Cancelling / rescheduling package holiday

[gpullan]

I have some friends due to fly out in around 2 weeks but one of them has just had some tests done and during those tests the doctors punctured her lung (quite common in the procedure).

They have booked a package with Thomson to leave on 11th October but now feel they will not be able to go due to her punctured lung with cabin pressure for 9 hours etc... I am certain they can get a doctors note to state that they can not go but will Thomson use this as the basis to change their holiday? They had not purchased travel insurance as yet as obviously they don't need it until 11th October but will Thomson tell them to claim on travel insurance or will they cover it as it is all happening before the proposed dates (hence not insured now anyway).

We had flights moved a few years ago as my wife would have been 8 months pregnant so Virgin happily changed the flights free of charge once they had the doctors letter stating we could not fly.

Any help or previous experience would be great if anyone can help?

Thanks

[Gerry Reed]

It is wise to take out travel insurance at the time you book your holiday and not wait until just before you travel, so that you are covered for this type of problem. I don't think Thomson have any obligation to refund/ change the holiday and as you say will probably tell you to claim on your insurance but it is worth asking them.
As a villa owner, we would not refund this close to the holiday and advise our guests to take out insurance at the at time as booking.
Sorry if this is not the answer you want but that is what insurance is for and if you choose not to pay for it you are taking a risk.
Sue

[gpullan]

Yes that is what i told them yesterday and asked why they didn't take out the insurance when they booked but hey ho, they didn't so don't have it.

My advice was to check to see if they have travel insurance with their bank that covers them worldwide throughout the year as we have, which they are doing now.

Perhaps, like we did back in 2009, the doctors letter may be enough, as when i spoke to Virgin about our situation they just changed everything for us and it's pretty much the same situation whereby a doctor is telling them they can't fly even though they want to.....not sure.

We also got a free change of date from the villa owner back then too.

Thanks

[Katys Grandad]

Some credit cards include cover for things like that so might also be worth checking. Ultimately, they're going to have to call Thomson to get the answer so maybe that should be done first?

[vickk]

Can they not claim compensation from the people that caused the problem?

[Snapper]

Garry - Your friends should have, somewhere, a set of terms and conditions issued by Thomson at the point they booked the holiday. These should define the limit position for Thomson ... as in what Thomson are obliged to do in this situation. That's not to say that Thomson *will* do what it says in their Ts&Cs. They will retain the right, but not the obligation, to offer your friends anything they choose over and above what is detailed in the Ts&Cs. They can do this on the grounds that it's good PR for them or just something nice to do. Neither of which cut much slack in the cold, steely world of business and profit margins. However another reason why Thomson might choose to offer something over and above their Ts&Cs would be if it suits them or is beneficial to them. That might be an angle your friends could look at if Thomson initially don't seem to want to do anything. Think of it from a 'what's in it for Thomson' point of view and if you can spin it to their benefit they might go the extra mile.

I think that's why airlines sometimes change flights on non-amendable tickets. If you are on a flight that is overbooked to the max and still has demand, and you want to switch to a flight that is only half full, they would be fools not to make the change for you.

[Dads_Taxi]

Garry, just out of interest, was this resolved? I cringed when I read that your friends didn't realise that travel insurance needs to be bought as soon as the holiday is booked (I've had this discussion many times with my adult kids).

I hope there was a reasonable resolution.

And have a great time yourselves, not long now for you guys.

[gpullan]

Hi Dave,

It was 75% resolved. The lady with health issues has a continuous travel insurance policy through her bank so luckily she and her 2 children are covered and will receive a full refund. The male in the party is not covered so they are losing £600 but overall a good resolve.

They did have the option of a) changing names for £50 per person if they wanted to sell the holiday or b) choose other dates in the future for a fee.

Unfortunately further news is not good and as such, they cannot take a holiday at all so they are in the process of getting the partial refund through the insurance company.

Thanks Dave, a week on Tuesday for us! Can't come soon enough now!!