I lost 75% of my holiday money !!!

[craiguk25]

Me and my partner were due to go to Marmaris Turkey on 11th Sept ( Of all days I was cursed ) anyway subsequently there has been a spate of bombings in Turkey and my girlfriend didnt feel 100% safe. We contacted our travel company Going Places ( Manos Holiday ) and told them, they said there is nothing they can do. I rang Manos and told them, they told me either go or face losing 75% of our money ( granted it is in the contract ). They wouldnt even let me change our destination and pay admin fee's untill I put up a battle and they agreed I could go to Zante ONLY and one hotel ONLY. This was due to fly on the 14th and I couldnt make this due to work. So I was stuck either convince her to go or lose my money, we ended up choosing the lata of the 2 options and lost £560. Now if the foreign office gave a hoot we would have got a refund, but as they did not rule it unsafe I didnt have a leg to stand on. We have rebooked another holiday to corfu and paid an extra £520 on top of the measly £160 ish they refunded me (25%). Where do i stand on this matter ?

Where do I stand if they resold our holiday as a late booking ???

Any help greatly accepted.

[LondonPam]

I'm afraid to say that this is actually a common problem. The holiday company will only give you your money back if the foreign office deemed it unsafe, which they didn't. The holiday company and any insurance companies are therefore under no obligation to let you have your money back. It sounds harsh I know, but feeling unsafe doesn't make any difference to them.

[Bookworm]

Furthermore, the bombing situation in Turkey is nothing new, it has been ongoing for years, so you can't say that it was a new situation that arose after you booked.

Sorry, but in this instance, all I can suggest is to thoroughly research the country where you're planning to go before you book.

[craiguk25]

I thought as much, thanks for your replies guys !