TUI refunds thread

bagand96

Butts said:

I can't understand why a few individuals on here are blindly advising people who have paid deposits to line up like lambs and meekly handover  not inconsiderale balances for holidays that will never take place.

Terms and Conditions....you must pay or they will chase you for the balance et al , conveniently ignoring the fact the Travel Companies have driven a coach and horses through them already.

If you don't want to go we should be advising people to refuse to handover the balance unless they get written confirmation of a cash refund in the appropriate timescale if the holiday is cancelled.

Whats good for the goose.....

I don't agree.  If a customer fails to pay a balance then the holiday company will cancel the booking and treat it as a customer cancellation.  The customer will lose their deposit, and maybe more, under the Terms and Conditions of the contract.

Now, whilst the many theoretic discussions about the T&Cs, whether they are fair, whether they would stand up in court etc may have some merit, it is going to mean a lot of arguing with the holiday company, and incur a lot of time, and potentially expense to get any sort of judgement. 

If the holiday is "never going to happen" then the simplest thing someone can do is keep up with their payments.  Then when the supplier do cancel, the law is quite clear and on the consumers side.  Due to Covid-19 there may well be delays getting that refund, but it is due.

Anybody who fails to pay a balance will lose their deposit, and maybe more.  That's regardless of whether the holiday company subsequently cancel or not.  It may be your opinion that it's an unfair contract clause etc, but I would wager that the majority of posters on these forums are not looking for a long legal battle or to become a test case in court.

"Blindly advising" people to default on the T&Cs of the contract they entered is unwise IMHO.

Laurence_Harvey

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

bow74 said:

Had an email today to pay the remainder of my deposit, with the balance to be paid 14th May, for an August holiday. 

Am I better/ what happens if I leave it until the middle of May to pay in case we get   any news over the coming 2 weeks. I don’t want to pay only to try and get it back again

I paid the remaining full TUI balance of  £3600 for our June holiday a few weeks before the present situation kicked off. I’d previously paid £400 deposit. £4k in total.

If I’d known what I know now I wouldn’t have paid the balance;...I’d have forfeited the £400 deposit, but hey ho.

The big problem I have with the TUI voucher system is that I have no way of knowing if it will be financially viable for me to travel abroad ever again.

No crystal ball of course, but I think(???) that people such as myself with a pre existing health condition, that could be exacerbated by Covid-19, will be unable to obtain travel insurance,....for the forsseable future at least.

Even if travel insurance is available I suspect the cost will be prohibitive.

The travel and airline companies are already playing ‘refund’  hard-ball;...however, we ain’t  seen nothing yet,...imho of course. 

re the bit in bold:

Once you have your refund credit, according to TUI website:

If you do not want to book another holiday with us, we can refund you the value of your refund credit back to your original payment method. Please visit our website FAQs for more information.

Yes, I’m aware of that thanks;... ring us they say! 

bobblebob

Whats the average wait time on the phones then that people have experienced?

Pollycat

Butts said:

Pollycat said:

Life__Goes__On said:

My opinion on this matter  (just an opinion)

Call the holiday Product A

 

A company offers Product A that costs £2000 to be delivered on 31st Dec

They offer first payment of £1000 when buying, then a second payment on 1st July also £1000

 

A thousand people buy Product and pay £1000 so the company has one million pounds

Only 500 pay the balance and the others are told that money is lost.

So the company now have a million and a half pounds.

 

Come nearer the date, the company says sorry Product A can’t be delivered, so will refund the 500 £2000.

But the company still has the half a million from the 500 people who didn’t continue to pay.

 

So the company although failing to deliver the product makes 500,000 pounds

This IMHO wouldn’t be considered fair.

FYI:

Travel firms have been warned against forcing travellers to pay large non-refundable deposits, or charging hefty cancellation fees, by the competition watchdog.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/04/holiday-firms-warned-over-unfair-cancellation-rules/

I have no idea if anyone has challenged a holiday company and won.

Or lost.

Strange there have been no Court Cases as it must have happened before even in "normal times"
If you have only paid a small deposit with the balance due, the ball is in your court.
Once they have trousered your money you are scrabbling with all the others.
If you don't want to go and have only paid a small deposit don't throw good money after bad ?

