I find that a rather strange request and I doubt they can do that. As you say the late cancellation does mean that you forfeit 100% of the cost but that is immaterial in this case. Why should they ask for this money? They have been paid in full the price they asked for.

Whilst someone else may be able shed some light on this perhaps you might consider calling Consumer Direct - this is a link to their website;

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/before ... nd-travel/

One point to consider is how you paid for the holiday. If you paid by Credit or Debit card I suggest you contact them and advise them what is happening. If the agent has kept a record of your card they may try to charge your card without you knowing. Tell your suppliers that you do not authorise the payment.

fwh

Hi Sharpy

If this was a discount the travel agent themselves have given you in order to get your business or price match? it looks to me like they are trying to recoup their own loss. As the holiday is now cancelled they will still have had to pay Thomson's the full amount of £2802.00. Unless there was something in the small print in the paperwork the agent gave you to cover this eventuality I would be having words with them.

They will not have made a loss - simply not the profit they would have liked. They will already have paid Thomson by the time the OP cancelled.

It will have cost them the same price either way. As the holiday was booked with Thomson unless you told the agent they would not even know it had been cancelled. Many people would simply have contacted Thomson direct - indeed unless someone wanted to claim back the cost on their insurance they might not even bother doing that.

fwh

The travel agent may well have made a loss depending on which agent it is and how much commission they are earning with Thomsons. I am aware they will have already paid Thomson's by the time the holiday was cancelled. In my experience a tour operator will not normally touch a travel agents booking let alone cancel it without the agent's knowledge.

Thanks for the swift replies.

The holiday was booked through a Thomson travel agent who matched the internet price we had been quoted.As i had been taken into hospital that is where my wife went to advise them of our need to cancel.We will certainly be going in to see them and i will take a look at the consumer direct website for advice.
Once again thanks for your replies

Sharpy

Hi Sharpy

Hope you are fully recovered. With it being a Thomsons agency I can't really see why they are doing this. Try ringing Abta 020 3117 0500. They are usually very helpful.

No way will you have to pay it back. It was a discount! Every single holiday booked online with Thomson shows a discount. Theres no way they can ask for this back if you cancel as you'd unlikely take the holiday in the first place without the discount!!! You'd have booked on line!

Yes, you will have to pay the discount back aswell - because the extra discount was from the AGENT and not the TOUR OPERATOR.

Its basically, the agent has paid £262 towards your holiday and they were able to do this because they made a profit from your booking. Now the booking has been cancelled, they make no profit whatsoever, therefore they will not be willing to pay £262 towards your balance for the fun of it.

Your actual booking contract is with Thomson Tour Op, and for the full balance of £2082. Its buried in some set of agent T&C's that if you cancel, discount has to be repaid.

That surely can't be right? Contract is for the lower amount, not the higher one.

Mark

Just received my confirmation of holiday booking today (with Thomas Cook and included discount), and in small print last line reads "discounts are subject to holiday being paid in full by due date and will become invalid if holiday is cancelled". Not sure if they would ask for the additional amount in the event of cancellation but if I'm understanding the meaning of this paragraph correctly it suggests they can.

Its basically, the agent has paid £262 towards your holiday and they were able to do this because they made a profit from your booking. Now the booking has been cancelled, they make no profit whatsoever; therefore they will not be willing to pay £262 towards your balance for the fun of it.

Sorry but that is not correct. The poster paid the full cost of the holiday as invoiced. They then cancelled the holiday, forfeiting (as per Thomson T&Cs) their money because it was within ten days prior to the holiday.

It would be classed as an unfair condition of sale if a penalty were to be applied in the event of cancellation, having paid the fully invoiced amount, and making no claim against Thomson or their agent. The poster is making a claim against their insurance - which is what it is for.

I have checked Thomson T&Cs and no where does it mention any other penalty than forfeiture of the full amount paid.

The agent has not lost any money - the discount given by them is a normal trading item. They made £262 less profit by giving a discount to obtain the order. They will still make the same amount of profit as if the holiday had been taken. Thomson will not surcharge anyone as they have not lost any money either. It is even possible, in theory at least, that Thomson have made money on the deal if they managed to resell the holiday having already been paid.

If it was me I would invite them to sue me for the money - I would then claim damages for the stress caused, by what I think a court would consider a mischievous action.

fwh

fwh wrote:

The agent has not lost any money - the discount given by them is a normal trading item. They made £262 less profit by giving a discount to obtain the order. They will still make the same amount of profit as if the holiday had been taken. Thomson will not surcharge anyone as they have not lost any money either. It is even possible, in theory at least, that Thomson have made money on the deal if they managed to resell the holiday having already been paid.

Yes they have. Their figures will show a cancellation and profit in a minus figure. Add this to the £262 that they paid on behalf of the customer, and its big money. I used to be a Thomson agent and it was standard practise if a customer cancelled and the charge was 100%. If the customer cancels outside of, say, 56 days and therefore only loses the deposit then they wouldnt have to pay back the discount because they havent paid the tour op yet and therefore would not be losing a penny for giving the discount.

If this case, the agent has paid the operator the full amount of £2082, but allowed the OP to only pay them £1820 - seeing as the OP could have originally paid the whole lot and claimed the £2082 from their insurance company with no hassle, its not really fair that the agent should £262 everytime something like this happens is it.

If you are correct then it is obviously an agreement between the Agent and TO. It also indicates to me that the accounting service is suspect. That is nothing to do with the client and as I said before would be an unfair condition which a court would not support.

There is no loss to anyone if you pay for and do not take a holiday, other than to yourself. You cannot then penalise (fine) someone because of this.

I can also say that at no time when dealing with agents have I ever been told that an additional charge would be made, if, having paid in full I cancelled at such a late date as the poster did. The standard cancellation policy has always been brought to my attention.

On a business basis the agent gives a discount - they reduce their profit margin as a means of attracting business. They do not sell at a loss.

fwh

I fully agree with fwh,I would think the agent thinks he should get the discount from the insurers,goodness knows why because he wouldn't have got it if the holiday had been taken.As the invoice states the lower amount surely that is what the insurers will pay,it would add insult to injury to expect the poster to pay the difference out of his own pocket.T.

Surely Thomson or the agent won't be losing out as they'll still get the money they originally agreed to? No?
The OP's insurance will pay it to them!

Maybe I am misunderstanding this post but the agent already has received in full the amount originally quoted for the holiday. Whether the person booking the holiday actually goes or doesn't go on the holiday is immaterial as neither Thomsons or the agent have to make any refund due to the holiday being cancelled at such a late date. So why the agent has now decided he is entitled to an extra payment I don't understand, surely he will be receiving the same commission on the amount paid.
The insurance payment is another matter entirely as that is between the poster and his insurance company and nothing to do with either the agent or Thomsons.

I too just checked my paperwork for a discounted holiday booked in a First Choice shop. The invoice clearly states a "web discount" for £ 280 yet nowhere in the Ts and Cs does it state that this discount would have to be paid back in case of cancellation.

I am with FWH here. I would invite them to take you to court.

Mark

As this amount will be the cost of the holiday why not claim the full amount back from your insurance.

Kind Regards
Stewart

I would ring consumer direct as suggested earlier in this post. They gave me advice about a low deposit with thompsons and they were spot on. Different scenario but they are very good with any dispute.