Travel agent made grave cash error when paying some of the holiday balance off!

eleanorl89

So I’m not sure what to do in this scenario. My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family. We went into the travel agents today for her to pay some of it off with cash (£1500 to be exact). Her updated booking email with balance info has now come through & the travel provider has said she paid £2500 when she actually only took £1500 in cash in!

Now she is ecstatic as the amount we all now owe had come down. I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on, but I feel very uneasy about the deception and think she should fess up! Arent they likely to pick up on it anyway?! Or now that they have officially made that mistake, will they be able to recharge her the extra £1000? Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

Hellpppp! Thanks guys (we’re in the UK btw)

marcia_

eleanorl89 said:

So I’m not sure what to do in this scenario. My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family. We went into the travel agents today for her to pay some of it off with cash (£1500 to be exact). Her updated booking email with balance info has now come through & the travel provider has said she paid £2500 when she actually only took £1500 in cash in!

Now she is ecstatic as the amount we all now owe had come down. I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on, but I feel very uneasy about the deception and think she should fess up! Arent they likely to pick up on it anyway?! Or now that they have officially made that mistake, will they be able to recharge her the extra £1000? Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

Hellpppp! Thanks guys (we’re in the UK btw)

 I would definitely fess up. They will notice their mistake at some point when they tally their tills and/or accounts. The holiday will probably be cancelled with no refund forthcoming 

la531983

marcia_ said:

eleanorl89 said:

So I’m not sure what to do in this scenario. My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family. We went into the travel agents today for her to pay some of it off with cash (£1500 to be exact). Her updated booking email with balance info has now come through & the travel provider has said she paid £2500 when she actually only took £1500 in cash in!

Now she is ecstatic as the amount we all now owe had come down. I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on, but I feel very uneasy about the deception and think she should fess up! Arent they likely to pick up on it anyway?! Or now that they have officially made that mistake, will they be able to recharge her the extra £1000? Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

Hellpppp! Thanks guys (we’re in the UK btw)

 I would definitely fess up. They will notice their mistake at some point when they tally their tills and/or accounts. The holiday will probably be cancelled with no refund forthcoming 

Of course it wont, what will happen is they will spot it in the next few days and amend the balance remaining.

eskbanker

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

eleanorl89

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

eskbanker

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

As others have pointed out, it'll likely be spotted anyway, but why would anyone get into trouble?

eleanorl89

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

As others have pointed out, it'll likely be spotted anyway, but why would anyone get into trouble?

The lady who took the money! Don’t want her to get into trouble if they can’t claim it back, I don’t know. My cousins very much of the opinion ‘their mistake their issue’ & absolutely convinced they can’t prove she didn’t actually pay £3500

MeteredOut

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

As others have pointed out, it'll likely be spotted anyway, but why would anyone get into trouble?

The lady who took the money! Don’t want her to get into trouble if they can’t claim it back, I don’t know. My cousins very much of the opinion ‘their mistake their issue’ & absolutely convinced they can’t prove she didn’t actually pay £3500

Of course they can claim it back - it was a mistake.

It will get noticed, the outstanding balance will be updated, your cousin will be notified, and if the balance is not paid, the holiday will be cancelled and refund (if any) returned as per the T&Cs.

There really isn't anything to debate other than tell the TA now, or wait until they notice it.

Was your cousin given a receipt? I'd expect one for a cash payment. If she lies and says she did pay £2500 and is taken to court, can she show the movement of funds from other places to get £2500 cash, or is she willing to lie to a judge that she had that cash sitting at home?

I'd be encouraging her to contact them. They might even knock a little bit off as a goodwill gesture if she asks nicely.

eleanorl89

MeteredOut said:

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

As others have pointed out, it'll likely be spotted anyway, but why would anyone get into trouble?

The lady who took the money! Don’t want her to get into trouble if they can’t claim it back, I don’t know. My cousins very much of the opinion ‘their mistake their issue’ & absolutely convinced they can’t prove she didn’t actually pay £3500

Of course they can claim it back - it was a mistake.

It will get noticed, the outstanding balance will be updated, your cousin will be notified, and if the balance is not paid, the holiday will be cancelled and refund applied as per the T&Cs.

There really isn't anything to debate other than tell the TA now, or wait until they notice it.

Thank you, this makes me feel better that I can just leave it to them then! 

maman

I'm sure they'll notice at the end of the day when they cash up the tills. They won't know whether she's checked her emails so she'll just have to accept their apology for the error and move on. 
Not sure how I'd feel about your cousin's attitude though. 🤔

eskbanker

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

eskbanker said:

eleanorl89 said:

My cousin booked for me & my children to go on holiday next year with her family.

[...]

I’m paying a measly £250 towards this holiday so I feel like I don’t have a leg to stand on

[...]

Im on the verge of calling them but she’s getting a bit cross talking about it now

If she's the lead passenger and you're only making a token contribution to the cost anyway, it seems to me that it's nothing to do with you really (certainly as far as the agent is concerned), so you should leave it to her and her conscience.

Thing is, it’s a small town where we live & i know the lady who took the money. I was there when my cousin paid, I just don’t want anyone to get into trouble unnecessarily!

As others have pointed out, it'll likely be spotted anyway, but why would anyone get into trouble?

The lady who took the money! Don’t want her to get into trouble if they can’t claim it back, I don’t know. My cousins very much of the opinion ‘their mistake their issue’ & absolutely convinced they can’t prove she didn’t actually pay £3500

If your cousin holds that opinion then any intervention you make to correct the issue will ultimately cost her £1000 (as she'll see it) so be prepared for some big fallout if you choose to go ahead!

This isn't really a travel query but is more like one of those 'moral dilemmas' that MSE throws out there to stimulate debate....