Holiday cancellation and silent auction bid

ChickenLicken12

We went to a fund raising event and took part in the silent auction. 

We “won” a week stay in a private luxury villa. 

The reserve price went to the company who hosted the silent auction and pays for the auction bid and anything bid over went to the charity . All in the small print!! 

Anyway .. we decided to add the week in the villa onto the end of a cruise holiday. This also meant adding on different flights. .. as we were coming home a week later. 

All this was arranged by our local travel agent. 

Best laid plans and all that - my daughter now has to have major surgery at the tine we were due to travel (Jan 25) with recovery being between 6-9 months. 

My son is getting married at the end of the year and the validity of the auction bid accommodation voucher is until end Jan 2026 - we’ve basically run out of time! 

The travel agent has cancelled the holiday and we are claiming the deposit on our insurance (we hope) 
however my question is can we claim back the cost of the accommodation which we have paid for but in a different way to normal. 

We paid by credit card too. 

Is it even worth us trying to claim back accommodation cost on insurance or credit card ? 

Thanks for any advice 

eDicky

ChickenLicken12 said:

Is it even worth us trying to claim back accommodation cost on insurance or credit card ?

Obviously not on credit card, there has been no failure to provide the service that was purchased and is available. If travel insurance coverage is correctly in place its purpose would include your situation.

Mark_d

I don't think you can claim back your villa voucher's value because the voucher is still valid until Jan 2026.
If your daughter was meant to be travelling with you there should be a 3-6 month window, after her recovery, when you can use your villa stay.  If she is not due to travel, maybe she does not need your full-time care over the recovery period, so you you be able to go on holiday.
Your son choosing to get married, at a time inconvenient to your holiday, is no justification for an insurance claim for not being able to take the holiday.  

ChickenLicken12

Mark_d said:

I don't think you can claim back your villa voucher's value because the voucher is still valid until Jan 2026.
If your daughter was meant to be travelling with you there should be a 3-6 month window, after her recovery, when you can use your villa stay.  If she is not due to travel, maybe she does not need your full-time care over the recovery period, so you you be able to go on holiday.
Your son choosing to get married, at a time inconvenient to your holiday, is no justification for an insurance claim for not being able to take the holiday.  

Thank. I will need to be there for her full recovery she will be learning to walk again have a a prosthetic that replaces her lower pelvis anc and hip! 

But, thought it might be the case as the voucher lasts until next year. 

Just wanted to see what others thought and interestingly two different answers!! 🤭

NoodleDoodleMan

"Just wanted to see what others thought and interestingly two different answers!! 🤭"

Best not to assume one is right and the other wrong though ?

sheramber

Can you not take up the villa stay between now and January?

saajan_12

There's zero claim from the accommodation provider or credit card here, as they would only be (jointly) responsible for things that are the provider's fault. Eg if there was an issue with the accommodation. 

Any insurance claim would depend on what you're insured for - no set rule, but unlikely a wedding is covered. 

In terms of practical options, you do have some time to use it, say in
- Sep24 - Dec24 ie before the surgery
- Aug25 - Sep25 as daughter may not need you as much at the tail end of the recovery, which is beyond the 6m lower estimate
- Oct25 - Jan26 except for the couple of weeks leading up to son's wedding.. a week off doesn't have to hamper the planning too much, or you could coincide it with their honeymoon. 
- After Jan26 by asking the accommodation if they'll let you rearrange

ChickenLicken12

As an update on this .. 
we booked the holiday for next year so all sorted or so we thought! 

Just received an email from the auction company to say they’ve ceased trading and cannot honour our holiday accommodation. 

They also advised that we should claim using a section 75 .. so now to wait and see what happens. 

eskbanker

ChickenLicken12 said:

As an update on this .. 
we booked the holiday for next year so all sorted or so we thought! 

Just received an email from the auction company to say they’ve ceased trading and cannot honour our holiday accommodation. 

They also advised that we should claim using a section 75 .. so now to wait and see what happens. 

Section 75 claims require a direct debtor-creditor-supplier link, so the presence of additional parties such as agents breaks this chain and will generally lead to a claim being rejected.

ChickenLicken12

@eskbanker - thanks  - it doesn’t sound hopeful then - buyer beware for sure . 😖