Gap360 Tour Operator No Refunds

178bee

I booked a tour with Gap360 back in January. I'm due to go away in early July - personally, I am very doubtful we will be going anywhere by then. I have paid £200 deposit, and managed to extend the date the balance of approx £1300 is due until 13th May. I did have insurance from the outset, however I'm now unsure as to whether I should pay the balance as I don't think it would cover this extra fee. I also paid on a credit card (I'm a student and had been saving for years so tried to be as cautious as I could!) However, if by some chance we are able to travel and I therefore don't get by (separately booked) flights back, if I don't pay on 13th May I think I will lose the £200 and have nowhere to stay/nothing to do, so waste all the flight money?

Adding to my concern is Gap360s approach to this. I understand they are trying to offer vouchers first, but it appears they are refusing to offer any form of refund. I've attached a couple of photos of their website and some tweets about them (names blocked out for privacy). Sadly, due to personal circumstances, I won't be able to reschedule this holiday as I don't foresee myself having the time off to travel for several years - particularly £1600 worth of tours. 
My questions are:
1) Should I pay the balance in a week and a half's time?
2) If I pay the balance and the trip is cancelled, are Gap 360 obliged to refund me, or would I be stuck with a voucher? Are they allowed to not refund you for services not performed?
3) If I don't pay the balance, do I lose my deposit despite the current circumstances?
4) If the tour does not go ahead but my flights (with Vietnam Airways) are still going, can I claim this on my insurance? (Purchased prior to Covid19 and which covers FCO travel disruption thankfully).
5) How far in advance are you normally able to start the process with either the company itself, the credit card company or your insurance provider? I'm concerned that if on 1st July we are able to travel, that my holiday (on 4th July) will be able to go ahead?
 

Alan_Bowen

This is a catch 22 situation, it is unlikely your trip will go ahead and if you pay the rest of the money, you may not see any of it again as it seems they only want to offer vouchers. If, at the time you were due to fly there is still FCO advice either not to travel anywhere, as is the case at the moment, or indeed your destination doesn't want to accept visitors from the UK, then the flight itself is likely to be cancelled and you are due a refund for that as well. However, as you can see you might well lose the £200 deposit paid if you cancel now, as it could be considered that it is you cancelling the holiday, not the travel company. Of course, things might be completely different by July (I doubt it ) and the trip could operate in which case your flight cost would also be lost. No one can make the decision but you, I would be tempted to ask for a further delay in paying the final balance for a further 4 weeks, by the beginning of June it might be clearer as to which way to jump