Cancelling booking made via Times Newspaper

dave18

Hi,

Helping my parents find the best way forward to cancelling a planned trip to Vienna to see a concert. All booked as a “package” via the The Times Holidays. My dad has been advised to not travel by a doctor so they planned to claim this via travel insurance, but yesterday received changes of flight times of 6 hours triggering a standard option to refund email being sent directly by Ryanair, not Times Travel.

After contacting Times Travel they have said only the flights are refundable not the accommodation and concert tickets despite this all being sold as a “package”. Is this correct, or is there a way/law we should be using to challenge to obtain a refund for everything.

eskbanker

The right to cancel a package for a full refund only kicks in if there's a significant change, which, in package terms, would usually mean a different number of nights, for example, rather than six hours, even if that's enough to trigger a refund offer from the airline. Does Times Travel address what they'd consider to be such a change within their booking terms?

bagand96

The Terms & Conditions of Times Packages are set out here: Booking Terms and Conditions - Times Holidays Section 22 is the relevant section:

22. IF WE MAKE A CHANGE TO YOUR PACKAGE HOLIDAY

22.1. As the arrangements which make up your Times Holidays Package are planned many months in advance, from time to time we may need to make a change to your confirmed booking, and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most changes are minor and we will make reasonable efforts to inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure but we will have no liability to you. Examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers.

As @eskbanker has said a flight change less than 12 hours is normally considered a minor change under Package Holiday T&Cs and Times Holidays seems the same.

Point of note, those conditions are for a package where Times Holidays are the operator. Times also seem to act as an agent in selling other operator's holidays, so it might be worth checking - but the 12 hours thing is industry standard.

Humphreyshalfmoon

You can always cancel any package holiday provided the cancellation charges are paid. If there is a medical condition which has developed and was not a pre existing issue, then claim the cancellation charges from the insurer, that is what they are there for. The sooner they cancel, the lower the cancellation charges will be