;-)

    i.e she might only find out next week ;-) AFTER she purchased
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  • Thanks, that's very helpful.

    No...incredibly there was NOTHING in the documents they sent me regarding cancellation on my part. I couldn't believe it. I thought this type of situation would be commonplace enough for it to be in the terms and conditions.

    I'm OK with losing the deposit but would rather change dates if the changing fees are significantly less than the deposit. Of course, I'll also need to take into account that it'll be more expensive to travel between now and December than in February.
    Thanks to everyone who posts comps, I love winning prizes big and small
    :A:A:A:A:A:A:A:A
  • stacey21 wrote: »
    If the OP purchased travel insurance today could she not claim as she may not know she is pregnant right now ;-)

    i.e she might only find out next week ;-) AFTER she purchased

    Didn't think of that. I'm only literally a couple of weeks and I've not even been to the doctor yet so that might be worth a consideration.
    Thanks to everyone who posts comps, I love winning prizes big and small
    :A:A:A:A:A:A:A:A
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