£300 admin fee to access holiday refund after disruption – any options left?

bkp

Hi All

I’d really appreciate some advice on whether I have any realistic options left here, or if it’s a case of drawing a line under it.

Earlier this year I booked a package holiday (paid in full on credit cards). The timeline roughly:

• Booking made in January 2026
• In early March, due to escalating events in the Middle East, I contacted the provider to understand my options
• At that stage, I was told that a refund wasn’t available, and the accommodation was instead moved to a credit note
• I accepted this at the time, as it seemed like the only viable option and I wanted to wait and see how things evolved

Shortly afterwards, following airline policy changes and wider disruption, the provider then said a refund was available for the entire package. However, at that point they offered:

• 100% credit (no deduction)
• Cash refund, but less £75 per person (£300 total) admin fee

The issue for me is that the refund option only became available later, but accessing it meant accepting a £300 deduction, whereas the credit option kept full value.

So in reality, it felt like I had to give up £300 to access money I had already paid, despite the situation changing beyond my control.

In terms of what I’ve done so far:

• Raised it with the provider – they refused to waive the fee
• Raised a chargeback via my credit card – rejected
• Travel insurance – rejected

Given the way the situation evolved, it feels like I was effectively penalised for choosing to take my money back. I’ve got a few questions really:

• Is this something ABTA / ATOL / CMA might look at?
• Has anyone had any success challenging similar admin fees where circumstances changed?
• Is there any realistic route left (complaint, regulator, small claim), or is this likely to go nowhere?
• Or realistically, is it best to just accept it and move on?

I’m completely open to being told this is just one of those situations, but wanted to sense‑check before letting it go. It just felt like the operator was being opportunistic… oddly, I got the sense the person I was dealing with was initially willing to refund the hotel in full (before I had clarity on flights), but after speaking with their manager that option disappeared along with the tone of the customer service.

Thanks in advance 👍

eskbanker

Who is the package provider, and do its Ts & Cs specify the scenarios under which admin fees are charged?

daveyjp

A pacakage holiday with which company?

Woodstok2000

Was it Southall travel by any chance? They have history here.

Package holiday regs prohibit admin fees if the organiser has cancelled the holiday. This came up a lot during covid.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/package-holiday-refunds-and-cancellations/information-about-package-holiday-refunds-and-cancellations

elsien

In this case though the organiser didn’t cancel, the customer did.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82046611#Comment_82046611

The Package Travel Regulations do give the customer termination rights in the event of "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect (a) the performance of the package, or (b) the carriage of passengers to the destination", and then a full refund with no deductions, per paragraphs 7 and 8 of regulation 12:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/regulation/12

Adverse FCDO advice will typically constitute such circumstances, but I suspect that OP's situation is complicated by virtue of jumping the gun and seeking cancellation before that came into play, so that may be a factor behind the provider's stance.

OP - it'll probably help to ascertain exact dates, i.e. specifically when in March did you initially discuss this, when did you cancel, and when did they start offering refunds?