Trail Finders Refund
Discussion
I got married in November and our honeymoon was booked with Trail Finders, we were due to be flying to Hong Kong on 5th May and then onto Bali and Singapore. Obviously that has been cancelled.
We used a Trail Finders gift list to allow people to contribute to our honeymoon in place of gifts.
Almost exactly half of our total was paid via gift list, other half we paid ourselves.
Trail Finders have been pretty good, initiated communication as soon as we officially knew everything would be cancelled and kept us up to date.
They have given us option to take refund or re-book. However they will not refund the portion paid via gift list. They will only offer a gift card for this portion.
Whats the thoughts on this - I'm of the opinion that funds paid into this were a cash gift to us?
I have two concerns - I have no idea when we could re-book due to current situation and also it was a three week trip which can make arranging time off tricky for both of us and the long term viability of Trail Finders if this situation continues.
The funds relating to the gift list are apparently held in a trust account so even if the worst was to happen we will apparently be ok.
Ideally we would like to re-book for some point this year but not sure how realistic this is.
We used a Trail Finders gift list to allow people to contribute to our honeymoon in place of gifts.
Almost exactly half of our total was paid via gift list, other half we paid ourselves.
Trail Finders have been pretty good, initiated communication as soon as we officially knew everything would be cancelled and kept us up to date.
They have given us option to take refund or re-book. However they will not refund the portion paid via gift list. They will only offer a gift card for this portion.
Whats the thoughts on this - I'm of the opinion that funds paid into this were a cash gift to us?
I have two concerns - I have no idea when we could re-book due to current situation and also it was a three week trip which can make arranging time off tricky for both of us and the long term viability of Trail Finders if this situation continues.
The funds relating to the gift list are apparently held in a trust account so even if the worst was to happen we will apparently be ok.
Ideally we would like to re-book for some point this year but not sure how realistic this is.
Similar happens in high street shops too. If you buy an item using gift vouchers, then return it, you get the 'money back' in vouchers too. I think it's so that the shop (or travel agent, in your case), don't lose out. Someone has given them, (for example £1000), in cash to make up your gift list, if they give it back to you as cash, (or onto a bank card), you may use that money in another place, therefore the travel agent loses out. If they give you a gift card it guarantees that they still own the amount of money that was originally given to them.
konark said:
Can't see the money laundering angle, unless you and your friends had all gone into a trailfinders shop with a bag of tenners to pay for this.
Yes, that's exactly how it would work. You get 50 people to buy £100 vouchers with cash (nothing to flag there) then get the shop to refund to a bank account/credit card (yes Mr Fraud Investigator, that lump sum was a refund from a cancelled holiday). Not difficult at all.deckster said:
konark said:
Can't see the money laundering angle, unless you and your friends had all gone into a trailfinders shop with a bag of tenners to pay for this.
Yes, that's exactly how it would work. You get 50 people to buy £100 vouchers with cash (nothing to flag there) then get the shop to refund to a bank account/credit card (yes Mr Fraud Investigator, that lump sum was a refund from a cancelled holiday). Not difficult at all.Is the gift card transferable?
Are you worried about the people that donated not getting money back or are you ok with getting the cash out and using it for something else.
I would take the cash option as well as the gift card if its transferable and see if you can sell the gift card for face value or just hold on to it for another vacation that's maybe shorter so it can be planned. Just make sure there is no expiration date on the card.
Are you worried about the people that donated not getting money back or are you ok with getting the cash out and using it for something else.
I would take the cash option as well as the gift card if its transferable and see if you can sell the gift card for face value or just hold on to it for another vacation that's maybe shorter so it can be planned. Just make sure there is no expiration date on the card.
We most likely will take cash and gift card, don’t really see any other option.
Several people who contributed to the gift list (some of them in excess of £500) are concerned their contribution vanished if Trailfinders go under. Which you have to assume is a possibility in current climate. Although Trailfinders insist all funds relating to any voucher would be held in trust.
Several people who contributed to the gift list (some of them in excess of £500) are concerned their contribution vanished if Trailfinders go under. Which you have to assume is a possibility in current climate. Although Trailfinders insist all funds relating to any voucher would be held in trust.
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