Member of travelling part needs to cancel

pikachu_nitwit

Hi all,

Myself and a group of friends are due to New York on 27th November. I booked the trip through Expedia with a credit card. I declined to take the insurance offered at the time, deciding to sort it out separately (which I haven't done yet).

One of my friends has developed a medical problem and has been advised by a doctor not to go. She may even have to undergo an operation this week. She would either like someone else that we know to take her place (no offers yet) or cancel the trip. I called Expedia this morning and was told quite confidently that we can not change any traveller details and a cancellation would be non-refundable.

Any advice from anyone, is there a way around this or is it just tough?

Thanks in advance,
Suzanne

zzzLazyDaisy

I know this doesn't help you, but this is exactly the sort of thing that travel insurance would cover, and that's why insurance should always be taken out at the time of booking, even if you decide to get your own insurance.

I can't think of a way round it now, but maybe someone else will be along soon with more helpful advice.

Good luck

jamie.86

As zzzLazyDaisy said, this is what travel insurance is for. If your friend has travel insurance, then she will be able to cancel and claim from the insurer and the rest of you will be able to continue with your holiday.

I have worked on travel insurance before and companies are normally willing to let people transfer bookings onto different names, so I would check the expedia terms and conditions to see if you definatley cannot do this. In my view the person you spoke to probabbly doesnt have a clue (as is usually the case) so you will have to double check this yourself.

I know this does not help but if you had travel insurance, then you all would of been able to claim cancellation of the holiday - there is a clause in most travel insurance policies that will let you cancel your holiday if a member of the group you are travelling with is unable to travel.

Again I would check Expedia's terms and conditions as I'm sure you will be able to change the booking to a different person (they may charge for this).

Voyager2002

Check the ticket terms with the airline, since Expedia do not make the rules (although they add a few of their own). Be sure you know the ticket number and the fare code before you contact the airline, because the rules vary between different types of ticket. However, if it was a cheap ticket it is unlikely that anything can be done.

If you think insurance is too expensive, try the alternative!