Holiday Cancellation After Cancer Diagnosis

Charl_morley

Hello,
I've recently been diagnosised with breast cancer.  We had a package holiday booked with TUI but with Ryanair flights which we were due to go on in September.  We now won't be able to go as I will still be being treated and unable to travel.  
We have only paid £100 deposit so far with the remaining deposit due at the end of April.  However TUI will charge us £250 to cancel and if we wish to transfer to next year we need to speak to Ryanair ourselves and they are going to charge even more for changing to next year.
I do have travel insurance but the excess would be more than the £100 we have currently paid.
Can I just not paid the remaining deposit and let TUI cancel it so we only lose £100 or do I paid the £250 and lose out on more money?  

JGB1955

I don't think you'll get away with not paying the balance of the deposit.  Tui's terms and conditions state 'If you book using the low deposit scheme and then cancel your holiday, the remaining deposit balance will be due on cancellation'.

sheramber

Presumably the £100 deposit is the low deposit scheme where the full deposit is £350. 

Cancellation means you do have to pay the full deposit of £350.

J_B

I had a similar situation with TuI flight only. (cancer diagnosis)

I sent them a copy of the 'don't fly' from the hospital and they refunded me in full.

Easyjet on the other hand (for the return) wouldn't and the cost was similar to the excess!

NoodleDoodleMan

sheramber said:

Presumably the £100 deposit is the low deposit scheme where the full deposit is £350. 

Cancellation means you do have to pay the full deposit of £350.

Is it not £400 - was the last time I looked, mind you that was during Covid ?

sheramber

NoodleDoodleMan said:

sheramber said:

Presumably the £100 deposit is the low deposit scheme where the full deposit is £350. 

Cancellation means you do have to pay the full deposit of £350.

Is it not £400 - was the last time I looked, mind you that was during Covid ?

I am going by what OP said


We have only paid £100 deposit so far with the remaining deposit due at the end of April.  However TUI will charge us £250 to cancel

silvercar

Sorry you have had this diagnosis and I wish you well with your treatment.

Do you know for sure the treatment will be ongoing in September? I have a friend who had a similar diagnosis and had finished treatment (lumpectomy plus radiotherapy) within 3 months.

katejo

IvanOpinion said:

If you talk to the travel companies involved they may allow you to defer the holidays until after your treatment, but first talk to your oncologist and see what the timeline is likely to be.

Everyone is different and your oncologist will know best, but I was in a similar situation last year (cancer diagnosis) and the oncologist worked around 2 holidays that we had booked. He said that a bit of R&R would do no harm.

Good luck with your treatment. You need something to look forward to.

But did you declare the diagnosis to the insurer? Did they not refuse to cover you? 

eskbanker

IvanOpinion said:

katejo said:

IvanOpinion said:

If you talk to the travel companies involved they may allow you to defer the holidays until after your treatment, but first talk to your oncologist and see what the timeline is likely to be.

Everyone is different and your oncologist will know best, but I was in a similar situation last year (cancer diagnosis) and the oncologist worked around 2 holidays that we had booked. He said that a bit of R&R would do no harm.

Good luck with your treatment. You need something to look forward to.

But did you declare the diagnosis to the insurer? Did they not refuse to cover you? 

In this instance I did not declare it because my oncologist said I was fine to travel and the chances of me having any problems coming from the cancer while I was away were negligible. Some would argue I was wrong, but I was willing to accept the risk that the cancer would not impact me, and it didn't - all other conditions were declared and covered.

Chances are that you invalidated your insurance by failing to declare it, but obviously that's the gamble you took, and on that occasion it didn't matter.

sheramber

IvanOpinion said:

katejo said:

IvanOpinion said:

If you talk to the travel companies involved they may allow you to defer the holidays until after your treatment, but first talk to your oncologist and see what the timeline is likely to be.

Everyone is different and your oncologist will know best, but I was in a similar situation last year (cancer diagnosis) and the oncologist worked around 2 holidays that we had booked. He said that a bit of R&R would do no harm.

Good luck with your treatment. You need something to look forward to.

But did you declare the diagnosis to the insurer? Did they not refuse to cover you? 

In this instance I did not declare it because my oncologist said I was fine to travel and the chances of me having any problems coming from the cancer while I was away were negligible. Some would argue I was wrong, but I was willing to accept the risk that the cancer would not impact me, and it didn't - all other conditions were declared and covered.

But if you had had a claim for any medical condition your medical records would be checked and the cancer diagnosis discovered.

That would , most likely,  result in the policy being declared void and no payout. 

phatbear

IvanOpinion said:

I guess we will never know.
But this thread is not about my choices or shoulda-woulda-coulda, it is about another user asking advice for her particular circumstances - my answer is talk to your oncologist and see what they suggest. Undergoing any form of cancer treatment is stressful and it is good to have something to look forward to. Make your own decision about travel insurance and don't forget (as I did) that radiotherapy (not sure about chemo) can have an impact when you go sunbathing, so probably best to stick to a very high factor.

and remember to make your insurance company aware of your ongoing treatment if you do choose to travel.