Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it is probably unlikely that you are entitled to a full refund.

It sounds to me like you have booked what you thought was a package , however i suspect what you have done is bought separate elements of a holiday which is then put together to "create " a package " ie flights , accomodation and transfers all sold separatly with separate invoices .

A true package is a holiday with one final price with one invoice such as you would get booking with a tour operator such as Thomson or Thomas Cook .

Legally the company are only obliged to give you a refund for the flights as they technically were the only thing that was directly affected by the situation . The accomodation was ready for you and so were the transfers regardless of the situation that prevented you from getting there to use them .

So it would more than likely to be futile to take it further as they are refunding exactly what they are legally obliged to do .

This is the negative aspect of not booking through a holiday through a "proper" (for want of a better word) tour operator such as Thomson , Thomas Cook, Cosmos etc .

Thankyou for your response, this was a true package, with 1 invoice and 1 total amount. I have the ATOL invoice and there is no seperation of flights and accomodation and there is only the total amount of the package. I am very careful when i book holidays to only ensure i book what is a true package. This company are just trying to avoid their legal responsibilities.

There have been other complaints here on HT of a similar nature. May I suggest that you contact your local Trading Standards about this.

The reply by Kerry is correct. The fact you have an invoice that only shows a bottom line figure is no guarantee that the holiday is a package within the meaning of the act.

I am of the opinion that many of these complaints will only be resolved if someone like Trading Standards takes up the cudgels on behalf of the consumer.They have the political and legal clout - and the means - to get a ruling.

fwh

I think that is outrageous . Appears that most insurance companies aren't paying out either! We have just booked a cruise through Virgin holidays instead of independant arrangements as we looked like losing everything when BA went on strike in December. Hope the Virgin one isn't counted as a package

The money and financial forums are full of complaints about people not being paid out by the ash. Lets hope that there are some test cases later in the year and a bit of clarification.

I do hope we are not all going to be pushed back into taking package holidays again as I really dislike most of them. So inflexible and they always seem to get the worse rooms in Hotels I have been in.

Thanks for the replies, I have contacted consumer direct, they have clarified that it is in fact a package and not seperate bookings. I have also contacted the hotel chain, who have stated that under the circumstances, there would not have been any cancellation penalities. I have also contacted all the national papers in the hope one will take up this story, as when i was informed the holiday was cancelled, i was assured that a full refund would be given. Even if it means taking the company to court to get the money back, this is something i am prepared to do, regardless of cost.

Can I suggest you put the phrase Global Travel Group in the Search facility near the top of the page. It may not be the news you wanted but it will help show where you are up to

You should definately stand firm and demand at least a cancellation invoice. If they say they can't provide one ask whether they would be able to for HM Revenue & Customs who are always interested in companies that handle this sort of moeny without paperwork!

And I think you need the Virgin cruise to be a proper package (which is probably is) - did you mean to type what you did?.

Much as I find the various excuses given by companies not to give refunds ingenious I do think people need to consider the issue before jumping up and down.

First the TOs would appear to have accepted their responsibilities as laid down by the legislation. Although some of the complaints I have come across are totally without foundation. "I was in a 4 star AI and they put me in a 2 star" was one. So what? At least they did not leave you out on the street. Elsewhere one of our members records that people who were self catering were mover to hotels and fed. And still complained!

People do need to consider that in some cases there will be charges that cannot be recovered. If you owned a hotel and someone did not turn up would you be happy not to get any form of recompense? If you are expecting 50 or more rooms to be occupied you still have staff to pay and other overheads.

As far as insurance is concerned the clause "Act of God" has been there for many years. Is it the fault of the insurers that you did not read the small print? Why are you entitled to compensation when you have not taken out the cover for such things? Cover can be bought for any eventuality - even for rain in the middle of a desert that has not had any for 100 years. But you have to specify and pay for it.

In this particular case, from what has been posted, the company would appear to be trying to wriggle out of it, but as people decide they want to build more and more exotic "personalised" holidays then they need to ensure that they are fully covered and not expect others to do the thinking for them.

fwh

In this particular case, from what has been posted, the company would appear to be trying to wriggle out of it, but as people decide they want to build more and more exotic "personalised" holidays then they need to ensure that they are fully covered and not expect others to do the thinking for them.

If you read the small print on the cancellation clauses in most travel underwriters policies,you would think you were covered. I would be interested to see how the courts interpret the clauses. In our case we didn't lose anything but we could have lost thousands as many have. Not putting on any links but many of the financial sections of newspapers have lots of info' on insurance for the ASH. Also details of which companies are paying out and who is not.

If Hotels are booked through Expedia or some of the Hotel groups like Best Western etc. you will find that most Hotel bookings can be cancelled until 24 hours before arrival. I am sure that travel companies will have the same or even better arrangement.

In this particular case, from what has been posted, the company would appear to be trying to wriggle out of it, but as people decide they want to build more and more exotic "personalised" holidays then they need to ensure that they are fully covered and not expect others to do the thinking for them.
I dont expect anyone to do the thinking for me, prior to booking i ensure all is as stated, and also read the T&C's. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, unfortunately non of us have.

Not putting on any links but many of the financial sections of newspapers have lots of info' on insurance for the ASH. Also details of which companies are paying out and who is not.

I have little faith in what the media reports. They will happily give banner headlines for the tales of woe. That sells newspapers and advertising. The eruption was nothing new. Volcanoes do that all the time. It is nature. The disruption caused in this instance was something nobody had considered. Many of the insurance policies purchased are cheap and cheerful. People do not want to pay for something that has never caused a problem before.

