Refunds from On The Beach

wootsy

kiki_b said:

Hi, I had a holiday booked for 02/06 was cancelled and hotel refunded a week before I was due travel and and hotel was refunded straight away.  I am now awaiting flights refunded but there is no updates basically an automated email to tell you to be patient. I am just wondering has anyone been refunded on flights as I have not heard of any??? 

Life__Goes__On said:

Ssl22uk said:

Your quite right life_goes_on. I forgot to mention that our prepped application does refer to PTA 2018 in the main and CRA 2015 where we object to OTB unfair contract where it is stipulated it is on us to chase the supplier. Just in case they try to defend the T&C’s. I treat them as the supplier 🤣. 

Always best to be as detailed as possible, certainly never harms.
Did you  send the a letter before action?

Allybally

Hi I hope someone can advise me. Holiday booked  to Tenerife with On the Beach with Ryanair flights. Departure from Scotland on 17/08/2020. On the Beach have just advised that the hotel I booked is delaying its opening date and that they have moved me to another hotel. Question is do I have to accept this or would this be grounds to request a refund. Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

Ssl22uk

Hi all. Just a quick update. So we filed our court claim and they advised us they would be defending it. We stipulated and reaffirmed our argument. They made an offer minus the flights that had flown and we rejected.  Two days before their deadline, they offered to settle minus costs, again we rejected as we stipulated we was entitled to a full refund and backed it with evidence. Right on the clock they offered to settle out of court and paid all associated fees. Result, we got a full refund.

Ssl22uk

wootsy said:

ive just got an Email from onthebeach saying they will pay me out of their own pocket if i assign my rights to the refund from Ryanair to them (they said this is so that i dont get the refund as well as the money from them). After signing this I looked on my booking paperwork and when i look under refunds it shows no refund due. I am going to leave it for 1 week then try to contact them again.

Same thing happened to us. But we refused to accept the terms as we are not the customer of Ryanair, they are. We opened an online money claim and they refunded us. We also chose not to accept that offer based on the fact they wouldn’t or neglected to confirm how much they’d refund us. When they did, it was £100 short of the full balance. Honestly you’d be better taking them to court and claim it all back with costs. Legal act a lot faster than the complaints team. 

ralphyuk

Does anyone have any advice on how to initiate legal proceedings against OTB.  I know that we are in unprecedented times but the service response is ridiculous

eskbanker

ralphyuk said:

Does anyone have any advice on how to initiate legal proceedings against OTB.  I know that we are in unprecedented times but the service response is ridiculous

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762843/mcol-userguide-eng.pdf

munchpot

ralphyuk said:

Does anyone have any advice on how to initiate legal proceedings against OTB.  I know that we are in unprecedented times but the service response is ridiculous

They messed my daughter about so sent them a Letter Before Claim to:

On The Beach UK Limited
5 Adair Street
Manchester
M1 2NQ

So decent templates on the site - might be worth asking on the Consumer Rights board for more detailed advice

nikontog2020

Just to add my dealing with OTB. We had a holiday to Spain booked with them, before the FCO guidelines were introduced. In August we received a message, through their website, that the hotel we had booked has decided to close till 2021, due to Covid-19, and that they were moving us to another hotel. We contacted them to say that we weren't happy with the hotel they had moved us to, as it was in a different resort, and a breach of Sec 27 of their T&C's.  After a couple of weeks of bouncing messages back and forth, OTB claiming that they hadn't breached their T&C's and threatening legal action, we eventually got to speak to a human being. During that conversation, I made it abundantly clear that we were entitled to exercise our right for a refund of all monies paid, as they were in breach of Sec 27. The girl I spoke to, confirmed that they had indeed fell foul of their own T&C's, offered a refund on the holiday, but not the flights, unless Ryanair cancelled the flight and reimbursed them. Now I discover that of yesterday (14th September), OTB have resigned as a member of ABTA, after receiving this email....

Thank you for contacting ABTA.

We’re sorry to inform you that the company, On the Beach, is no longer a member of ABTA. 

The ABTA Code of Conduct (which our Members are expected to abide by), doesn’t apply once membership ends as it cannot be applied retrospectively, regardless of when the booking was made. This means that in this case we’re unable to assist you further. 


So I'm now looking to take further action, against OTB, and looking to claim back the money for the flights.

bagand96

nikontog2020 said:

Thank you for contacting ABTA.

We’re sorry to inform you that the company, On the Beach, is no longer a member of ABTA. 

The ABTA Code of Conduct (which our Members are expected to abide by), doesn’t apply once membership ends as it cannot be applied retrospectively, regardless of when the booking was made. This means that in this case we’re unable to assist you further. 

This was predicted by a member on these forums at the time ABTA finalised their position on refund entitlements following FCO advice.

eskbanker

nikontog2020 said:

Just to add my dealing with OTB. We had a holiday to Spain booked with them, before the FCO guidelines were introduced. In August we received a message, through their website, that the hotel we had booked has decided to close till 2021, due to Covid-19, and that they were moving us to another hotel. We contacted them to say that we weren't happy with the hotel they had moved us to, as it was in a different resort, and a breach of Sec 27 of their T&C's.  After a couple of weeks of bouncing messages back and forth, OTB claiming that they hadn't breached their T&C's and threatening legal action, we eventually got to speak to a human being. During that conversation, I made it abundantly clear that we were entitled to exercise our right for a refund of all monies paid, as they were in breach of Sec 27. The girl I spoke to, confirmed that they had indeed fell foul of their own T&C's, offered a refund on the holiday, but not the flights, unless Ryanair cancelled the flight and reimbursed them. Now I discover that of yesterday (14th September), OTB have resigned as a member of ABTA, after receiving this email....

Thank you for contacting ABTA.

We’re sorry to inform you that the company, On the Beach, is no longer a member of ABTA. 

The ABTA Code of Conduct (which our Members are expected to abide by), doesn’t apply once membership ends as it cannot be applied retrospectively, regardless of when the booking was made. This means that in this case we’re unable to assist you further. 


So I'm now looking to take further action, against OTB, and looking to claim back the money for the flights.

Fortunately you still have various options available to you, as a hotel in a different resort is a significant change triggering refund rights for the entire package, so refusal to supply this is a clear breach of OTB's own Ts & Cs and the Package Travel Regulations 2018 (not necessarily in that order!), rather than the vaguer issue of adverse FCO advice, and so there is less reliance on ABTA here.  If you paid by card then you have s75 rights and/or chargeback possibilities, or if not (or if card routes aren't fruitful) then small claims court....