school ski trip refund

suziekings

Hi

i hope this is in the correct place.

My child was due to go on a school ski trip during the easter holidays next year. so far i have paid £800 towards this with the final instalment due in December. Today i was informed that the trip would no longer be going ahead due to a lack of children wanting to go. This in itself is fine however they are only giving a £200 refund and that leaves me £600 out of pocket. Had we been the ones to cancel i completely understand losing some money but the school has cancelled six weeks before final payment is due having known since we started paying in march the number of students going wouldn't be enough. Im looking for advice first am i being unreasonable in wanting a refund and second how should i go about raising this with a school without severing good relations with the school as i will have children attending for the next five years.

Thank you in advance

richardw

Did they use a specialist school ski tour operator?
Did they book flights with some of the £600?
Did they book accomodation with some of the £600?
Did they book flights/accommodation for any escorting teachers with some of the £600?

IAmWales

You need to establish what has been said between the school and the travel agent. If the TA is not giving a full refund that suggests they will allow the trip to go ahead on current numbers. If they won't, then they need to pay the school back.

Do you have any paperwork stating who your contract is with, or what would happen in this situation?

Is it a private or state school, if the former does it have charitable status?

suziekings

It is a state school. The only paperwork i have is a letter saying what is included in the price i.e. lift passes , food, travel etc and it states if cancelled no refunds however i never for one second thought the school would cancel

The school does arrange it through a specialist school ski travel agent in previous years this has been Halsbury ski so would assume it is again this year

They are traveling to Italy via coach so no flights have been paid for. I am not sure if teachers are paid for with our money but would assume so. The school is not returning my calls and therefore giving me no extra information.

My biggest gripe with this deposits had to be made my march so they must have known then that there where not enough students going why wait and let parents continue paying for the next 7 months?

sarah69696pink

I don't think you're being unreasonable - the problem will be what agreement the school have made as they may not be due a refund - however like you say if not enough children wanted to go surely they knew this before and therefore why book at all and why allow you to keep paying? I would speak to other parents out of pocket too.

gettingtheresometime

Wasn't there a similar thread a few months back where the school cancelled a trip to London due to the terrorist attacks.

I can't remember the outcome but it may be worth doing a search (i think it was on the consumer rights forum) to see if you can have any useful tips.

daveyjp

Start with a simple letter.

‘Disappointed the trip has been cancelled, but understand why it has to be. As I am in no way responsible for the cancellation I look forward to a full refund by return’

See what happens.

sheramber

According to Halsbury's website - assuming it is booked with them- they say if you cannot get enough people to fill a bus they will try and help by sharing a coach with another party.

If not possible the trip can go ahead but the cost per person will increase.

I expect the reason for cancelling is not covered by the trip insurance and the school does not have insurance to cover cancellation for that reason.

The £200 will be what they do not have to pay to the travel company at this stage in the booking.

Your complaint will be with the school,

It might help if you enlist support from other parents.

suziekings

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply. After talking to other parents and the school the school has now given us all a full refund.

Prothet_of_Doom

suziekings wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply. After talking to other parents and the school the school has now given us all a full refund.

The original contract was unfair so that seems reasonable. It would be almost impossible to insure your deposit through normal travel insurance, because the cause of the cancellation is effectively just ...because.....we've changed our minds.

silverwhistle

I'm glad that you've received your refund. Losing £600 is taking the proverbial. They were probably going somewhere like Pila in Italy with Interski, and they and companies like them surely must be used to the difficulty of getting numbers for a school trip. I can't see their cancellation penalties starting until at least the beginning of November and they certainly don't commit to the local hotels or the UK coach comapnies until later. If they'd said £50, I'd have thought "Oh well, what a pain" but £600!!