Canada holiday - pay final balance or not!!

BoxerfanUK

So, last year we booked a holiday to Canada travelling with friends paying a deposit of 1K each.  The company we booked with are called 'Canadian Affair'.

We are due to go in the middle of June 2020.  It's a multi destination multi hotel holiday with internal flights plus self drive basically right across the country.  The balance due is around 3K each and is due this coming Friday. 

In the light of the recent extraordinary events around the world we are uncomfortable about parting with another 6K between us, especially as we believe that the holiday is not now going to happen. 

Our friends (who made the booking) contacted the company to ask if, in light of recent events, and in particular Canada's announcement yesterday of a ban on all non-canadians entering the country, can we delay the final payment until such time as these events transpire and may become a little clearer.  Their reply basically was that if we don't pay the balance this Friday the holiday is cancelled and we lose out deposit! We were rather hoping that under the circumstances they would have shown a bit more flexibility and understanding.

A dilemma and Interested to hear peoples opinions

bradders1983

A dilemma that has been posted about 20 times on here in the last week, the answer remains the same.

couriervanman

As above.......you shouldn't need to ask if you've read a few posts on similar question

Westin

The forums are being overwhelmed at the moment. Many are understandably worried and concerned but it would be really good if people could just read through existing posts first before starting yet another thread on the same topic.  You may find others with the same issue, how they have addressed the situation or recommendations on next steps and actions to take.

twr1988

I'm due to travel to Canada on July 13th for 2 weeks. Flights were booked directly with Air Canada and hotels/car through Canadian Affair.

I paid 25% to Canadian Affair when booking and am due to pay 75% next week.

Should I pay this 75% only to have to potentially fight to get it back if the trip has to be cancelled?

Browntoa

Yes , if you cancel you lose everything.
If it's ATOL protected your money is protected.

Travel insurance may cover cancellation if you took that option

Caz3121

twr1988 said:

Should I pay this 75% only to have to potentially fight to get it back if the trip has to be cancelled?

your choice. Make sure you understand how much you lose if you decide to terminate the contract at this point. (it may be more than the 25% already paid)
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/02/coronavirus-travel-help-and-your-rights/

• I've booked a trip, but I'm paying for it in instalments. I don't want to go – can I stop paying?

  You'll need to weigh up the risk based on what you've paid so far and what you've yet to pay, but this is likely to be a bad idea.

  The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) warns if you're paying in instalments for a holiday and stop paying because you fear your holiday will be cancelled or you don't want to go, you are effectively cancelling the booking.

  This means that if the booking is subsequently cancelled by the operator you won't get your money back, whereas if you continue to pay and it's then cancelled, you would get a refund.

twr1988

I spoke to Canadian Affair regarding the upcoming payment, whilst the trip is currently due to go ahead if it is cancelled they are only offering to reschedule the trip rather than a refund. They say ABTA are only recommending rescheduling rather than refunds. Therefore my options are
1. Pay balance and hope it's not cancelled (which I expect it will be) otherwise I'm £3.5k down for 1 year until I'd be able to travel again next year (because of school holidays) what happens if they go bust in the meantime?
2. Not pay the remaining balance and claim £500 Canadian Affair deposit and £1200 flights on insurance. But doubt they are going to pay that unless the trip is cancelled by the agent/airline.
Neither option is good!