Interim Payment made

JC1973

We are booked to travel to Greece with Olympic Holidays in August and the balance of our package holiday (ATOL protected) in due on 16th May 2020.

We paid a limited deposit of £445 when booking the holiday last year but subsequently made an interim payment of £1,548.00 in February (only to break the cost of the holiday down) but I have been unable to get hold of Olympic by phone or e-mail to discuss the options. 

The balance due on 16th May is still large and despite a lot of advice to the contrary, I am minded to cancel the booking as I simply can’t see this holiday happening and even if were possible, I cannot see it would be a holiday we would enjoy as a family.

I have read Olympic’s T&Cs and understand that I would forfeit the initial deposit £445.00 (I accept this) but I can find no clarity whatsoever as to what happens to the £1,548 interim payment I made which I was not contractually obliged to do. On their website they suggest that you can make a payment of £299pp to keep the holiday open (with balance due 4 weeks before departure) which arguably I have already done (family of 5) with the interim payment but in light of the current uncertainty, I would still be minded to just cancel.

If I do cancel, will I be entitled to the return of the £1,543.00 payment I made in February and if so what form what this refund be? Would the interim be covered by ATOL, travel insurance or my credit card if Olympic refuse to return this to me in cash form as one suspects that they will just offer a useless voucher credit?

Life__Goes__On

If you agreed to a deposit of £445 and balance payable on 16th May, then you are only liable for £445, any money paid above this must be returned.

Alan_Bowen

ATOL is not relevant until a travel company ceases to trade. Of all the countries in Europe, Greece hopes to be the first to reopen to tourists, but if as suspected the UK imposes a 14-day quarantine for those returning to the UK it will make no difference as no one would want to travel anyway.
If £455 was the full deposit as shown in the booking conditions, the outside of the balance due date, that should be your only loss and you are entitled to the additional payments you made back. If you paid on a card and they refuse to refund the money, offering a Refund Credit Note which seems to be the option most travel companies are offering, then you should be able to make a chargeback for the additional payments made. As you have discovered, it is always better for you to hold on to money than be generous and pay in advance. 

JC1973

Cheers guys - really helpful. When I do get a reply, I suspect I will be looking to claim back on the credit card. Yes, certainly learning the hard way but then no one really expected this to happen. Now it has, I have to deal with it so many thanks for your input!

Life__Goes__On

JC1973 said:

Cheers guys - really helpful. When I do get a reply, I suspect I will be looking to claim back on the credit card. Yes, certainly learning the hard way but then no one really expected this to happen. Now it has, I have to deal with it so many thanks foryour input!

If you paid the £1,548.00 by credit card it's much easier to get back than paying with something like a bank transfer, if Olympic are dragging their feet if you cancel.