Lost days from holiday due to flight disruption

macandtosh148

This is the reply from Halifax Visa:

Thank you for contacting us about your claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. I apologise unreservedly about the delay in my reply. This was because I was unexpectedly and unavoidably out of office since we spoke previously. Upon full review of your claim and documentation we are unable to agree to your claim. Due to the both the nature of the holiday, its location and all of the dealings being directly with the merchant, we cannot see that there is any link between your holiday and any other UK holiday company or organisation. Therefore I we are unable to accept that the UK Package Travel Regulations (2015) apply for your holiday. This means that we don't consider that the merchant was responsible for the operation of the flight, only its booking, and is not liable for the day you advised us was lost at the lodge as the flight had to be rescheduled
We paid Spirit Bear Lodge for the whole package and they have sent me an email stating that the lost days which were part of the itinerary amount to 4500$. They organised and paid for the flights and all transfers to and from Vancouver International airport.
Email response from Spirit Bear Lodge:
Hello Keith,

Thank you for your email, we booked the flight, it is included in your package, they rebooked the flights, so there was no additional cost to us or you for that, the cost of loss is the daily activities via boat, and the Cultural experiences that were missed. The insurance should cover the delay because it was out of our control time/activity lost.

I am not following why the insurance is not covering this? We do not offer travel insurance, but every provider is different, please let us know if you need any additional support.

Warmest Wishes,

Trish

eskbanker

macandtosh148 said:

Therefore I we are unable to accept that the UK Package Travel Regulations (2015) apply for your holiday. This means that we don't consider that the merchant was responsible for the operation of the flight, only its booking, and is not liable for the day you advised us was lost at the lodge as the flight had to be rescheduled

Yes, that seems consistent with what I was expecting, i.e. there's insufficient evidence that there was any breach of contract by the company you paid and therefore the s75 claim fails.

born_again

There is no mention at all about non UK co's not being covered in that reply. As it looks like part of your claim was under or in relation to. "UK Package Travel Regulations" which clearly your booking would not be covered by as they are a Canadian co.

As I posted previously. Spirit Bear Lodge make it very clear in their T/C that internal flight delays are not covered. As such no breech of contract.

So in reality any claim would be against the airline, but that would only be if you paid them direct & again at best would cover the costs of the delay to the next flight & no cover on any missed holiday days.

Sorry.

Gandalf644

Just goes to show that, where complex holiday itineraries are involved, such as using multiple suppliers/tours within holidays provided by third parties etc, any travel insurance obtained when booking the holiday needs to be tailored to the actual holiday and its individual components and to not relay on standard travel insurance policies that rarely cover situations such as the OP’s rather complex itinerary.  

This type of bespoke travel cover is available through specialist travel insurers and does come at a price. However, it is really the only way to cover such actual or consequential losses as the OP has endured.

Standard travel insurance is fine for a straightforward  ATOL bonded ‘all in’ package holiday, but when complexity is added, such as overseas third-party suppliers, then any travel insurance needs to match the risks involved.

Even then there may still be certain exclusions for ‘act of god’ events.

As stated by other posters above, S75 is no guarantee, particularly when third-party (or even fourth/firth party) suppliers are involved.

penners324

Your travel insurance will cover the extra hotels and other expenses.