Problem getting a refund on a Shearings holiday

kphunter

Hi all
I am helping a relative with a learning disability, who booked a holiday through Thomas Cook, with Shearings.  After he paid the deposit to Thomas Cook, they went bust.  To ensure their holiday, they had to send their receipt to Shearings, who then confirmed their booking. They did not keep a copy; they do not have the facility to do this at home.  They don't have  a computer, and don't use email.  They paid the balance of the holiday, £798, by Santander debit card over the phone, directly to Shearings in March 2020.

Then Shearings went into administration.

They asked me to help get their refund, and I began by emailing Shearings, shearingsgroup@uk.ey.com to ask for copies of their documents; I requested that they send details of the booking, and explained that as they had sent their Thomas Cook receipt to Shearings, they had no documentation.

There was an automated response, but no further reply.

I sent three more emails over the next couple of months, and again received automated responses, but no reply.

Unfortunately I am not able to prove the emails sent, or the automated replies received. My relative has a learning disability, but can access the email account on her phone; one day she thought it was a good idea to delete everything in the email account, including everything in the sent and deleted folders.

Then on 12th August 2020, I telephoned Ernst and Young and spoke to someone in the Shearings administration team. They said they couldn't find the emails I sent (in spite of the four automated replies), and advised that the best way to proceed was to contact Santander, and claim a refund, because they had paid by debit card.

So on 12th August 2020, I downloaded a form from the Santander website, filled it in, and sent it off, with copies of the bank statements showing the two transactions, asking my relative to sign the form and send it off.

Santander are claiming that they cannot find the claim we sent in August, or a subsequent claim sent a few weeks later, and are now refusing to pay the refund, on the grounds that we have run out of time; although their web site says that the time limit is 540 days, they won't budge from their statement that the actual time limit is 120 days.

There is no recourse to ABTA, ATOL or CAA as it was a coach holiday; and no recourse to Bonded Coach holidays as it was paid by Debit Card.
I've gone back to the Shearings administration site, and informed them that it was them ignoring our first messages that caused the delay; no response as yet.
Has anyone got any ideas as to what I could do next?  I have opened a case with the Financial Ombudsman against Santander.  The Small Claims court?
Thanks for any ideas.

Nebulous2

When was the holiday due to take place? The 120 days can be from then. 

I'm in the midst of a complicated claim between bank, travel agent, airline and insurance company. Even with all the evidence and emails it is tough going. 

You have an uphill struggle without anything.  Keep a log and copies going forward.  Forward emails to yourself, send letters tracked, and keep copies etc. 

Unfortunately I can't see much hope of a positive outcome.

kphunter

Hi, the holiday was supposed to be in May 2020, a few days after Shearings went under.  Yes, I'm making sure all emails are now cc-ed to my own account, and I've gone back to the administration asking what they suggest.  It was Ernst and Young ignoring the first 4 messages that made us run out of time, but it's not helped by my relative being fobbed and given inaccurate information by their branch of Santander - who kept telling him to go back to Shearings because they are still in business, when Shearings now is a different company who bought the name.

Alan_Bowen

All is not lost. It is correct that for payment by debit cards the time limit is usually 120 days, legally there is no obligation to refund anything, payment by credit card is enshrined in law and allows 6 years for a claim. Shearings were members of the Bonded Coach Holiday scheme and if there is no possibility of a claim through the card due to the time limit, I believe you can claim from the bond. The claim form can be found here: http://www.submitaclaim.co.uk/shearings
It will be necessary to explain why a claim through the card cannot be processed so your relative may need some help in applying, the best of luck!

kphunter

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

kphunter

Alan, thank you.  It took a while, but we got the refund from Bonded Coach Holidays.
The process is more difficult than it need be - my relative has a learning disability and relies on people giving him the right advice.  At every stage he has encountered obstacles through people not telling him the right thing, or ignoring him all together.  By himself he would have been easily discouraged and given up - losing near on £1000.  Ernst and Young, the Shearings administrators, simply did not respond to messages.  Santander ignored the claim for a few weeks, then said he was out of time, then sent him a very garbed and confusing message.  The Bonded Coach holidays website implies that you have to make a claim through the debit card.  And in spite of explaining the circumstances every time, the first response from all of these is to ask for the holiday booking reference.  There has been no allowance from any of these people that someone with a learning disability needs more careful explanations and more support.
But he got the money back - and went and booked another holiday (in March).  Just waiting to see if that one gets cancelled.  At least I know what to do this time, wish me luck!

Alan_Bowen

I am pleased it has been resolved, I am afraid it appears the Shearings failure has caused a lot of problems, the debts of the business were in excess of £400M accordingly to the administrators and the company appointed by the Bonded Coach Holiday organisation does not appear to have been as effective as it might have been.
Just to add to the confusion the name Shearings has been resurrected by Leger Travel but it appears so many people had problems after the failure that bookings are not exactly pouring in....

furiousmk

I am having a similar problem.  I have been trying to help an 87 year old neighbour and 2 friends, again in their eighties, to get a refund for a holiday booked through a TUI Travel Shop.  They paid their deposits in January 2020, the balance in March 2020, the holiday was due to start in June 2020, but after a lot of phone calls to TUI, the bank and emails to the Administrators, in December TUI finally admitted that they had never paid the balance to Shearings.. They did refund the balance but I have just had an email from the administrators to say that they never received any money at all from TUI and therefore have closed the case.  Now of course the TUI Travel shops are closed, I cannot get through on the phone and there is no way that I can contact anyone.  TUI should be refunding this money automatically, but that does not seem to be happening.  As far as I am concerned the holiday was never really booked in the first place as Shearings never got the money, so TUI have no right to hang on to it.  And should my neighbour have to wait until the TUI Travel shops open again?  

sheramber

Have you tried 'live chat'.
https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/contact-us

furiousmk

Yes.  Not available at the moment on TUI website.  In fact nothing seems to work and nobody is available at the moment at TUI, unless you want to book a holiday which might have to be cancelled!!!  I had managed to speak to someone on Monday just before the latest announcement was made by the government and of course now it is impossible to get through.  I don't think that anyone is manning the retail phone options that I was told to ring.  It is a disgusting situation and I for one will never use TUI again.. As a family we have been long standing customers of them, from Portland, Thomson and then TUI, but never again!!!!

sheramber

Tui are active on their facebook page and on twitter so you could try there.