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Should i pay the balance for the holiday i wont be able to take? ATOL protection?

My holiday company is requesting the £3200 balance for a family holiday in the coming months i wont be able to take. If we don't we are told we will loose the deposit and suffer cancellation charges. They already hold £2500 for a holiday rolled over from last year. As we rolled over, and extended, the holiday in May 2020, but could only book new flights in June 2020 when the airline schedule became available, I am unclear if we are ATOL protected. The travel company said we "should" be as the flights couldn't be booked within 24hrs of the rolled over accommodation booking because they didnt exist at that time. However, I have not been given an ATOL certificate - although have recently requested one [but everyone is busy and i don't expect to hear back]. Perhaps we should have not rolled over the accommodation until the flights were available - allowing us to book it all at the same time.

We dont have travel insurance [yet] as there is no market for it during the pandemic, and last years insurance refused to pay out because of Covid anyway.

If we are ATOL protected then I'm comfortable in paying the balance. If we are not ATOL protected and the company goes bust in the next 6 months then we've lost £5700.

So my question are:

1) Should this holiday (flights and accommodation booked with the same company but >24hrs apart) be ATOL protected?

2) Do we uncomfortably walk away from the £2500 paid, or do we pay the balance and put the full £5700 at risk

3) If we pay the balance can we rely on a Chargeback or S75 claim should the travel company go into liquidation?

4) what other guarantees are there that we could recover our monies if the travel company goes bust?

Thank you for any advice.

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Comments

  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 17,067 Forumite
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    You say a holiday "in the coming months".  When is that?  Do you know for certain that lockdown won't be over by then?
    You talk about if "the company goes bust in the next 6 months".  Does that mean the holiday is not until June?  That means now is a very long time in advance to have to pay the balance.
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 20,973 Forumite
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    Why do you think the company may go bust?
    What company is it?
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
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    m6mjv said:


    We dont have travel insurance [yet] as there is no market for it during the pandemic, 

    There's a market. The premiums would be eye wateringly expensive though. 
  • Westin
    Westin Posts: 6,211 Forumite
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    edited 9 January 2021 am31 8:30AM
    From the rebooking timetable you describe I am not sure you actually have a ATOL protected holiday.  

    Can you not name the travel company so we all have full information to enable better answers and suggestions?
  • p00hsticks
    p00hsticks Posts: 13,954 Forumite
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    m6mjv said:

    My holiday company is requesting the £3200 balance for a family holiday in the coming months i wont be able to take.



    Why won't you be able to take it ?
    The anwer to that is key. If it's because you think the company is going to go bust or cancel the holiday, or government regulations will prevent travel that's one thing. If it's that it's no longer convenient for you or you are simply disinclined to travel because of the circumstances that's another.
  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,384 Forumite
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    The definitive proof of ATOL protection is an ATOL certificate.  Do you have one for your new booking showing all the components of the holiday?

    I think @Westin is correct when saying with the timetable of the bookings, you may not be ATOL protected.

    In theory paying the balance by credit card would give you Section 75 protection.  S75 usually extends to the whole value of the product/service, even if not all payments were made on the credit card itself.  I wouldn't like to say for sure though how that would apply in your case where some of the booking was covered with money transferred from a previous booking.
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 20,973 Forumite
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    S75  also stumbles if payment is made to a third party.i.e agent
  • m6mjv said:

    My holiday company is requesting the £3200 balance for a family holiday in the coming months i wont be able to take.



    Why won't you be able to take it ?
    The anwer to that is key. If it's because you think the company is going to go bust or cancel the holiday, or government regulations will prevent travel that's one thing. If it's that it's no longer convenient for you or you are simply disinclined to travel because of the circumstances that's another.
    H - thanks for al the input so far.
    We wont be able to take it because we are to be in National Lockdown until 31 March. The holiday starts 3 days later and its more than likely that we will still remain in a Tier 4 category and are not allowed to travel, that the FCO advise against travel, that Singapore Airlines still wont fly from the UK, and that Thailand still wont permit entry to tourists without a 14day staycation in a quarantine facility.  If all those obstacles are removed - we'll be travelling :-) 
    My fear on the travel company going bust is my own, merely based on the torrid time the industry has been having. To last 12 months is one thing, to take that to 2 year is asking a lot.
    Picking up on whether S75 would or wouldn't cover the rolled over holiday value - i guess if if covers the balance but not the 'deposit', then i have nothing to loose by paying the balance.
    Is there a way to get my ATOL question officially answered in the next 2 weeks if I cant get hold of my travel company? Would ATOL be able to help?
  • Torry_Quine
    Torry_Quine Posts: 18,863 Forumite
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    m6mjv said:
    m6mjv said:

    My holiday company is requesting the £3200 balance for a family holiday in the coming months i wont be able to take.



    Why won't you be able to take it ?
    The anwer to that is key. If it's because you think the company is going to go bust or cancel the holiday, or government regulations will prevent travel that's one thing. If it's that it's no longer convenient for you or you are simply disinclined to travel because of the circumstances that's another.
    H - thanks for al the input so far.
    We wont be able to take it because we are to be in National Lockdown until 31 March. The holiday starts 3 days later and its more than likely that we will still remain in a Tier 4 category and are not allowed to travel, that the FCO advise against travel, that Singapore Airlines still wont fly from the UK, and that Thailand still wont permit entry to tourists without a 14day staycation in a quarantine facility.  If all those obstacles are removed - we'll be travelling :-) 
    My fear on the travel company going bust is my own, merely based on the torrid time the industry has been having. To last 12 months is one thing, to take that to 2 year is asking a lot.
    Picking up on whether S75 would or wouldn't cover the rolled over holiday value - i guess if if covers the balance but not the 'deposit', then i have nothing to loose by paying the balance.
    Is there a way to get my ATOL question officially answered in the next 2 weeks if I cant get hold of my travel company? Would ATOL be able to help?
    There's not a lockdown until 31st March, there's legislation allowing the lockdown until then, presuming you're in England.  An end date isn't fixed yet.
    Lost my soulmate so life is empty.

    I can bear pain myself, he said softly, but I couldna bear yours. That would take more strength than I have -
    Diana Gabaldon, Outlander
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
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    Personally I'd not want to chance it but you could contact ATOL first, to see what they say. 

    https://www.packpeaceofmind.co.uk/about-atol/contact-us/
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
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