Paid £7k for hotel booking, no full confirmation. LBA sent

yus786

Hi all,

I am looking for some practical advice before deciding my next steps.

I booked hotel accommodation for a family religious trip abroad later this year. The booking was made through a travel agent / tour operator connected to a UK limited company.

The booking was for:

• 3 rooms at Hotel A for 7 nights

• 3 rooms at Hotel B for 7 nights

• Breakfast included

• Total paid: £7,000

The payment was sent via an international money transfer provider to the agent’s overseas business bank account.

The agent confirmed receipt of the money and initially said the booking was fully confirmed. I was also sent screenshots which appeared to show the hotel bookings.

However, despite repeated requests, the agent has still not provided full official hotel confirmation numbers that I can verify directly with both hotels.

I have contacted the hotels directly:

• Hotel A has partly confirmed that a reservation exists, but has not clearly confirmed all 3 rooms, the full 7 nights, breakfast, payment status, or a booking reference I can use online.

• Hotel B told me to go back to the supplier / agent.

The agent later sent a general message saying there had been hotel booking disruptions due to supplier failures and that affected bookings would be refunded in full. I requested a refund and provided bank details, but no refund has been received yet.

Since then, the agent has said several times that they will send the official hotel confirmation numbers. I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I am concerned because this has been going on for around two weeks.

So far I have done the following:

• Reported the issue to the money transfer provider and requested a recall / reversal

• Reported the matter to my bank

• Reported the matter to Report Fraud

• Sent a Letter Before Action to the UK registered office of the company

• The Letter Before Action was delivered and signed for

• Kept WhatsApp chats, invoices, payment proofs, hotel emails and delivery proof

My questions are:

1. If the agent now sends hotel confirmation numbers and the hotels confirm the bookings are valid, should I still take any further legal step now?

2. If the hotels confirm now but the booking is later cancelled, shortened or unpaid when we arrive, who would be responsible?

3. Should I continue giving the agent time to resolve this, or should I proceed with a small claim now?

4. Would the claim be against the UK limited company that issued the invoice?

5. Is there anything else I should do before starting a small claim?

6. Should I avoid posting the company name publicly at this stage?

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

molerat

The booking was made through a travel agent / tour operator connected to a UK limited company.

The payment was sent via an international money transfer provider to the agent’s overseas business bank account.

Sent a Letter Before Action to the UK registered office of the company

Would the claim be against the UK limited company that issued the invoice?

On the face of it all your transactions have been with companies other than the travel agent you dealt with.

jaybeetoo

Have you looked at reviews for the UK listed company? Have you looked on companies house website to find out about the UK limited company? For example, when was company formed, is it still going, are their accounts up to date. If the company has no assets or is closed then you are wasting your time and money taking them to court.

If you’ve use a money transfer service, it’s highly unlikely (impossible) you can reverse it.

mta999

Too late for the OP but in general I would recommend paying direct to the hotel wherever possible rather than via agents, particularly as the price difference may not be very much if any

Ayr_Rage

If you paid an overseas third party directly then you have no chance of recovering funds sent by a money transfer service.

Do you actually have a contract with any agency in the UK?

flaneurs_lobster

If you’ve use a money transfer service, it’s highly unlikely (impossible) you can reverse it.

This, I suspect, will be the problem.

The advantage of going to a properly bonded ABTA/ATOL travel agent and paying them into their UK bank account is that you gain some measure of protection from their memberships.

Paying monies away to an "agent’s overseas business bank account" might well negate that protection.

Can I ask OP, what was the reason for not booking directly with the hotels?

Grumpy_chap

The payment was sent via an international money transfer provider to the agent’s overseas business bank account.

So, who is the contract with?

Importantly, under which legal jurisdiction has the contract been formed?

When is the travel planned for? You might still travel and all will be well. The interim enquiries might be adding confusion.

eskbanker

The booking was made through a travel agent / tour operator connected to a UK limited company.

What do you actually mean by 'connected to' here, i.e. are they two parties or one?

born_again

Who & where are this travel agent?

Alderbank

…Should I continue giving the agent time to resolve this, or should I proceed with a small claim now?

…Would the claim be against the UK limited company that issued the invoice?

You said that you have already sent a LBA to the party you intend to sue and they have acknowledged service, so you might now be a little late in asking those questions.

The LBA normally includes the specific legislation they have breached, the quantum of damages they owe you because of the breach and advice that unless they pay you that sum by a specified date you will commence County Court action to recover your loss without further ado.

For legal reasons, most companies immediately cease further communications with the claimant from when they get an LBA until they receive the official court papers from the County Court.

What exactly did you say in the LBA? That will influence what you should do next.

Aylesbury_Duck

It looks like you're taking a scattergun approach, reporting them (who?) to anyone you can, as well as sending an LBA. It's not at all clear who you've paid, where they're based or who your contract is with.

If you're confident the LBA has gone to the right entity, you need to see through on court action if they don't give you what you've demanded. Otherwise, what was the point?