Help! Accidentally booked flights we can't use

Carlajoanna90

Hi all,

*Idiots of the year award incoming*

So yesterday we booked flights to Bali for our honeymoon in December. We checked the UK travel list and all clear, and my husband checked the Indonesian list and all clear... except the list said UAE not UK. Indonesia currently isn't allowing people from the UK to enter, but we're tied to the flights and looks like we'll only get a refund on tax if we cancel. Singapore airlines would usually let us change the flight but because we booked through lastminute.com the policy is different.

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

FYI, insurance won't cover us as the UK wasn't on the approved list when we booked.

Thank you!
Carla

[Deleted User]

What do Lastminute.com's terms say about refunds?

Chances are it will be something like "we will pay you back when the airline refunds us, plus several months, and less an admin fee".

Caz3121

Carlajoanna90 said:

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

Have Lastminute actually issued a ticket after you made a booking request?
if not issued yet then there is still a chance they may come back to you and advise that the advertised price is not available and they want more money - at this point you would say 'no thanks' (never mention 'cancel') and your funds should either be refunded by them or go via your card company based on paying for something not received

If a ticket has been issued and confirmed then I would forget about being able to get a refund unless you purchased expensive refundable tickets. Begging won't help, lastminute can only pass on what the airline refunds them and if non-refundable then this will likely be some taxes (then they will deduct their fees and return the remainder to you)

I think you are going to have to sit and wait it out and see what changes come in before your travel date. If still not able to enter then worth looking at what options may be available for date changes
There is info on the Singapore Airlines site re their waiver for date changes/future credit
https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/travel-info/precautionary-measures--faq- (scroll down to Global Travel Waiver Policy (GWP)...maybe you could get credit and choose a different destination

You will need to work with Lastminute on this (I suspect that may be frustrating as they have a pretty poor reputation...booking directly with the airline would have been recommended as, as you have found out, the airline will not work with you as you booked with an agent)

Carlajoanna90

Caz3121 said:

Carlajoanna90 said:

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

Have Lastminute actually issued a ticket after you made a booking request?
if not issued yet then there is still a chance they may come back to you and advise that the advertised price is not available and they want more money - at this point you would say 'no thanks' (never mention 'cancel') and your funds should either be refunded by them or go via your card company based on paying for something not received

If a ticket has been issued and confirmed then I would forget about being able to get a refund unless you purchased expensive refundable tickets. Begging won't help, lastminute can only pass on what the airline refunds them and if non-refundable then this will likely be some taxes (then they will deduct their fees and return the remainder to you)

I think you are going to have to sit and wait it out and see what changes come in before your travel date. If still not able to enter then worth looking at what options may be available for date changes
There is info on the Singapore Airlines site re their waiver for date changes/future credit
https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/travel-info/precautionary-measures--faq- (scroll down to Global Travel Waiver Policy (GWP)...maybe you could get credit and choose a different destination

You will need to work with Lastminute on this (I suspect that may be frustrating as they have a pretty poor reputation...booking directly with the airline would have been recommended as, as you have found out, the airline will not work with you as you booked with an agent)

Thanks - I thought thay might be the case. Unfortunately they did issue the ticket, so we'll have to wait it out. As we booked while we weren't on the approved list they said we might not be eligible to move to a different flight as we knew when we booked 🤷🏼‍♀️ but fingers crossed that isn't the case and they come back with another option. I'm OK with pushing the flights out to sometime next year or changing them to a destination we can enter, but a bit peeved if we're not entitled to anything and lose £1700 or only get the ~£250 tax back after charges.

What a nightmare, and lesson learned to both triple check everything and go direct to the airline 😏

bagand96

As above you should be able to move the flights to next year or another destination. https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/travel-info/precautionary-measures/covid19-information-centre/complimentary-rebooking/#/book/bookflight

How long you leave it is up to you but keep in mind you won't be able to do it directly with Singapore Airlines it will need to be done via Lastminute.com who will charge their own admin fees to make the change for you. 

Butts

Carlajoanna90 said:

Hi all,

*Idiots of the year award incoming*

So yesterday we booked flights to Bali for our honeymoon in December. We checked the UK travel list and all clear, and my husband checked the Indonesian list and all clear... except the list said UAE not UK. Indonesia currently isn't allowing people from the UK to enter, but we're tied to the flights and looks like we'll only get a refund on tax if we cancel. Singapore airlines would usually let us change the flight but because we booked through lastminute.com the policy is different.

