Thread: First Choice - Wants to cancel as found cheaper deal

I was wondering if someone could advise me on this.

My friend booked a holiday on Saturday with First Choice, she paid for the flights but is yet to pay for the hotel (goes in December), anyway, I was looking on the internet for her today and I found the exact same holiday, same flights, same times, same hotel etc on Expedia for over £300 pound less. She called first choice who effectively said 'tough, you have paid'.

Is there anything that can be done, she only booked it on Saturday?

thanks guys

Similar Threads:

• British Gas - The unknown Tariff (cheaper)
• Deal or no deal? Anyone made an early offer to Gnat Pest?
• barclays offering to settle deal or no deal?
• LAPTOP £100 CHEAPER **help**
• Cheaper cars from the E.U.

She went into one of their branches, and paid for the flights by card.

Hi,

I'm a travel agent and, unfortunately for you, the answer is no. Once you have agreed to book a holiday with a travel agent or tour operator you have entered into a contract with them. You could even book a holiday with an operator and they reduce the price the next day, as can happen, even in that situation you would not be entitled to a refund. I'm afraid a contract is a contract.

However, depending on the deposit your friend has paid s/he could cancel the flights at loss of deposit then re book with expedia. If it is a flight only booking with First Choice (the tour operator) the deposit should only be £50 per person if it is a package with first choice (the tour operator) the deposit should be £130 per person, which would mean guessing that the booking is for 2 people that they might be better off (only by about £40) by cancelling and rebooking. If the booking is through a first choice shop but using a different tour operator the amounts may be different.

I would also ask the travel agent (or check their terms and conditions) if there is an admin fee, set by them, in addition to tour operator charges. I would explain the circumstances and say they are thinking of cancelling and see if they might be able to offer them a little extra discount. If it were my agency (but unfortunately most don't run the way I do..) I would offer a little extra discount rather than have a cancelled booking, although unless it is for a particularly large booking it would not be near £300 as, of course, the amount agreed is what the agent will have to pay the tour operator, minus a small (and seems to be getting smaller) commission. I would be interested to know the figures involved!

If the holiday was booked with First Choice directly, that doesn't change the situation, it just means that the operator is also the agent.

Hope I haven't confused you - let me know if you'd like me to calrify?

No thats great, I thought is was a lost cause but you never know with these forums. Someone usually knows a way of getting around it, given the short timescales involved I thought there might be a cooling off period, its only been two days. But I am probably getting confused with mobile contracts etc, never mind

Thanks again

It's definately worth checking. We also sell travel insurance and you do get a 14 day cooling off period. I think that an exemption to cooling off periods apply because "the supply of goods or services which are priced according to fluctuations in the financial market and cannot be controlled by the supplier" - that might be incorrect but I know that there is an exemption for holidays. Sometimes suppliers will 'as a gesture of goodwill' let you cancel free of charge but this is very rare. I find the best way is to be very nice and explain that you understand that they do not have to let you cancel free of charge, but could they just once let you either cancel free of charge or reduce the price (even slightly) as the other offer you have seen is £300 cheaper and you will never book with them again if they don't and if they do agree they will have a happy customer... You can only try

Hi,
I am jumping on your band-waggon but found this forum trying to help a friend out. If any of the people who posted answers to you can help I would be grateful. My friend booked a holiday for herself and her husband, for August this year, with First Choice in January on a Friday. Two days later on the Sunday, her husband had a massive stroke which has left him, still, unable to walk or speak and still in hospital. She rang First Choice a day or so later to explain the situation and was told that she could either lose her £300+ deposit or pay more to defer the holiday until next year. She spoke to the medical professionals who are looking after her husband, who told her that there is not only no guarantee that he may recover by next year, but it is unlikely that he will ever walk again. She explained this to First Choice who apparently sympathised, but decided that they would not refund her deposit. Does anyone know if this is legal? I know it is, at very least, immoral - can anybody give her any advice please?

Originally Posted by guyclaxton

I know it is, at very least, immoral - can anybody give her any advice please?

Firstly, I extend my sympathies to your friend and her husband.

What First Choice have done or more correctly, I suppose, not done is certainly not illegal and also I would argue that perhaps it is not immoral either. You have not clarified whether First Choice is the travel agent or the tour operator, although that to some extent doesn't make a difference legally although IMHO it does morally (tour operators usually have a bit more flexibility in these matters).

Let me put it from the point of view of a travel agent (I am myself a travel agent)... Once I have made a booking on behalf of a customer we both enter into agreement with a tour operator who in turn have agreements with their accommodation and flight suppliers. If an agreement is broken there are costs involved on all sides - I would agree that at this stage they are probably not £300, but I'm afraid that is all part of the contract! If they were my customers whilst I would be very sympathetic, too (after all this is a completely unforseen event), I would have already paid the amount to the tour operator and would have no way of getting it back, legally - although I would shout and scream on their behalf and try my very best; sometimes suppliers are sympathetic, sometime not. If I had a larger company, in all honesty, I would just refund it out of my own pocket as a gesture of goodwill but as a small company I simply could not afford to do that.

I am assuming your friend did not take out insurance? If she did she should be entitled to claim and will receive the full amout back minus any insurance premium paid and excess.

Where the agent or tour operator may be negligent is if they did not offer or advise your friend to take out adequate travel insurance. If they did, they have acted in good faith and are in no way 'immoral' and your friend proably thought that she would sort it out closer to the time.

I think this case highlights the importance of booking your insurance at the same time as your holiday. Being honest (personally - I would never have said this to a customer) I used to think, 'well as long as I'm covered whilst I am away...' - which of course is the most important thing. Imagine how much worse it would have been if this had happened whilst on holiday without insurance. I have 'learnt' from my own experience, last year, when my Auntie died very unexpectedly a couple of days before she was due to go on a family holiday with my parents and grandparent - 'fortunately' they were all covered.

I'm sorry I know it is not what you wanted to hear, but thought it might help you go some way to understanding the procedures.