Help I am paying too much for my holiday

Mystcmaz

Hi

On 1st July I booked a holiday with escape worldwide for a 2 center trip to Cuba as I couldn't find on the internet any package providers which did the holiday I wanted to do i presumed it would have to be tailor made.
I paid for it by credit card over the phone, I then recieved recipt of payment and holiday details including insurance waiver form and a BOOKING AUTHORISATION FORM which I was to sign and send back to confirm
"I have read and understood the general information pages and booking conditions of cosmos (Tour operator) as contained within there brochure and accept them on behalf of myself and every member of my party. I am over 18 years of age. Further I authorise Escape Worldwide (Travel Agency) to make the booking detailed above on my behalf and that of my party"

I went on the comos/monarch holidays website to read there T&C's before signing the form, to find the exact holiday I booked £200 cheaper.
I called the agent who said they could do nothing about the price so I asked to cancel but they said I would be subject to Cosmos cancellation fees.
I queried this as I hadn't signed the booking authorisation form stating that I agreed to their booking conditions. She said she wasn't sure what the form meant and would get back to me.

My Question is should I have to pay the cancellation fee???

Thanks

susancs

This is what Escape cancellation policy says on their webiste.

Once you have booked your holiday, you are legally bound by the terms and conditions of your tour operator. All tour operators include cancellation and amendment procedure in these, and all will levy a charge should you wish to cancel your holiday. Expect to forfeit your deposit immediately, and note that many tour operators impose a sliding scale of fees, increasing to the full cost of your holiday prior to departure. Tour operator’s fees vary, so make yourself aware of these before you book. Tour operators have introduced this procedure as they themselves are in turn often charged fees by hotels, airlines and other suppliers in the event of a cancellation. Your cancellation also means that they have a reduced time in which to resell the holiday, and this has to be taken into account.
Cancellations must be made to us in writing, and must come from the person who originally made the booking. It is in your own interest to do this as soon as possible after you have made the decision to cancel. Some circumstances of cancellation may be covered by your insurance policy, so check carefully.


Cosmos own cancellation policy is a copied and pasted below:-


If you wish to cancel all or part of your booking, you should ask your Travel Agent to write to us or, if you booked direct, the person who made the booking must write to us. If some or all of your party cancel their holiday or we are entitled to treat your booking as cancelled in accordance with these Booking Conditions, we will levy a cancellation charge on the scale shown in the table below. These charges are based on the estimated cost of cancelling your holiday and the expenses and losses we are likely to suffer if we cannot resell the holiday or villa. Please note that any voluntary charitable donations made are passed on to the charity automatically at the time of booking and are non-refundable.
No. of days before your departure we receive your written cancellation or we cancel as mentioned above Amount you must pay per person cancelling More than 56 days Deposit (2 years of age & over) 29-56 days 50% of holiday cost* or the deposit if more 23-28 days 70% of holiday cost* or the deposit if more 16-22 days 80% of holiday cost* or the deposit if more 8-15 days 90% of holiday cost* or the deposit if more Within 7 days of departure or after.

You might find that you are bound by the verbal agreement over the phone, which they have backed up with your deposit. It may be that the travel company has a price promise and that might be worth looking into.