I booked next summers holiday with Direct holidays and paid my deposit on the 2nd of May. I have just rang the payment line to make a payment to find that my outstanding balance is £300.00 more than it should be.
I have rang the call centre to be told that I was misquoted on my price and was emailed about this on the 8th of May granted I don't check my mail very often but I have now searched and do not have this mail only a confirmation one received on the 2nd of May. I have tried ringing and ringing the department I need to speak to but can't get through.
Can I cancel this holiday altogether? as I do not want to pay so much for this holiday the booking was swayed on the price but I do have other options open to me.
Thanks very much
Tracey
Tracy,
don't know Direct Holidays and hence don't know how you booked with them.
I'll assume you booked via the telephone - if I'm correct then that call will likely have been recorded. If they quoted a price during that call and you accepted the price, confirmed your intention to seal the contract by paying the deposit they requested then a contract was entered into at that point.
Ask them to recover the telephone transcript and prove that during the conversation they stated the higher figure.
I think the email they sent you is irrelevant to the matter. They might have been better advised sending you a recorded or signed-for letter informing you of the underquoted price.
I'm NOT legally qualified so these are my opinions only - I'd hate you to loose your holiday but, seek legal opinion from Ros Fernihough on 01922 621114. Until then do not accept anything from D.H. and don't sign anything.
A minor point, you paid on May 2nd - a Tuesday. May 8th is the Monday following. If you paid by debit or credit card over the telephone on May 2nd that payment will have cleared with D.H. BEFORE they allegedly emailed you. They've accepted the contract in full.
From this point onwards do not accept emails from D.H. They should put all such correspondence in writing or send by fax as a minimum. It's my understanding that emails are not "legal" documents as they can be so easily changed.
Get them to write to you explaining they misquoted on the telephone
I suspect this will not happen as that would kill their case dead.
Ring Ros.
Mike
don't know Direct Holidays and hence don't know how you booked with them.
I'll assume you booked via the telephone - if I'm correct then that call will likely have been recorded. If they quoted a price during that call and you accepted the price, confirmed your intention to seal the contract by paying the deposit they requested then a contract was entered into at that point.
Ask them to recover the telephone transcript and prove that during the conversation they stated the higher figure.
I think the email they sent you is irrelevant to the matter. They might have been better advised sending you a recorded or signed-for letter informing you of the underquoted price.
I'm NOT legally qualified so these are my opinions only - I'd hate you to loose your holiday but, seek legal opinion from Ros Fernihough on 01922 621114. Until then do not accept anything from D.H. and don't sign anything.
A minor point, you paid on May 2nd - a Tuesday. May 8th is the Monday following. If you paid by debit or credit card over the telephone on May 2nd that payment will have cleared with D.H. BEFORE they allegedly emailed you. They've accepted the contract in full.
From this point onwards do not accept emails from D.H. They should put all such correspondence in writing or send by fax as a minimum. It's my understanding that emails are not "legal" documents as they can be so easily changed.
Get them to write to you explaining they misquoted on the telephone
I suspect this will not happen as that would kill their case dead.Ring Ros.
Mike
Hiya,
No I booked online with them so nothing will be recorded. I agree its stupid to send an email and a letter would have been much better. I would not be too bothered if it was only a few pounds difference but £300.00 is way too much.
I still can't get through to them either although I have trravelled with them before and had no major problems.
Tracey
No I booked online with them so nothing will be recorded. I agree its stupid to send an email and a letter would have been much better. I would not be too bothered if it was only a few pounds difference but £300.00 is way too much.
I still can't get through to them either although I have trravelled with them before and had no major problems.
Tracey
this happened to me after booking a holiday over the phone with lunn poly for an airtours holiday and i was refunded my deposit back, i was told because i didnt received airtours invoice and only lunn polys then the contract hadnt started despite paying a deposit, i think this rule is diabolical if they make a mistake then its their fault and they should honour it once you have paid the deposit. out of principle i and annoyance i got deposit back and rebooked else where, good luck
Yeah I have not received my invoice either I have the online price breakdown and my booking reference number. I have had a quick look around and can't find anything else suitable on the Direct holidays site so may go elsewhere now. Even though the holiday was a year away I like to have things sorted out as early as possible 
and I am back to the drawing board now.
Tracey
and I am back to the drawing board now.Tracey
I wrote to our local trading standards regarding this type of problem as we have had the same thing numerous times.
They have just gotten back to me this morning for more information:-
I have replied asking them for advice regarding all 3 ways of booking. Will post their reply as soon as it is received.
Hi we run a holiday discussion site and I live in the North East area.
I'm writing on their behalf to see if you can solve the riddle of why, once a holiday has been booked and the deposit paid a Tour Operator can then come back to you and say that the price you were given was wrong (even though it was checked, double checked and in some cases quadruple checked) and demand that you pay the price increase or loose the holiday?
This has happened to a couple of our members now and it really concerns me that there appears to be little the consumer can do - (even though surely a contract has been made?)
Here are the examples that are currently in our Complaints forum:-
"Hi, I booked a holiday on 1st May with Thomas Cook travelling with Thomson holidays, when they told me the total cost, I queried it as it sounded too cheap, I actually asked them have you booked two rooms and they said yes, so I paid the deposit, later that day I still felt they had undercharged so contacted them again to ensure the price they gave me was correct, I then paid the balance in full. I asked them what would happen if they had undercharged and they said that it would be their problem and not mine. In total I queried the cost 4 times! Yesterday I received a phone call from Thos Cook telling me that Thomsons had made a mistake and I would have to pay another £600 to go on the holiday, or I could cancel receive a refund or change my holiday. I was furious and contacted ABTA they told me that I could either pay up or Thomsons would cancel my holiday and refund it.
