“O2 ‘Stress Free’ Prize Holiday Cost Me £280 – Advice?”

kmcmyler

Hi everyone,

I won a “stress free holiday to Cork” through O2 Priority (flights + hotel via lastminute.com). Sadly I tested positive for COVID just before the trip.

I contacted lastminute.com within 48 hours to ask to move the dates (the hotel had availability).

They refused and pushed me to Ryanair.

I ended up paying £280.36 in change fees and seat charges just to keep the prize.

O2’s own T&Cs say prizes should be substituted in “unforeseen circumstances”.

Has anyone else had this experience? What’s the best way to get O2/lastminute.com to reimburse me? At the moment I now have flights (as I have paid for) but no hotel. 

What a great win!!🫠🙂‍↔️🫣😑😤

Thanks,

Kerry

Etccarmageddon

I think you need to ask this to be moved to the chat section?

beckstar1975

Testing positive for Covid is no reason to travel any more, and if you'd been too ill to travel (like seriously unwell) I guess you'd have appealed to their better nature same with any other illness.

Most covid these days isn't too bad so definitely should have travelled

MeteredOut

kmcmyler said:

Hi everyone,

I won a “stress free holiday to Cork” through O2 Priority (flights + hotel via lastminute.com). Sadly I tested positive for COVID just before the trip.

I contacted lastminute.com within 48 hours to ask to move the dates (the hotel had availability).

They refused and pushed me to Ryanair.

I ended up paying £280.36 in change fees and seat charges just to keep the prize.

O2’s own T&Cs say prizes should be substituted in “unforeseen circumstances”.

Has anyone else had this experience? What’s the best way to get O2/lastminute.com to reimburse me? At the moment I now have flights (as I have paid for) but no hotel. 

What a great win!!🫠🙂‍↔️🫣😑😤

Thanks,

Kerry

Can you quote the exact T&Cs?

Are you sure the condition was not solely to allow the prize organiser to substitute due to unforeseen circumstances?

gdmoney

Are you not covered by your travel insurance? If you didn't take any out, more fool you because it would have cost considerably less than £280.

PennysIntoPounds

Thank you for not travelling when ill.

Many companies seem to respond better when asked (nicely) about an issue on social media so maybe try that 

eyeballpaul

O2’s own T&Cs say prizes should be substituted in “unforeseen circumstances”.

I always thought that meant unforeseen circumstance for the company not for you?

What did your travel insurance company say?

mjm3346

"the hotel had availability"

There might have been rooms available but that does not necessarily mean the were any promotional rooms available.

I agree the "unforeseen" bit  usually applies to the promoter.

Etccarmageddon

Worth checking your bank account didn't include holiday insurance? 

Etccarmageddon

I think there's a big difference between testing positive for covid being there compared to actually contacting them and saying you were/are seriously ill with covid?