I am so low at present, someone please cheer me up

[temmy99]

Having booked a holiday abroad just over a year ago, I was contacted by the Agent last week (8 weeks to departure)to request immediate payment in full for the balance or my booking would be cancelled and I would be liable for cancellation charges. I wrote to them with a request for an extension to make payment but this was refused and the booking cancelled. They then wrote to me requesting cancellation charges of almost £2K (including deposit already paid). I asked that they send me copies of any agreement I signed which indicates that I was aware and would be liable to these charges but there was none. I have also learnt that the resort I was due to go to, went into administration late last year and was brought out by another company which changed its name and management, but the travel agent said they were not aware of this, a fact I disputed as I have since obtained press releases announcing the closure. I have since written to the Travel agents Head Office demanding an explanation and informed them that I will be taking my case to court as I am yet to go for the holiday and the resort no longer exists (now owned by new management). I only sent the letter yesterday so still early days yet, but I have not been sleeping well for the past week and this has never happened before. I have discussed this with my dh and my eldest daughter (16) but I cannot bring myself to tell my other children (1, 4 & 10) as we sacrificed the whole of last year to go on holiday this year but things have just not turned out like I expected. I guess I just need to let it all out and ask if anyone could advise me somehow as to whether I am doing the right thing and do I have a leg to stand on so to speak. any words of comfort needed, can't speak to anyone else at present.

[walbert]

Have you got family legal protection on any opf your house contents or house building cover? it's usually a cheeky extra that costs about £16 that you might not have even noticed added on to your policies? If you're not sure, ccall both insurance co's and find out, coz if you have one feature of these legal protection things is that they tend to have 24hr legal helplines and you have a daft budget , like £50k, to spend on a solicitor. if you've got the cvover, give them a ring and they should be able to help you, If you haven't, call your house ins co's, ask if they offer the legal protection (they will desperaly want to sell you it as it tends to be a sales stat for staff) and ask what the features are, ask if you can start using it straight away, and if you can, think about getting it to use it! Hope this helps!

[bananabump]

Oh you poor thing, that's so disappointing! I haven't got a clue about this kind of thing but from what you've said there are some major holes in their story, and I would definitely seek legal advice. Perhaps the CAB might be a good place to start? or make an appointment with your solicitor.

I'm sure there are more than a few solicitors on MN who could advise you actually but you might need to post this in legal/financial topic and ask specifically for their help in the thread title.

Do you have any family/friends who you can get together with for a chat? You sound like you could really use some support right now. How does your partner feel about it all? It sounds like you're shouldering all this yourself, as if you're to "blame" for it.

The only thing you did was try to book a lovely holiday for your family, remember that!

[temmy99]

Thanks for that, the dh deals with that part of the chores (insurance)and for other reasons, (long story) we are not on talking terms at the moment so I am hoping that I get a favourable response to my letter before deciding what to do next. I am just so scared that I might end up forking out a lot more than the cost of the holiday which I cannot risk right now and for a holiday that I might not take and yet have to pay for and .

[bananabump]

Must be all the more difficult to deal with this when you and your dh aren't on speaking terms, you need to share this between you, it's not fair for you to shoulder everything yourself, no wonder you aren't sleeping.

Perhaps you need an evening away from the kids to talk and sort things out. Can your eldest babysit perhaps while you go out for a bit?

[temmy99]

My eldest is not his and having just finished her GCSE exams, I have allowed her to go and spend the week with my mum where she is more comfortable. Our hols are mainly for the children and me (the other 3 are his) where they feel free to be what they are (children), did say it was a long story but that's the abrev. version.