Honeymoon on Red list but balance due!

Ben3

Hi, New here, Hopefully you all can shed some light on this for us or even just say what i am thinking is correct and leave it there. 

We are getting married in August this year and have a honeymoon to the Maldives booked (through a travel agent) to leave a few days afterwards. We paid a £900 deposit with the balance due by 17th May 2021. However as I am sure you are all well aware the Maldives has just been added to the Red travel list. Our flight transfer location is also on the Red list.
In my eyes the chances of both of these countries being off the red list by August is very slim (I believe the transfer will be moving to a different plane and therefore we will have visited that country and the relevant quarantine rules will apply) and this makes me reluctant to pay the remaining balance. Especially when we could use the money to book ourselves somewhere else to honeymoon that we are allowed to travel to. But the travel agent is saying that they can't refund the deposit if we cancel. I think from reading up that they are totally within their rights to do this but it seems a bit futile if the Holiday will likely be cancelled anyway and they would have to issue a full refund anyway!
Am I right in thinking this is the case and that because technically 'we' would be cancelling up until the moment that the holiday has to be cancelled we can't expect the deposit back? Is there any way around this? what would you do, Pay the balance, try to get the deposit back or try other options with the agent such as moving the destination to one we are more likely to be allowed to travel to? 
Thank you in advance for your help!
Ben

eskbanker

On the basis that you'd almost definitely lose your deposit if you chose not to pay the balance, you effectively have to press on and rely on the agent refunding you if the trip has to be cancelled.  Do you have additional options in the event of difficulties in that scenario, such as chargeback/s75 if paying by card, and travel insurance?

Voyager2002

Will the travel agent allow you to credit your payment towards a different destination?
And what does your insurance say?

sheramber

If you don't want to lose the deposit then you have to pay the balance and rely on the holiday being cancelled at a later date.
You may be offered different options nearer the time.
 Who id the holiday with?

Ben3

Thanks for your responses, yes we have travel insurance in place with the AA, I will enquire about using our balance to book something else, I’d hate to get to the point where it gets cancelled a few days before it was meant to go ahead and we haven’t got time to book anything else! 

CKhalvashi

Just to confirm, my advice is based on this being a package, not flight/hotel only through an agent.

You're in the position of having to wait for them to cancel to be fully covered under the Package Travel Regulations. A lot can change in 3 months, and most agencies are working about a month in advance at the moment for cancellations.

If you cancel at this stage, you are likely to lose your deposit. This is a situation that many people are finding themselves in now.

If the agency has packaged this from separate services (flights and hotel, covered under their own ATOL), then paying the balance on a Credit Card instead of a debit card will protect this under Section 75 if a CC hasn't been used for the deposit.

macman

If you fail to pay the balance, then you will be in breach of contract.

Alter_ego

Being on the red list does not prevent travel there, only means quarantine etc on return