When I renewed my annual policy last year I could have bought 12 month cover for my wife and self for as little as £15.00 and we are both retired and I notified of a health problem. I hate to think what the get out clauses would have been if I had bought at that price. I did my research (with the help of the dedicated insurance topic on HT) and got a policy that DID give cover without having to worry about get out clauses.

As for cancelling rooms without penalty why should people be entitled to do so? In many cases they may have turned others away so they could accommodate you.

fwh

If Hotels are booked through Expedia or some of the Hotel groups like Best Western etc. you will find that most Hotel bookings can be cancelled until 24 hours before arrival. I am sure that travel companies will have the same or even better arrangement.

Not necessarily, most TO's enter into a contract with a hotel or the hotel group and negotiate a price for the season, they "buy" rooms in bulk and promise to fill those rooms.......a TO such as Thomson could have an existing contract to fill 80% of the rooms of a hotel for the season, so whether you go or not, they are in a binding contract with the hoteliers....most hotels like these contracts because it guarantees the hotel will be full or reasonably full to make it worth keeping open depending on the location, resort and seasonal changes, and more importantly it guarantees work for the workers in countries were obtaining a permanent contract is like gold dust..

Sanji

ok,so it seems like you have unfortunately missed out, and maybe the company may be proved to be correct .
however, this does not excuse the way the company have treated you when you have phoned them.
to hang up on you is nothing short of disgraceful.
unless you have been abusive or used foul language, and i asume you've done neither, then their actions warrant some sort of appology.
now i don't think for one minute this will be anywhere near what you've lost, however, the company must be made to explain the unacceptable actons of it's employees

fwh wrote:

I have little faith in what the media reports. They will happily give banner headlines for the tales of woe. That sells newspapers and advertising. The eruption was nothing new. Volcanoes do that all the time. It is nature. The disruption caused in this instance was something nobody had considered. Many of the insurance policies purchased are cheap and cheerful. People do not want to pay for something that has never caused a problem before.

When I renewed my annual policy last year I could have bought 12 month cover for my wife and self for as little as £15.00 and we are both retired and I notified of a health problem. I hate to think what the get out clauses would have been if I had bought at that price. I did my research (with the help of the dedicated insurance topic on HT) and got a policy that DID give cover without having to worry about get out clauses.

fwh

You seem to be infering that everyone who is not being paid out is an idiot! All the T&C,s I looked at before buying ours had more or less the same wording. Well our insurance cost £174 for a couple pa. We paid for extra cover to £5000 per person because we take expensive cruises. If you are making sweeping statements then I suggest you read the T&C,s of Staysure. They are not covering the ASH as it says so on their website. Neither were they paying out for ongoing travel arrangements for the BA. strike. Not just the media read the financial services Ombudsman site and follow links from their, plus money supermarket.com.

If we had lost money through the ASH debacle then we may as well have had the £15 cover!

Ok lets keep the topic friendly.

People ask questions and they get answers. We all see and read things differently. Lets respect each others opinions please.

Kath

Just come across this. Was intrigued to look at the company as i'd never heard of them.

My first impression was that they sound a bit like Tropical Locations - a well respected Far East Specialist, but i'm sure it's just co-incidence. So I clicked on their 'Emergency Travel Help' and thought - hmm, that looks familiar

Tropical Collection Urgent Travel Information: http://www.beachcollection.co.uk/notice.aspx
Travelbag Urgent Travel Information: http://www.travelbag.co.uk/info/travel-information/travel-updates

That's just not professional (in my opinion).

Anyway, yes it it an ATOL bonded package. Next step - should you get all your money back - yes, should this necessarily be immediate - no. They will have paid suppliers, airlines etc, and this refund can take a while (and they are not a bank - with multiple bookings i'm sure refunding everyone affected immediatly could seriously impact their cash flow).

It's very unlikely they will have incurred any losses as you say, no hotels i've come across are charging for 'no shows' in light of the volcanic ash. They will have course lost their profit, but hey-ho, that's the travel industry.

Going back on topic, who have you spoken to? Have you had clarification from them in writing? If they specialise in Asia they will be a bit overrun at the moment with the Thailand situation, but it sounds like they have handled the situation pathetically. I would strongly advise you go through the normal procedures (complaint in writing sent by registered mail), but be prepared (as it sounds like you are) to be stronger in how you deal with them later, but go through the important initial motions first.

Thanks for the advice,
I have put it in writing and sent recorded delivery, also giving them 14 days to respond. It is how they are dealing with things that is what i find disgusting. I phoned them again today, as i will everyday, and spoke to there customer service department, who informed me that they had been informed by the company directors not to give out any information regarding refunds, how strange having a customer service department that can't serve the customers.

Ringing them every day will only antagonise them and cause them to dig their heels in, it will not speed things up. You have put your request in writing and sent recoded delivery. That is the correct way to do things. You will be able to track your letter online an confirm they have received it.

After the 14 days you will then be in a position to take action having given them reasonable time to respond. It is of no use giving the girl who answers the phone grief as she can only do or reply as she is told by her boss.

fwh

I think i have a right to chase my money in what ever way i see fit, if they had have been fair at the beginning all this could have been prevented. I am not giving anyone grief, i am not rude or antagonistic, just a polite call on a daily basis.

Hi Winn,

Although I understand your frustration, and the company sounds dire, I agree with FWH in what he/she says.

In my old company our department used to sit next to the companies customer services department. The amount of stress and unreasonable complaints they dealt with was unbelievable (note - this is of course not a comment on your extremely justified complaint), and like it or not there were ways to be put to the top of the pile.

There is a procedure that needs to be followed (the letter as per below) and if they go against it it will put you in a great position to wallop them at a later stage. Calling every day won't help your cause, especially at the moment where the ash cloud followed by FO Advice to Thailand means that they have probably had to deal with a years worth of work in a couple of weeks.

Sam