Lastminute.com package holiday cancellation nightmare

wowzer66

We have a holiday package for 3 travellers booked for 16th August for two weeks to Japan.  Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, we decided to cancel our booking at the end of February.  Although I was told I would get an email within 7 days of my call to confirm the cancellation charges, it didn't come through till 27th May 2020.  During this period of radio-silence from LM.com, I took matters into my own hands to find out what the cancx fees would be, by contacting Emirates Airlines & the hotel direct.  I discovered that we have Economy Flex flights so there is a £100/passenger fee i.e. £300.00 total & cancellation can be anytime prior to departure.  There are zero cancx fees for the hotel, as long as it is cancelled within 2 weeks of arrival.  Our ATOL certificate is a single contract, package.  So when the LM.com Cancellation Quotation email arrived the other day stating the cancx fee was € 3 235,29, I rang to sort it out :

"A cancellation fee of: € 3 805,89 will apply in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of your booking which you can find in your confirmation email. As the provider cancellation fees are more than the 570.60 EUR deposit paid there is an outstanding balance of € 3 235,29 - GBP30 handling fee will apply (unless you have purchased an assistance package with us). - Any agency fees charged at the time of booking are non refundable. If you go ahead with the cancellation we will charge the outstanding balance for the cancellation fees on the card you used to make the booking. If we are unable to take the payment, or the original payment was made using PayPal, we will call you. This cancellation quote is valid for the next 24 hours. We look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Customer Care Team”

The Operative told me that  there was an error in the data inputted on their system and that it looked like the 3805.89 Eur fee had been miscalculated on the basis of the full cost of the holiday, including the accommodation, and that he would have to do a re-calculation and promised to call me back at the end of the day.  He confirmed that I was correct, that the only cancx fee for the airline tickets was £100/passenger.

Suffice to say, he didn't ring me back so I rang them.  I was informed that the cancellation fee was going to be £740.88 , and that because we already paid a deposit of £486.04, there was an outstanding balance of £254.04 left to pay. I agreed to this cancellation quote and asked if I was required to pay immediately. I was told that payment would be taken via my payment card used in the original transaction in 7-10 days time. Shortly after the call ended, I received the following email :

"A cancellation fee of: GBP 740.88 will apply in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of your booking which you can find in your confirmation email. As the provider cancellation fees are more than the GBP 486.04 deposit paid there is an outstanding balance of GBP 254.04. - GBP30 handling fee will apply (unless you have purchased an assistance package with us). - Any agency fees charged at the time of booking are non refundable. If you go ahead with the cancellation we will charge the outstanding balance for the cancellation fees on the card you used to make the booking. If we are unable to take the payment, or the original payment was made using PayPal, we will call you. This cancellation quote is valid for the next 24 hours. We look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Customer Care Team lastminute”

Although I knew we should really be getting a refund of £186, I was so sick to death of all the uncertainty & just wanted the matter resolved So as instructed, I replied immediately as follows:

"Dear Customer Care Team,
I CONFIRM acceptance of the cancellation quotation with an outstanding balance due of GBP 254.04.There won't be a GBP 30.00 handling fee applicable as I purchased the assistance package. Thank-you."

To my utter astonishment, I received the following reply from LastMinute, attempting to change the terms of the previously agreed cancellation
quotation :
"Dear XXX,

thank you for your email.
We kindly inform you that the whole amount you need to pay in this case is 4374.39 GBP.
Please let us know again if you decide to proceed.
We remain at your disposal
Kind regards
Customer Service"

So I emailed them back  :

"Hello,
What on earth are you talking about? A cancellation fee of 740.88 GBP was agreed YESTERDAY.
After 2 telephone calls to you yesterday to discuss the cancellation, I agreed a cancellation fee of GBP 740.88, and as we have already paid a GBP 486.04 deposit, there is a balance outstanding to pay of GBP 254.04. I waited on the 'phone while you worked out the calculation due an error on your system. I then agreed this cancellation fee verbally and you issued me the cancellation email which I responded to accordingly.

So please can you sort out your error and write back to me to confirm you have resolved your mistake. I DO NOT owe you anything more than GBP 254.04 and I DO NOT expect to be receiving more/different cancellation terms, since the cancellation was agreed YESTERDAY."

LM.com replied :

"Thank you for your e-mail. Hereby to inform you that we will proceed with the cancellation fee of 740.88 as you have agreed. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We remain at your disposal for further queries. Kind Regards, Customer Care Team"

However, later that day, I received yet ANOTHER email from LM.com, this time, with a new, different, more expensive Cancx Quote :

"We have received your cancellation quotation request for the Booking ID xxxxxx. Below you will find the cancellation quotation as requested the correct amount updated A cancellation fee of: GBP 771.56 will apply in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of your booking which you can find in your confirmation email. As the provider cancellation fees are more than the GBP 486.04 deposit paid there is an outstanding balance of GBP 285.52. - GBP30 handling fee will apply (unless you have purchased an assistance package with us). - Any agency fees charged at the time of booking are non refundable. If you go ahead with the cancellation we will charge the outstanding balance for the cancellation fees on the card you used to make the booking. If we are unable to take the payment, or the original payment was made using PayPal, we will call you. This cancellation quote is valid for the next 24 hours. We look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Customer Care Team"

I replied as follows :

