Would i get a refund? (Lastminute.com holiday to Croatia)

mattandbenny

So i have a package holiday booked with lastminute.com to go
to Dubrovnik for a week on 7th September (easyjet flights but booked through lastminutr as part of the package). Today the government announced Croatia is now on the red list and we would have to self isolate for 2 weeks upon our return. Me & my wife cannot work from home so this is not an option for us due to work commitments. The ideal scenario would be to change the holiday to a different destination - somewhere on the green list - but this is not possible with lastminute.com - the only option we have on the manage my booking page is to cancel holiday. There is also no way to contact anyone from lastminute.com - no phone line, no online chat etc - they have been getting a lot of stick for this.

According to the website the flight is still currently acheduled to be on. When i click cancel booking on their website then it says ‘We will make every effort to secure a refund for you, but please note that it will be subject to the terms and conditions of the supplier (e.g. the airline or hotel). By selecting Yes Cancel Booking, we will proceed with the cancellation and request a refund on your behalf.’

This cost a couple of grand so i don’t want to click cancel booking and then they say i am not entitled to a refund. I havn’t done anything yet. Does anyone have any advice please? 

Westin

Had this been a ‘real’ package holiday booked with a traditional U.K. tour operator like TUI, Jet2 Holidays then the situation would be relatively simple. With FCO travel advisories changing and Croatia being put on the Government’s higher risk list, the tour operator would allow your to amend your destination or refund your holiday cost. Job done.

Unfortunately some, particularly the online sellers of these cobbled together multiple contract packages are running their businesses differently.  People seem attracted to these online companies because they appear cheap but when things go wrong or you want to make a change, then you face no end of problems.

There will unfortunately be lots of frustration now. Trying to even reach LM will be an issue. When you eventually get hold of them it could well be to overworked, under paid and trained call handler in an overseas office who will only be able to read from scripted responses. A bonus will be if they know where Croatia is. 

When contact eventually made they will likely say that they will contact the various suppliers of your cobbled together package to see what can be done about refunds. This will take more time.  A refund may or may not come from a hotel and transfer supplier. With regard to the airline they will likely tell you that they will ask the airline but if the flight operates no refund is possible.  Expect further delays to actually getting any money back into your bank.

Of course you have certain rights under the Package Travel Regulations and ABTA have been quite clear with members what they expect to happen in these circumstances. Many of these online companies are however thumbing their nose at this and doing what they want.

No magic words of advice to quickly resolve this I am afraid.  You need to contact LastMinute.com to resolve but I fear this will be frustrating and time consuming.  Document all calls and what is said when contact made.

Check your travel insurance policy to see if you are covered for this eventually and can make a claim that way.

Best advice - avoid these ‘cheap’ online sellers of cobbled together holidays. The hassle of dealing with them is really not worth it particularly for what should be a relaxing fun holiday experience. Good luck.

mattandbenny

Thanks for your reply. Managed to finally speak to someone and they said i would get a quote through how much refund i am entitled to. It came through this morning and they said i am entitled to £420 refund of £1,250. Not happy with that. I got travel insurance straight after i booked the holiday last year so i will ring them up later and try to claim through them.

photome

mattandbenny said:

Thanks for your reply. Managed to finally speak to someone and they said i would get a quote through how much refund i am entitled to. It came through this morning and they said i am entitled to £420 refund of £1,250. Not happy with that. I got travel insurance straight after i booked the holiday last year so i will ring them up later and try to claim through them.

do tell the insurance company that they are offering a refund of £420

KayWest

mattandbenny said:

Thanks for your reply. Managed to finally speak to someone and they said i would get a quote through how much refund i am entitled to. It came through this morning and they said i am entitled to £420 refund of £1,250. Not happy with that. I got travel insurance straight after i booked the holiday last year so i will ring them up later and try to claim through them.

Do you have a contact number for Lastminute.com? I can't get hold of them. Thank you.

siowenson

Do you have a contact number for Lastminute.com? I can't get hold of them. Thank you. 

+44 208 396 1209 , Mon-Sun 08am - 08opm  (National landline number, costs depend on the provider)

I had a short break to rome, booked in january, with them for mid August but because of covid the schools returned early which meant we couldn't go. I cancelled the holiday at least a month before, probably 2, but I never got a response until 2 weeks after the holiday was supposed to take place! They said I had to pay the full amount as per the terms in my confirmation email, but i never even got a confirmation email when I booked. I've asked them for the terms and conditions but they've sent me the same email reply twice. I'm now asking for proof the flight even went ahead becassue they never sent me check in details or boarding passes. Basically, they never got in touch with me at all untill 2 weeks after the holiday, which is very strange.

Caz3121

siowenson said:

 They said I had to pay the full amount as per the terms in my confirmation email, but i never even got a confirmation email when I booked. I've asked them for the terms and conditions but they've sent me the same email reply twice. I'm now asking for proof the flight even went ahead becassue they never sent me check in details or boarding passes. Basically, they never got in touch with me at all untill 2 weeks after the holiday, which is very strange.

did you originally book over the phone? if you booked online you would have had to accept the terms and conditions before a booking was made "Check this box to confirm that you have read, understood and accepted the General Contract Conditions for the Sale of Package Holidays, cancellation policies including your rights outlined in the Directive (EU) 2015/2302 and the Privacy Policy"  The cancellation policies likely showed that it was non-refundable 
It would be unusual for third parties to send out boarding passes, you would have had a reference for the airline and be expected to go onto the airline website in advance to check in for your flight and print/download your own boarding passes
If you post your flight number and date it should be simple enough for someone to check if the flight operated (although unless it was cancelled before you cancelled it is likely not going to help you with anything)

NoodleDoodleMan

As Westin alluded to on 21st August - What is a package holiday ?

https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/frequently-asked-questions/what-package-holiday

I suspect that a lot of punters don't realise that separate DIY flights, accommodation and transfers etc. don't constitute  a recognised package as per ABTA description, and the same applies when an Online Travel Agents (OTA) cobbles such together.

Butts

NoodleDoodleMan said:

As Westin alluded to on 21st August - What is a package holiday ?

https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/frequently-asked-questions/what-package-holiday

I suspect that a lot of punters don't realise that separate DIY flights, accommodation and transfers etc. don't constitute  a recognised package as per ABTA description, and the same applies when an Online Travel Agents (OTA) cobbles such together.

A cursory glance at the accompanying ATOL Ceritficate (from LM.com at least) would provide the answer - bottom right hand corner.