Hi Tony ... what an unfortunate and expensive situation which you could well do without, at a time of such personal family grief. I am afraid that I personally cannot see any way of a satisfactory conclusion being reached, other than perhaps by some sort of gesture of goodwill by Thomas Cook.

This should really be a matter between insured and insurer, rather than between holidaymaker and travel agent or tour operator. Insurance should be in place from the time of booking so that full cover is provided in the event of cancellation due to illness or death. That insurance does not need to be taken out with the travel agent or tour operator and you say that your in-laws intended to take it out through another source, but presumably had not been able to do so, meaning that no cover was in place at the time of death.

If your father-in-law's sudden death occurred on the same day as the holiday was booked, there may have been some small hope of a goodwill gesture by Thomas Cook if you could persuade them that your in-laws were on their way to purchase insurance elsewhere. But that would be purely a goodwill gesture, rather than any onus or responsibility on their part to make a refund.

However, if a period of days had elapsed between the time of booking and the date of his death, then I think Thomas Cook might perhaps understandably regard that as ample time to have taken out an insurance policy and so any gesture of goodwill might be less likely. Others may have different opinions, and I will be happy to be proved wrong.

Have you ruled out the possibility of any sort of insurance cover being available through another source, such as a bank account ?

I personally don't have contact details for anyone at Thomas Cook whom you may pursue the matter with, perhaps someone else may be able to oblige.

David

I'm sorry for your loss and it is very bad on TC's part to mess you around the way they did making you go backwards and forwards to the shop like that but I think that it's going to be very hard to actually get the decision changed. The travel industry is not known for having a heart and they are almost certainly going to simply treat this as a cancellation without any regard to the circumstances and have simply applied their standard T&Cs. Presumably they are only willing to refund 50% because this happened less than 3 months before departure?

To be fair to the 'foot soldiers', this is probably not something that either the shop staff or the customer service people have any discretion about. It wouldn't be up to them to make a decision - they would be expected to comply with and apply the T&Cs re cancellations. But at the time did they offer you the options of paying an admin fee for transferring the holiday to someone else, providing your MiL with a credit note or of postponing the holiday to a later departure date with a name change? At least that way she wouldn't have lost quite so much money and this might be line that you could pursue if they didn't.

For the benefit of others, it can't be stressed enough how important it is to have insurance in place as soon as a holiday is booked and to not delay this.

SM

Thanks David and sma for your swift replies. I totally understand everything that you said and to be honest none of us (in our party) ever really knew that insurance cover was from the day you booked and took it out we all assumed it was just from the departure date (we know different now!!) The young guy in the shop was fantastic and did say if it were up to him he would give a total refund due to the circumstances) It was the fact we had to keep returning at such a distressing time (we had lots of added stress as it was a sudden death at home so coroner etc.. involved) We even sat in the shop whilst they had the customer service number ringing out no reply on loud speaker to the extent we just had to leave and keep going back. I honestly or naively thought that they would give a refund minus the deposit as a gesture of goodwill due to the nature of the cancellation. My mother-in-law could not even contemplate going on holiday at a later date and certainly not with anybody else. My wife and I were already booked to go 3 days before them so we couldnt even change the booking over to ourselves.

Maybe if I wrote to Dom littlewood at BBC's 'dont get done get Dom' he maybe able to reach someone with a heart at TC? It has certainly opened our eyes to getting our insurance immediately which of course we will now always do.

I dont blame anybody for this unfortunate set of events (apart from the fact my in-laws did not insure themselves immediately) I was just hoping that at a time when you are in such a turmoil with the awful loss of a loved one and you cant even think straight a huge company like Thomas Cook could show some compassion and if I were a manager of a store I think I would have taken control over the whole matter and tried to resolve it, even it it were the same outcome - not leave it to the customers bereaved family to do the chasing up etc... Maybe I expect too much who knows?
BTW my wife and I had to go on our holiday or lose all our money too and it was one of the nicest holidays but the hardest to enjoy that we have ever taken and there were lots of tears along with smiles during it.

Tony

Firstly am so so sorry for your family's loss Tony. There's nothing I can add that David and Sma haven't already said regarding the insurance problem, but would like to say that your comment:-

tonyp wrote:

BTW my wife and I had to go on our holiday or lose all our money too and it was one of the nicest holidays but the hardest to enjoy that we have ever taken and there were lots of tears along with smiles during it.

Brought a tear to my eye as I can understand exactly how you felt.

Glynis thank you for your kind words x

One possible straw to clutch at, if the holiday had only recently been bought and by credit card (especially Mastercard) there's a small chance they may have had insurance cover from the card issuer (not to be confused with the usual refund rights whcih won't apply here).

My Mum didn't realise till recently that her bank account had lots of 'extras' attached to it.

ie - travel insurance, boiler breakdown service, green flag rescue etc.

She'd been paying for these things separately

Might be worth having a look to see if your parents had anything similar.

Hippyjack - My bank account comes with European travel insurance as well. It's good advice to check out your in laws Bank Accounts Tony. My symathies to you & your family at this sad time.