You may think it strange. I'm not really interested in whether anyone has ever challenged successfully or not.

I've never been 'scrabbling' as I've never had to cancel a holiday in "normal times".

You may consider I've thrown 'good money after bad' by paying the balance on my June holiday.

But it's my money and therefore my choice.

And it's the same for anyone in the same situation, asking about whether to pay their balance or balance of low deposit.

Their money, their choice.

I'm not sure that I personally have ever - blindly or otherwise - advised "people who have paid deposits to line up like lambs and meekly handover  not inconsiderale balances for holidays that will never take place."

I probably have pointed out that it's likely that they will lose their deposits as they will have cancelled the holiday rather than the tour operator. That's the same as bagand96 says.

I have definitely pointed them to the relevant company website.

I made my own choice based on what was being said on here and reading relevant websites and my own financial circumstances.

Other people can do - and should do - the same.

bobblebob

So ive contacted Funway who TUI use to book holidays. They said they can offer a voucher, but if i want cash i need to claim through my insurance. Rang my insurance, they said if ive been offered vouchers and refused them i cant claim through my insurance

So seems Funway are breaking the law?

Pollycat

Laurence_Harvey said:

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

bow74 said:

Had an email today to pay the remainder of my deposit, with the balance to be paid 14th May, for an August holiday. 

Am I better/ what happens if I leave it until the middle of May to pay in case we get   any news over the coming 2 weeks. I don’t want to pay only to try and get it back again

I paid the remaining full TUI balance of  £3600 for our June holiday a few weeks before the present situation kicked off. I’d previously paid £400 deposit. £4k in total.

If I’d known what I know now I wouldn’t have paid the balance;...I’d have forfeited the £400 deposit, but hey ho.

The big problem I have with the TUI voucher system is that I have no way of knowing if it will be financially viable for me to travel abroad ever again.

No crystal ball of course, but I think(???) that people such as myself with a pre existing health condition, that could be exacerbated by Covid-19, will be unable to obtain travel insurance,....for the forsseable future at least.

Even if travel insurance is available I suspect the cost will be prohibitive.

The travel and airline companies are already playing ‘refund’  hard-ball;...however, we ain’t  seen nothing yet,...imho of course. 

re the bit in bold:

Once you have your refund credit, according to TUI website:

If you do not want to book another holiday with us, we can refund you the value of your refund credit back to your original payment method. Please visit our website FAQs for more information.

Yes, I’m aware of that thanks;... ring us they say! 

Then I'm not sure what anyone else can advise.

But doesn't it allay your concerns about having to accept a voucher when you say it's possible that it may not be financially viable for you to travel abroad ever again?

It's not like they are saying 'you will not get a monetary refund. You are forced to accept this voucher and will have to use it against another holiday with us. You will not get a monetary refund'.

Or is it?

Rick5

Hi

we are trying to pay our final payment for our holiday booked with TUI and have tried for days to get through to them on the phone  and can't get through. In one attempt we have waited over 1 1/2 hours to get through. The only way of paying is via the phone. The deadline is tomorrow, we have tried emailing back a reply to the email confirming the booking requesting they contact us so that we can pay. We have explained that we should not be liable for £900 losses that we have already paid them.  The email has bounced back a number of times. We have searched for other email addresses for them and found one for India so have sent them an email, no response. We even visited the local offices, which, as they had said on their website was shut.

We will gain printouts of emails bounced back and telephone records showing we have tried contacting them.

Will we be loose our deposit?

Thanks Neil

Life__Goes__On

You won't lose your deposit,  you have done everything right, you have tried to pay, and you have kept proof of that.

Laurence_Harvey

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

bow74 said:

Had an email today to pay the remainder of my deposit, with the balance to be paid 14th May, for an August holiday. 

Am I better/ what happens if I leave it until the middle of May to pay in case we get   any news over the coming 2 weeks. I don’t want to pay only to try and get it back again

I paid the remaining full TUI balance of  £3600 for our June holiday a few weeks before the present situation kicked off. I’d previously paid £400 deposit. £4k in total.

