Breach of contract advice needed.

Fairplay35

Advice please in respect of the below. There are a number of follow up questions to come.
My wife and I had a cruise booked with Marella Cruises, part of TUI. The cruise was booked via one of the large cruise sale companies. This was at a time when Covid was impacting on cruises, and we had the opton to swap the cruise for a TUI holiday, and we chose a TUI TOUR from the TUI website.  We booked the tour on the basis of the itinerary that was advertised and sold to us. Once on the tour, some 8  months later, it transpired that the itinerary  that we, and others on the tour, had purchased was an old one, should not have been on sale and  was no longer in use by the local tour company acting on behalf of TUI. What was sold as all entry fees to sites included was not, and we were made to pay. Also free afternoons and evenings in the itinerary did not happen. A number of other matters advertised in our itinerary also did not happen. People on the tour were told that TUI had accepted responsibility.
Firstly, I wish to check, if the matter of refund for breach of contract were to go down the legal route, would the defendent be TUI or the cruise sale company with whom we made the booking? Thanks.

Alderbank

Fairplay35 said:

Advice please in respect of the below. There are a number of follow up questions to come.
My wife and I had a cruise booked with Marella Cruises, part of TUI. The cruise was booked via one of the large cruise sale companies. This was at a time when Covid was impacting on cruises, and we had the opton to swap the cruise for a TUI holiday, and we chose a TUI TOUR from the TUI website.  We booked the tour on the basis of the itinerary that was advertised and sold to us. Once on the tour, some 8  months later, it transpired that the itinerary  that we, and others on the tour, had purchased was an old one, should not have been on sale and  was no longer in use by the local tour company acting on behalf of TUI. What was sold as all entry fees to sites included was not, and we were made to pay. Also free afternoons and evenings in the itinerary did not happen. A number of other matters advertised in our itinerary also did not happen. People on the tour were told that TUI had accepted responsibility.
Firstly, I wish to check, if the matter of refund for breach of contract were to go down the legal route, would the defendent be TUI or the cruise sale company with whom we made the booking? Thanks.

Welcome to the Forum.
What were your actual losses, i.e. what are you out of pocket by?
For example you say 'What was sold as all entry fees to sites included was not, and we were made to pay.' So how much did you pay in total for entry and do you still have receipts?

eskbanker

I'd have thought that you'd need to pursue the company from whom you received the confirmation paperwork pertaining to the tour, although it's not clear from that exactly who the 'package organiser' is, who has all the liabilities under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

DullGreyGuy

Who issued the voucher and who was the tour booked through?

Most tours are subject to reasonable change, when we went to Sri Lanka on a tour it was called out from the outset that the day to the more northerly part of the island would be at risk and dependent on local assessment of the current safety threat. In the end that bit didnt happen and they put something else on instead (I'd argue not of equivalent value/interest but didnt feel that unreasonable). 

Fees moving from inclusive to exclusive doesnt feel a reasonable change and is easy to deal with from a refund perspective. The afternoon/evening items may be more difficult to value unless you paid locally for equivalent items and therefore have a financial loss.

Fairplay35

The Marella ( Tui) cruise was purchased via Cruise.co.uk. We changed to a TUI holiday, a tour, under the TUI Covid booking conditions at that time. We chose the tour that was advertised on their website and were refunded the difference. Other people on the tour purchased the same tour and itinerary also online or in store.
The itinerary stated all entrance fees to sites would be included. Essential to us in choosing this tour were the periods of " free time" on a number of afternoons / evenings. Had these not been included, we would not have chosen the tour.
Once on the tour, it was ascertained that the local tour company providing the tour were operating an itinerary that was different to tje one sold. .... entry fees not included, no free time, together with a number of other matters.
We were informed that TUI had accepted responsibility for advertising and selling an itinerary that was not what the local tour company was provoding on behalf of TUI.
We are only out of pocket €84 for entrance tickets  and yes we have reciepts. For personal reasons, the free time was an essentail element in us chosing this tour, and had it not been, we would not have booked it. I believe TUI has breached the contract that we made with them in selling us an itinerary that we were never going to get .

comeandgo

What is it you hope to get?  

Fairplay35

Comeandgo, my question was / is, can i make a  justifiable claim for breach of contract and / or under Package Holiday Regulations 1981, and if so, against who?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Fairplay35 said:

Comeandgo, my question was / is, can i make a  justifiable claim for breach of contract and / or under Package Holiday Regulations 1981, and if so, against who?

OP I’d imagine you need to check the T&Cs to see which party you have a contract with/who is liable (or simply contact both and ask).

If you had to pay for stuff that should have been included then that’s a pretty straightforward claim.

With things that were not available to you that should have been, you can claim for loss of enjoyment. This is will be more tricky to put a figure to and will depend upon the specific circumstances.

Have you actually contacted either company to express your grievances?   

born_again

Fairplay35 said:

Comeandgo, my question was / is, can i make a  justifiable claim for breach of contract and / or under Package Holiday Regulations 1981, and if so, against who?

I take it that it was raised as a complaint while on holiday. But given book via TUI. That is where you need to start.

Gavin83

Fairplay35 said:

Comeandgo, my question was / is, can i make a  justifiable claim for breach of contract and / or under Package Holiday Regulations 1981, and if so, against who?

How much (in percentage terms if it’s easier) are you hoping to claim back for the value of this holiday?

Have you spoken to TUI/the cruise organiser yet? What did they say?

Manxman_in_exile

Fairplay35 said:

...The cruise was booked via one of the large cruise sale companies. This was at a time when Covid was impacting on cruises, and we had the opton to swap the cruise for a TUI holiday, and we chose a TUI TOUR from the TUI website.  We booked the tour on the basis of the itinerary that was advertised and sold to us...

Presumably the option you were offered was either to take a full refund or swap to another cruise?  Who offered you that option - was it cuise.co.uk, the same company the original booking was with?  And was it them that you informed that you were accepting the option to swap?

If "yes" to both those answers, I'd have thought you should be claiming a refund of your extra costs from cruise.co.uk as presumably those are the people you paid originally and are the people your contrcat is with?

If the holiday wasn't purchased direct from TUI I don't see the relevance of TUI knowing or not knowing that the tour could not go ahead as advertised.  (Except that after you've claimed against cruise.co.uk, they can claim against TUI).

And if it gets as a far as issuing a court claim (if it's worth doing that - we don't know how much is involved) can't you issue a claim against both cruise.co.uk and TUI?

(Did you pay by credit card?  You might have a s75 claim)