Lastminute.com saying I'm not entitled to a refund even though FCO advising against travel.

Georgeliv12

Long time lurker on the forum. This is the first time I’ve truly felt the need to ask for advice and haven’t been able to find it from a previous post.

My friends and I booked a package holiday (flights + hotel) with lastminute.com in early February. We payed a £600 deposit with the agreement of paying the full amount by July ahead of the August departure date.

Due to the pandemic, lastminute emailed me in June to extend our payment date by three weeks.

Fast forward to a few days before the new payment date and the FCO had now begun to advise against non-essential travel to our destination. I emailed Lastminute.com to cancel our booking as it looked extremely unlikely, we’d be able to go.

A day later, I received an email from them saying because the flights and hotel were still available, I would not receive a full refund and if I cancelled, I’d actually owe them money!

I then stated if the FCO were advising against travel should I not be entitled to a full refund? The response was a blunt no, stating if I cancelled it would fall under their normal policy (where I’d owe them money).

When the final payment day (one week before departure) arrived, I did not pay them the full amount, realising that there was an extremely high possibility I wouldn’t be able to travel and they’d just keep the even larger sum of money!

 

I’ve now seen on LastMinute.com’s FAQ site (which took forever to find) that if YOU cancel within two weeks when the FCO are advising against travel YOU DO GET A REFUND and if you don’t you will not get a refund as you could still travel.

This is the exact opposite of what I was told previously. I emailed their customer care a month ago with all of this and including previous email chains but they still have not replied.

I’ve seen some sites saying because the package included a low-cost airline I might not be entitled to a refund. Surely my agreement is with lastminute and it should not be influenced by what the airline does?

What should my next step be?

I tried going through travel insurance but they sent me back to the holiday provider.

I paid via debit card so I can’t charge this back either.

Thrugelmir

Georgeliv12 said:

I’ve now seen on LastMinute.com’s FAQ site (which took forever to find) that if YOU cancel within two weeks when the FCO are advising against travel YOU DO GET A REFUND and if you don’t you will not get a refund as you could still travel.

This is the exact opposite of what I was told previously. I emailed their customer care a month ago with all of this and including previous email chains but they still have not replied.

Websites get updated regularly. Changes won't apply retrospectively. 

By not making full payment at the time you cancelled the booking. That's a fairly standard term and condition of any booking. 

Butts

Georgeliv12 said:

Long time lurker on the forum. This is the first time I’ve truly felt the need to ask for advice and haven’t been able to find it from a previous post.

My friends and I booked a package holiday (flights + hotel) with lastminute.com in early February. We payed a £600 deposit with the agreement of paying the full amount by July ahead of the August departure date.

Due to the pandemic, lastminute emailed me in June to extend our payment date by three weeks.

Fast forward to a few days before the new payment date and the FCO had now begun to advise against non-essential travel to our destination. I emailed Lastminute.com to cancel our booking as it looked extremely unlikely, we’d be able to go.

A day later, I received an email from them saying because the flights and hotel were still available, I would not receive a full refund and if I cancelled, I’d actually owe them money!

I then stated if the FCO were advising against travel should I not be entitled to a full refund? The response was a blunt no, stating if I cancelled it would fall under their normal policy (where I’d owe them money).

When the final payment day (one week before departure) arrived, I did not pay them the full amount, realising that there was an extremely high possibility I wouldn’t be able to travel and they’d just keep the even larger sum of money!

 

I’ve now seen on LastMinute.com’s FAQ site (which took forever to find) that if YOU cancel within two weeks when the FCO are advising against travel YOU DO GET A REFUND and if you don’t you will not get a refund as you could still travel.

This is the exact opposite of what I was told previously. I emailed their customer care a month ago with all of this and including previous email chains but they still have not replied.

I’ve seen some sites saying because the package included a low-cost airline I might not be entitled to a refund. Surely my agreement is with lastminute and it should not be influenced by what the airline does?

