Chargeback challenged due to what I now believe to be wrong advice

Goldwing1

Bear with me.
We have used our local travel agent (Baldwins, Tenterden) for many years and fully trusted them. As we would be away on one holiday when the balance for our next holiday was due, we paid the balance early.

When we returned the travel agent was in all sorts of trouble and closed abruptly. We contacted the tour operator who confirmed the worst, they had received our deposit but not the balance. They confirmed our discussion which was as follows;

"You have advised that you paid Baldwins Travel  using a credit card. As discussed, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you may be eligible to submit a claim to your credit card provider in order to recover the funds paid to Baldwins Travel. Once this has been refunded to you, the expectation would be for the funds to then be passed to Ocean Holidays to settle the outstanding balance."

I then contacted the credit card companies and they were brilliant. They accepted the e-mail and just five days later the money was credited back onto my cards. I then paid the tour operator directly. All was well with the world until..................

The credit card companies got in touch advising that the travel agents representatives were claiming I should have claimed via ABTA. I've now done that. The ABTA website is a nightmare and I've just received an e-mail saying they could take six to eight weeks before they decide I've forgotten to send something!

In the meantime the credit card companies are sayig that if I don't reply and supply them with a negative response from ABTA they will take the money back withing ten days (Was fourteen) and, if that pushed me over my credit limit, interest will be charged!

I'm e-mailing everything I can to the credit card companies to demonstrate I'm doing everything I can. The tour operator, having got their money and issued our tickets, don't want to engage.

We fly out on this holiday on 28th July. Everything is probably going to go pear shaped while we are away and, at the time of writing, having an enjoyable holiday is furthest from my mind. The whole point of the holiday is that we lost our respective mothers in 2023 and this was a "last" family holiday with our two grown up daughters to remember them.

Brie

Call up the credit card company  and tell them you are "dissatisfied" with their service on this issue.  Explain the whole thing carefully, unemotionally, preferably in chronological fashion so it's easy for the to understand the problem.  They might be able to offer a solution or at least calm your fears on this.  If they cannot then tell them that you will need to lodge a complaint due to their process will likely leave you "financially disadvantaged".  

Note the number you ring, the time, date, name of any and all people you talk to and, if possible, what department they work for.  If you are able to record the call even better.  Ask to be escalated to a supervisor if someone seems completely unable to understand or assist you in any way or flat out refuses to help.  

Wait for things to get sorted out with ABTA and go on your holiday, making sure you take a couple of different cards with you so there's no worries about spending while you are away.

If necessary arrange for payments to go on to your problem card while you are away so you don't go above your limit should that cause you any problems or simply so your mind is on your holiday rather than the dratted card.

fyi - where I have " " a word that's because those are terms some of the banks use for the various levels of complaints and to register how significant it might be.

Goldwing1

@Brie

Thanks for that. There are, to my increasingly paranoid mind, two threads;

The tour operator advised me to go via chargeback because they knew ABTA would take too long and I would probably cancel the holiday.

The credit card companies (Turns out they’re both the same, different names) should have asked if the travel agent was ABTA registered before proceeding with chargeback.

20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The first thing I did when things went pear shaped was to start a log, exactly as you describe except I didn’t note names.

I have a different credit card for spending in different currencies so that’s not an issue.           

As I’ve already e-mailed, explaining why getting the document within ten days is impossible and asking for advice, I’ll give them time to reply but your suggested wording for the next round is useful.

Many thanks.

Hoenir

Goldwing1 said:

The tour operator advised me to go via chargeback because they knew ABTA would take too long and I would probably cancel the holiday.

Presumably you didn't want to cancel the holiday though. 

Goldwing1

Hoenir said:

Presumably you didn't want to cancel the holiday though. 

That wouldn't have been my first choice but, had I received the correct advice, ABTA would now be coming to, or at the end of their process.

To rub salt into the wound, my daughter also had a holiday booked through the same travel agent. Her tour operator initially said everything was OK, only to backtrack a couple of weeks later. They processed her claim on her behalf via ABTA and the claim has already been settled. She has peace of mind, I don't.

Grumpy_chap

I am not sure that the advice given by @Brie is correct or fully complete.