"Hello, I really don't understand why you are issuing me ANOTHER cancellation quotation, since the cancellation quote for Booking ID XXXXXXXX was issued by you yesterday and subsequently agreed by me in an email yesterday. That should be the end of the matter! We agreed the following terms : A cancellation fee of: GBP 740.88 will apply in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of your booking which you can find in your confirmation email. As the provider cancellation fees are more than the GBP 486.04 deposit paid there is an outstanding balance of GBP 254.04. I WILL NOT pay GBP 285.52 Since we have previously agreed that what is outstanding is GBP 254.04; that is what I will pay. I obliged your request to agree this cancellation quotation YESTERDAY. Why are you sending me another, DIFFERENT one, when the matter has already been agreed? I find it astonishing that your business acts in such an unprofessional manner, regarding trying to change an already agreed cancellation fee contract, which was agreed both verbally, and then in writing.... TWICE. This is unacceptable legally in terms of contractual law, and I am very annoyed to be put to the inconvenience of having to re-visit this issue again, as it was already dealt with yesterday. Given my complete loss of faith in your company's ability to act properly, I would prefer to receive a written invoice for GBP 254.04 prior to making payment as I can not trust your company to operate correctly. Upon receipt of your invoice for GBP 254.04, I will pay it accordingly. Please DO NOT send me any more 'Cancellation Quotation Requests,' for Booking ID XXXXXXXXX. If this matter is not resolved appropriately, I will be sending a copy of these recent communications to ABTA, and I trust that I will not be forced to escalate my complaint further. Yours sincerely,"

LM.com replied as follows :

"thank you for your email. We kindly inform you that the previous one cancellation quotation was sent by mistake, and at the moment as we haven't received an official communication from the providers regarding the cancellation, we can not provide you with a refund, and in case you wish not to cancel the booking, it will remain unchanged and no action will be taken as per your request until further communications we may receive maybe close to the departure date. We remain at your disposal Kind regards Customer Service"

I responded with :

"Hello, Please note that the cancellation quotation request you issued to me in writing, the one which I accepted in writing, was not re-negotiable. At no point did you state to me that the cancellation terms YOU OFFERED me were re-negotiable. I am not at all interested if you made a mistake, that is not my problem. And as for stating that we may 'change our minds' about cancelling...are you serious???? I have agreed to your cancellation terms, in writing! As far as I am concerned, our Booking ID XXXXX has been CANCELLED, as we followed your given procedures to cancel it and it has been agreed in writing. I agree to paying you an additional £254.04 ONLY, as per our mutually agreed cancellation quotation agreement."

So this is where we are at as of today.  My question, if anyone can help, is :

1. There was a £4,500 balance to pay for the holiday, due to be collected from my bank a/c on 16th July.  But since I agreed to the cancx terms in writing (which LM.com are now trying to 're-negotiate,') I have cancelled this at my bank as I do not intend to pay for a holiday I have cancelled.  Where do I stand legally in this regard?

I would just like some reassurance.

Any advice would be welcomed, as this is giving me and my family alot of anxiety.

TIA.

Life__Goes__On

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/can-i-claim-back-a-non-refundable-deposit
Any cancellation charge have to be what the company lost and some admins fees.
So if you can prove the only loss would be £300 that's all they are entitled too  plus admins fees.

This are some links in the post below
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77223459/#Comment_77223459
 

Butts

What a complete and utter shambles !!!
I have got something similar to look forward to in July when the £3700 balance on my Holiday becomes due - if I decide against paying it.
After reading your account would anyone in their right mind handover a large sum of money to LM or just take the hit for a small deposit and run for the hills 

Life__Goes__On

Make sure you sent LHM this form (from the Telegraph)

Dear Sir,

As you know, I have been forced to cancel my holiday with you departing on > holiday date and location < .

You are aware that I paid you a total of £XXX by way of a deposit/for the holiday. I would appreciate a refund of this, subject to a deduction to cover loss and expense, if any, caused by my having to cancel. If you say that there has been some loss or expense to you, please let me know what that amounts to and provide me with supporting documentation.

Yours faithfully > your name < .

If the response is: "Under our terms and conditions, you have forfeited what you paid us", you could respond:

Dear Sir,

Your terms and conditions are unfair and of no effect by reason of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (formerly "the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999) and repeat a request for the disclosure with a threat of Court Action.

mattyprice4004

Life__Goes__On said:

Make sure you sent LHM this form (from the Telegraph)

Dear Sir,

As you know, I have been forced to cancel my holiday with you departing on > holiday date and location < .

You are aware that I paid you a total of £XXX by way of a deposit/for the holiday. I would appreciate a refund of this, subject to a deduction to cover loss and expense, if any, caused by my having to cancel. If you say that there has been some loss or expense to you, please let me know what that amounts to and provide me with supporting documentation.

Yours faithfully > your name < .

If the response is: "Under our terms and conditions, you have forfeited what you paid us", you could respond:

Dear Sir,

Your terms and conditions are unfair and of no effect by reason of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (formerly "the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999) and repeat a request for the disclosure with a threat of Court Action.

The admin time will be their staffing costs etc - you can't honestly expect them to delve into what it costs per hour to keep the lights on. 
Any admin fees (as long as they're reasonable) don't need penny-by-penny explanation. 

Life__Goes__On

mattyprice4004 said:

The admin time will be their staffing costs etc - you can't honestly expect them to delve into what it costs per hour to keep the lights on.

For accounting reasons this should  be known.
But a discussion of  fixed costs are variable costs, won't help the OP.

Butts

Life__Goes__On said:

mattyprice4004 said:

The admin time will be their staffing costs etc - you can't honestly expect them to delve into what it costs per hour to keep the lights on.

For accounting reasons this should  be known.
But a discussion of  fixed costs are variable costs, won't help the OP.

What might help the OP more is close scrutiny of LM's Terms and Conditions.
From my personal exposure to them I would conclude they are the result of a five year old being let loose with a John Bull printing set.