On the point of your own holiday which you took, assuming you were insured you probably DID have cancellation cover for that - most policies include this sort of event and if you look under Cancellation it will probably mention death of relative (there will be a seperate list of what they are but parents and in laws are usually on it).

Hopefully others can reflect on your misfortune, if you don't have an annual/bank account policy then always get insured as soon as any money is paid out and whatever type you've got sit down and study it so you know what the score is when things happen.

Thanks for all your replies. We checked out the bank details and sadly none had travel insurance attached.

Yes we have learnt a harsh lesson as to be honest we usually do not read T&C's etc.. thoroughly, we just glance through at the major points.

I still however believe there is room for compassion in business especially when the holiday was more than likely resold almost immediately, if it were a case of just a change of mind etc... I could accept it but a sudden death is completely out of your control.

At the end of the day we have to accept that there will always be people who will think oh well you should have done this and you should have done that and yes to a degree they are correct but hey none of us are perfect and these things happen - the loss of my father-in-law is the hardest part of all there will always be other holidays but there will never be another Terry.

If nothing else this will serve as a warning to others.

Tony

Hi Tony, I've been following this thread and have nothing to add to the insurance aspect really but feel I need to pass on my deepest sympathy to you and all the family. Such tragic circumstances.

Shirley many thanks, your kind thoughts and that of others really mean a lot xxx

hi tonyp....we go on holidays with our family....we see them all year round...and they are just there...just one of the family....next time you go on holiday as a family he will have a special place...all the little things that had been forgotten about...all his special little jobs he did will be brought back....and he will have a special place....I wrote this in memory of holiday truth members ...hope it gives some comfort...tweetie

Where do you really think Ive gone.
Just simply gone away?
Left behind all that I cherished
My whole life till yesterday

Well I have some news for
You really now need to hear
I packed a case with all I'd need
And all that I held dear

Then satisfied Id left nowt out
I stored it safe away
Not knowing when Id need it
I checked it every day

I added new things to it as you do, so nowt could go astray
No need to follow any rules ,no worry about the weight
For the only place Id carry it
Would be through heavens gate

Today I had to sort it out
I will need it when I go
It was packed to bursting point
And I think youd like to know

Just what my well filled case had in
Most of it was my childrens smiles,
I kept every cheeky grin
A box of hugs and kisses, I only kept the best
A kindly passing angel offered to take the rest
To leave me space for memories
Of of all those that I love,
As they couldnt travel with me
For my journey was to heaven above

When all the fuss is over.and Im sure your all OK
Ill shed a tear, take one look back, and then be on my way
Ill meet you all in heaven,
Where I will peacefully pass away the years
Hoping you can also pack your cases full of love
And remember me with happiness and smiles
Not with sadness, not with tears
For know that Ill be waiting there, to help you with your case
And celebrate your safe arrival as you pass through heavens gate

That was beautiful..I am sitting here with tears rolling down my cheeks. Well done.

Thanks tweetie that was very thoughtful of you - this holiday was very difficult as it was the first without my in-laws hopefully they will get easier in time and we will be able to enjoy our memories xxx

Please accept our deepest sympathies at the loss of your father in law on behalf of the Admin, Mods and members of Holiday Truths. It must be a very difficult time for your without this added stress and upset.

tonyp wrote:

I still however believe there is room for compassion in business especially when the holiday was more than likely resold almost immediately, if it were a case of just a change of mind etc... I could accept it but a sudden death is completely out of your control.

Unfortunately this is exactly what travel insurance is for. It doesn't cover "a change of mind" and in those cases the holiday would be lost regardless of whether you had insurance or not. It is to cover the unforeseen events such as accident, illness or bereavement.

It's just unfortunate that you hadn't seen previous posts on here where members have lost the full cost of a holiday due to a family member being diagnosed with a serious illness before they got round to getting travel insurance.

I have a relative who actually works in business travel and she always leaves getting her insurance until just a couple of weeks before she leaves despite me nagging her to get it as soon as the travel is booked.

You have cancellation cover as soon as the insurance is bought so you might as well have it for as long as possible rather than just a couple of weeks before you go.

Unfortunately the tour operators are not known for having a heart, but there is no harm in trying to appeal to their softer side (if they have one). However as you have found, they are likely to refer you to your travel insurance policy.

luci

Thanks Luci, believe it or not I always read the holiday reports and go on various forums but mostly looking at whats on and where to go etc... Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine having to cancel due to a death. It's the same sort of thing about people writing/not writing wills we all should have one in place but you may be surprised how many people have not. We often have to learn the hard way, which is why these forums are so good at least you might just come across something that will lead you to do whatever you need to as to avoid a similar fate.

Tony x

tony
You have my deepest sympathy on your loss.

I know from personal experience what it's like to have to cancel a holiday because of the death of a father in law.

Unfortunately the tour operators are conducting a business and refunding for this sort of thing isn't their responsibility. It sounds harsh, but this isn't an uncommon reason for cancellation. In the last two weeks there have been three instances, that I know of, from people on the TC forum asking for a refund because of a death. It becomes a case of if you do this for one, you have to do this for all. It is purely down to insurance for this eventuality.

Again, condolences on your loss.