Not able to go on holiday now. Can't get refund.

callaway92

Hi guys, posting this on behalf of a friend.

6 friends of mine are going on holidays to the Canaries in on the 9th of June. 1 of them though, now can't go because her boss said he needs her at the office for work. (This will not have a baring on the amount of rooms being used) They all paid an €80 deposit for the holiday and then a few weeks later, €350 for the holiday itself, but now she can't go and wants to know if she's entitled to a refund.

She's asking me to take her place but sadly I have other commitments so can't, and now she's afraid she's €350+ in the red, which is quite a large amount of money for her.

The company <<name and location removed>>. They are saying there is no refund for her at all. Am I right in thinking this is ridiculous or are they actually correct with this?

Thanks

piperh

Unfortunatly i don't think she can get a refund as there are not extenuating circumstances. Has she got insurance it might be worth a shot but i wouldn't bank on it. If she can't go she might be able to get a name change but they'll charge her for that as well.

Personally if the holiday is prebooked and agreed with work i think she should stick to her guns and go, if she booked it without checking first i'm afraid that was rather daft

coylemj

The tour company has booked the hotel rooms and the seats on the plane and they are probably by now committed to pay for both. Your friend obviously planned to share a room with someone else which means that the only thing that's being freed up by virtue of her cancellation is the seat on the plane.

It's not realistic to expect the tour company to give her a full refund given that all they have to sell is an empty seat on a plane with no accommodation.

Sorry but I think they are perfectly entitled to refuse a refund with only 11 days to go and no possibility of selling a package to anyone else to replace her. I doubt if travel insurance would cover this so she'd really need to try some moral pressure on her employer.

Thoie

If her boss had already approved her holiday plans, and she booked on that basis, would she not ask her company for a refund?

callaway92

Thoie wrote: »

If her boss had already approved her holiday plans, and she booked on that basis, would she not ask her company for a refund?

Good point. Should definitely check this out.

Thanks for the replies lads. I wasn't sure how it worked.

dudara

If she had cleared her holiday plans with her boss and booked accordingly, then her employer should cover the cost of forcing her to cancel her plans.

jester77

Doubt you would get anything from the tour company, their T&C's would show this. In this case, it would be the boss of her company that I would be chasing and not the tour company. If the holidays have already been approved and paid for, then the onus should be on the boss to sort her out.

Gillo

dudara wrote: »

If she had cleared her holiday plans with her boss and booked accordingly, then her employer should cover the cost of forcing her to cancel her plans.

Morally yes, but is there anything in law that the boss would be liable?
Either-way, it's pretty bad form on the part of the boss.

dudara

Gillo wrote: »

Morally yes, but is there anything in law that the boss would be liable?
Either-way, it's pretty bad form on the part of the boss.

I'm not sure what exactly is written into employment law. I have found the following snippet on Citizen's Information

It is for your employer to decide when annual leave may be taken, but this is subject to a number of conditions. Your employer must take into account your family responsibilities, opportunities for rest and recreation that are available to you and to consult with you (or your union) at least one month before the leave is to be taken.

callaway92

Thanks for the replies guys.

It was booked Mid February. She's going to have a word with the boss anyway and see can there be some sort of resolution.

Gillo

callaway92 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys.

It was booked Mid February. She's going to have a word with the boss anyway and see can there be some sort of resolution.

Was it approved also. It won't help your situation at this stage, but having learnt the hard way, I always get a manager to email me confirming the holidays have been approved. My advice would be to give the manager a choice of either paying for the holiday or honouring the leave, assuming it was approved.

callaway92

Gillo wrote: »

Was it approved also. It won't help your situation at this stage, but having learnt the hard way, I always get a manager to email me confirming the holidays have been approved. My advice would be to give the manager a choice of either paying for the holiday or honouring the leave, assuming it was approved.

Yes, my friend said it was 100% approved about 3 months ago, but in the midst of a conversation recently, he said that he actually needs her.

She's there today so will see how it goes with him.

dudara

Moved to Work Problems, as this is where this thread is now best suited.

dudara

tatli_lokma

Her boss may not realise she has paid for her holiday on the strength of his approval of her leave. She needs to check her contract and employment conditions and speak to her boss.