TTA not refunding for accommodation only

Topgun1969

I have had my claim for a refund rejected  by the TTA as my booking with Alpharooms  was accommodation only.!!!.
Anyone  else had this problem. 

Westin

Did they tell you why your claim was rejected?
https://www.alpharooms.com/

Alan_Bowen

They claimed that all Alpha Rooms bookings were protected by a trust account, they even repeated that at the time of failure of the business. Since all Alpha bookings were accommodation only, why did they even ask you to claim from them? If you used a credit card it may be worth trying to make a claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if not then go back and say you were told there was protection and where has the money gone?

Topgun1969

Completely agree,I claimed on 4/11 then had to provide  payment details from previous  bookings that I had credit for only to be told I'm  not covered. Sounds  dodgy to me. The Daily Mirror  reported on this on 07/01 and stated a spokesman  for the TTA had said Alpharooms  accommodation only customers  had all been offered  a refund.??This one hasn't.

Topgun1969

My claim didn't fall within the financial protection mechanism under there Package protection plan.They state on there website that under the Travel protection  plan all aspects of travel are covered, including  accommodation. 

Westin

Topgun1969 said:

Completely agree,I claimed on 4/11 then had to provide  payment details from previous  bookings that I had credit for only to be told I'm  not covered. Sounds  dodgy to me. The Daily Mirror  reported on this on 07/01 and stated a spokesman  for the TTA had said Alpharooms  accommodation only customers  had all been offered  a refund.??This one hasn't.

So was the claim linked back to a previous cancelled booking that had a credit applied to it? Is that  muddying the waters?

What explanation was given for rejecting your claim?

Topgun1969

I was told to claim  for a booking that was cancelled 2 weeks before travel.i only found out when I tried to log in to Alpharooms  to download  some documents. The reason  for rejected  claim was that it didn't fall within  the financial protection  of there Package  protection  plan.

marystrat

I am in exactly the same position .The reason given (package protection plan ) is completely at odds with the TTA guarantee .How do we  hold them to account ?

Westin

@Topgun1969
I’m not sure why they have given you the reason about not refunding because your accommodation only booking fell outside of their claim remit due to it not being a package holiday. That much I am sure you know. 

You presumably only claimed for the AO booking that they could not fulfil and that cost only. Unless there was a section on the claim form that indicated a claim was being made under a section for packaged holiday trip, strange they are rejecting completely.

Your Alpharooms accommodation only booking was meant to be protected under a trust account arrangement administered by TTA.  Package holidays the same but slightly different cover.

I think it worth challenging them over their trust account guarantee or given this has dragged on and you now have a rejection letter, now contact your payment card provider and ask them to help you with a chargeback or section 75 claim.

There is a link at the very bottom of this page under “How this site works” that tells you more about S75.

Alan_Bowen

"The Travel Trust Association exists in order to protect you, the customer, with 100% financial protection and has been doing so for over 20 years. This means that every penny you pay to our members is protected by the mechanisms put in place by the Travel Trust Association.

The Travel Protection Plan covers every service which you have booked from a travel company whether it be for transport, accommodation, entertainment or recreation"

These are not my words, they are the words of the TTA on their website today, February 4th 2022. It really could not be clearer that all money paid is protected, whether it is a package holiday or not.

If they have decided not to pay, and I leave it up to you to consider why, then the easy way to claim is as previously suggested through your credit card issuer, but if you paid by debit card there is a 120 days time limit which by now may well have passed. the only option going forward is to get Surrey Trading Standards, which cover Woking the TTA HQ, to take action. The way through to them is now via Citizens Advice which has both local help centres and a telephone helpline on tel:0808 223 1133

marystrat

I appealed the refusal  to refund and have had the following response just now Thank you for your reply.

 

Your accommodation-only contract was with Alpha Holidays Ltd and accommodation-only is not financially protected by the Package Travel Regulations.

 

As Alpha Holidays has gone into liquidation, we, at TTA Travel administer the claims process for bookings that did not go ahead – and this process was put in place on 29th October 2021, when Alpha Holidays stopped being a member of our association.

 

With regards to the guarantee mentioned on our website, that is an insurance that is triggered in case of fraud or dishonesty from the member, which does not apply in this instance.

 

Kindly let us know if you require further assistance with the chargeback process.

I have also just been refused my chargeback claim from Lloyds but have appealed this .

I have written to my MP , contacted the guardian money problems section and will be contact Surrey Trading standards Department on Monday . I am not hopeful but I am damned if I am going to take this lying down as I feel the TTA have mislead people into believing their money was safe when it was clearly not . In the meantime I am £845 out of pocket