Nope, it hasn't put us off.

As long as the airline is ATOL/ABTA bonded there's nothing to be concerned about.
(Also paying for your flights by credit card gives added insurance, and that's before
you consider the cover in your travel insurance.)

As for the accomodation on a DIY holiday, nothing's changed there has it?

Milly molly - you do need to understand and be prepared to take the risk, that if you lose your flight, OK you can get your money back for that, but you will not get your money back for any accommodation costs paid already, separately from the flight. It would be up to you to try and book alternative flights, which might prove impossible.

Mmm, but it's only a deposit isn't it? Not the full amount.

And again, if it's paid for by credit card (as long as it's £100 or more), you're covered.

I would be more aware of making sure that my flight is ABTA/ATOL protected and I would always book on a credit card now but I wouldn't start booking packages because of it.

As for accomodation we never pay for our accomodation before we go anyway, we always pay when we get there so it wouldn't make any difference.

Milly Molly Paying for your accommodation by credit card is irrelevant. The supplier has not defaulted on supplying what you paid for. You just wouldn't have shown up to use the room. Not their fault. So credit card co won't pay up. Yes obviously if you haven't paid in advance you won't lose out, but many diy hotel booking websites will take your money in advance as will private holiday villa lettings.

Yes, you are right there. We always book direct with the hotel/apartment we are staying at, which is why we don't pay in advance.

I tend to do DIY holidays myself, but I would consider package tours.

Yes obviously if you haven't paid in advance you won't lose out, but many diy hotel booking websites will take
your money in advance as will private holiday villa lettings.

Ah, you see, I don't use hotel booking websites. Private lettings sites, yes.
But we never pay much by way of a deposit - maybe 10% -20% so (God forbid it ever happens,) losing that amount
wouldn't be that big a deal.

And again, depending on the type of cover one has on one's holiday insurance...

Regardless of the current economic climate, I can't see us (my family) ever going back to package holidays after the
freedom that DIY's gives.

I'm not sure anymore. Although I dont DIY to Turkey, I have DIYed to Algarve, Canaries, Spanish Mainland etc.

I still probably wouldn't DIY to Turkey because the flights are so expensive. Even with ATOL bonding it can take ages to get your money back (is it 8 to 10 weeks?) and I may not be in a position to fork out another 1K or 1.2K on flights at short notice. During the current fiasco some flights to Turkey went up to 500 quid each :banghead:. I don't book direct I use hotelopia, travel republic, wsh etc as I wouldn't book direct with an owner in Turkey. So my accommodation would be paid upfront.

I might still do it for the Algarve though as last year my flights to Faro were 60 quid per person so even last min I could probably get them for about 500 for the 4 of us & would still get my precious holiday.

I think you need to consider what you would do if it all went belly up would you still be able to get away, that is the bottom line ? It's all very well being ABTA bonded but if those are the only two weeks you can actually travel, because of work or other commitments, by the time your money comes through you might not be able to re-book.

Plus I bet you would have to pay double for your flights as XL people have seen so you will be well out of pocket.

I have no flexibility as I do not take my children out of school during term-time and I work. Difficult one really. On balance I would go for a package in the current economic climate. They are obliged under the package tour regulations to find you another holiday of some description.

Doe

I've done both - and there are pros and cons either way. We're going back to Turkey in a fortnight and it's a DIY one this time as we're booking direct with the hotel because we've become quite friendly with the family who run it. The only outlay so far has been our flights, which I managed to book cheaper myself than going through an agent. We'll pay for the accommodation and transfers when we arrive.

I have also done both and never had a problem. that said, the risks were not the same then as what they are now. We also only booked DIY for Gozo. I am confident that there will be no problems in continuing along the same lines there. I would go package anywhere else though.

I always do DIY and have never used a booking site for my hotel------------'til this year. I booked through a cash-back site with Reserveahotelonline.com.I used my debit card ( ) and was pleased that everything had been paid before I go on 8th. October. Well, the booking agent has gone through so I've lost the bookingAND the money.Serves me right maybe for looking for extra cash-back!!!

I always do DIY,luckily got my flights cheap,June and Sept next year for £136 each,I book direct with owner,never pay a deposit just pay in cash sterling when I get there.All the cheap flights have gone now,and would probably be cheaper for anyone now to book a package.

AnneJ6ob

Sorry to hear of your woes and losing your money

But there is a possibility you could get something back by means of Debit Card Chargeback - Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 exists to protect your credit card payment if a company goes bust however if your debit card is either a Visa or Mastercard then you could also benefit from this protection too. There is no statutory protection, but both Visa and Mastercard allow their member banks a dispute proceedure called 'chargeback'. This effectively allows your bank to ask the bank of the company you made the purchase from to get the money back.

Complain to your bank (debit card owner) not more than 120 days after and the transaction can be disputed. Your card issuer can then claim the money back off the merchant's bank. Many bank staff don't know about this funtion of chargeback, so you may need to explain it to them.

At this point the onus is on the bank (ie: not the company but its bank) to get the money back in a transaction that hasn't been adequately completed/delivered.

You can read more here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk or Google "debit card chargeback" it has to be worth a go

Good luck and let us know how you get on if you decide to pursue it.

Sorry to hear that Anne

I hope you get something sorted out and manage to save your holiday. Miss -Chief1 gives some good information. If it was a Visa debit you might be able to recoup some costs. I think its a bad time to DIY for the next couple of years, but then it's easy to be wise after the event.

Doe

I am considering a package for next year because of all this carry on, it must be about 5 years since I started DIY CBG

Ive done both and the current climate certainly wouldnt put me off doing DIY if the saving was good but it has certainly made me more cautious about who I would trust to book with. Ive always been a bit wary about booking with some of these accomodation providers that arnt owned by one of the main T/Os for our main 2 week family holidays incase they take my money and dont book immediately with the hotels but now I need to think about the airlines too.

I wouldnt have a problem booking with ryanair or easyjet or again booking flight only with thomson/thomas cook etc but think I would stay clear of any smaller airlines and try to book direct with the hotel if I managed to get a cheap flight.

have no problem in putting together my own weekend breaks using the likes the expedia, hotelopia etc and booking flights with easy/ryan and I shall carry on doing that. I alway pay by credit card because I never have any money left in my bank account lol

lyn

Thanks to Miss-Chief I have asked my bank to try and sort something out.I have my hotel booked too, rung them direct.I have always done this in the past but suppose I was greedy by booking through a cash-back site. We live and learn! I shall continue to go DIY as I stay with friends when I go on my own but will certainly stick to the big boys like Thomson or ThomasCook for flights.