Holiday refund sunk by costs

Claire Holding, who lives in London, spent £6,748 on a package holiday to Borneo and Singapore through Titan Travel back in 2018. In March 2020, Claire cancelled the booking due to Covid-19 concerns and government travel advice. When Claire made the cancellation, she received a ‘late cancellation charge’, as Titan advised it could still provide the holiday. The charge was 100% of the total price, so Claire contacted Which? for advice.

The law

The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 states that if circumstances occur at the place of destination that significantly affect the holiday, the traveller may terminate the booking and receive a full refund.

Our advice

As the effects of the global pandemic would significantly have affected Claire’s holiday, she was entitled to a full refund. Following our advice, Claire made reference to the regulations and threatened Titan with court action. Titan agreed to rebook the holiday for a later date in 2021. However, it had to be rearranged on two further occasions. In September 2021 Titan Travel accepted that the tour could no longer go ahead and offered Claire a full refund. Titan Travel said: ‘Titan contacted all customers who had departures cancelled due to Covid-19, offering to transfer or provide a full refund. After requesting to postpone, Mrs Holding’s new departure was unfortunately cancelled, and she received a full refund on request.’