Oliver's Travels - Anyone managed to contact them?

Gwhiz

I'm booked on a holiday on September 5th.  Due to CV19 I am now wanting to cancel.  Oliver's Travels have sent me an email with a link to a form for cancelling stating that I need to fill this out or they will charge my card for the balance in 48 hours.  The issue is that the form does not allow you to enter holiday dates after September 1 so it can not be used.  I've emailed them three times and all I get is an auto email that states that they have disconnected all their phones and they will try to get back to me on email.  However, I have not received any email replies to date.   
Has anyone had any luck cancelling or getting in touch with Oliver's Travels?
Thanks, Gary.

Sue_E_

We booked a property for a group 9 of us in the South of France through Oliver's Travels starting 9th Sept. for which we have paid in full £2822 to Oliver's Travels . As everyone knows the there is now an FCO travel restriction.  Our BA flights have been cancelled but the Oliver's travels are saying we can't have a refund and we need to claim directly from the accommodation. The proprietor has been in contact with us directly to see if we are coming as he can't get any information from Oliver's travels.  He has also confirmed he has only received a deposit of 456 EUR whereas we had paid an initial deposit of £988.  This is the response we've had from Oliver's Travel's - note, we paid Oliver's Travels so it's them that have OUR money. 

Oliver’s Travels have not, and have never intended to, provide you with accommodation (a service).  In fact, we do not own or control any of the properties listed on our website.  These properties are all owned by third parties.

Oliver’s Travels act purely as an agent, i.e. our role is to provide a platform enable customers and accommodation suppliers to ‘find each other’.  Thereafter, our customers enter in to a contract directly with the accommodation provider.  

Our role is therefore more comparable to purchasing goods from ebay, as opposed to say Debenhams.  Taking that example, if customers have a complaint about goods purchased on ebay that dispute must be resolved between buyer and seller, not between buyer and ebay.

 The fact that we are an agent is: 

a.      Clearly set out in large, bold print at the top of our Terms & Conditions.  Those T&C’s are made available before making a reservation through our website.  

b.      Made clear in the first e-mail that you received after making a reservation through our website.  

In light of the above, Olivers Travels are not obliged to provide any refunds.  Any dispute must be resolved directly between you and the accommodation supplier.  

1 of our group is expecting and unlikely to be able to join us if we changed dates and getting all of us for another date and a suitable property would be challenging, so we need a refund.

Not sure what steps to take next........

mattyprice4004

There's no restriction - it's purely advisory information (advice) and you're still free to travel. 
You're not automatically entitled to a refund, and anything you do get will purely be goodwill - it sounds like they just deal with paying the provider once they've taken their cut, and that they're simply holding on to some of the money until the accommodation provider has confirmed you arrived and everything is fine. 

It seems quite clear from what they've said that this is the case, and you'll need to deal with the provider direct. 
Can you claim on your insurance? 

Sue_E_

We are free to travel but have no flight and if we did travel our insurance wouldn't cover us as the FCO advise against all but essential international travel.  A holiday is lovely but not essential.  So if/when we don't arrive you reckon they will still pay the proprietor?

sheramber

If you have cover for FCO advice against travel then you can claim on that.

Sue_E_

yes, our insurance should cover us but still states: 'You must first speak to your trip provider to see if they can provide a refund or offer you an alternative'  
How come the company, who has our money doesn't have to refund us. If this is happening to thousands of people they will be making loads and providing nothing to us or the property owner.

Alan_Bowen

Looking at their booking conditions, it appears they provide no financial protection at all, so if they go bust and haven't paid the owner, your holiday is gone. They are not a member of any UK based trade association and as others have noted, they make it clear, whether true or not, that your contract is not with them but with the owner. There is some legal argument to say that maybe a fiction to hide the truth if they fix the selling price and the cancellation charges, then the contract is probably with them but that would need legal proceedings to decide. Did they put you in touch with the owner or keep him a secret, that also suggests they are not an appointed agent at all but if you want your money back you may have no alternative since they do not offer any alternative dispute resolution service. It is also not a package if you booked your own flights, putting together your own holiday may have seemed like a good idea but when it falls apart, the risks are exposed. You have my sympathy (but that won't help you, sorry)

Sue_E_

Oliver's travels, once the final balance had been paid, they provided the name and property address of property owner, but no other contact details. We paid £2822 (the deposit was £988) for the villa.  The owner is expecting £1942 but has only received 456 eur.  The owner contacted us when he had no confirmation from Oliver's Travels.  
Reading review sites sounds like Oliver's Travels should have been avoided in most cases.

Alan_Bowen

It is clear they are not acting as an agent as otherwise the amount you paid would be due to the owner and the commission should not be almost £1000. They appear, irrespective of the terms of the contract to be acting as a Principal, which might allow a chargeback to your card but it is clear they will defend it so on the basis you have an absolute refusal to refund, I think you must go back to your insurers and ask them to deal with it. If they refuse, go to the Financial Ombudsman, but I fear their backlog will mean a long delay but the threat of doing so, which costs the insurer a lot of money might be sufficient for them to change their mind.