Last minute.com refund options

andyh2812

I have been offered 3 choices for my cancelled trip, 1. Travel credit (which includes £320 on top of what I paid) 2. Voucher for the cost of the trip 3. Cash refund (delays possible) the travel credit is appealing as we are intending to rebook for next year, this offer of the extra £320 seems to good to be true.
do I still get protection for my trip if I book using the travel credit and it gets cancelled again??

Advice please from anyone who’s been offered similar options, are there any hidden clauses.
thanks

Browntoa

Long running existing thread with information

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77146260#Comment_77146260

Streaky_Bacon

Are there restrictions on the travel credit, such as having to be redeemed within a certain time?

I would personally not assume that travel would return to anywhere near normal for the foreseeable future, maybe not for a couple of years or more, and so would not make a decision based upon future bookings.

Aside from changes to the logistics of travel (such as social distancing and potential quarantining requirements at the destination), issues with insurance will become very muddy, and it is likely that anything COVID19 related will not be covered for future trips.

Of course, it may be that you are prepared to take on a bit more uncertainty, and the £320 would be sufficient to tempt you. I would say that £320 is probably not "too good to be true" because it costs them nothing for now, and allows them to keep your money, and you may well find out that the same trip next year costs that much more anyway.

In terms of protection, the usual consumer protections will apply but, if you originally paid by debit/credit card, you would lose the additional card protections, unless you made a further card payment as a part of the new booking.

andyh2812

Streaky_Bacon said:

Are there restrictions on the travel credit, such as having to be redeemed within a certain time?

I would personally not assume that travel would return to anywhere near normal for the foreseeable future, maybe not for a couple of years or more, and so would not make a decision based upon future bookings.

Aside from changes to the logistics of travel (such as social distancing and potential quarantining requirements at the destination), issues with insurance will become very muddy, and it is likely that anything COVID19 related will not be covered for future trips.

Of course, it may be that you are prepared to take on a bit more uncertainty, and the £320 would be sufficient to tempt you. I would say that £320 is probably not "too good to be true" because it costs them nothing for now, and allows them to keep your money, and you may well find out that the same trip next year costs that much more anyway.

In terms of protection, the usual consumer protections will apply but, if you originally paid by debit/credit card, you would lose the additional card protections, unless you made a further card payment as a part of the new booking.

Valid for 12 months, the same hotel for April 2021 actually comes out slightly cheaper😳

Butts

andyh2812 said:

I have been offered 3 choices for my cancelled trip, 1. Travel credit (which includes £320 on top of what I paid) 2. Voucher for the cost of the trip 3. Cash refund (delays possible) the travel credit is appealing as we are intending to rebook for next year, this offer of the extra £320 seems to good to be true.
do I still get protection for my trip if I book using the travel credit and it gets cancelled again??

Advice please from anyone who’s been offered similar options, are there any hidden clauses.
thanks

Did LM get in touch with you or did you instigate contact following the cancellation ?
How soon after the trip was due to take part did they contact you ?
Have read terrible accounts of non-contact and obfuscation from them on here and Trust Pilot - perhaps you are the exception to the rule ?

andyh2812

Butts said:

andyh2812 said:

I have been offered 3 choices for my cancelled trip, 1. Travel credit (which includes £320 on top of what I paid) 2. Voucher for the cost of the trip 3. Cash refund (delays possible) the travel credit is appealing as we are intending to rebook for next year, this offer of the extra £320 seems to good to be true.
do I still get protection for my trip if I book using the travel credit and it gets cancelled again??

Advice please from anyone who’s been offered similar options, are there any hidden clauses.
thanks

Did LM get in touch with you or did you instigate contact following the cancellation ?
How soon after the trip was due to take part did they contact you ?
Have read terrible accounts of non-contact and obfuscation from them on here and Trust Pilot - perhaps you are the exception to the rule ?

tbf  LM did keep in contact with me via email to say that the trip was cancelled and I would be entitled to a refund, the trip was booked for 23/4-27/4, thing is do I take the voucher with the extra bunce? we do intend to re-book for next year but am worried that taking the travel credit leaves me vulnerable for the future trip.

Streaky_Bacon

andyh2812 said:

tbf  LM did keep in contact with me via email to say that the trip was cancelled and I would be entitled to a refund, the trip was booked for 23/4-27/4, thing is do I take the voucher with the extra bunce? we do intend to re-book for next year but am worried that taking the travel credit leaves me vulnerable for the future trip.

If you do re-book and are able to pay some on a credit card, then that will up your protection for a cancellation, but you are not going to be able to get travel insurance that would offer the same protection for COVID19 next year.

It's good that the hotel is not more expensive but then you also need to factor in whether other costs, including travel and insurance, will cost you more.

If you take the cash, at least you have it back in your account, but you'll lose the extra £320 on offer. If that £320 is still tempting to you, then you should consider asking that nothing be done for now, until you see how things play out over the next few months.

At some point you may feel more confident to move ahead with a booking or just get the cash back. Taking the credit now limits your options.

Butts

Streaky_Bacon said:

andyh2812 said:

tbf  LM did keep in contact with me via email to say that the trip was cancelled and I would be entitled to a refund, the trip was booked for 23/4-27/4, thing is do I take the voucher with the extra bunce? we do intend to re-book for next year but am worried that taking the travel credit leaves me vulnerable for the future trip.

If you do re-book and are able to pay some on a credit card, then that will up your protection for a cancellation, but you are not going to be able to get travel insurance that would offer the same protection for COVID19 next year.

It's good that the hotel is not more expensive but then you also need to factor in whether other costs, including travel and insurance, will cost you more.

If you take the cash, at least you have it back in your account, but you'll lose the extra £320 on offer. If that £320 is still tempting to you, then you should consider asking that nothing be done for now, until you see how things play out over the next few months.

At some point you may feel more confident to move ahead with a booking or just get the cash back. Taking the credit now limits your options.

Indeed, that's always assuming he receives the cash in a prompt and timely manner - highly unlikely given LM being near the bottom of the table for performance at the moment.
Op - was it just a hotel booking or flights as well ?

SteveOk

andyh2812 said:

Advice please from anyone who’s been offered similar options, are there any hidden clauses.

thanks

I got the same four options to choose from. We decided on the first one. I read the rules several times and found nothing suspicious. Voucher is valid for flights, hotels and everything else. I think you shouldn't worry about that.

andyh2812

Butts said:

Streaky_Bacon said:

andyh2812 said:

tbf  LM did keep in contact with me via email to say that the trip was cancelled and I would be entitled to a refund, the trip was booked for 23/4-27/4, thing is do I take the voucher with the extra bunce? we do intend to re-book for next year but am worried that taking the travel credit leaves me vulnerable for the future trip.

If you do re-book and are able to pay some on a credit card, then that will up your protection for a cancellation, but you are not going to be able to get travel insurance that would offer the same protection for COVID19 next year.

It's good that the hotel is not more expensive but then you also need to factor in whether other costs, including travel and insurance, will cost you more.

If you take the cash, at least you have it back in your account, but you'll lose the extra £320 on offer. If that £320 is still tempting to you, then you should consider asking that nothing be done for now, until you see how things play out over the next few months.

At some point you may feel more confident to move ahead with a booking or just get the cash back. Taking the credit now limits your options.

Indeed, that's always assuming he receives the cash in a prompt and timely manner - highly unlikely given LM being near the bottom of the table for performance at the moment.
Op - was it just a hotel booking or flights as well ?

just a hotel