COVID Travel Test - poor service and breach in contact

Kyleepratt

Hi all,

it's a long story so forgive me but I do think the detail is important here...

I booked a fit to fly PCR test with an 'at this point unnamed' provider, the test was an on site type test and was for the 24th December 2021 for 2 people, with me and my partner due to fly on 27th December 2021.

We booked the test in October 2021 and paid the fee as advertised on the companies website. Following payment we were sent confirmation of our booking, as per the company's terms and conditions (which I have read in great detail) at this point we now entered into our contract with the company...

...At no point after this did we attempt to contact the company or alter our booking in any way, equally the company did not attempt to contact us (by any method, I have checked emails, phone's records, texts etc).

We arrived for our tests as booked on 24/12/2021, to find no such testing site. We then proceeded to ask in the local area (in some panic that we had been scammed), to be told the site had shut down approx 2 months previously. I proceeded to call the company to be told the site had closed down, I asked why nobody had contacted me, to be told "we did try to call people" - to be clear, I take this statement as a lie as my phone is switched on 24/7 for business and if I ever miss a call it is swiftly returned, also why did they not email since all other correspondence so far had been via email, I'm not even sure I was asked for my number when making the booking to be honest...

So here we are, on the night before Christmas, I asked do you have any other testing centres we can get to, we are desperate? - no, all closed and nothing open until the 27th! - we soon realised this was the general consensus.

Obviously due to the late notice we had little options in terms of places to go for a test with slots remaining, as a result of this we were forced to pay a substantial amount of money for an alternative test, the test itself is a fair distance away and we are giving up our time and plans on boxing Day to go for this to give ourselves chance to have the results processed and back in time for our flight on the 27th.

As mentioned above, I've read the terms and conditions, we have not breached at our end, but believe due to the below they have...

"We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by 

us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you 

suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use 

reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is 

not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen 

or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for 

example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process."

To note, nowhere in their T&C's do they mention closing sites, rights to end their contract at any point etc. I'm not going to post the T&C's here at risk of naming and shaming (although very tempted), I consider myself fairly intelligent and I'm 100% sure they don't have a leg to stand on here.

I believe closing their testing site is a foreseeable circumstance. I also believe contacting us to let us know is a failure to use reasonable care and skill. I genuinley believe had they contacted us to let us know, we would not feel this way, we could have organised something else at a reasonable time, we would not have wasted our time travelling to their site, and saved a lot of undue stress in the process (A LOT!)

I'm asking firstly for your advice, shall is seek legal representation at this point or take it on myself for now? if the former, who should I approach? If the latter, how do I structure my complaint or are there templates available online I could use? Do I demand damages now or let them make me an offer?

Secondly, what would be a fair cost of damages, I'm thinking damages are as follows but happy to be challenged;

- full refund for tests booked (and not taken)

- Difference in cost between test paid for with company and new test booked (at an exceptionally higher price 

- Time spent travelling to new test place

- Time wasted travelling to closed place?

- Time spent on the phone to company? (what is a fair compensation for time)

- cost of parking at new place

- cost of fuel travelling to new place

- cost of fuel wasted travelling to closed place?

- personal stress? (if so what is a fair compensation)

- we also both took a half day from work (in lieu) to attend this booking but not sure how to detail that, or wether it would be worth claiming

Thanks in advance for reading and any guidance you can give, I've genuinley never felt so small as a consumer so really am keen to take these cowboys on! I've never really complained before so any help is appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Kyle! 

bris

You claim for your losses, damages are rarely entertained in the small claims court where you should take this due to fees and reduced court costs.

You claim a refund for the original cost, if the tests were more expensive where you got them add the difference onto the claim.

You cant claim for fuel or traveling to the original place because you were going there anyway but you can claim for fuel to the new place and the parking, Time for travelling is not a loss so is very hard to claim for but add a fugure and see how it goes.

Personal stress, no it's not a loss, time off work for the original booking no but if you had to take time off for the new booking you could claim that but your employer has to confirm your loss for that.

Ectophile

I assume the losses are relatively small (tens or hundreds of pounds). If so, you don't need legal representation in the small claims procedure, and the court wouldn't award you legal expenses.

Work out how much you have lost, as per the previous answer. Then send a letter before action.