TUI Cancellation Help

Popace

Please can someone help me.
We booked a holiday to Thailand with TUI in January 2020 to travel March 2021. I paid a deposit of £250 with a further £250 To be paid April 11 then the remainder to be paid December this year. I contacted them today to cancel the holiday in the wake of Coronavirus, explaining that if it has all blown over in January 2021, we will just re-book the holiday rather than risk insurances not paying out etc. only to be told that I have to pay the remaining £250 in April, then cancel the holiday and lose £500 as we paid a low deposit option at the time of booking - but we were not given an option at the time of booking not were we told that we were being put on the low deposit, we were just told that we were to pay a figure that day, another figure in April and then the balance in December, nothing was mentioned about an option for deposit (we did book another holiday at the same time with the same deposit payment times but again, no option was given, we were just told that’s what and when we pay).
The branch manager of the store told me today that if I don’t pay the second part of the installment, it will be passed to a Debt Collection Agency by Head Office and will be marked on my credit file and I need to know if this is true. This all seems rather harsh for a £250 deposit for a holiday that they have over a year to re-sell, please can you help.
Thanks

bradders1983

The branch manager is totally correct, the Low Deposit scheme, as per terms and conditions of ANYONE who offers it, means you have to pay the rest of the deposit or they can take action like this.

Plenty of people sign up for this kind of scheme without realising the 2nd payment (the other half of the deposit) is a compulsory payment. In effect its a scheme that splits the normal deposit amount in two so that more people can afford to book a holiday without finding a bigger deposit straight away.

Popace

But I was not given an option of paying any other deposit is my point, they have signed me up for a low deposit scheme without giving me the option, in any other industry this is classed as mis-selling! They have attached paperwork to me as proof but that also doesn't say anything at all about low deposit or the option of it. I just really need to know if it would affect my credit file if i don't pay the next deposit due

k3lvc

Popace said:

But I was not given an option of paying any other deposit is my point, they have signed me up for a low deposit scheme without giving me the option, in any other industry this is classed as mis-selling! They have attached paperwork to me as proof but that also doesn't say anything at all about low deposit or the option of it. I just really need to know if it would affect my credit file if i don't pay the next deposit due

Yes it will - you'll have signed paperwork to that effect irrespective of whether you 'weren't offered an alternative' or now thinks it's mis-selling. Your choice re cancelling but it's a bit presumptuous a year out.

bradders1983

Popace said:

But I was not given an option of paying any other deposit is my point, they have signed me up for a low deposit scheme without giving me the option, in any other industry this is classed as mis-selling! They have attached paperwork to me as proof but that also doesn't say anything at all about low deposit or the option of it. I just really need to know if it would affect my credit file if i don't pay the next deposit due

I really dont see what the complaint is. If they didnt have a low deposit scheme you would have paid £500, cancelled the holiday and lost £500.

Under this scheme, you STILL have to pay £500, and then can cancel the holiday and lose £500.  So whats the difference?

And yes, if they take you through the courts it will be a CCJ on your account.

So pay the £250 and then cancel it. 

As an aside, cancelling a holiday a whole year in advance because of this virus thing strikes me as an overreaction, but there we are.

Popace

Therefore they have mis-sold it by not pointing it out or giving me the option when they knew and I didn't, that to not continue would affect my credit rating. I only wanted to cancel it because I couldn't be bothered with messing about with insurance companies (which I haven;t been able to insure the holiday yet as it is over a year away) should this virus not be over with by then, it is by no means because I am scared or anything, we fully intended to re-book next year if this had all blown over.

bradders1983

They havent mis-sold anything! Again, what is the difference between:

a) Paying £500 in Week 1 and then cancelling
b) Paying £250 in Week 1, paying £250 in Week 8, and then cancelling

Hmm?

Popace

bradders1983 said:

Popace said:

But I was not given an option of paying any other deposit is my point, they have signed me up for a low deposit scheme without giving me the option, in any other industry this is classed as mis-selling! They have attached paperwork to me as proof but that also doesn't say anything at all about low deposit or the option of it. I just really need to know if it would affect my credit file if i don't pay the next deposit due

I really dont see what the complaint is. If they didnt have a low deposit scheme you would have paid £500, cancelled the holiday and lost £500.

Under this scheme, you STILL have to pay £500, and then can cancel the holiday and lose £500.  So whats the difference?

And yes, if they take you through the courts it will be a CCJ on your account.

So pay the £250 and then cancel it. 

As an aside, cancelling a holiday a whole year in advance because of this virus thing strikes me as an overreaction, but there we are.

Rather rude in you manner, if you are so impatient with people why do you bother yourself commenting! and once again, I am not cancelling as an over reaction, I wanted to cancel because I cannot be bothered with insurances closer to the time should this not have blown over - my post does state that I was more concerned about my credit rating which you seem to have overlooked, but I obviously had to give  the story as a background but thank you for your comments anyway.

bradders1983

Don't mention it hun.

comeandgo

Why will it effect your credit ratings?  You have to pay the outstanding deposit monies, which will bring your total deposit to £500, which is the same amount you would have paid on booking, but you got the low deposit deal to give you more time to pay the deposit balance.  Win win for you.

bradders1983

comeandgo said:

Why will it effect your credit ratings?  You have to pay the outstanding deposit monies, which will bring your total deposit to £500, which is the same amount you would have paid on booking, but you got the low deposit deal to give you more time to pay the deposit balance.  Win win for you.

He wants to know if he doesn't pay the other £250, will it affect his credit rating.

The answer is yes if they persue it and he gets a CCJ because of it.

Either way, his cries of misselling are ridiculous. Like you say, in any case he would have still had to pay £500 before he could cancel it.