Sunmaster won't refund our holiday

Bee74

Hi, I really need some help with this. I booked back in Oct 2019 to go to Turkey with my 11yr old  twins and best friend for Aug 2020. Due to Covid that had to be postponed to this August 16-23rd 2021. Given the Red list status and clear FCDO guidance, it don't see any hope on Turkey being put on Green list before Aug 16th. I have contacted Sunmaster who have flatly refused to refund my £3030.46 and have said that I have to wait for every single government briefing on international travel as I'm still able to enter Turkey. Can someone please advice me on what I can do, I have contacted the FCDO and explained what has happened and sent them an email today.

Caz3121

as the holiday is over 2 months away nobody knows what the situation will be then....you may be correct that it remains red or it could be moved.
Many travel insurers also only deal with cancelling travel within x days of travel
Have Sunmaster confirmed how long before departure they will consider a cancellation if Turkey remains red...at least if they tell you "if still red 14 days before travel...." or similar you will know where you stand
Have you checked your travel insurance documents to see what time period they have?

sheramber

FCDO have nothing to do with this. They give   advice on travelling but have no control over whether holidays go ahead.
It is too soon to make a decision about travel for August. They are correct in saying you have to wait until nearer the time.
Does your travel insurance cover you for FCDO advice not  to travel?
If it does it will state how many days ahead you can claim from them. It may be 28 days or it may be 14  or 7 days.
If your insurance does not cover FCDO advice not to travel then you have to rely on Sunmaster cancelling  which they will  consider  until nearer the time.

CKhalvashi

You may be correct, you may not. We don't know yet.

The green list very likely isn't the threshold in law for a refund, that you can enter and there is no FCO travel advisory against the destination you're going to. This is much wider-ranging than the lists, and includes countries such as Portugal (which was on the green list), but doesn't yet include Turkey. This hasn't been tested in court in these specific circumstances, however does reflect historic practice.

If the current advice doesn't change, you should have a right to a refund, but it will be a case of waiting anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks before your trip until these rights come in fully, due to the dynamic situation.

This will be under Section 12, part 7a and 7b of the legislation, which is linked here. The current travel advice is linked here.

Westin

Agree with replies so far and some good advice already given.  Too early for Sunmaster to make a call on an August departure, so what they are telling you seems correct.