lost deposit on holidays

big_all

my friend has cancelled the holiday she had booked next summer
the holiday was in jamaica in june

she had made several instalments totaling £800 from a £3.500 holiday
the travel agent [first choice ] says she can only have £50 back as a good will gesture
my thought are this is not a fair amount as with holding £750 would not be a reasonable and fair amount and would = an unfair term in the contract

visidigi

she of course took out insurance right? Otherwise she's not even likely to be entitled to the £50 - she bought a holiday, she entered into a contract and now she wants to break that contract - doesn't happen for free I'm afraid...

hcb42

what was minimum deposit required in the terms to hold the holiday?

That should be the deposit forfeited, or certainly the argument I would use, if she has paid more than that already

arcon5

They are entitled to detain provable losses. Depending on when your due to go on the holiday this may vary. So when are they supposed to fly out?

big_all

my thought where with 9 months to go the only expence they will have is admin the resort wont be booked yet or the flight costs
they initially said £175 per person [x3]
i have told her to get a copy off the origional contract with the deposit mention
in my eyes if no deposit was agreed the first installment will be the deposit as no amount was agreed ??
visidig thank you for your helpfull comment
yes she has insurance but it only covers redundancy and not pressure related reasons for resigning

thanks for the comments so far

jhe

has your friend actually cancelled it now?we usually book with thomsons.a tui company same as first choice. we thought last year we were going to have to cancel because of a family problem(we were able to travel as it turned out) the travel agents were very helpful when i asked advice, they told me i could change holiday booking to a future date and location if we wanted to for a small fee,think it was around £35 if i remember correct.they did say though if we waited till tickets were issued the fee would escalate.they said we could alter the travel date to the following year if need be

big_all

she is still making enquiries to try and sort out her options

hcb42

big_all wrote: »

my thought where with 9 months to go the only expence they will have is admin the resort wont be booked yet or the flight costs
they initially said £175 per person [x3]
i have told her to get a copy off the origional contract with the deposit mention
in my eyes if no deposit was agreed the first installment will be the deposit as no amount was agreed ??
visidig thank you for your helpfull comment
yes she has insurance but it only covers redundancy and not pressure related reasons for resigning

thanks for the comments so far

the flight and resort will be booked.

However, what you need to establish is the deposit terms. If they have paid well above that (voluntarily) then there would be strong grounds for a higher rebate, if they have only paid the minimum deposit, there wont be. Note some low deposits might have additional terms.

somethingcorporate

hcb42 wrote: »

the flight and resort will be booked.

However, what you need to establish is the deposit terms. If they have paid well above that (voluntarily) then there would be strong grounds for a higher rebate, if they have only paid the minimum deposit, there wont be. Note some low deposits might have additional terms.

Regardless of the deposit terms it does not mean that it can be fully retained if doing so would be punitive.

OP, please see the FAQ post on deposit retention here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=42873192&postcount=16

hcb42

yes...but thinking about the easier said than done aspect...

it sounds like (the op has not confirmed) that the holidaymaker has overpaid their normal deposit, and now cannot get that back either. hence my posts, as I hear this all the time in my trade.

big_all

hcb42 wrote: »

yes...but thinking about the easier said than done aspect...

it sounds like (the op has not confirmed) that the holidaymaker has overpaid their normal deposit, and now cannot get that back either. hence my posts, as I hear this all the time in my trade.

i am very level headed i am a contributor on several forum 99% advice [look up big all/big-all/big_all] but where i don't know i ask as my signature says we are all

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still learning

the situation seems to be unsure?? no agreed deposit 'payment off uneven intervals towards paying the full amount within the required time span
i am still trying to get the full facts to form a sensible overveiw and help to find a fair conclusion
ok dont bother looking me up i am on diy not screwfix ask the trades ultimate handyman and others not plugging those sites [i am a mod so understand spamming] please remove any comments you dont like