No Point Booking Through lastminute.com

GJHC

Hi all,
I booked a holiday for my wife and I for 6 nights in Malta, travelling on 6th September.  Holiday was booked on 17th July through lastminute.com website, and money taken paid by credit card.

Now that the FCO have advised only essential travel is allowed to Malta, I foolishly presumed that as a major travel agent, lastminute.com, would provide a refund or at the very least a credit voucher so we could transfer to another destination.

After finally getting through to the customer support telephone line, they have categorically confirmed that they are no longer offering refunds unless either the flight or hotel cancel from their end.  They advise that the ATOL certificate allows them to take this stance, as there is no legal requirement to offer a refund unless the airline or hotel cancel.

The agent would just not budge, I know the travel industry is suffering really badly at the moment, but this approach means I will never use them again, I would rather pay more and have some security that you are dealing with a reputable company.

This also got me thinking, why would anyone book a holiday through travel agents who adopt this approach.  You have absolutely no security that if your holiday can't go ahead due to Covid, you will get any refund.  If you really want to book through lastminute.com, don't do it in advance, wait until a couple of days before your flight to give you some assurance you will get to go away.

I will try and apply for a refund from my credit card company, but we are in strange times, and after this experience not sure who you can trust.

Thanks

bradders1983

Your credit card company wont be interested if the flight operates and the hotel is open and available to be used. Speak to your travel insurance. The 14 day "quarantine" at this end isnt Lastminute.com's problem in this instance.

Other tour package companies have cancelled like TUI and Jet2 but sadly you have booked with a bunch of cowboys.

mattyprice4004

There's nothing saying only essential travel is allowed - it's merely an advisory, and lastminute aren't under any obligation to refund unfortunately. 

Your credit card company will probably take the same stance; what have your travel insurers said about this? 

Upsidedownandaround

GJHC said:

This also got me thinking, why would anyone book a holiday through travel agents who adopt this approach. 

To be blunt because people will throw their money at companies at dodgy foreign based companies if they think it will save them a few quid then worry about the consequences later if things go wrong. Unfortunately sometimes it is too late and all they can do is join a facebook page.

GJHC

Thanks for the comment.  Looks like I have misunderstood the legal position.  I haven't approached the travel insurance company yet.  I am pretty sure they will not cover it.  It is the integrated travel insurance with a nationwide flex plus account, and I can remember receiving an email some time ago advising that they will only cover trips booked before the pandemic broke.

I haven't cancelled the trip yet, still hoping either the travel advice will be changed, or the airline will cancel the flight.  I have to cancel the hotel by 2nd September, or I have a further payment to make straight too the hotel, so this will be my deadline.

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

pdel61

Given that you only booked your holiday in July, a cursory search of the internet or a visit to trustpilot would have given you some insight into the problems that people were having with lastminute.com.
You can get travel insurance that cover you for travelling against FCO advice, but unless you can afford to quarantine when you get back I wouldn't be inclined to travel anywhere abroad at the moment as you have no way of knowing how the restrictions are likely to change.

bagand96

GJHC said:

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

The problem, and this isn't a criticism, is that a lot of people don't fully understand what they are buying. 

TUI and Jet2 are proper tour operators. They sell you a holiday under a single contract. They control everything, the flight is usually on their own aircraft or an aircraft chartered by them. They have contracts directly with the hotel, even with the bus company to get you from the airport. This means when trouble happens they can react quickly and decisively as they're in control. They also are more aware of their reputation.

Lastminute.com (and many others like them)  are just an agents. They take a flight with any airline, put a hotel with it (usually booked via an intermediary) and bang... it's a package holiday! It's all fine until something goes wrong. These agents have no control, they're at the mercy of the airlines and hotels/bed banks. 

You do get certain protections even with LM.com you are protected under the Package Travel Regulations and ATOL. But it's not always enough. 

Butts

bagand96 said:

GJHC said:

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

The problem, and this isn't a criticism, is that a lot of people don't fully understand what they are buying. 

TUI and Jet2 are proper tour operators. They sell you a holiday under a single contract. They control everything, the flight is usually on their own aircraft or an aircraft chartered by them. They have contracts directly with the hotel, even with the bus company to get you from the airport. This means when trouble happens they can react quickly and decisively as they're in control. They also are more aware of their reputation.

Lastminute.com (and many others like them)  are just an agents. They take a flight with any airline, put a hotel with it (usually booked via an intermediary) and bang... it's a package holiday! It's all fine until something goes wrong. These agents have no control, they're at the mercy of the airlines and hotels/bed banks. 

You do get certain protections even with LM.com you are protected under the Package Travel Regulations and ATOL. But it's not always enough. 

If you book a Package from Lastminute.com (Single Contract) you have exactly the same rights as if it was booked through British Airways Holidays.

Both will give you a near identical ATOL Cerificate, and both are subject to The Package and Linked Travel Regulations 2018. For  what it's worth both are also members of ABTA.

The divergence will occur when something goes wrong in the way the problem is handled. Legally both are classed as The Organiser of the trip and responsible for putting things right irrespective of the source the elements of the package were obtained from. In other words Lastminute.com 's claims to be awaiting refunds from third party's have no relevance to their liability to refund you in the event of a cancellation. As the organiser your contract is with them and they should refund you within 14 Days of a Package Holiday being cancelled. Where they get the money from is their problem and they undertook the contract on this basis.

