LastMinute.com website bug/glitch - Please help

brianposter

DilzOnline said:

Mentioned it was a 100+ roughly to cancel the flights. Which I think is ridiculous because Etihad have said they will give you a 100% refund if you cancel within 24 hours of the booking. We tried to change within 5mins of the booking and last minute said there is a cost for that. The Hotel I am happy with, it is just the flights that is the issue atm

Personally I think the chance of taking Lastminute to court and recovering your cancellation costs is reasonably high.

Consequently I would first make a formal complaint to Lastminute (presumably they have a formal procedure) insisting that they reply within 10 days, and, if that produces no result send a letter before action saying that, unless they take appropriate action within another 10 days, you will cancel the booking and seek to recover all your costs in court.

If that produces no result you can accept the booking as it is, or cancel and rebook the flights, preferably with Lastminute.com, and then use the Small Claims court to recover your expenses.

All this assumes that the cancellation cost is around 100 pounds and that coronavirus will ensure that ticket costs are unlikely to increase in the next few weeks.

Westin

brianposter said:

DilzOnline said:

Mentioned it was a 100+ roughly to cancel the flights. Which I think is ridiculous because Etihad have said they will give you a 100% refund if you cancel within 24 hours of the booking. We tried to change within 5mins of the booking and last minute said there is a cost for that. The Hotel I am happy with, it is just the flights that is the issue atm

Personally I think the chance of taking Lastminute to court and recovering your cancellation costs is reasonably high.

Consequently I would first make a formal complaint to Lastminute (presumably they have a formal procedure) insisting that they reply within 10 days, and, if that produces no result send a letter before action saying that, unless they take appropriate action within another 10 days, you will cancel the booking and seek to recover all your costs in court.

If that produces no result you can accept the booking as it is, or cancel and rebook the flights, preferably with Lastminute.com, and then use the Small Claims court to recover your expenses.

All this assumes that the cancellation cost is around 100 pounds and that coronavirus will ensure that ticket costs are unlikely to increase in the next few weeks.

That takes a big pair of balls.

I doubt LM will even get around to reading the letter within 10 days.  

Then to cancel and look to claim back the costs of the holiday in court surely need 100% proof of the failure of LM’s system. How do you get that conclusive evidence? Could win, could be money down the drain and an expensive holiday down the toilet. I am not sure I would want to go down that route unless I had successfully predicted the winning National Lottery numbers for three consecutive weeks.

brianposter

Westin said:

Then to cancel and look to claim back the costs of the holiday in court surely need 100% proof of the failure of LM’s system. How do you get that conclusive evidence?

Courts do not have the good fortune to be able to work with conclusive evidence - they usually have to work with credibility and probability, and the OP appears to have credibility on their side.

There is also the question of whether Lastminute.com would think it worthwhile contesting the case.

Westin

Would the courts look for examples of multiple cases of a similar booking glitch or bug when determining credibility and possibility?

I’d agree that LM may not think it worth going as far as court but if your suggested action is taken by the OP they would not have a holiday either.

Would it not be better to try and work with LM to resolve the matter or find compromise?  Or, dare I say it, it may come down to running with the Etihad flights in and out of Abu Dhabi and the coach transfer.  I just think the nuclear option of threads, cancelling and court action is OTT.

brianposter

Westin said:

I’d agree that LM may not think it worth going as far as court but if your suggested action is taken by the OP they would not have a holiday either.

????

Westin

brianposter said:

Westin said:

I’d agree that LM may not think it worth going as far as court but if your suggested action is taken by the OP they would not have a holiday either.

????

because you said this earlier...
"if that produces no result send a letter before action saying that, unless they take appropriate action within another 10 days, you will cancel the booking and seek to recover all your costs in court.

brianposter

Westin said:

because you said this earlier...
"if that produces no result send a letter before action saying that, unless they take appropriate action within another 10 days, you will cancel the booking and seek to recover all your costs in court.

A letter saying that you intend to cancel is not the same as actually cancelling. Carrying out the cancellation would obviously depend on circumstances at the time.

Westin

So you recommend just an empty threat to cancel rather than actually cancelling?  What would you then suggest to the OP when LM don’t reply, ignore or say “OK, your choice to cancel”?

brianposter

The great virtue of courts, or at least competent courts, is that most cases get settled before the dispute actually gets into the legal system. My personal experience in England is that all or almost all cases, are settled before they reach a court hearing.

The OPs actions with respect to cancellation obviously depend on the price of alternative flights - given the way coronavirus is going it could be a no-brainer to cancel the flights and rebook.