AA timely warning....the dangers of booking holidays NOT ATOL protected

TRAVELMAN_2

Hi all,

I know you all must get sick of me going on & on about ATOL protection....but take heed at the following...

Yesterday pm, OAKLEY TRAVEL (a big text/web 'lates' player) went bust. They sold non-ATOL packages-ie flight on one receipt, accom/transfers on other. Only the flight bit is covered. Hence they now hoave many, many customers who now have holidays where they only have flights (covered by ATOL) BUT NO ACCOMMODATION. I've booked 2 couples & one family today who were desparate as they fly this weekend. They will receive no money back on the accom.

I asked one of the people why they booked with Oakley Travel, they said 'because it was £10 pp cheaper'. One of my collegues quoted them in the 1st instance but they chose to book with Oakley-to save £10 pp. In retrospect....not the best move?? This board is about moneysaving but the above is food for thought-£40 or £340 for new Hotel.....or possibly NO Hotel??! Worth thinking about...

budgetflyer

They would get their moneyback no problem if they used a credit card.
I take it they would have to rebook the whole thing thru you TRAVELMAN
Last time I booked a holiday and tour opp went bust (Holiday Network) ATOL wrote to me indicating they would deal with my claim but I would be quicker contacting CC company. I did -money back in my acc next day.

TRAVELMAN_2

Agreed........but a lot of people do book on debit cards so as not to pay the 1.95% charge. Getting the money back is important of course, but for those poor sods who can't get the Hotel they want (one of them was a Thomson Superfamily which had football training) or had to pay more (as the original hotel price was an early booking deal), getting their money back is the last thing on their minds.

As the flights were ATOL protected as far as we've been told the flights are to be honoured & we/other Agents just help with the Hotel & transfers if we can-so no, they only re-book a bit of it through us. One poor lady was distraught as her son so wanted this football academy...interesting though that she said 'we only booked it with them cos my hubby said it was £10 cheaper'-she wanted to book with a well-known Agent & have full protection....hubby just wanted cheapest deal. A few fleas in his ear I bet!

Lilywhite

I posted elsewhere on the forum about paying slightly more per person for ATOL protection. I guess it depends on your circumstances but for me it was a family holiday and I wanted the peace of mind knowing I had full protection rather than going for the absolute lowest price. This wasn't a risk I was prepared to take as I could imagine how my kids would react if we lost our holiday. To me it's worth paying another 2% or 3% on your holiday cost for that protection. I got a bargain anyway so even with the ATOL protection I got a very cheap holiday. It isn't just about getting your money back if you book with a credit card it's also knowing you will be getting the holiday you booked and are looking forward to.

richardw

Do I need ATOL protection if I book my flights with easyJet.com direct and hotel with solmelia.com direct?

khizman

IMO you must pay by credit card for all of these things, it will make life alot simpler, I would also trust my credit card company to get the money back to me quicker than ATOL ever would.

buses7675

Hi All,

I can't personally relate to this, having never really been on holiday, but if companies charge a fee for using Credit, but not Debit cards, then maybe you could book using a Visa Debit card, as I'm sure I read that Visa do also cover the section 75 cover on its Debit as well as its Credit cards, though the claim back on a credit card would probably be an easier job.

Cheers

Steve

saveapenny

CC payments have to be over £100 (on most) to be covered and agree its faster than trying to get it back from ABTA or ATOL