Refund for a holiday that you've cancelled

freehat

Hi, I'm not really expecting much here but I have to ask...

My parents have recently booked a holiday for late June through a travel agent (not sure which one at the moment but can find out if need be) costing around £2000, but within days of booking my dad fell ill, before they had bought any travel insurance. I won't go into detail but it has since transpired that he is very ill and there is no chance of them going on this holiday. My mum has spoken with the travel agent and they have advised that if they cancelled the holiday they would only get £600 back, and the only other alternative is to delay the holiday, which would then cost an extra £500 (and even then I can't see them going anytime soon).

Does anyone know of any way that they could get more of a refund? They paid for the holiday on a Barclaycard but they cannot help, and I have no idea what rights they have in this situation. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

elsien

Sorry to hear that your dad is poorly.
I don't think they have any rights other than the refund that has already been offered though. The terms and conditions generally set out the percentage you get back if you need to cancel, depending on how close to the departure date it is.
Could they go directly to the holiday provider rather than the travel agent and try to plead for a bit of goodwill given the circumstances?

Bob_the_Saver

Sad to say that sounds about right especially for a late booking.
Recently booked to travel this month is a late booking.
You can only ask. Study the T&C in great detail.

Archergirl

So sorry for you parents predicament but that is the beauty of buying travel ins as soon as you book your holiday.
Do they have any ins cover with a bank account or credit card perhaps?

elsien

That's a thought - my mum's bank account that she pays a small fee for comes with travel insurance. Would be worth seeing what your parents have got.

Letsby_Avenue

I know this isnt helpful, but there is a very slim chance it could, so bear this in mind.

I booked a holiday with Thomson several years ago and circumstances needed me to cancel the holiday.

Smeone looked down on me that day, I received an email from Thomson informing me a change to our flights. We were being moved from day flights to night flights. That means we would arrive in resort after midnight and lose our first day of our holiday, plus, our return flight brought us back at Gatwick at 3am!!! meaning he will be hit with a £60 late check-out fee by the hotel.

I was able to cancel the holiday without penalty because the provider made a 'significant change' to the holiday and I was able to exit the booking with a 100% refund.

Regulation 12 of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/3288/regulation/12/made

peachyprice

So sorry to hear about your dad, what pants timing.

Would the travel agent let them change it into someone else's name for less than the £500 to change the date? Assuming they know anyone else who wants a £2k holiday at short notice obviously.