Claiming back deposit

andytmoore

Hi, I booked last year for a cycle holiday in France for 13th June 20. 
I used my credit card to pay for 4 peoples deposit of £215 ea (30% of holiday) to the small holiday provider for accommodation, food and travel guide ( flights are separate). We have been in constant touch but they now want the rest of the holiday money (£2k) even if we defer to Sept or next year stating we can claim on our travel insurance if it all goes wrong.  They have stated that if we cancel now, we will loose our deposit. subsequently we have decided to cancelled because he are concerned we will loose all our money ( if they go bust - not atol protected).  Do you think i can claim on my insurance or credit card for the deposit- or is it a bit of a lost cause. 
I have annual insurance underwriter by AXA. 

Mrsn

You will not be able to claim the deposit back because you cancelled the booking unfortunately.

bradders1983

Lose. 🤦‍♂️

charlielhyde

Yeah, I don't think there is any chance to claim the deposit ...

Streaky_Bacon

Depends very much on the specifics of the contract and exactly what was said.

For example, if they were not able to provide what you contracted for, then it's entirely possible that you were due a refund, but instead they insisted on you paying the balance. Do they claim that the original booking could have gone ahead? What did they say would happen if you didn't pay the balance? Did you just cancel, or did you say that you were cancelling because you weren't prepared to pay the balance?

If you want to push this then consider posting a detailed timeline of exactly what happened and exactly what was said.

There is very often an assumption that businesses are able to simply declare a deposit as non-refundable in a contract, but the rules are often far more complex than that.