Surely this is unfair. Thomas Cook are unwilling to even meet me half way and pay £300. I would appreciate any comments or advice that anybody could offer me. Thanks in advance. Alison"
"this same thing happened to me last year with lunn poly booking an airtours holiday, i too queried the price as it was so good about 3 times, i then told my friend and she also booked it and checked the price too, as i booked over the phone and paid deposits over the phone we received written confirmation from lunn poly, about 10 days later i got a phone call from lunn poly saying the price was wrong the price on the internet had come out wrong and it was £1000 more or they could give me a refund, i was fuming so went into lunn poly they refused to budge as airtours wouldnt move, i rang airtours they wouldnt help me, i rang lunn poly head office i got no where, they only thing they said to me was ,til i got the invoice from airtours there was no contract, which i never did receive only the lunn poly one, i said to them its 1 rule for you and 1 for me if after paying my deposit i had decided to cancel the holiday, i would have lost all my deposit, i ended up accepting refund and getting another holiday as i wasnt going to pay £1000 more, i think this is very wrong and if they make an error they should honour it once deposits have been paid."
Surely these examples are not fair? What is stopping the Tour Operators or Travel Agents from giving a low price, accepting the deposit, then coming back to them in a few days to say the price was wrong? The law seems to swing very much in favour of the Tour Operator and not the consumer in such circumstances.
Regards
Admin
They have just gotten back to me this morning for more information:-
Thank you for your e mail and I apologise for the slight delay in
responding again to you.
In order for me to give accurate advice I need to check whether these
pricing problems are as a result of consulting a brochure within a travel
agent such as the Thomas Cook/Lunn Poly or were they telephone enquires
only or involve the internet at all? There are different regulations
depending on how the contract was formed. Of course you may just prefer
advice on all 3 ways of booking,just let me know.
Many thanks.
I have replied asking them for advice regarding all 3 ways of booking. Will post their reply as soon as it is received.
i will wait with interest to see what they come back with glynis
Thanks for that 
I also look forward to there reply. Thinking off the top of my head here so not factual at all but I can understand how they can try to get out of a telephone booking price but not when the breakdown was written down either in a brochure or on the net.
I work in retail, now if something is incorrectly priced you can simply just withdraw it from sale but I am almost sure that we can't do it that if a deposit has been paid
Tracey
I also look forward to there reply. Thinking off the top of my head here so not factual at all but I can understand how they can try to get out of a telephone booking price but not when the breakdown was written down either in a brochure or on the net.I work in retail, now if something is incorrectly priced you can simply just withdraw it from sale but I am almost sure that we can't do it that if a deposit has been paid
Tracey
Glynis, give yourself a pat on the back. Eagerly awaiting the answers.
Tracy, my son booked via the telephone with a tour op. about 3 years back a holiday for himself and three mates. Quoted a price, double checked it with the telesales operator, all OK so Dan paid the deposit.
When paperwork later arrived the price was higher than quoted on the phone.
I contacted tour op. and asked if phone calls are recorded. They answered yes. I then gave them the date and approximate time of call and asked for copy of the discussion. It took a few days for them to respond by saying the tape had been overwritten, but they would honour the lower price as a favour. Phrase it any way - Dan secured the lower price quoted.
Internet will differ as a record will not be kept in the same way.
However, if Direct Travel can be made to state in writing (not via an email though) that THEIR web system initially quoted you the wrong price and that's why they require the additional £300 you might then be better prepared should Gynis's request for legal clarify favour you.
As I said before, do nothing just yet and don't let D.H. place a time limit on this. They may of course simply cancel your holiday but hopefully you'll have legal advice before that happens.
Should they be in the right there's the issue of having had your deposit money for several months now. Interest should be payable back to you as you should not be out of pocket for any mistake they have made. They are supposed to be the "experts" in the sale of their product - the responsibility to get it correct rests squarely with them.
Mike
Tracy, my son booked via the telephone with a tour op. about 3 years back a holiday for himself and three mates. Quoted a price, double checked it with the telesales operator, all OK so Dan paid the deposit.
When paperwork later arrived the price was higher than quoted on the phone.
I contacted tour op. and asked if phone calls are recorded. They answered yes. I then gave them the date and approximate time of call and asked for copy of the discussion. It took a few days for them to respond by saying the tape had been overwritten, but they would honour the lower price as a favour.
Phrase it any way - Dan secured the lower price quoted.Internet will differ as a record will not be kept in the same way.
However, if Direct Travel can be made to state in writing (not via an email though) that THEIR web system initially quoted you the wrong price and that's why they require the additional £300 you might then be better prepared should Gynis's request for legal clarify favour you.
As I said before, do nothing just yet and don't let D.H. place a time limit on this. They may of course simply cancel your holiday but hopefully you'll have legal advice before that happens.
Should they be in the right there's the issue of having had your deposit money for several months now. Interest should be payable back to you as you should not be out of pocket for any mistake they have made. They are supposed to be the "experts" in the sale of their product - the responsibility to get it correct rests squarely with them.
Mike
Just an update, well not much of one really 
I have now been trying to get through to the correct department of Direct holidays for two days now and nothing I have just rang the main call centre again to be told that they cannot get through to them either nor do they know what is going on with regards to my holiday.
I can feel a strongly worded letter winging its way to Direct holidays
Tracey
I have now been trying to get through to the correct department of Direct holidays for two days now and nothing
I have just rang the main call centre again to be told that they cannot get through to them either nor do they know what is going on with regards to my holiday.I can feel a strongly worded letter winging its way to Direct holidays
Tracey
Just noticed when this thread was put forward following another complaint about undercharging at time of booking and then requesting extra money from customers tht there is no reply posted from trading standards. Does this mean that they didn't reply and could they be contacted again for an answer?
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