Cancelled Holiday - Thoughts ?

bp1

The Legal & Compliance Department

Re Booking Ref: Ref - Booking Reference: **********

 

I wrote the below letter to the legal & compliance department in Love hoildays, i would love your thoughts and any advice please.

I am writing to you with a complaint regarding the handling of my booking of my holiday which has now been cancelled. I wanted to take a little time to understand what happened and how it came about that, my first holiday with my three children aged 12/10/09 after a cruel divorce has now been shattered. With something which could easily have been avoided.

I booked my holiday in March 2022 under my then passport name of (Married Name). At the time of booking, I received a phone call from love holiday to tell me that my flights had been changed to a different time and was I okay with this. I told the travel agent that I spoke to on the phone that my name needed to be changed in the booking as I was changing to my birth name, due to my passport expiring. The travel agent assured me that this would not be a problem and to advise love holiday when it was done and a name change could happen, but there might be a small fee. I agreed to this, and I thought nothing of it.

I sent an e-mail in April confirming the name change had taken place and that my passport was in the name of (Birth Name) and not (Married Name). You will see from my passport my expiry date is now April 2032. I also sent correspondence with your chat box. When I did not hear back from you in May I sent you a message again confirming the same. I sent it again in June. I persistently kept ringing you to no avail.

On the 12/7/2022 after waiting over one hour and 45 minutes on the phone I eventually got through to a travel agent called ****. He confirmed to me the KLM airline will not change my flight name. He did his best to try and change my flights flying through Belfast or through London he even tried cork. He stayed with me on the phone for approximately one hour, but the airline would not change my name.

In order for me to fly out to Crete with my three children, I would have to purchase a new ticket with my birth name, however there was no seats on the flight for me to do this. As there was no way around this, I had no choice but to cancel my holiday and I was extremely disappointed. I just can’t understand how could it be that two weeks before I was due to fly out for a holiday, I have saved for so long could now be cancelled? I don’t understand when I correspondent with you all so many times with no response from you. This could all have been avoided in April when my passport was changed, when I had given you so much notice. But then to be told I would not receive a refund on my flights costing approximately €1896.30, and I would have various cancellation charges bringing to total of €2047.24. as a complete loss to me, for something I did not do and could have been avoided. I have paid in total €5396.91 to date. Loveholidays has made a refund to me for €3349.67, for the accomation only and nothing for the flights.

 **When i sent the registered letter to the complaints depatment i included the following****

Please see attached

1.     Copy of my passport

2.     Passport emailed in April June and July again.

3.     Confirming name change request in April / June and July

4.     Chat box requests

5.     Payments to date

6.     Refund sent to me

7.     Correspondence with flight changes

 

I am looking for a full refund for my flights in the amount of €2047.24 or alternatively a voucher to the amount of same.

 

****the answer i got back form love holidays via there chat box is -

Clearly, I am steaming with anger, I contacted my local solicitor with all the above details asking for his advice. He told me he would charge €270.00 p/h in order for him to look at this case. I just do not see the point in paying any more money.

loveholidays.ie are very hard to get through to on the phone they ignore my emails and any correspondent I have sent. Has anybody any thoughts what I can do next or do I just put it down to a bad experience and move on and learn ?

Many Thanks

😔

magicbastarder

this is the history and heritage forum, you may be better off with the legal discussion forum.

Manach

Mod note - moved to the Legal discussion forum as more appropriate area.

celt262

Why didn't you book it in the updated name when you knew you were changing the name on the passport?

walterking

First point - take all emotions out of it.

They don't care nor should they care about any personal issues whatsoever. Doesn't matter if it's a bad divorce, a good divorce, a heart attack or a death. That is of no consequence.

Your query is with the travel agent that said it would not be an issue. If that was a directly employed agent of love travel, then your argument is with them and you need to show the day and approx time

If the agent worked for a 3rd party agency, then it's that agency you have the issue with.

Forget about the small cancellation charges and simply issue small claims proceedings for the 1896 (2,000 is max claim)

It will cost you €25.

But keep emotions out of it. It has absolutely nothing to do with the issue and if you try and use "bad divorce" as your case, you will lose.

It's literally as simple as "they said no problem with change of name due to passport change - they did not keep to that agreement " That is your argument, nothing else.

Donald Trump

Should have just put both names on your passport. Divorce doesn't force you to change your name. The can put your registered birth name on another page as a note

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119468391#Comment_119468391

I think the above captures it pretty well. Although I presume all of the engagement was with Love Holidays (the package holiday supplier) directly? Regardless if they engaged an agent to act on their behalf at any point, for all intents and purposes you are dealing with Love Holidays.

A lot will depend on the strength of the evidence that they in fact consented to the name change. Is there a telephone call recording?

Also, or otherwise, you will be looking at the terms and conditions agreed to at booking - see what is says about name changes and did you follow the process outlined.

The small claims procedure is likely your best tool. You don’t require the services of a solicitor to bring the claim.

bp1

Thank you, your absolutely right, I will take emotions out of it .

thanks for your advice. Everything was recorded at the time of booking. I can prove it all.

thanks again .

bp1

hey thanks, I had so send photo copy of passports at the time of booking which was under my married name. Otherwise I would have done it under my birth name.

thanks

bp1

Thanks everyone, my apologies for posted this on the wrong forum.

👍

dartboardio

it didn't need to be that much of an ordeal, you could have just waited until the name change was completed then book the holiday OR just bring proof of name change/ passport to the check in desk when you are flying.