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

FYI, insurance won't cover us as the UK wasn't on the approved list when we booked.

Thank you!
Carla

Can I ask what on earth possessed you to book with LM.com after all the negative reports on them during the pandemic and the anecdotal evidence on here of people having major problems when things go wrong ?

silvercar

Butts said:

Carlajoanna90 said:

Hi all,

*Idiots of the year award incoming*

So yesterday we booked flights to Bali for our honeymoon in December. We checked the UK travel list and all clear, and my husband checked the Indonesian list and all clear... except the list said UAE not UK. Indonesia currently isn't allowing people from the UK to enter, but we're tied to the flights and looks like we'll only get a refund on tax if we cancel. Singapore airlines would usually let us change the flight but because we booked through lastminute.com the policy is different.

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

FYI, insurance won't cover us as the UK wasn't on the approved list when we booked.

Thank you!
Carla

Can I ask what on earth possessed you to book with LM.com after all the negative reports on them during the pandemic and the anecdotal evidence on here of people having major problems when things go wrong ?

Really need to emphasise this point. Looking out for great savings in. Or all times is fine, going abroad in covid times is more likely to mean amendments and cancellations, a time when you want to be using airlines direct or at least travel agents with very good customer service. The headache from dealing with OTAs isn’t worth the hassle.

[Deleted User]

If you see a cheap flight on LastMinute it's usually available just by going direct to the airline anyway. Or if not only a few quid more, which is worth paying these days as it makes clawing back a refund so much easier.

Carlajoanna90

silvercar said:

Butts said:

Carlajoanna90 said:

Hi all,

*Idiots of the year award incoming*

So yesterday we booked flights to Bali for our honeymoon in December. We checked the UK travel list and all clear, and my husband checked the Indonesian list and all clear... except the list said UAE not UK. Indonesia currently isn't allowing people from the UK to enter, but we're tied to the flights and looks like we'll only get a refund on tax if we cancel. Singapore airlines would usually let us change the flight but because we booked through lastminute.com the policy is different.

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

FYI, insurance won't cover us as the UK wasn't on the approved list when we booked.

Thank you!
Carla

Can I ask what on earth possessed you to book with LM.com after all the negative reports on them during the pandemic and the anecdotal evidence on here of people having major problems when things go wrong ?

Really need to emphasise this point. Looking out for great savings in. Or all times is fine, going abroad in covid times is more likely to mean amendments and cancellations, a time when you want to be using airlines direct or at least travel agents with very good customer service. The headache from dealing with OTAs isn’t worth the hassle.

Ignorance and foolishness with a healthy dose of rushing? I hadn't looked on here about lastminute.com and didn't realise how terrible their service is until now (first time travelling since pre-pandemic). I used them a few years ago with no problem. Definitely a lesson learned though.

Carlajoanna90

They've agreed to change the destination, so there's that at least! Now to find an alternative that the airline is flying to 🥳

bagand96

Butts said:

Carlajoanna90 said:

Hi all,

*Idiots of the year award incoming*

So yesterday we booked flights to Bali for our honeymoon in December. We checked the UK travel list and all clear, and my husband checked the Indonesian list and all clear... except the list said UAE not UK. Indonesia currently isn't allowing people from the UK to enter, but we're tied to the flights and looks like we'll only get a refund on tax if we cancel. Singapore airlines would usually let us change the flight but because we booked through lastminute.com the policy is different.

Both Singapore Airlines and Lastminute.com are pointing us to each other. We booked less than 12hrs ago but I didn't realise the 24hr cooling off period for flights is only for US.

SO... any advice on what we can do except beg for a refund, wait and see if it changes or is cancelled?

FYI, insurance won't cover us as the UK wasn't on the approved list when we booked.

Thank you!
Carla

Can I ask what on earth possessed you to book with LM.com after all the negative reports on them during the pandemic and the anecdotal evidence on here of people having major problems when things go wrong ?

To give the OP the benefit of the doubt a little... there was plenty of negative reports and anecdotal evidence of LM's shoddy customer service way before anyone had heard of Covid-19.  Yes the pandemic has shone a brighter light on it due to the sheer scale, but even 3 or more years ago a quick entry of "lastminute.com reviews" would have been an illuminating experience.