Holiday payment

I tend to be a lurker here but as I have rather a lot of time on my hands due to Covid-19 and as I work for one of the two large holiday companies mentioned perhaps I can provide a little information and clarity.

If you have a package holiday booked with either TUI or Jet2 then you are ATOL protected in the unlikely event that one or the other stops trading. However that is a very unlikely scenario, both have very healthy balance sheets and pre existing loan facilities. Both have also taken measures to reduce daily capital expenditure significantly and can survive for a long time with their respective operations in hibernation.

Personally I would pay the balance of any holiday booked, if you don’t you will be in breach of the Terms and Conditions you signed up to when you booked and your holiday will be cancelled at a financial loss to yourselves. As the current Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice is not to undertake non essential travel the the holiday companies and airlines are required to cancel your holiday/flight if that advice is in place for when you are due to travel. In that case you will be offered the opportunity to re book your holiday, probably with an incentive. If you choose not to then you are entitled to a full refund.

For flights only, always book with a credit card. That way if your flight is cancelled and you are not offered a refund then you are entitled to and can claim a refund under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. For debit cards, unfortunately they are not covered, though there is a voluntary scheme called chargeback whereby your card company tries to claim your money back from the company you paid by reversing the transaction but it is not guaranteed.

apologies for the long post but as I said I have a lot of time to fill presently.
 
We are due on an all inclusive in early June with TUI. We have paid in full so we are just sitting tight and waiting to see what they do next. I went on their website this morning testing the water, as we booked online I can amend it on their website.
I pressed the button to cancel and they we're going to keep £1015.66!!!! Keep my money and I'll wait till you have to cancel thanks! :eek:
 
Grumps as I said sit it out, it will get cancelled if travel hasn’t restarted by then and you will be offered a refund or the chance to re book. Jet2 have already cancelled all flights and holidays before the 17th of June.

TUI aren’t going anywhere and your ATOL protected so your money is safe
 
757Capt said:
Grumps as I said sit it out, it will get cancelled if travel hasn’t restarted by then and you will be offered a refund or the chance to re book. Jet2 have already cancelled all flights and holidays before the 17th of June.

TUI aren’t going anywhere and your ATOL protected so your money is safe
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757capt I don’t understand your dislike on my earlier post?
Do you mean our holiday cannot be changed unless the full amount has been paid?
 
Bailie apologies if I caused you to believe I had an issue with your post. I don’t I was merely trying to provide a little advice and clarity from one inside the travel industry.

As I said if I were you I would pay the balance. If the FCO advice is still not to travel when you are due then your holiday will be canceled and you will be offered a refund or the option to move to another date. If you cancel before you will loose out financially. If you are booked with TUI or Jet2 or to that matter on any ATOL protected package holiday you are covered should the worst happen but as I manticores in my previous post both Jet2 and TUI are financially strong, secure businesses and can survive for a very long time.

Who have you booked with? Without knowing who you are booked with it is difficult to give more than general advice.
 
I have booked with Tui,who I hope as you indicate are financial sound.
As previously stated I understand I will lose my deposit,
But it’s all the nightmare stories of not being able to get a cash refund!
An option to rebook is also available but we will not be able to go
Until next year which means they will have a lot of my money for
a long time!
 
TUI have just negotiated a £1.8 Billion loan from the German government so plenty of cash to draw down.

I appreciate that a holiday is a lot of money to those who book one and there have been a lot of stories in the media about people not being able to get refunds which causes a lot of worry and anxiety. But you have to remember bad news sells, that’s what gets pushed and it can lead one to believe all is doom and gloom.

I can only speak for my company but I’m sure it’s the same at other airlines. No one anticipated this virus and it’s taken everyone by surprise. We have had to change the way we work and put new procedures in place and it has taken a little time. Call centres are operating with social distancing measures in place which means reduced staffing and a lot of colleagues are working from home. However things are settling down now and if your holiday is cancelled you are entitled to a refund and certainly my company is offering that or a chance to rebook for a later date. Speak to TUI they will be able to advise your options. But the bottom line is if you have booked a package holiday with TUI you are ATOL protected and you will get your money back should the worst happen.

I wish I could tell you when flying and holidays will start again but I don’t have a crystal ball. If I did I would have moved to flying for a cargo company a few months ago. All I can do is offer a little advice and reassurance.
 
757Capt said:
I can only speak for my company but I’m sure it’s the same at other airlines..
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Never know you might be flying us to fuerteventura in November :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for all your input on this issue, a little bit of information
From inside is always very helpful.
It’s now looking like I will pay the balance and see what happens.
 
That would be my advice brilie. You can then decide wether you want a refund or to make another booking when the time comes.

Let’s hope so billz. Pop up the front for a chat if I am
 
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757Capt said:
That would be my advice brilie. You can then decide wether you want a refund or to make another booking when the time comes.

Let’s hope so billz. Pop up the front for a chat if I am
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Advice taken , balance now paid , wait and see time now:wideyed::wideyed::wideyed:
 
Yes @brilie, we had paid for our holiday in full so we could have waited and , if it had been cancelled , been entitled to a refund. Problem is, if it was not cancelled, but we were worried about the covid 19 situation and didn't want to go we would not be entitled to anything from Tui or our travel insurance. That is one reason why we just changed the holiday to next year.
 
Had our holiday in March cancelled, couldn't get money back from travel agents, fortunately we paid by credit card and they refunded us.
Very frustrating trying to deal with the travel agents.
 
bessieblue said:
Had our holiday in March cancelled, couldn't get money back from travel agents, fortunately we paid by credit card and they refunded us.
Very frustrating trying to deal with the travel agents.
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Glad you managed to get your money back Pete :)
 
We must be one of the fortunate few. TUI cancelled our holiday on March 18th, which we were due to travel on March 31st. We had two emails one stating we would have our money refunded to our credit card in 7 to 10 days, the other saying up to 4 weeks.

4 weeks came and went, then on April 18th we get an email stating that the full balance had been refunded. As it was a Saturday, we didn't expect the money immediately. It was back in our credit card account late Monday evening.

They do seem to be getting round to paying people back but from what I've read on social media, there doesn't appear to be any particular order they're doing it as people who were cancelled and due to travel before us are stating they haven't been refunded yet.

One thing I have taken away from all this is never to pay cash for anything if I can help it, as they are the ones who seem to be having real difficulties in getting their refunds.

Also seeing a lot of people stating they'll never use TUI again. Unfortunately after the collapse of Thomas Cook, there's not a lot of choice in the package holiday market any more. Although I can't see foreign package holidays or foreign travel full stop being an option for some time yet.

We have a Florida holiday booked for late September, but I'm not holding my breath for that to take place. Even if we are allowed to fly, US immigration is bad enough during so called normal times. Imagine the hoops they're going to ask you to jump through! Then even if they let you in, social distancing in a theme park anyone?
 
Yup.
Final balance on July cruise for 2 cabins was due on Saturday.

No chance I was paying to provide An interest free loan to Barrhead travel that I may never see again.

Will lose my deposit, but I’d rather that than chance a voucher or 6 month wait for possible refund.
 
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