Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
Hi , I booked a holiday on the internet on sunday25th feb 07. At the point of completing holiday request, paying the deposit from my credit card and clicking the proceed button, I found to my horror the wrong dates had been booked. The reason this had happened is that although I had put the 24/06/07 in, the web page had brought up flights available either side of the date I had put in. Consequently I had mistakenly picked the flight and the hotel for the 21st. I immediately spotted the mistake and telephoned the holiday company to alert them to the mistake, this was within three minutes of the holiday request going through. The sales assistant informed me there was no way she could stop the booking but would email the appropriate department to see whether she could stop the process. I also emailed the relevent dept at the same time. I emailed and telephoned the holiday company 3 times on the Monday morning. I have since received emails from the company saying I will forfeit the £400 deposit if I cancel. The latest email received today says they will agree to cancel the holiday when I agree to accept the charges(loss of deposit). Please can anyone advise me what to do?
Hi , I booked a holiday on the internet on sunday25th feb 07. At the point of completing holiday request, paying the deposit from my credit card and clicking the proceed button, I found to my horror the wrong dates had been booked. The reason this had happened is that although I had put the 24/06/07 in, the web page had brought up flights available either side of the date I had put in. Consequently I had mistakenly picked the flight and the hotel for the 21st. I immediately spotted the mistake and telephoned the holiday company to alert them to the mistake, this was within three minutes of the holiday request going through. The sales assistant informed me there was no way she could stop the booking but would email the appropriate department to see whether she could stop the process. I also emailed the relevent dept at the same time. I emailed and telephoned the holiday company 3 times on the Monday morning. I have since received emails from the company saying I will forfeit the £400 deposit if I cancel. The latest email received today says they will agree to cancel the holiday when I agree to accept the charges(loss of deposit). Please can anyone advise me what to do?
When did you receive the confirmation from the holiday company that they had booked your holiday for the dates that you clicked?
When did they take your money? Was it an immediate thing - as soon as you clicked, they took the money from your account?
Your argument is that your order was an offer to buy that holiday and you can withdraw that offer at any time before it is accepted by the trader. However we need to determine at what point it was accepted - whether this was before you notified them of your withdrawal, or after.
Please note I'm not insured in this capacity, so if you need to, do get official legal advice.
One of the problems of this Internet age is that we tent to see what we think we see, and mistakes like these are common. (Myself included), and the problem is that unpicking a booking that was made in error is time consuming for the firm that is supposed to sort it out for you - which is why they only look at cancellations (and the fees that this attracts) rather than attempting to rebook on the dates you originally required.
In their defence, it doesn't matter if you tell them milliseconds after you press the 'accept' button, or hours or days later - once the booking is created and exists in cyberspace, they are bound by their offer to you, as you are to them. My last no-brainer was booking a flight from Scotland to Stansted, and an ongoing express coach to London, I double checked everything, the day, the hour even my return journey. But is was only when I got the confirmation that I noticed I had actually booked the express bus fron Luton airport to Central London, not Stansted!
OK, so I lost £30 and it was my fault for thinking the 747 Greenline ran from Stansted.... so I had to take it on the chin. As to your potential loss, it may be easier (and cheaperr) for you to amend your travel dates to fit in with the wrong booking, or pay for additional accommodation for the days you might miss wherever possible, and thinking laterally sometimes helps. As for getting a refund, I'd do everything to ensure I didn't lose any value from the original booking wherever possible, but there's nothing that can compel the firm to amend the booking - for them, it's not worth the hassle.
What about Distant Selling Laws. They apply to the internet too as long as the company is based in the UK You have up to 7 days to change your mind and seeing as you phoned and email them within minutes then you are OK. Not a very good company in my opinion, get your money back and use someone else
Buzby: Just a thought you could have got the Stansted express from Stansted to Liverpool Street, I think its about £24.00 return. My Son used to do this when he visited his fiancee in Scotland, he's now moved up there, but its quite a good service and you can book tickets online.
Chrissie
Buzby: Just a thought you could have got the Stansted express from Stansted to Liverpool Street, I think its about £24.00 return. Chrissie
Hi Chrissie,
The issue was really I had a return ticket to London from Luton that I couldn' t use through my own stupidity! As it happens, I got the cut-price coach service from Standsted to Victoria Coach Station for £10 return - a heck of a lot better than the train... they must have rails made of gold!
According to the Office of Fair Trading website's guide to distance selling, the right to cancel within 30 days does not apply to contracts to provide accommodation, transport (eg hotel, plane, train etc etc) where it is agreed to provide a certain service on a specific date.
Hi Buzby
Sorry I misunderstood I thought you said you had lost £30.00.
Chesterexpress: Oh dear again my fault looked at the date and saw March didn't look properly so didn't notice it was 2007 not 2008. Must find my glasses.
Chrissie
internet holiday booking
on the internet on sunday25th feb 07. At the point of completing holiday request, paying the deposit from my credit card and clicking the proceed button, I found to my horror the wrong dates had been booked. The reason this had happened is that although I had put the 24/06/07 in, the web page had brought up flights
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Re: internet holiday booking
Originally Posted by chris5219
Re: internet holiday booking
