travel agents refusing to give refund!!!

dollydaydream07

Hi all,

not sure if this is the right place to post here goes,

my family are all booked to go away next year and my cousin was going with us, she had only paid the deposit and unfortunately she was killed 6 weeks ago, now my mum has been to travel agents and apparently they have said theres nothing they can do, they can't/won't offer a refund!!!

under the circumstances i and the rest of the family think its a bit unfair baring in mind that we have just lost a close family member, im not sure if they had taken out the insurance or not, cos i did think that if they had they could get the deposit back from that but if they haven't does anyone know where they stand?

a friend has said they will pay to have name changed on tickets and pay my aunt the money already paid for holiday so thats one option but other than that its not fair, why should my aunt not only lose a beloved daughter but also the money paid already when we had no idea she was going to get killed - if she was terminally ill or something i could understand

i know im waffling im just so angry about it so if anyone can make sense of what im asking and give any advice i would be very grateful

thanks
adele

dmg24

Hi Adele,

So sorry to hear about your cousin. Unfortunately there is no obligation on the travel agent to refund the ticket, this is something that should be covered by insurance. Hopefully they were covered? x

lisyloo

First, sorry to hear of your loss.

does anyone know where they stand?

If the whole party (or individuals) have insurance then they can certainly make a claim on the insurance.
If you didn't get insurance then I'm sorry but you are not entitled to your money back.

However most holiday companies insist you have insurance these days.
If you won't buy their then they make you fil out a form with proof of equivalent insurance.
Some companies won't even take a booking without proof of insurance.
Are you sure that none was in place?

Check the companies term and conditions.
I would call the holiday company direct and find out whether they have insurance in place and if not what proof did they ask for (there is a possibility they have been negligent here).
If you can state the holiday company and travel agent then we might be able to find further info.

but other than that its not fair, why should my aunt not only lose a beloved daughter but also the money paid already when we had no idea she was going to get killed - if she was terminally ill or something i could understand

Sorry, but I think you are totally wrong here.
I am very sorry there has been a death but this was YOUR (family) risk and not the travel agents risk if you refused to take insurance.

Please let us know both companies so that we can check terms and conditions on-line.
Are you absolutely certain there was no insurance? Have you seen an invoice?
It needs further investigation.

dzug

Stop waffling, get over your anger and get real. Sorry to be so blunt, but travel agents (and other businesses) do not exist to subsidise unfortunate events that happen to their customers.

Insurance does that - it exists to cover eventualities such as this. If they have it, claim on it - it's what it's for.

They almost certainly have insurance - few travel agents will accept bookings without it these days. They usually get you to sign a form saying that you have it.

If they don't have insurance, then they will have knowingly accepted the risk. It's unfair to expect the travel agent to pick up the tab for this.

exel1966

Harsh comments dzug ! I know what you're saying is correct, but in that tone ? Give the OP a break please.

Some companies may, as a goodwill gesture refund the deposit of the deceased if you write in and explain, though as the others have said they really don't have to. This is exactly what travel insurance is for.

dzug

exel1966 wrote: »

Harsh comments dzug ! I know what you're saying is correct, but in that tone ? Give the OP a break please.

Some companies may, as a goodwill gesture refund the deposit of the deceased if you write in and explain, though as the others have said they really don't have to. This is exactly what travel insurance is for.

I was trying to tone them down - maybe not quite enough in hindsight.

duchy

Harsh maybe-but really is there a gentler way to say it. All travel agents offer insurance at the time of booking-hopefully the family DID take it out but it sounds like they didn't but that was their choice-and in honesty in the grand scheme of things what is £100 compared to the loss of a child ? Maybe I sound harsh too but often when we lose someone we get out of shape over the unimportant things as a form of defence against facing the bigger issues until we are ready to do so.
Legally the family won't have a leg to stand on-at best they *may* be offered a name change at no cost but even that is more than the holiday company is contractually obliged to do. BTW it's the holiday company NOT the travel agent who is saying no.

budgetflyer

A bit of goodwill and compassion would have went a long way.
Obviously the travel agent would have to get the tour opp to cancel. Would that be so hard ?Although maybe not in the T&Cs and they dont have to. They could if they really wanted for an exceptional circumstance.

debs66_2

i am a firm believer in the nicely worded, polite letter.

don't rant, don't say you expect this or that, just write in and explain the situation. ask if there is anything the company can do to help in what has already been a traumatic situation.

you never know...

so sorry for your loss.

dollydaydream07

dzug wrote: »

Stop waffling, get over your anger and get real. Sorry to be so blunt, but travel agents (and other businesses) do not exist to subsidise unfortunate events that happen to their customers.

Insurance does that - it exists to cover eventualities such as this. If they have it, claim on it - it's what it's for.

They almost certainly have insurance - few travel agents will accept bookings without it these days. They usually get you to sign a form saying that you have it.

If they don't have insurance, then they will have knowingly accepted the risk. It's unfair to expect the travel agent to pick up the tab for this.

well next time i won't bother asking for advice if thats the kind of reaction i get! if it was a member of your family i bet you would be the same as me and my family

to everyone else, i booked the holiday for me, my hubby and our daughter through an independant travel agent and my mum, dad, sister, neice and cousin booked with Going places(same hotel and same flight) and when my parents book a holiday they don't normally get the insurance with the hol, they get it elsewhere, so thats why i don't think they did get it so obviously probably won't get anything back

thanks for the replies, its nice to know that some people actually believe that under the circumstances they could actually show some compassion and maybe do something to help the situation.

once i get chance to speak to my parents about it, then i will fiond out a little bit more info, it was only in a passing conversation, when we mentioned my cousin that i asked about the holiday that i actually found out that they probably cant get money back

thanks again

MarkyMarkD

Dolly

Whilst you may have found dzug a bit blunt, their advice is sound.

Insurance exists to cover this sort of eventuality. And if the insurance doesn't pay up - because it wasn't taken out - then all that's been lost is a deposit. In the scheme of things, when a relative has died, it's a bit sad that you are so bothered about getting a refund of a deposit.

And it's not businesses' job to be compassionate. They require you to have insurance when you buy the holiday, for your own protection. If people ignore that requirement, why should the business then compensate the reckless whilst leaving the prudent no better off for being prudent?