Error in my booking with on the beach

daniel2594

Hello I'm looking for some advice regarding my holiday with on the beach. I found the holiday I wanted and filled in my details, I was then prompted by top cashback to activate cashback which I did. I then finished my check out and discovered that top cashback had refreshed the browser and caused the dates to reset so my holiday was booked for June 2022 instead of June 2023. Admittedly it was foolish of me not to double check the details but I'm now at a point I don't know what to do. On the beach are useless they take 3-4 days to reply with a generic answer. I cant afford to go this year as I'm getting married. and also can't afford the £600 cancelation fee they are asking. do I have any options here?

Westin

Just as a matter of some urgency get a hold of OTB and plead your case. If they have already booked flights and these are non-refundable (often the case) then you may be on the hook for those costs as a minimum.

https://www.onthebeach.co.uk/contact_us 

Caz3121

Which airline were the flights with?

daniel2594

I immediately contacted them unfortunately they took 4 days to reply by this time it was too late. They want to charge me £592 for the flights as they are non refundable the flights are with easyjet who’s website states that you may cancel within 24 hours for a £50 cancellation fee. 

Westin

daniel2594 said:

I immediately contacted them unfortunately they took 4 days to reply by this time it was too late. They want to charge me £592 for the flights as they are non refundable the flights are with easyjet who’s website states that you may cancel within 24 hours for a £50 cancellation fee. 

Oh dear.  I think you are going to be stuck.  Possibly if OTB had reacted quicker then you might have been able to have them amend things BUT the easyJet concession (to cancel within 24h) is really if you book direct with easyJet - not something OTB have to abide to.  Their T&C's, their rules.

One of the issues when people book with these (perceived) 'cheap' online travel firms is that there seems to be very limited post-booking and back office administration. Much is automated. To achieve those lower prices the customer service elements seem to be reduced.  Have a problem or want to ask a question, you will be expected to work through their FAQ's, or send a webform message with a slow response.  Real travel agents, retail stores and experienced call centre staff cost money.  Cheaper options cut these elements out.

The strange thing is however that EasyJet don't yet have flights on sale for June 2023. Only up to end of February 2023.  Perhaps this is why the search parameters were disrupted between TopCashback and On The Beach. 

daniel2594

Well I’ll certainly argue the case with them, I’ve only paid a £60 deposit so far I’m sure they will have more time to speak to me when the next payments due.

onashoestring

daniel2594 said:

Well I’ll certainly argue the case with them, I’ve only paid a £60 deposit so far I’m sure they will have more time to speak to me when the next payments due.

I would not make that assumption- their T&Cs state : that they reserve the right to collect the payments from the card used to make the booking on the due dates. Also with their instalment plan , even if you cancel - in addition to the deposit you are liable for the first 2 instalments + any cancellation fee by the supplier +  OTB  cancellation admin fee . 

They will likely contact you for the next payment and if you don’t pay it they will deduct it from your card anyway .

https://www.onthebeach.co.uk/flexible-payments

Have you asked OTB how much it would cost to change the dates to the ones you want , rather than just cancel this one ? There will no doubt be additional charges but maybe you will loose less than simply paying a cancellation charge for no holiday at all .