name has been changed on booking without consent

goldygash

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

Westin

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I would agree and can not see any basis for a small claims action against the lead name, at least not one which will be successful. 

Westin

goldygash said:

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

Not really. It has always been that way.  One person acts for the others and enters to agreement with the travel provider.  This is typically the first named (lead) person on the booking. 

eskbanker

Westin said:

goldygash said:

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

Not really. It has always been that way.  One person acts for the others and enters to agreement with the travel provider.  This is typically the first named (lead) person on the booking. 

Agreed - it's easy to be sympathetic with OP's friend and the actions of the others involved aren't particularly admirable, but in terms of the legal/contractual position there doesn't seem to be anything enforceable in this situation.

onashoestring

goldygash said:

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

It works both ways - Once the Lead booker enters into contract with travel company they become liable to pay all amounts due - regardless of whether others on their booking pay their share or not .

Have seen threads here where friends/ family have  fallen out / changed their mind having only paid an initial deposit and lead booker was stuck with the financial responsibility of paying for the rest of the trip . 

Your friend decided not to go ,  no refund for cancellation was due from travel company at that late stage - therefore lead booker would have been out of pocket if they had to refund your friend.

It’s not a given that the “replacement” traveller has paid anything for the trip - could be a case of there’s a place on the trip already paid for , do you want to come ? 

goldygash

eskbanker said:

Westin said:

goldygash said:

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

Not really. It has always been that way.  One person acts for the others and enters to agreement with the travel provider.  This is typically the first named (lead) person on the booking. 

Agreed - it's easy to be sympathetic with OP's friend and the actions of the others involved aren't particularly admirable, but in terms of the legal/contractual position there doesn't seem to be anything enforceable in this situation.

Thanks for all your comments and advice. I’ll pass it on. A completely rubbish situation for friend, but don’t want them going down a rabbit hole if no chance of success.

goldygash

onashoestring said:

goldygash said:

eskbanker said:

Sounds like time for your friend to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of the falling out then, I really can't see anything coming out of any attempt to recover anything via court.

I guess this opens up the question though of any lead booker being able to change bookings up to the last minute with no money changing hands, and there being no comeback whatsoever? 

It works both ways - Once the Lead booker enters into contract with travel company they become liable to pay all amounts due - regardless of whether others on their booking pay their share or not .

Have seen threads here where friends/ family have  fallen out / changed their mind having only paid an initial deposit and lead booker was stuck with the financial responsibility of paying for the rest of the trip . 

Your friend decided not to go ,  no refund for cancellation was due from travel company at that late stage - therefore lead booker would have been out of pocket if they had to refund your friend.

It’s not a given that the “replacement” traveller has paid anything for the trip - could be a case of there’s a place on the trip already paid for , do you want to come ? 

Hi, the lead booker would not have been out of pocket as friend, who had paid full amount for holiday, would not have asked for any refund if the place had been left empty. The issue is that the lead booker went ahead and changed booking when they knew friend was still trying to find a replacement. for the replacement to just think it’s ok to not pay the friend anything is pretty low in my eyes. I think if the conversation had been had with friend of the intentions, then maybe something could have worked out, but unfortunately it hasn’t played out that way. Maybe more of a moral dilemma than a contractual one.

Caz3121

goldygash said:

 for the replacement to just think it’s ok to not pay the friend anything is pretty low in my eyes. 

but you previously said - "the person who has replaced offered the friend some money to take the ticket, but it was declined by friend as no where near the cost of holiday."
given that the amount due back from the holiday company would have been £0, an offer of anything should have been something to seriously consider even if it was only a % of the original cost

goldygash

Caz3121 said:

goldygash said:

 for the replacement to just think it’s ok to not pay the friend anything is pretty low in my eyes. 

but you previously said - "the person who has replaced offered the friend some money to take the ticket, but it was declined by friend as no where near the cost of holiday."
given that the amount due back from the holiday company would have been £0, an offer of anything should have been something to seriously consider even if it was only a % of the original cost

Hi, correct, the replacement offered a small amount, it was declined and the replacement accepted that decision as friend said they would look for an alternative. The lead booker then added the replacement a few days later, but the money was not offered again. The friend has asked for money since finding out about the name change and there has been no response.

TELLIT01

If the Lead Name hasn't made the change until 48 hours before travel I would suggest they have given the original traveller as much time as they possibly could before taking action.  No money may have been forthcoming yet, but that can't really be chased until the others return from the holiday.

Cancelling a holiday a couple of weeks before travel would normally mean a 100% loss of payment made, so the OP (or their friend) is actually in no worse situation than they would be if the place had gone unfilled.