Cancelling a holiday due to FCO advice

[Deleted User]

1Jayboygreen said:

Hi, I booked a holiday on booking.com in Scotland on the 18th July, and the place we were staying in advertised a spa, swimming pool, snooker tables game room, outdoor facilities. So when Covid struck we kept in touch with the vendor to see if we were or when we were allowed in Scotland. The conversation was answered, but none of the facilities were open, pubs were only outside depending on weather or booked in advance? so because we have children and they would be bored we decided to cancel, but were then told no refund? is this correct even though the advert said all these facilities available yet they were not available to us, and it was not our fault, in other words £1000 cost for 3 days to sit in a family room? can I claim back either through my credit card or booking.com? Thank you

Did you speak with booking.com before you cancelled the holiday?   They are the ones you had a contract with.   If all the facilities as you described are withdrawn at your date of travel, I am sure this would be considered significant changes and booking.com would be required to rebook or refund you (although as we are finding these significant changes do seem to be subjective) plus you may have found that certain ones were reopened.    BUT...as you don't appear to have contacted booking.com before you cancelled, I am not sure if there is anything you can do about it now other than appeal for a bit of leniency and reinstate your booking for 18 July?   They may show compassion?  No harm in trying.

In answer to your final question - doubtful as you cancelled you could claim back from credit card. Sorry - no unsympathetic just realistic.

Streaky_Bacon

Alan_Bowen said:

The issue here isn't cancellation charges but that the customer did not understand that the £100 paid was not the full deposit, despite the fact they would have had to sign accepting that if they chose to cancel, the full deposit as shown in the booking conditions remains payable. FCO advice against travel will change tomorrow and therefore that get out clause may no longer exist

It doesn't make any difference if you call it an cancellation charge or a retained deposit.

The company is not entitled to keep anything except to cover their expenses and any loss. This is a well established principle.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47949915

In the case mentioned, which TUI lost, they had a terms which stated that within 14 days they could keep 100% of the holiday price.

They lost because that was deemed to be an unfair contract term, yet that is exactly the same term that they still have, as eskbanker linked above.In fact TUI even call it "termination fee".

This "termination fee" also includes "loss of deposit" if you can cancel more than 70 days before.

It cannot be said enough that the idea of a non-refundable deposit in a consumer contract is not enforceable, except that companies can charge for a cancellation to cover their admin and losses.

TUI do at least acknowldge this in the wording below, rather than just stating "if you cancel you lose your deposit" but, again, it seems that they have not changed the terms that a court has found unenforceable.

Probably because the vast majority of people assume that the legal position is whatever the contract says, without considering the more complete legal picture.

eskbanker said:

https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/booking/tandc?ptype=PDP

If You Cancel Your Holiday

To cancel your holiday you must tell us as soon as possible. If you booked using a travel agency, that agency must tell us. When your holiday has been cancelled you will receive a cancellation invoice.

You must pay a termination fee which covers our administration costs and compensates us for the risk that we do not resell your holiday. The fee is based upon how long before your holiday you tell us you want to cancel and is a percentage of the total price of your holiday.

Termination Fees
How long before your holiday you cancel	Percentage Of Your Holiday Price
70 days or more	Loss of deposit
69 - 63 days	30%
62 - 49 days	50%
48 - 29 days	70%
28 - 15 days	90%
14 - 0 days	100%

elsien

1Jayboygreen said:

Hi, I booked a holiday on booking.com in Scotland on the 18th July, and the place we were staying in advertised a spa, swimming pool, snooker tables game room, outdoor facilities. So when Covid struck we kept in touch with the vendor to see if we were or when we were allowed in Scotland. The conversation was answered, but none of the facilities were open, pubs were only outside depending on weather or booked in advance? so because we have children and they would be bored we decided to cancel, but were then told no refund? is this correct even though the advert said all these facilities available yet they were not available to us, and it was not our fault, in other words £1000 cost for 3 days to sit in a family room? can I claim back either through my credit card or booking.com? Thank you

Because you've chosen to cancel without contacting booking.com to discuss your options then I doubt you would have any claim.
The other option of course would have been to have gone and  made the best of it - you could have booked up the pubs in advance to eat out, you could have taken games to play, you could have gone for walks or seen what else there was. No it's not the same as everything been in place but it's still a break, you wouldn't have lost your money and you really wouldn't have had to spend 3 days just sitting in your room. 

Streaky_Bacon

elsien said:

Because you've chosen to cancel without contacting booking.com to discuss your options then I doubt you would have any claim.

I don't see any reason why that would prevent a claim.

The significant alteration probably amounted to a repudiatory breach, allowing the customer to cancel the contract and claim their money back.

Alternatively, it could be argued that the contract was frustrated, which would also require the money to be returned.

It would take a few minutes to begin the process of claiming, rather than just writing this money off.