Goldwing1 said:

the tour operator;

"You have advised that you paid Baldwins Travel  using a credit card. As discussed, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you may be eligible to submit a claim to your credit card provider in order to recover the funds paid to Baldwins Travel. Once this has been refunded to you, the expectation would be for the funds to then be passed to Ocean Holidays to settle the outstanding balance."

The key word in the comments by the Tour Operator is "may" (I bolded it for clarity).

I suspect that, as the booking was via an Agent, there is no creditor / supplier / debtor relationship and therefore S75 is not applicable.

Goldwing1 said:

I then contacted the credit card companies and they were brilliant. They accepted the e-mail and just five days later the money was credited back onto my cards. I then paid the tour operator directly. All was well with the world until..................

The credit card companies got in touch advising that the travel agents representatives were claiming I should have claimed via ABTA. 

Given the very quick timescale, the CC appears to have processed Chargeback and not S75.

Chargeback is a bit like stopping the cheque and can be contested by the business who will reverse the chargeback. 
The Administrators for the Travel Agent has a duty to recover / retain as much as possible for the failed business and people owed money by the failed business. Your are one of those and might, eventually, get a penny in the pound (or less).
The Administrator is correct that the Travel Agent essentially has an insurance policy in place (ABTA) and you should claim on there for your recovery of funds.
You need to follow the process with ABTA.

In the meantime, you have paid the tour operator directly and should be able to take the holiday.  Enjoy it.
Where I would agree with Brie is that the CC may, if asked politely, agree a "goodwill gesture" to temporarily increase your credit limit and waive interest on that amount, thus allowing the ABTA process to complete and you do not suffer in the short term.  I have said "goodwill gesture" and that is almost certainly how this will be be expressed to you.  Whether the CC has a more formal obligation to facilitate that I am unsure.  It does not matter to you whether the CC agrees this action because they have to or because of a "goodwill gesture".

If your CC won't show any leniency, do you have other savings that can cover this off in the mean-time?  Or, possibly, consider an interest free CC and balance transfer?

Goldwing1

Grumpy_chap said:

I am not sure that the advice given by @Brie is correct or fully complete.

If your CC won't show any leniency, do you have other savings that can cover this off in the mean-time?  Or, possibly, consider an interest free CC and balance transfer?

Fortunately I am able to clear these credit cards before I go away ahead of the normal payment date. That will ensure I don't go over my credit limits. I'll lose interest and, assuming my claim is successful, all I'll lose is a bit of interest.

As the amount due on one of the cards is £12k, I can't see me getting an interest free card to cover that amount.

Grumpy_chap

Goldwing1 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

I am not sure that the advice given by @Brie is correct or fully complete.

If your CC won't show any leniency, do you have other savings that can cover this off in the mean-time?  Or, possibly, consider an interest free CC and balance transfer?

Fortunately I am able to clear these credit cards before I go away ahead of the normal payment date. That will ensure I don't go over my credit limits. I'll lose interest and, assuming my claim is successful, all I'll lose is a bit of interest.

As the amount due on one of the cards is £12k, I can't see me getting an interest free card to cover that amount.

I think that has to be the way forward - use your fortunate(*) position to clear the CCs and enjoy the holiday.  Ignore the mess and leave to sort out once you get back.

(*) I say fortunate because a lot of people would not be able to clear an extra £12k.

Goldwing1

Grumpy_chap said:

(*) I say fortunate because a lot of people would not be able to clear an extra £12k.

No argument from me. My wife and I both lost our mothers in 2023. My wife wanted to use some of the money to take our adult children to Florida for a holiday in memory of them. They will have the time of their life (I hope). Sadly I do (and will) worry until it's fixed. That's my nature and I'm too old to change now.

Goldwing1

You couldn't make it up!

The latest is that my claim with ABTA has been rejected because the link supplied via the credit card companies is for the use of tour operators only!

I've added that evidence to my complaint against the tour operator. I've also e-mailed the credit card companies with the ABTA rejection asking them "What do I do next"?

Grumpy_chap

Can you simply re-issue the claim to ABTA using whatever route is available to the general public via the ABTA website?