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Just want to ask if anyone has any experience of this and what sort of compensation might be due.
My daughter was due to go on a school ski trip with a well established tour operator. Ultimately the operator didn’t confirm the coach booking, mad scramble to try and resolve to the extent that they looked at chartering planes but couldn’t get landing slots (that was their story, anyway).
So 24hrs before departure the trip is cancelled.
operator has offered full refund (obvs, as I’m sure my daughter would say) plus a further 50% in compensation.
That seems a bit tight to me, but nowhere in the booking terms does it spell out what their obligations are in this instance as it seems to be that only if there’s force majeure can they unilaterally cancel the booking. This was just the operator not following due process.
So, do we push for more? They appear to be so offside here that they don’t have a leg to stand on…
The rights for package holidays are quite poor, so the offer of 50% compensation appears incredibly generous, even if it isn’t really any real consolation at all for missing such a trip. Tour operators can cancel and simply refund without compensation if they can cite “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” and even outside that really might only be liable for losses caused such as visas you might have bought outside the package.
Thanks.
I’m just struggling to see how “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” covers their own incompetence in not confirming a coach booking. They have admitted the liability in writing.
I can’t remember where I read it but post-COVID it seems to have become normal for these types of coach bookings to be confirmed last minute.
The coach industry is facing a big challenge that many older drivers are retiring and not enough coming into the industry. I’d have thought this kind of run was particularly undesirable vs running the blue rinse brigade to a national trust site and being home for dinner for example!
So potentially not complete incompetence by the operator.On the brighter side from what the press has reported today coaches have been very badly hit by delays at the ports with 12+hr waits being reported. So at least that was missed
The ABTA site has what you’re entitled to, IIRC it’s easy to find there. Which? has stuff that covers this too.
Would be curious to know which tour operator this is as regardless of current issues you’d think they would have had a backup arrangement in place.
The travel industry generally seems to be going back to the old days in terms of customers being provided sub-par facilities and having late disappointments with operators (tours and airlines) just walking away.
It’s a specialist school trip operator called Halsbury Travel which claims to have been doing this for 40 years. Last summer it seems the founders cashed out to a US PE firm. Looks like at least four or five schools have been affected, some with close on 100 kids travelling so the bill including the offered compensation will be approaching half a million quid. I would caution people not to use them and spread the word but in reality I assume the shutters will be down before the end of the month.
A quick look at Twitter or the company’s Trustpilot page (it now rates 1.3/5) will give you an illustration of the scale balls up. 40+ 1* reviews posted in the last 24hrs.
@ll – not sure which part of the ABTA site you’re looking at because I can’t find it. Which? seemed equally vague on the idea of a unilateral cancellation because the tour operator “just forgot”.
Another coach-related saga – my nephew was due to go skiing with school at Feb half term. It transpired that the coach supplied was in a parlous state and broke down well before they got to Dover. There was no replacement available for several hours, causing them to miss the ferry. They were put up in one of those “Britain’s worst hotel”-type places with bed bugs and other alarming characters lurking around and the following day bussed back up north as there was no spare capacity on alternative Channel ferries. I don’t know what travel company they used but I think I’ll ask!
It’s a specialist school trip operator called Halsbury Travel which claims to have been doing this for 40 years. Last summer it seems the founders cashed out to a US PE firm. Looks like at least four or five schools have been affected, some with close on 100 kids travelling so the bill including the offered compensation will be approaching half a million quid. I would caution people not to use them and spread the word but in reality I assume the shutters will be down before the end of the month.
A quick look at Twitter or the company’s Trustpilot page (it now rates 1.3/5) will give you an illustration of the scale balls up. 40+ 1* reviews posted in the last 24hrs.
@ll – not sure which part of the ABTA site you’re looking at because I can’t find it. Which? seemed equally vague on the idea of a unilateral cancellation because the tour operator “just forgot”.
I’d cash the refund compensation cheque quickly if you think the company will go under imminently!
It’s a specialist school trip operator called Halsbury Travel which claims to have been doing this for 40 years. Last summer it seems the founders cashed out to a US PE firm. Looks like at least four or five schools have been affected, some with close on 100 kids travelling so the bill including the offered compensation will be approaching half a million quid. I would caution people not to use them and spread the word but in reality I assume the shutters will be down before the end of the month.
A quick look at Twitter or the company’s Trustpilot page (it now rates 1.3/5) will give you an illustration of the scale balls up. 40+ 1* reviews posted in the last 24hrs.
@ll – not sure which part of the ABTA site you’re looking at because I can’t find it. Which? seemed equally vague on the idea of a unilateral cancellation because the tour operator “just forgot”.
It’s there but dumbed down where I remember quite detailed coverage. https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/how-can-we-help-you/can-my-travel-company-cancel-my-holiday-arrangements?
Which? and other sites have pretty much the same. They’re claiming force majeure, we know it’s rubbish and they didn’t proceed competently, but that lets them just refund you plus limited out of pocket expenses you’d have to prove by the look of things.
@JDB and @Tracey appear to be giving the best advice take their offer quick, bank it quick (if they pay)- . I’d assume school only insured enough to cover refunds – as a family you’d have doubtless taken better cover.Thanks. We have an annual policy but I haven’t even looked at it – will check now but can’t imagine it’s going to offer us much.
The operator is under ABTA so the underlying cost is covered regardless. The story has now made The Sun website which lists 7 impacted schools and I know one of them had 2 coaches, so the liability is in excess of £500k for sure.
They have committed to pay the school by Thursday. Seems rather convenient to let them miss the cut, have the 4 day weekend to get people home then start the orderly closure of the business before the banks open on Tuesday. Let’s hope I’m wrong, but….
Picked this up from the Angry People in Local Nrespapers face book page
No idea if this is the school for the thread here but it’s the same company.
Yeah it’s not that school – we are a bit further North – but as you say, the same company.
On trustpilot they are now the worst rated tour operator which is quite an achievement- although still falls some significant way short of selling coach holidays without booking the coach…
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