Help Son in Law got Holiday Problems!! Advice Please

lolly_896

Thomas Cook were awful when my grandmother passed away and we had booked a massive family holiday to jamaica! Not quite sure of the ins and outs but long story short my nan died so none of our family went then they sent us a bill for cancellation or something along those lines!

Also for the passport office they can work miracles ive had a passport within hours albeit through kicking and screaming

Keeping everything crossed for you xx

Blue264

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

However, given the economic climate, I'd be far more inclined to believe that travel agents will stay firm on the issue, particularly if tickets have already been issued. Perhaps the holiday could be 'sold' and the names changed?

Airlines do not allow name changes on heavily restricted tickets.

spiro

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

Is it posible for him to make an appointment to go to the passport office so he can get the passport more quickly?

The passport office website states "From 1 June 2007, first-time adult passport customers will no longer be able to use the fast track one-week service as they may need to have an interview as part of the passport application process.". It goes on to say "If you are applying for your first passport you should plan on allowing more time than in the past to receive your passport as you will need to attend an interview. We recommend you submit your applications six weeks before you need your passport to travel and do not book any travel arrangements until the new passport is received.".

Microstar_2

If you really don't think you'll have the passport in time then cancel the holiday ASAP.
If you feel that the cancellation fee is too high then take the company to Small Claims Court citing 'Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts 1999' - see the OFT website for more details and guidance papers.
Companies are allowed ONLY to charge a 'reasonable' cancellation fee and must take into account the fact that they still have the product to sell. The sooner you cancel the better.
Companies love the ignorant consumer who just shrugs and says 'its in the T&C's'.

To give a personal example..
Two years ago I booked over £1000 of hotel accommodation with a major hotel group, paying up-front at discount with a 'no refunds' clause.
Two months prior to travel I had a problem (smoke damage at one of my business premises) and to keep the business going I had to abandon my travel plans.
The hotel company refused to refund any money. I took them to SCC on the basis that they could only charge reasonable costs and losses, and with over two months to go, could still sell the rooms to mitigate their losses.
24 hours before the court date I received a Special Delivery letter with a cheque for the full amount.
Many of the 'cancellation' and 'admin' fees applied by holiday/travel companies can readily be challenged in the SCC. T&C's mean nothing if they can be deemed unfair.
You need to use your judgement though, as to what is fair or unfair.

duchy

Oh dear I agree with Pelirocco (I'm scared too)

I worked for a short time for Thomas Cook so know it's a standard procedure when booking to be told you need a passport (Yes I know it sounds obvious) so Cooks will stand firm on this one-and rightly so. They aren't accountable for someone been a twit. Are you SURE you want a twit for a son in law though ?

Seriously it's an expensive lesson but hopefully one he'll learn from and your daughter will benefit from that in the future

I wouldn't waste any more money with legal costs on Microstar's idea -the booking conditions are clear -and not checking how long a passport takes to get is a little different to "unforseen circumstances" like a fire. IMHO

Microstar_2

duchy wrote: »

Oh dear I agree with Pelirocco (I'm scared too)

I worked for a short time for Thomas Cook so know it's a standard procedure when booking to be told you need a passport (Yes I know it sounds obvious) so Cooks will stand firm on this one-and rightly so. They aren't accountable for someone been a twit.

Yes, they will stand firm and you will lose money - but the amount that you lose should be 'reasonable', they cannot apply 'punitive' charges/fees (although many companies will try to via unfair T&C's).

Moonchild

Depending on how and what the holiday is, the agent can be just an 'agent'.

So you have their cancellation fees.
The airlines cancellation fees.
The hotels cancellation fees.
The transfer companies cancellation fees.

So don't think that all the fees are being levied by just one company (although they might be, but don't presume it's cut and dried).

And I doubt any 'holiday' departing on June 14th will be 'full', thus being able to re-sell is irrelevant. Most travel companies costs are incurred in the build-up to you booking. Once you have booked there is very little expenditure on their behalf, so there is going to be a general reluctance to refund you any money.

The passport agency remain your best bet. But trying to speak to someone important at Thomas Cook (i.e. don't bother wasting effort on sales people explaining the situation), and see if there can be any flexibility.

But ultimately it might be one of those horrendous cases of his own mistake costing him (should it be costing anyone else?).

Voyager2002

His best chance is to get a passport quickly.

I suggest contacting your local MP and letting him/her know the problem, and that it is for a honeymoon. A letter or 'phone call from an MP can work wonders in getting a government agency to do things quickly. And the MP might appreciate a wedding invite (just to the ceremony, not the reception): a story in the local paper about how s/he rescued the happy couple might be enough to swing the result of the next election!

Other than that, I do agree with Polish Big Spender.

duchy

Now Voyager's idea is probably the best bit of advice -Good idea !

Microstar_2

Moonchild wrote: »

Depending on how and what the holiday is, the agent can be just an 'agent'.

So you have their cancellation fees.
The airlines cancellation fees.
The hotels cancellation fees.
The transfer companies cancellation fees.

So don't think that all the fees are being levied by just one company (although they might be, but don't presume it's cut and dried).

And I doubt any 'holiday' departing on June 14th will be 'full', thus being able to re-sell is irrelevant. Most travel companies costs are incurred in the build-up to you booking. Once you have booked there is very little expenditure on their behalf, so there is going to be a general reluctance to refund you any money.

Largely irrelevant post. If the cancellation fees are being charged by Thomas Cook then its they that you may need to take action against - doesn't matter who THEIR suppliers are.
I also disagree that the holiday could not be re-sold, a vast number of holidays are now sold in the two weeks prior to departure. Thomas Cook have a duty to limit any possible losses arising from the cancellation.
The OFT has long had holiday cancellation charges in its sights and produced a guidance paper in 2004:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft668.pdf

A relevant section regarding cancellation charges is quoted below:

3.24 The OFT does not object in principle to the use of such sliding scales since they provide consumers with the certainty of knowing precisely how much they are liable to lose by cancelling at any given point.

3.25 However, fairness must not be sacrificed to simplicity. The test the OFT applies in assessing the fairness of sliding scales is that, at the time the contract is made, they should represent a genuine pre-estimate of the supplier's loss from cancellations. The law does not allow suppliers whose customers cancel their contracts to reclaim losses that they could have avoided had they taken reasonable steps to do so. In setting cancellation charge scales, therefore, suppliers must take into account the likelihood that they will be able to limit their losses when holidays are cancelled. The main steps suppliers will be able to take are to try to resell cancelled holidays, to withdraw from obligations to buy transport and accommodation from third parties (subject to contract terms), to repackage travel and accommodation elements and/or to resell travel and accommodation separately. The scope for limiting loss through resale and cost reduction clearly diminishes as the date of departure approaches, but the extent and level depend on each supplier's circumstances.

3.26 Because suppliers' cost structures will differ, the OFT cannot recommend a particular level of charges or particular scale which it believes to be fair. However, we believe there to be components that must be present in any fair assessment of the cost of cancellation. These core components are summarised in Annexe C, and do not for example include the loss of the expectation of profit from optional excursions. The consumer is under no obligation to take optional excursions. There may be more than one way of quantifying the individual components. Whatever method is chosen for arriving at the charges, it must accord with generally accepted accounting principles. A separate assessment should be performed for each of the time bands on the scale to ensure fairness throughout.