Sunmaster cancelled my holiday due to lack of flights

JJ163

I booked a last minute holiday today thru sunmaster. Was due to fly on Saturday so paid the balance in full over the phone with my debit card but 10 mins after coming off the phone the agent called back and said that she was really sorry but there was no flights left so would have to cancel the holiday and issue me a refund.

I was totally gutted when I received the call and stupidly never asked any questions about how quickly the refund would take. It was only when my parter and I looked at booking somewhere else I realised that my money would be floating about somewhere in cyberspace and I couldn't afford to book somewhere else!

I phoned them back but customer services said they didn't know how long it would take and I would need to speak to the agent that booked it to find out. They promised to get her to call me back but they haven't so far.

They company appear to be legit but I'm now worried its a scam and even it it isn't what are the chances of getting the money back in my account quickly enough to book another holiday?

Ill phone them again in the morning and my bank too but any advice/reassurance would be gratefully received.

bagand96

They are a legit company.

The reason this has happened is because agents like this aren't selling you a traditional "packaged holiday". They are just selling you separate components. So they will book your flights with Ryanair/easyjet/Monarch etc and then book your accommodation to match.

Trouble is their websites/systems are often not live. And when you book they then need to manually book your flights. And sometimes the flight price may have gone up from when they last searched/quoted.

It's not a scam though, and your money will be returned. But as you said not sure how long the refund process will be. Always amazes me when you pay it's instant but refunds can take days! Especially given that individuals can send cash to each other instantly these days with faster payments!

JJ163

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I'm relieved to hear its not a scam, but looks like my chances of a last minute holiday are gone 😞 Ill ring them in the morning but as you say, companies are not so quick to return the key compared to taking it.

Thanks again

littlereddevil

Are you not entitled to compenastion for them cancelling your holiday?

Alan_Bowen

Normally a holiday is only confirmed when you receive a written confirmation but since you booked within 7 days, and I assume you wrote down exactly what was confirmed to you, it looks to me as though they did confirm a 'real' holiday, although not a package.

You need to be certain in your own mind that they didn't say they would go and book and call you back, if they did, then there never was a booking and you are stuck.

If they gave you flight details and hotel reservation details, I agree you did have a booking, and you should insist on them helping you out by finding you another similar holiday at the same price, unfortunately they are not members of ABTA and therefore do not have to comply with their code. They are not known for 5 star service, in some cases you get what you pay for. Ask to speak to a manager, they also claim to record their calls, if you are certain they confirmed everything, ask for a copy of the call.