Real-life MMD: Should we keep quiet about 'free' holiday?

Ian181676

If the terms of the booking said the holiday company would take the balance payment when it became due and they haven't that's their problem, not yours. You should assume they will collect it eventually so make sure there is enough money in your account for when they do.

I had a similar situation with PayPal a few years ago - money was credited to my PayPal account and never debited from my bank account. It took PayPal about 2 months to 'correct' their error. I say 'correct' because PayPal said that it had collected the money from my bank account when I asked them to make the transfer and then, 2 months later, repaid the money to my bank because they had asked for it back, without telling PayPal why. According to my bank they never made a payment, so never had any reason to ask for it to be returned.

ptrichardson

If they don't notice, that's their problem.

I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over it

thespiderspeed

Morally wrong and it's technically stealing so own up and get it sort.

But legally if you pop over to the Consumer Rights forum, they will probably tell you that the holiday company have up to 6 years in England and 5 years in scotland to claim the money. And I believe (correct me if I got this wrong) if you have authorised payment via card, the authorisation can last for 6 months. So you could potentially get a very nasty shock.

queline

First of all it's dishonest and stealing!

Secondly, as other people have said they will discover their error eventually.

Card charges can take a long time to appear on your statement - I have recently had a charge of £20 on my card statement which dates back to 6 months ago - as it was for a mobile top up bought online I had no transaction slip and when queried my card company said contact the mobile provider and the mobile provider said contact the card company, however both said that it does sometimes take some time for the charge to appear.

tallgirld

I wouldn't say anything. They shouldn't be so incompetent. At some stage they may notice and your account may or may not be debited so just keep the funds in there just in case.

It's not dishonest and it's not stealing.... It is simply called WAITING :-)

Frogga7uk

elsien wrote: »

There's no dilemma, it's just dishonest. Nothing to discuss.

Why is it dishonest, they have called and told the travel agent that the money hasnt been taken.
They should just leave the money in their account and if it ever gets taken at a later date I would expect the travel company to apologise for admin mistake and give some kind of compensation espescially after they have tried to tell them that it has not been taken out of their account.

Thanks

MacMickster

Frogga7uk wrote: »

Why is it dishonest, they have called and told the travel agent that the money hasnt been taken.
They should just leave the money in their account and if it ever gets taken at a later date I would expect the travel company to apologise for admin mistake and give some kind of compensation espescially after they have tried to tell them that it has not been taken out of their account.

Thanks

An honest man would do rather more than this to settle their debts, and please don't use the "compensation" word.

Personally, I would write saying that despite being told that the balance had been paid, I had no record of this. I would then ask them to check which account the money had been taken from so that I could check with the bank.

Buying something involves paying for it. Taking the goods knowing that you haven't paid is something else entirely. Why is this considered a moral dilemma?

spankygoodtime

Something like this happened to me some years ago. The internet wasn't around then - I booked by phone and the payment wasn't taken off my card. We had the holiday and it still hadn't come off, but I knew I'd have to pay at some point so I made sure the money was waiting - but I didn't see why I should have to chase the company.

A few months later I got a call from a furious rep from the travel company virtually accusing me of fraud which I disputed and asked to speak to his boss. I explained the situation and said I didn't see why I should have to contact them to remind them to take my payment, and then gave my credit card details to pay. I did receive a grudging apology but nothing else.

pennypinchUK

Leave the money in your account, go on holiday and wait to see if the travel company debit your account later. You've done nothing wrong.

Frogga7uk

MacMickster wrote: »

An honest man would do rather more than this to settle their debts, and please don't use the "compensation" word.

Personally, I would write saying that despite being told that the balance had been paid, I had no record of this. I would then ask them to check which account the money had been taken from so that I could check with the bank.

Buying something involves paying for it. Taking the goods knowing that you haven't paid is something else entirely. Why is this considered a moral dilemma?

The only part of your arguement above that is correct is why is this considered a moral dilemma.

They have contacted the agent and made them fully aware that according to them they have tried to pay but nothing taken.

It is the companys responsibility to make sure that they have fully accepted payment for all holidays. Would you go back to shop and tell them they havent scanned something (I would think not) again company responsibility to make sure all items scanned and paid for.

They are not saying they wouldnt pay for it, as they have obviously contacted the travel agents.

It is now in the travel agents hands to investigate and look into recieving that payment.

Again if I was the family I would leave the money in the account and make the payment whenever the travel agent asks for it.

I use the compensation word because the travel agent shouldnt be so incompetent in not to take the payment and if at a later they should provide compensation as it was there mistake and the family did make them aware it was still outstanding.

Thanks