If I’d known what I know now I wouldn’t have paid the balance;...I’d have forfeited the £400 deposit, but hey ho.

The big problem I have with the TUI voucher system is that I have no way of knowing if it will be financially viable for me to travel abroad ever again.

No crystal ball of course, but I think(???) that people such as myself with a pre existing health condition, that could be exacerbated by Covid-19, will be unable to obtain travel insurance,....for the forsseable future at least.

Even if travel insurance is available I suspect the cost will be prohibitive.

The travel and airline companies are already playing ‘refund’  hard-ball;...however, we ain’t  seen nothing yet,...imho of course. 

re the bit in bold:

Once you have your refund credit, according to TUI website:

If you do not want to book another holiday with us, we can refund you the value of your refund credit back to your original payment method. Please visit our website FAQs for more information.

Yes, I’m aware of that thanks;... ring us they say! 

Then I'm not sure what anyone else can advise.

But doesn't it allay your concerns about having to accept a voucher when you say it's possible that it may not be financially viable for you to travel abroad ever again?

It's not like they are saying 'you will not get a monetary refund. You are forced to accept this voucher and will have to use it against another holiday with us. You will not get a monetary refund'.

Or is it?

Thanks for the reply,...greatly appreciated.

I wasn’t actually looking for advice per se;...just really highlighting an issue that affects me and (probably!) countless others in my position.

Obtaining a TUI cash refund will no doubt take a while, but should be plain sailing,...however, we’re in uncharted waters at the moment;

...are there any nasty surprises lurking just below the surface?...I’ll have to wait and see.

Pollycat

Laurence_Harvey said:

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

Pollycat said:

Laurence_Harvey said:

bow74 said:

Had an email today to pay the remainder of my deposit, with the balance to be paid 14th May, for an August holiday. 

Am I better/ what happens if I leave it until the middle of May to pay in case we get   any news over the coming 2 weeks. I don’t want to pay only to try and get it back again

I paid the remaining full TUI balance of  £3600 for our June holiday a few weeks before the present situation kicked off. I’d previously paid £400 deposit. £4k in total.

If I’d known what I know now I wouldn’t have paid the balance;...I’d have forfeited the £400 deposit, but hey ho.

The big problem I have with the TUI voucher system is that I have no way of knowing if it will be financially viable for me to travel abroad ever again.

No crystal ball of course, but I think(???) that people such as myself with a pre existing health condition, that could be exacerbated by Covid-19, will be unable to obtain travel insurance,....for the forsseable future at least.

Even if travel insurance is available I suspect the cost will be prohibitive.

The travel and airline companies are already playing ‘refund’  hard-ball;...however, we ain’t  seen nothing yet,...imho of course. 

re the bit in bold:

Once you have your refund credit, according to TUI website:

If you do not want to book another holiday with us, we can refund you the value of your refund credit back to your original payment method. Please visit our website FAQs for more information.

Yes, I’m aware of that thanks;... ring us they say! 

Then I'm not sure what anyone else can advise.

But doesn't it allay your concerns about having to accept a voucher when you say it's possible that it may not be financially viable for you to travel abroad ever again?

It's not like they are saying 'you will not get a monetary refund. You are forced to accept this voucher and will have to use it against another holiday with us. You will not get a monetary refund'.

Or is it?

Thanks for the reply,...greatly appreciated.

I wasn’t actually looking for advice per se;...just really highlighting an issue that affects me and (probably!) countless others in my position.

Obtaining a TUI cash refund will no doubt take a while, but should be plain sailing,...however, we’re in uncharted waters at the moment;

...are there any nasty surprises lurking just below the surface?...I’ll have to wait and see.

Ah OK.

It's an issue that affects me too, although my financial outlay isn't so great as yours.

Currently due to fly to Greece 12th June so the information on TUI website doesn't include us - it's departures up to 11th June.

I've been keeping a close eye on TUI website.

We're thinking we may defer to next year - exactly the same holiday - and hope the 20% booking incentive will cover the higher price.

Of course, some people may say I'm naive trusting tour operators but as I've said up-thread - my money, my choice.

We'll have a similar dilemma re our JET2 holiday for the end of August.

Currently paid the deposit. Not even thinking about that one just now.