Deposit back!

janey___3

hi, im just wondering me and my family booked a holiday throught teletext for next september ('12) and paid over 500 pound deposit but unfortunately my dad has become ill and will have to have treatment so we want to cancel the holiday and i was just wondering if i would be able to get the deposit back due to the unforseen circumstances, any help on this matter would be great.

Bob_the_Saver

Claim on your travel insurance.

stephb34

Will he still be ill in september, what is your reasoning for not wanting to go, which tour operator did teletext book the holiday with is it a package or individual components, do you have travel insurance?

janey___3

he has been diagnosed with cancer and he will be having treatment, the company was called Going on Holiday the number is 01618301175 is what they gave me, we are atol protected through them but we havent got any travel insurance yet

Caz3121

You will be relying on goodwill from the company for any changes as travel insurance is where you would get any refunds from. If the flights are with a low cost carrier then they will all need to be paid for whether you travel or not. If a true package you may be able to change names or dates for a fee.
Hope your dad's treatment goes well

cclarke12

janey__ wrote: »

i just phoned the company and they have said they wont give the deposit back, i will never book with them again

To be fair on the travel company, that's why you need to buy insurance as soon as you book your holiday. I had a similar situation when my stepfather was given a terminal cancer diagnosis a month before we were due to go away. However, the insurance company paid out with no problems at all. I don't think any travel company would have responded differently.

Rather than cancel why don't you hold off doing anything for now and see how his treatment is going a the point that the final payment is due. My step-dad went on to live for two years after his diagnosis and we took the risk of booking further holidays knowing we would not have any further insurance cover as it is was an existing condition, because once we got over the initial shock he and my mum were keen that the whole family didn't put their life on hold. In fact we managed a lovely last short family holiday together just a few weeks before died.

I hope your dad's treatment goes well and you all have many more happy years together.

tamiami

This is the whole point of purchasing travel insurance at the same time as you book. I work in travel and can never understand why people don't purchase travel insurance. Sorry but it is not the travel companies fault is is yours.

I'm sorry to hear about you Dad and I hope he gets better with his treatment.

Caz3121

janey__ wrote: »

i just phoned the company and they have said they wont give the deposit back, i will never book with them again

You will find you will have got the same response with most agents so unfair to blame the fact that you did not purchase insurance at the time of booking on the agent

_Andy_

Whilst I sympathise with the OP's predicament I completely agree with the others. You can't badmouth the agent and make out they're doing something wrong just because you cut corners and didn't buy travel insurance.
If you want to apportion blame somewhere I'm afraid it's at your door.

photome

janey__ wrote: »

i just phoned the company and they have said they wont give the deposit back, i will never book with them again

I agree with others, you would have got the same response from almost all the operators.

lesson learned...buy travel insurance at the same time as booking the holiday, you are not saving anything as the insurance would be the same price whenever it was bought..do homework first thouigh

stephb34

I'm so sorry for you, but thats what a deposit is and if you change your mind you lose it, and thats what insurance is for unforseen circumstances. If its a true package you maybe able to change to a different date after september, but if low cost flights are involved i think you've lost your deposit. I'm afraid most travel companies would have said the same its all in the terms and conditions. If its a true package could you do name changes and sell it someone.