My freind lost his holiday :(
Discussion
A good mate of mind had two weeks in Spain booked up for he and his wife, two children and another couple and their kid. He paid the deposit some time ago and had also paid off some of the balance.
I think the deposit was £700 and they had up till now paid a further £700. My pal thought he had untill the end of April to settle up as the holiday was booked for the 12th June, he phoned them yesterday to settle the balance and was told that he had missed the payment date and the holiday had been cancelled and any monies payed would not be returned. He asked why he hadn't been contacted before or on the due date and was told that an email had been sent to him and that a text had been sent to his wifes mobile, now he doesn't really check his emails often as he is in the same trade as me and not always at a PC, his wife swears she never got the text as (obviously) she would have acted on it.
Now he obviously understands why they should keep the deposit as it is his mistake but is unsure of why they should keep the balance? After all they made little effort to contact him (no letter or direct phone call).
He is understandbly distraught at losing he and his freinds deposit and is trying to book another holiday on his CC as they have all booked time off of work/school.
Does anyone think he should bother trying to get some of his money back or is he fighting a losing battle?
Any advise would be great.
I think the deposit was £700 and they had up till now paid a further £700. My pal thought he had untill the end of April to settle up as the holiday was booked for the 12th June, he phoned them yesterday to settle the balance and was told that he had missed the payment date and the holiday had been cancelled and any monies payed would not be returned. He asked why he hadn't been contacted before or on the due date and was told that an email had been sent to him and that a text had been sent to his wifes mobile, now he doesn't really check his emails often as he is in the same trade as me and not always at a PC, his wife swears she never got the text as (obviously) she would have acted on it.
Now he obviously understands why they should keep the deposit as it is his mistake but is unsure of why they should keep the balance? After all they made little effort to contact him (no letter or direct phone call).
He is understandbly distraught at losing he and his freinds deposit and is trying to book another holiday on his CC as they have all booked time off of work/school.
Does anyone think he should bother trying to get some of his money back or is he fighting a losing battle?
Any advise would be great.
Firstly book another holiday as its too close and pay for it.
Secondly he needs to use (if he has it the legal help within his house insurance) also ABTA and also a letter sent to the CEO of said company with all the details. Take time writing the letter make sure it isn't waffle but tells the whole story all facts booking refs etc.
If the above fails contact Watchdog
He may get full refund or just all but the deposit or they may offer to put a credit so that he can book another holiday and use that credit to pay or part pay for it.
Whatever make sure this doesn't sour the holiday em they will go on.
Have to ask did he pay anything by credit card to then or switch? If its credit card then as its over £100 they will ight your corner too.
Do NOT think draw a line in the sand lesson learnt. No way.
Keep us posted.
Secondly he needs to use (if he has it the legal help within his house insurance) also ABTA and also a letter sent to the CEO of said company with all the details. Take time writing the letter make sure it isn't waffle but tells the whole story all facts booking refs etc.
If the above fails contact Watchdog
He may get full refund or just all but the deposit or they may offer to put a credit so that he can book another holiday and use that credit to pay or part pay for it.
Whatever make sure this doesn't sour the holiday em they will go on.
Have to ask did he pay anything by credit card to then or switch? If its credit card then as its over £100 they will ight your corner too.
Do NOT think draw a line in the sand lesson learnt. No way.
Keep us posted.
Welshbeef said:
There are two sides to every story however from what has been told this looks very poor.
Can the OP highlight which your operater it is?
First Choice. It does smack of them kind of hoping you do forget/fail to pay as they get money for nothing. I know as does my friend that its entirely his fault and the deposit should rightfully be kept yet I wouldn't be happy about them keeping the balance.Can the OP highlight which your operater it is?
Thanks for the advise WB
essexplumber said:
First Choice. It does smack of them kind of hoping you do forget/fail to pay as they get money for nothing. I know as does my friend that its entirely his fault and the deposit should rightfully be kept yet I wouldn't be happy about them keeping the balance.
Thanks for the advise WB
No worries I hate seeing consumers losing out - hope your friend uses my info as a guide ad gets his cash back. Note it could be many months down the line but keep at it. Thanks for the advise WB
Welshbeef said:
No worries I hate seeing consumers losing out - hope your friend uses my info as a guide ad gets his cash back. Note it could be many months down the line but keep at it.
Nobody wants to see people being ripped off but it sounds like the holiday company are following the agreement that the OPs friend signed up to but didn't then follow. If the OPs mate didn't pay or vanished it might be too late for the company to sell the holiday for profit to someone else. It sounds harsh based on what the OP has told us but if you're selling a product that has a time critical deadline (like a holiday) and someone doesn't pay you have to have a way to recoup your losses in case of late/non payment. There was an agreement and payment schedule that unfortunately the OPs mate simply didn't follow. He's totally in the wrong here.
ked up and didn't follow the payment schedule I signed, now I've lost everyone's holiday? Yes, that will learn 'em. 
el stovey said:
It sounds harsh based on what the OP has told us but if you're selling a product that has a time critical deadline (like a holiday) and someone doesn't pay you have to have a way to recoup your losses in case of late/non payment. There was an agreement and payment schedule that unfortunately the OPs mate simply didn't follow. He's totally in the wrong here.
Clearly doesn't apply here though as they must have sold the holiday already otherwise they could just allow him to make the final payment so I would be pressing them to show their loss.LuS1fer said:
Clearly doesn't apply here though as they must have sold the holiday already otherwise they could just allow him to make the final payment so I would be pressing them to show their loss.
They don't have to show him anything. The OPs mate hasn't followed the payment agreement and the company have simply carried out what they presumably said they would in such an event. It might sound harsh based on what we've been told but it's a simple financial agreement with presumably known penalties for non payment.If the company have somehow not informed the OPs mate about the consequences of non payment or hidden the information then he'll be able to argue his case and get his money back easily.
LuS1fer said:
Clearly doesn't apply here though as they must have sold the holiday already otherwise they could just allow him to make the final payment so I would be pressing them to show their loss.
They don't have to show him anything. The OPs mate hasn't followed the payment agreement and the company have simply carried out what they presumably said they would in such an event. It might sound harsh based on what we've been told but it's a simple financial agreement with presumably known penalties for non payment.If the company have somehow not informed the OPs mate about the consequences of non payment or hidden the information then he'll be able to argue his case and get his money back easily.
Is it just me that thinks it is the guy's responsibility to check the date payment is due and then ensure it is paid? Fair enough you could complain that they could have done more to let him know, but ultimately he didn't pay on time. No-one ever faces up to anything these days, it's always someone else's fault. Whenever I get into a deposit/balance situ, I always ensure I know what needs to be paid and when (I have one due on 16th june, and consequently I plan to pay on the 1st june to ensure good time). How hard could it be really? Or do we all just sit on the sofa jabbing the remote like lumps waiting for someone to call us up and ask us if we want our arses wiping? Sharp practice ffs.
There's an e-mail address for watchdog that you copy into e-mails for them to investigate. My GF is pretty senior at O2 and says that whenever the PR team and directors get an e-mail with Watchdog copied in, they always act n it sharpish to avoid potential coverage and bad press on the tv programme!
Maybe do that, and make sure you copy in as many senior people at Thomson as possible...
Maybe do that, and make sure you copy in as many senior people at Thomson as possible...
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