When you say you got the tickets do you mean that or did you just get a confirmation of what you asked for from flightcentre ? Tickets will give you a flight number with times, an airline booking reference number and usually loads of codes that only the airline understands.

If the actual tickets have been issued they can't suddenly decide they don't want to take you at that price anymore but they can cancel the flight altogether - in which case see the Air Transport Users Council advice at http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=306&pagetype=90&pageid=4407 for what, if any compensation is due.

It may be that the airline has cancelled the flight and flightcentre have tried and failed to find you alternatives at something like the same dates and prices.

On the other hand, if you only had a request confirmation from flightcentre you may have problems.......

Terms and Conditions
check section 6

I go that from their T&Cs, however that applies if your contract is with them - check your paperwork as they might just be agents and your contract is elsewhere.

Have you checked that these flights are cancelled with the airline concerned?

I honestly don't think they are allowed to try to get you to pay more money for an alternative - their T&Cs certainly don't say that.

edited to provide link to information due to copyright
fiona ht mod

To make matters even worse Im having trouble trying to cancel my hotels or even I asked what about changing the dates but they are fully booked! This is a nightmare, my wife is crying, we just cant afford to pay any extra for the flights. If it looks like I will lose all my money for hotels I dont know what I will do.

The airline was Alitalia , but it was flightcentre I booked with.

Whats abta bonded? Do you think flightcentre are?

Please can anyone help Im so upset.

This is what the letter says word for word :-

I am writing to you to explain recent occurrences with your flight booking.

Unfortunately the booking has been cancelled as the price we sold it to you at is not valid for the chosen dates. I sincerely apologise for this inconvenience as the rules were not clearly stated and both system and human error has occurred.

To resolve this, I have but a British airways flight on option for you. The price of the flight is £625 per person which works out as an additional £151 per person and I can easily transfer the money already paid over to the new file.

The other alternative is to regrettably offer you a full rerund on the money you have paid.

Once again I do apologise for any inconvenience.

Flight Centre.

--

I understand the small print get out clause price not guaranteed until full price is paid AND tickets issued. BUT I PAYED IN FULL AND THE TICKETS WERE ISSUED I HAVE THEM.

Flight centre are being completely unhelpful. They just keep me on hold for ages and then keep transfering me to another person.

They just want to give me my money back and wash their hands of me.

I feel if I accept the money back they are winning. As long as they have my money and I have the tickets I bought surely they have to stick to what they sold me?

Unfortunately the booking has been cancelled as the price we sold it to you at is not valid for the chosen dates

now that is interesting. It seems that the flight then is going ahead.
Give Ros, our travel law solicitor a phone and she should be able to advise. See here for contact details.
In the meantime, why not give us your flight details and maybe we can find a deal, just in case.

Hmmm,and an admission here:

I sincerely apologise for this inconvenience as the rules were not clearly stated and both system and human error has occurred.

I wouldnt accept what they are saying without a fight.

Have a check of Alitalias terms and conditions HERE

Kath HT Admin

Thanks all.

I payed £459 each rtn from London to Tokyo 10th Feb rtn 11 March. Now they want me to pay another £300+ on top of what I already gave them. I just cant afford it.

I've advised you elsewhere how you should take it - but your info above provides a clue to what their error was.

Now obviously this is an educated guess, but I think they messed up with the maximum stay. The cheapest tickets to Japan have a maximum stay of 1 month, and the airlines have different rules as to how that is interpreted (i.e. 1 month from leaving the UK, from arriving in Japan), and they obviously got this wrong.

You can see this if you check on ebookers or expedia. Check your preferred dates and you'll get prices of £650+, and then look at coming back a couple of days earlier - ebookers have very similar prices to what you paid.

Would coming back a day or two earlier, or leaving later affect your plans? If yes, then stick to your guns. But if not, you might get them to help quicker.

Sorry Fiona mod for not linking that info, thank your for correcting it for me.

RDB I'm sure Ros will be able to help here - time is on your side for now at least. It's totally their fault what has happened - it's not as if the flights were so outrageously cheap that you would have been taking advantage of an obvious error. They made an error, they should absorb the costs, simple as that. Just my opinion mind.

Thanks all for good advice.

They are just continuing to ignore me. Despite many calls, letters and emails.

I have to make a decision to cancel my things that I have booked in Japan, its going to cost me, I wont get all my money back but if I leave it longer its going to cost me more. So if this does go to court Im going to push for them to cover my lost money because they cancelled my tickets.

Now I've got a specialist travel legal representative who is looking at it.

So I have let them know in writing if they continue to ignore me the next time they hear from me will be from my legal representative.

I am extremely disappointed with flight centre the least they could do is reply to me or at least talk to me about it, but they are not even prepared to talk.

Would it not be simpler to take the full refund, and rebook the tickets coming home just one day earlier? The website is showing seats available at only 10 pounds more than you have already paid?

Surely you haven't paid for you're hotel already? Most hotels take a CC number and don't charge until you vacate.

i know,when we toured america,we paid for all the hotels in advance.we researched them,knew they would be fine,then booked & paid for them.maybe he has done that option.i just preferred,for everything to be paid for,before we went.
i'm finding it really hard to believe,that this can occur,after the tickets have been issued.i'm speechless!!!
tracy

I'm actually quite shocked at your travel agent cancelling your tickets after you have been ticketed. I wouldn't have thought this was allowed given that is a contract. However, I'm no expert.
You might like to ring Alitalias and establish whether your tickets have been cancelled ... it could be just a threat hoping you will cave in and their problem solved.
Re: paying for accommodation upfront, if say anyone uses the internet web site asiarooms.com you have to pay for all the accommodation on booking. You can cancel but I believe there is a fee for this. We used this site last year when we went to Kata Beach Resort in Phuket with no problems.
Good luck with your flight tickets.
Cheers Geri

Ros Fernihough travel Law solicitor is looking at it for me.

Flight centre are still ignoring me, I have given them every opportunity to settle this out of court but they still don't reply to my communications.

I am going to make every effort to spread the word what a bad service flight centre are.

madsue doesn't that mean that flight centre yet again are being shifty about alternatives offered? If there is a £10 difference coming home a day earlier then they should be offering that, not flights costing £150 each extra.

RDB that's another thing you could let Ros know about - that they have offered the only other alternative when just by having a quick look a forum member here has found flights the day earlier for just £10 price difference.

The return flight coming back a day earlier is still showing at GBP
921.80

There's also one with only 1 change at Milan for £967.80.

If you click on their promo there are a couple of ways you could travel for roughly the same money you've paid (Hope the link below still works if not click on the "Save £200" link next to "change dates"

http://www.alitalia.com/GB_EN/BOOKING/PMODResult.aspx

I think Sam's educated guess is probably the right one. I do sympathise with you RDB, but thank goodness you have found out before you got to Alitalia check in on the date, only to be turned away because your ticket is invalid Flight Centres site is still showing tickets within the 30 day limit, at the lower prices, but I suppose as purely an agent, their system is not fully up to date.

I do hope Ros can help, good luck.

Anything happening yet RDB, I am sure we would all appreciate knowing how you are getting on.