refund for travel

samster29

I had a hen weekend booked with lastminute.com for thurs to sun and they just advised our flights have been changed to there and back the same day sat.
They couldn't change flights to anything we could do therefore asked for a refund they are now refunding minus £420 saying they are deducting £35pp for the booking fee. Is this right? I feel like I've been cheated out of money 🤷‍♀️

Westin

If the £35pp is within the terms and conditions of the agreement you have with them, then yes it is fair and reasonable.

Have you done any research yourself to see if other flight options are available to suit your trip?

samster29

they looked for us for different flights on the same days we needed as we booked both flights and hotel together. Found it difficult to change it further on because it was for 12ppl and its purposely booked in half term to ensure we could all go

eskbanker

samster29 said:

they looked for us for different flights on the same days we needed as we booked both flights and hotel together. Found it difficult to change it further on because it was for 12ppl and its purposely booked in half term to ensure we could all go

If you mean that flights and hotel were both booked together with Lastminute then that makes them the organisers of a package holiday and liable to refund you in full in the event of significant changes (such as this), as a result of their obligations under the Package Travel Regulations.

Westin

^ Indeed. This makes a difference if you booked the flights and hotel together with LM.  Do you have an ATOL certificate showing this was a Package or Linked Travel Arrangement?

cx6

I would bet they weren't 'linked' in the sense of package holiday regulations, but separate bookings made in the same phone call !

eskbanker

Regulation 2 of the PTRs has a broad definition of what constitutes a package, regardless of whether any provider tries to wriggle out of their statutory obligations - in particular note that the subclauses of 5(b) are all linked by 'or', i.e. only one needs to apply:

(5) In these Regulations, subject to paragraph (6), a “package” means a combination of at least two different types of travel services for the purpose of the same trip or holiday, if—

(a) those services are combined by one trader, including at the request of, or in accordance with, the selection of the traveller, before a single contract on all services is concluded; or

(b) those services are—

(i) purchased from a single point of sale and selected before the traveller agrees to pay,

(ii) offered, sold or charged at an inclusive or total price,

(iii) advertised or sold under the term “package” or under a similar term,

(iv) combined after the conclusion of a contract by which a trader entitles the traveller to choose among a selection of different types of travel services, or

(v) purchased from separate traders through linked online booking processes where—

(aa) the traveller’s name, payment details and e-mail address are transmitted from the trader with whom the first contract is concluded to another trader or traders, and

(bb) a contract with the latter trader or traders is concluded at the latest 24 hours after the confirmation of the booking of the first travel service,

irrespective of whether the traveller concludes separate contracts with one or more travel service providers in respect of the services.

cx6

If my schoolboy boolean logic serves me after all this time:

5a and b are indeed ORed as the OR is spefifically stated

5a has no conditionality

5b has i, ii and iii with no OR so would be AND, and these are also ANDed with iv OR v

In plain English, in order to be a package that rule states either 5a must be satisfied or 5bi and 5bii and 5biii and either 5biv or 5bv

eskbanker

cx6 said:

If my schoolboy boolean logic serves me after all this time:

5a and b are indeed ORed as the OR is spefifically stated

5a has no conditionality

5b has i, ii and iii with no OR so would be AND, and these are also ANDed with iv OR v

In plain English, in order to be a package that rule states either 5a must be satisfied or 5bi and 5bii and 5biii and either 5biv or 5bv

Not my reading - a list of five items with 'or' only explicitly appearing between the final two conventionally means that any of the five apply, i.e. 'a, b, c, d, or e' means they're all linked by 'or', so it's a package if meeting any one of 5a or 5bi or 5bii or 5biii or 5biv or 5bv.