What should my next step be?

I tried going through travel insurance but they sent me back to the holiday provider.

I paid via debit card so I can’t charge this back either.

Why can't you do a chargeback to get your deposit back ?
Where was the Holiday to and on which Airline ?

MattMattMattUK

Butts said:

Why can't you do a chargeback to get your deposit back ?

To obtain a chargeback you have to be eligible for a refund, as they are not eligible for a refund they can not chargeback, a chargeback is not a get out of jail free card because someone decides that they do not like the contract they agreed to. By not paying the balance they broke the contract, they are not eligible for a refund. 

elsien

Were your flights still running and the hotel still open at the point where you cancelled, or when you were due to travel?
I think that you cancelling may have impacted on your options.  

[Deleted User]

Sorry Butts but as the OP broke the contract by cancelling, a chargeback unlikely to work.  OP as you failed to meet the agreement then, in effect, you cancelled your holiday and are bound by the t’s and c’s you agreed to when booking.  You would only be eligible for a refund as you describe, if you had paid the full amount.  Doesn’t matter what you felt. The fact is you were due to pay x amount on a certain date and failed, therefore, your contract is voided and you could indeed actually owe the company more money (depending on t’s and c’s you agreed to).   

Not what you want to hear I know.  But is what it is. 

Butts

Tedber said:

Sorry Butts but as the OP broke the contract by cancelling, a chargeback unlikely to work.  OP as you failed to meet the agreement then, in effect, you cancelled your holiday and are bound by the t’s and c’s you agreed to when booking.  You would only be eligible for a refund as you describe, if you had paid the full amount.  Doesn’t matter what you felt. The fact is you were due to pay x amount on a certain date and failed, therefore, your contract is voided and you could indeed actually owe the company more money (depending on t’s and c’s you agreed to).   

Not what you want to hear I know.  But is what it is. 

But surely the OP is entitled to cancel if the FCO guidance has changed , this would qualify as an extraordinary circumstance under the PTR's ? He does not have to pay the balance and is entitled to a full refund of his deposit.

MattMattMattUK

Butts said:

But surely the OP is entitled to cancel if the FCO guidance has changed , this would qualify as an extraordinary circumstance under the PTR's ? He does not have to pay the balance and is entitled to a full refund of his deposit.

That is not how it works, they breached the contract so they lose out. If they had paid the balance then they would be entitled to a full refund, but as they breached the contract they are not. There was even an MSE warning about this very issue, pointing out that if you did not pay on time you may still be liable for the balance and would not be entitled to a refund d if unable to travel.

Butts

MattMattMattUK said:

Butts said:

But surely the OP is entitled to cancel if the FCO guidance has changed , this would qualify as an extraordinary circumstance under the PTR's ? He does not have to pay the balance and is entitled to a full refund of his deposit.

That is not how it works, they breached the contract so they lose out. If they had paid the balance then they would be entitled to a full refund, but as they breached the contract they are not. There was even an MSE warning about this very issue, pointing out that if you did not pay on time you may still be liable for the balance and would not be entitled to a refund d if unable to travel.

Really, have you had any direct experience this year in dealing with an aborted Last Minute.com package in similar circumstances to the OP ? Unless you have I don't feel you will be able to comprehend how mendacious and deceitful they can be.

I had a successful charge back to return a deposit after I failed to pay the balance when it become apparent the vacation wouldn't be going ahead. Yes you read that correctly I did not pay my balance on the due date and got my deposit back in full with no deductions.

You are not breaching the contract if an element of the package has been cancelled or FCO advice effectively terminates your ability to go due to the Lack of Insurance cover. Provided this occurs before the balance is due the holiday has effectively terminated itself and you are under no obligation to pay the balance and can cancel with no penalties.

"Extraordinary Circumstance" is what an FCO warning constitutes, even ABTA have confirmed the right to cancel and receive a refund should this occur. LM.com are I believe members.