Help! Package Holiday Deposit Query!!

Charlotte1404

Good afternoon all,
Me and my fiance had booked to get married in Las Vegas in April 2022. Sadly due to my dad not being able to fly due to heart surgery, we have had to cancel.
It was a package that included the service, accomodation in Vegas, flights and accommodation in California. Total cost was around £6700.
The deposit was £550. When we booked, we paid this, plus an additional £1450 off the balance, to bring the total paid to £2k, just to get some paid early. The balance would have been due 10th January 2022.

The company we booked with were very understanding and friendly when we advised we may have to cancel. We asked them what the cost of cancelling would be, and they said the £2k we had paid.

We asked for a breakdown, and they said they couldn't give us this as it was a package, but that the £2k was the loss of deposit.

I have a copy of the invoice from them, which states the deposit was £550, which I have highlighted and sent back to them, asking for an explanation as to why the deposit went from £550 to £2000.

Am I correct in thinking that they are trying something on here? It doesnt feel right to me that they have changed the amount of the deposit with no writing, for example.

Any and all advice welcome!! I havent booked a package holiday like this in a while, so I wanted to make sure I knew the facts.

daveyjp

Your booking confirmation will tell you how much is due.  

TUI example:

70 days or more before travel: Loss of full deposit

69 - 63 days before travel: 30% of total booking price

62 - 49 days before travel: 50% of total booking price

48 - 29 days before travel: 70% of total booking price

28 - 15 days before travel: 90% of total booking price

14 - 0 days before travel: 100% of total booking price

MATTR5

They should have sent you a copy of their Booking Terms/Conditions at the time of booking - I think the fact your paperwork refers to the Deposit amount as £550 - Im guessing it also shows the Final Balance of 10/1/22 and no intermediate payments needed?? 
I suspect that what has happened is that they have "Ticketed" the flights prior to you paying the balance as they held £2k - enough to cover the flights - this is their problem not yours
I think you have a good case - I'd go back to them and then speak to maybe your card issuer to take it further 

Westin

It is always handy with questions like this if the OP could post the name of the travel firm. Without looking at their terms it is difficult to provide a complete answer.

From the information given I would say it should only be the loss of deposit (£550) if cancelling at this stage - however if this was more a linked travel arrangement rather than a package then it could be possible that the balance paid went towards paying for a non-refundable element of the trip like the airfare. Some of the cheapest air tickets will be less accommodating around changes and refunds.

If a package then the travel organiser doesn’t need to provide a breakdown of the separate holiday elements. They should however be able to give you and explanation and perhaps breakdown of costs to the £2k they are telling you would be lost.

NoodleDoodleMan

"It is always handy with questions like this if the OP could post the name of the travel firm."

Absolutely - in the last couple of years certain firms have established an unenviable reputation for attempting to bodyswerve refunds etc.

TELLIT01

The likelihood is that the full deposit is £2k but a lower figure is accepted as initial payment.  The OP needs to read the T&C carefully to see if that is what has happened to them.

For example I found this on the TUI website.  "If you book using the low deposit scheme and then cancel your holiday, the remaining deposit balance will be due on cancellation."

onashoestring

Agree with @TELLIT01 many “Low deposit “ offers require an initial low payment at time of booking with the balance of the deposit due later . Should you cancel your booking before the balance of the deposit is due you are still liable for the balance of your deposit. These are the T&Cs with TUI , ThomasCook , Hays Travel& loveholidays low deposit offers.

If this is the case , then the travel company don’t owe a refund of the deposit. However OP you can make a claim against your group travel insurance policy as one of the party was unable to travel for medical reasons (assuming that you did purchase a group policy travel insurance as it was for a wedding ?)

NoodleDoodleMan

Yes,  Low Deposit offers can be a bit of a misleading smokescreen - basically it's a carrot to get the customer to sign up for a deal by only having a modest initial payment. However if the client subsequently cancels the full deposit is due regardless.

Sandtree

Charlotte1404 said:

Good afternoon all,
Me and my fiance had booked to get married in Las Vegas in April 2022. Sadly due to my dad not being able to fly due to heart surgery, we have had to cancel.

My fiancé and I

Presumably you'll reclaim the £2,000 from your travel insurance if your father was due to travel with you

Westin

OP has not logged-on and returned to the thread since first posting.  

Had the name of the travel firm been given we may have been able to decide if the suggestion of an initial low-deposit scheme plays a part in the £2000 issue.

NoodleDoodleMan

A reputable travel agent would explain the low deposit offer in advance of finalising any booking.

Whenever I've opted for this through TUI it was made clear that any cancellation on our part would entail the loss of the full deposit - and that before the sliding timescale of loss of payments came into effect.

The local TUI staff told me that they were liable for disciplinary action if they had omitted to explain the low deposit scenario.