I have dealt with both of them one refunded without quibble, the other had to be reminded of their legal obligations via a Charge back . No prizes for guessing which was which !!

So I would say to anyone out there dealing with a problematic operator don't listen to legally irrelevant excuses, utilise the legal avenues open to you sooner rather than later. 

blindman

GJHC said:

Thanks for the comment.  Looks like I have misunderstood the legal position.  I haven't approached the travel insurance company yet.  I am pretty sure they will not cover it.  It is the integrated travel insurance with a nationwide flex plus account, and I can remember receiving an email some time ago advising that they will only cover trips booked before the pandemic broke.

I haven't cancelled the trip yet, still hoping either the travel advice will be changed, or the airline will cancel the flight.  I have to cancel the hotel by 2nd September, or I have a further payment to make straight too the hotel, so this will be my deadline.

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

Have you checked with Nationwide as they have changed their stance with regards to Covid 19

"

Yes, you’ll be covered as long as when you booked your trip or bought your insurance - whichever was later - the FCO wasn't advising against travel to your destination. When the FCO advice is against all but essential travel, you’ll only be covered if that advice was in place within 28 days of your departure. You should speak to your travel provider to find out if they can give you a refund or offer you an alternative."

Westin

Butts said:

bagand96 said:

GJHC said:

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

The problem, and this isn't a criticism, is that a lot of people don't fully understand what they are buying. 

TUI and Jet2 are proper tour operators. They sell you a holiday under a single contract. They control everything, the flight is usually on their own aircraft or an aircraft chartered by them. They have contracts directly with the hotel, even with the bus company to get you from the airport. This means when trouble happens they can react quickly and decisively as they're in control. They also are more aware of their reputation.

Lastminute.com (and many others like them)  are just an agents. They take a flight with any airline, put a hotel with it (usually booked via an intermediary) and bang... it's a package holiday! It's all fine until something goes wrong. These agents have no control, they're at the mercy of the airlines and hotels/bed banks. 

You do get certain protections even with LM.com you are protected under the Package Travel Regulations and ATOL. But it's not always enough. 

If you book a Package from Lastminute.com (Single Contract) you have exactly the same rights as if it was booked through British Airways Holidays.

Both will give you a near identical ATOL Cerificate, and both are subject to The Package and Linked Travel Regulations 2018. For  what it's worth both are also members of ABTA.

The divergence will occur when something goes wrong in the way the problem is handled. Legally both are classed as The Organiser of the trip and responsible for putting things right irrespective of the source the elements of the package were obtained from. In other words Lastminute.com 's claims to be awaiting refunds from third party's have no relevance to their liability to refund you in the event of a cancellation. As the organiser your contract is with them and they should refund you within 14 Days of a Package Holiday being cancelled. Where they get the money from is their problem and they undertook the contract on this basis.

I have dealt with both of them one refunded without quibble, the other had to be reminded of their legal obligations via a Charge back . No prizes for guessing which was which !!

So I would say to anyone out there dealing with a problematic operator don't listen to legally irrelevant excuses, utilise the legal avenues open to you sooner rather than later. 

I suspect it won’t be.  It will be at best a Package - Multi Contract.

Butts

Westin said:

Butts said:

bagand96 said:

GJHC said:

I still will not use lastminute.com ever again, I don't believe all travel companies are taking this stance.

I see TUI and Jet2 have been mentioned above, any other recommendations to use for the replacement trip ?

Thanks

The problem, and this isn't a criticism, is that a lot of people don't fully understand what they are buying. 

TUI and Jet2 are proper tour operators. They sell you a holiday under a single contract. They control everything, the flight is usually on their own aircraft or an aircraft chartered by them. They have contracts directly with the hotel, even with the bus company to get you from the airport. This means when trouble happens they can react quickly and decisively as they're in control. They also are more aware of their reputation.

Lastminute.com (and many others like them)  are just an agents. They take a flight with any airline, put a hotel with it (usually booked via an intermediary) and bang... it's a package holiday! It's all fine until something goes wrong. These agents have no control, they're at the mercy of the airlines and hotels/bed banks. 

You do get certain protections even with LM.com you are protected under the Package Travel Regulations and ATOL. But it's not always enough. 

If you book a Package from Lastminute.com (Single Contract) you have exactly the same rights as if it was booked through British Airways Holidays.

Both will give you a near identical ATOL Cerificate, and both are subject to The Package and Linked Travel Regulations 2018. For  what it's worth both are also members of ABTA.

The divergence will occur when something goes wrong in the way the problem is handled. Legally both are classed as The Organiser of the trip and responsible for putting things right irrespective of the source the elements of the package were obtained from. In other words Lastminute.com 's claims to be awaiting refunds from third party's have no relevance to their liability to refund you in the event of a cancellation. As the organiser your contract is with them and they should refund you within 14 Days of a Package Holiday being cancelled. Where they get the money from is their problem and they undertook the contract on this basis.

I have dealt with both of them one refunded without quibble, the other had to be reminded of their legal obligations via a Charge back . No prizes for guessing which was which !!

So I would say to anyone out there dealing with a problematic operator don't listen to legally irrelevant excuses, utilise the legal avenues open to you sooner rather than later. 

I suspect it won’t be.  It will be at best a Package - Multi Contract.

Form personal experience my aborted USA Vacation Flights/Hotel booked through LM.com was Package Single Contract.