Packaged Holiday

Lisa_Foster

I need some help regarding a packaged holiday I had booked back in August 2017 to go on June 2018. I booked this through Norwegian Holidays for the flights and the hotel destination Florida. I have since changed my mind and now want to cancel this holiday. I booked through my mastercard so thought it was safe to cancel as I had paid via my credit card. I have since been told by Lloyds mastercard that I cannot have a refund due to this being a packaged holiday and that I had to take my cancellation to Norwegian holidays. However when I contacted the airline they said they can only refund air port taxes but not anything else so I stand to lose £2000.00 of my money. Is this correct or can anyone help me on how I can have my money fully refunded.
Lisa

DoaM

Cancellation rights for events booked for a specific date are excluded from the automatic right to cancel in the Consumer Rights Act (as I recall). And that's if you've booked via a UK company.

Where are Norwegian Holidays based?
What are the cancellation terms in the T&Cs? (I'd be surprised if there are NO cancellation terms at all)
Are they ABTA and/or ATOL bonded?

glentoran99

DoaM wrote: »

Cancellation rights for events booked for a specific date are excluded from the automatic right to cancel in the Consumer Rights Act (as I recall). And that's if you've booked via a UK company.

Where are Norwegian Holidays based?
What are the cancellation terms in the T&Cs? (I'd be surprised if there are NO cancellation terms at all)
Are they ABTA and/or ATOL bonded?

"Can I cancel my reservation?

No"


https://www.norwegian.com/uk/booking/package-deals/help-and-contact/

paddyrg

Credit card s75 protection doesn't cover change of mind in any event.

Now you can either pursue the company through Norwegian courts, or (probably better) try to sell the holiday privately, likely at a discount.

DoaM

https://www.norwegian.com/uk/booking/package-deals/conditions/

That's probably the most-relevant page. One wonders if the OP even read the T&Cs prior to booking. And why they chose Norwegian in the first place.

Gleeful

Why on earth would someone think they would get a full refund under these circumstances

pinkshoes

Sell it on and pay for the names to be changed.

You have no right to cancel.

I am assuming that your travel insurance will not help as it is a change of mind?

BorisThomson

Name changes are not allowed with Norwegian.

I'm not aware of any policy that would cover disinclination to travel.

What is it you've changed your mind about Lisa? If it's the destination you could use the flights and then fly/ drive elsewhere. You wouldn't get the cost of the accommodation back but at least you could use part of it.

If you don't want to go at all, then the best you can do is the APD (and hope there's no admin fee for it).

arcon5

What even made you think paying with a credit card give a you cancellation rights with them?
And why did you phone the credit card company up before the company you actually made the contract With?

SouthUKMan

You changed your mind when the law doesn't offer you any protection in doing so. Airlines / tour operators only ever refund - at their discretion - due to exceptional circumstances, normally a serious accident or health event resulting in long term incapacity, or else the death of a close family member - such as spouse / parent / child. Even with these major life changing events - it is at the airlines discretion whether to refund or not as the airline has done nothing wrong. That is what travel insurance is for - it covers you for unforeseen events.

One of my major bugbears is lack of accountability from consumers. I genuinely feel sorry for businesses - large or small - when they're met with claims from consumers through stupidity or greed. There are sometimes genuine circumstances but the law does not offer the same level of protection for a change of mind with a holiday as it does when purchasing a physical item online for example.

DoaM

SouthUKMan wrote: »

but the law does not offer the same level of protection for a change of mind with a holiday as it does when purchasing a physical item online for example.

And that's assuming you're dealing with a UK company (as I mentioned in post #2). If it's a non-UK (or even non-EU) company then you're "on to plums" as they say up here north of Hadrian's Wall.