Non-refundable deposit

VictorMeldew

Would anyone know about the law in this case....

My mum recently booked a cruise over the phone and paid a deposit via her credit card. The person she spoke to talked very quickly so she didn't hear all the details but is confident that she wasn't told that the deposit was non-refundable. She was sent all the details of the holiday the following day via email including the terms and conditions.

When she examined the details of the holiday, she realised that the flight times were not suitable, the accommodation was only B+B and a few other things she wasn't happy about. She phoned to cancel but then was told that the deposit is non-refundable.

She has already opened a dispute with her credit card company because she was not provided with the written details of the holiday, and the terms and conditions until after she had already paid.

I'm aware that some things are exempt from the normal Distance Selling Regulations cooling off period, but thought that Terms and Conditions had to be provided in writing before a contract is entered into. The company involved is very big so I can't imagine that they've done anything wrong, but I'm worrying about this on behalf of my mum. Does she have any chance of getting her money back?

Caz3121

who were the flights with, if a low cost carrier they well already be booked and will be non-refundable?
You mention booking a cruise and then "the accommodation was only B&B" which cruise company was this with, I have only heard of cruises being full board (without drinks) or all inclusive

VictorMeldew

Hi, it was a cruise which included a stop over in Rome for two nights. It was this accommodation that was B+B. The company involved is Planet Cruise, I'm not really sure of any of the other details unfortunately.

Voyager2002

Deposits are almost invariable non-refundable.

Bri1

If she was pressure sold & she was not informed of the terms correctly or at all, the contract can certainly be questioned as to it's validity, also the unfair terms legislation may well be of use here

lea2012

A call centre will often ask at the time of booking whether or not the caller would like to hear the terms and conditions or whether or not they would prefer to have them sent so they can read at their own leisure. I nearly always ask them to send them and rarely listen to them on the phone, unless it was something entirely different from what I would normally book.

claire16c

Why did your mother hand over her credit card details before knowing the details of the holiday? Something like flight time and meal arrangements are basic info.

Arent deposits pretty much always non-refundable, thats sort of the point of them?

Moto2

claire16c wrote: »

Why did your mother hand over her credit card details before knowing the details of the holiday? Something like flight time and meal arrangements are basic info.

Arent deposits pretty much always non-refundable, thats sort of the point of them?

Naivety and trust is something most of us grow out of and then grow back into.
I'm guessing she may be in the latter category and is getting punished for it.

travellerboy

That is why I always book my cruise holidays via a US Travel Agent as your deposit is always refundable right up to final payment date unlike the UK.

VictorMeldew

She did ask for the t and c's to be sent but the person then proceeded to take payment and my mum only received the t+c's the next day. She was definitely naïve to pay before she knew what she was getting into but she is unfortunately very trusting - Moto2 that's a really good way of putting it!

I certainly would expect a deposit to be non-refundable but think it's strange for her to be able to enter into a contract with even seeing the t and c's.

She actually just forwarded on her emails from them so far. The first one with the t+c's on (received the day after she'd booked) asks for Advanced Passenger info - e.g. her passport number, date of birth etc. It says that once they have this info they can then book all the elements of the holiday. My mum never did this, so presumably the elements of the holiday haven't been booked.

My mum emailed them after phoning to try and cancel, and stated that she had not been informed of the t+c's over the phone and had not been made aware that the deposit was non-refundable. They have replied saying that the t+c's were agreed over the phone at the time of booking.

If the company required more info before they could book the elements of the holiday, then surely they can't have incurred much in the way of costs. Certainly not nearly the £800 that my mum is set to lose. I can't see how this is legal unless they can prove that they have incurred costs to this amount, even if they can prove that my mum had entered into a contract verbally.

I'm a bit worried as to why my mum has paid the deposit before she knew all the facts, but that's another matter.