No refund for Majorca Holiday - PLEASE help

[Freeekedout]

It's looking like we have just lost £2.4k on a holiday for a family of four to Majorca, so please be gentle! I'll try to give as much detail as possible, as I know each case is unique.
We booked a package holiday (confirmed package on ATOL certificate) last September with lastminute.com to travel to Majorca this coming Wednesday. Flights are with BA from Heathrow. The flights are still going ahead. We are on the last flight of the day each way, and having followed the flight checker on the BA website, these are never cancelled, I suspect to ensure that no passengers are stranded overnight at the airport. The hotel is open and has a confirmed booking (I emailed them directly, but the hotel was booked as part of the package).

We originally requested a cancellation, prepared to forfeit our deposit of £600. They sent a cancellation quote which equated the total cost of the trip. They referred us to the terms and conditions which stated that the balance of the holiday was payable if we cancelled, and this applied from the date we booked the trip - there was no sliding scale of cancellation fee. On hearing this news, we decided that we would go and make the best of it because we couldn't justify paying for a holiday and then not taking it. We paid the balance by credit card on 21st July before the 2 week quarantine and before FCO advice was brought in.
Then last week the FCO advised against all but essential travel to the Spanish Islands. This means that our travel insurance would not cover us if we were to go abroad (for theft, accidents etc as well as for Covid). We would not travel without insurance with two children - accidents do happen; nor would we travel against the advice which has been put in place for a reason.
I have spoken to Lastminute numerous times and they will not tell me how I can request a refund (under the Package Travel Regulations - these look to me as though they may provide some financial protection in our situation). The agent said that I could not request a refund, only that I could request a cancellation. If I cancel the holiday myself then I forfeit any right to a refund, so obviously I don't want to do this and I have made this very clear to them.

We bought travel insurance in October through the Post Office, thinking that this would provide us with adequate cover as they are a reputable company. It says that it will cover us in the event that the FCO advise against non-essential travel BUT in the general exclusions at the back of the policy book, it says that cover EXCLUDES pandemics. So in effect, we have bought an insurance policy that won't pay out if we don't travel, and it won't pay out if we do. It's useless.
I have complained to the CMA. I have today registered a complaint with ABTA, but having read other people's experiences, I don't hold out any hope of them helping me. I have left a negative review on Trustpilot, but that isn't going to help me to achieve a refund, although it might make others think twice about booking a holiday with this shocking company.
Is there ANYTHING that we can do? Has anyone been successfully refunded in this situation, when the holiday company won't cancel the holiday and the flights and accommodation are still going ahead? We are an honest, hard-working family who booked this holiday in good faith, well before anyone had ever heard of Covid-19. We aren't chancers who thought we'd book something in the midst of the pandemic. We have to pay if we go (we don't want to travel against advice of the FCO), we have to pay if we don't go.
Please, please tell me if we have any chance of getting a refund from this atrocious company, and how we might go about doing it. Thanks for reading.

Yes, the cancelling of holidays now is nearly all down to the morality/ public mindedness of the airlines and holiday providers. this is not a good loophole and needs closing in future.

Certainly my travel insurance has said that provided the trip was booked during a time when travel was permitted (in your case last September!) then costs will be refunded. Likewise if the situation changes whilst I'm away then my insurance is still valid - both for travel/hotels & medical insurance.

I know it's probably not what you want to hear and it's from the daily mail so who knows if it's true, but a Spanish minister is apparently stating that restrictions may be lifted to the balerics and canaries as early as today.
Of course could just be rumours

Clutching at straws now. Has anyone successfully claimed on their travel insurance citing FCO guidelines advising against travel? Holiday hasn't been cancelled by us or LM, flights and hotel still going ahead. Hoping insurance might cover us.

As I said, I've successfully done chargebacks on several bookings. In one case the hotel was open, they didn't dispute it after refusing to refund me when I contacted them. This might or might not be the case for you, you won't know unless you try it.

Have you actually rung and asked your insurance? It doesn't matter if a stranger on MN has had success or not, every case is different.

What does your holiday provider say about those who have symptoms? Will it let you travel if someone in your household suddenly develops a cough overnight?

Lastminute don't care if you travel or not. They've had their money. They know we should get a refund under the Package Travel Regulations but they won't issue a refund. Which body enforces the regulations, they must be my next port of call. We tried talking to the insurance company last week and got sent from pillar to post and didn't get any answers. I think we're just going to submit a claim and hope for the best, we've got nothing to lose.

Why should you get a refund? The holiday is going ahead, Love Holidays have paid for your flight and accommodation.

Which airline are you flying with?

Simon Calder is gobsmacked that any packages would be going ahead given their ATOL protection.

If Simon Calder thinks this,then not sure why you would think different tank.

have you joined that Facebook group yet OP?

I think the OP should be given a refund or an alternative. I'm gobsmacked at a lot of things and I've no idea who Simon Calder is.

But what I think doesn't matter. That's why I'm asking why the OP thinks this and which airline. Seething at love holidays won't get her anyway, some facts might.

There is much misinformation being spread by you puggy and others on MN and Fbook, so suggesting the OP joins more groups rather than looking at the actual policies put in place by the relevant companies isn't helpful

Sorry, last minute, not love holidays.

Same difference in this case

The Facebook group for Villa Plus has three Which journalists on it and everyone got a refund so I don't think that is an accurate representation. The Sykes group was joined by a lawyer who pressed the CMA who pressed Sykes to refund all their customer.

A package holiday comes with protection and far higher entitlements to recourse : that is why people are advised to book packages. The point is that companies running packages (who often also sell insurance which ahs actually been invalidated) should be cancelling their holidays due to the FCO advice and deliberately are not.

If you don't know who Simon Calder is, I am not sure why you are opining on travel rights!

They may also not actually have paid the hotel yet : this is quite a common thing. People for Love Holidays and Last Minute have been turning up to closed down or unbooked hotels.

I really hope you get sorted OP. We used this company for a holiday and when our flight operator collapsed LM left us stranded with no plans to get home. We didn’t know until we got to the airport that the UK govt had us on a rescue flight list. It was so stressful. After months of complaints, LM offered us a £50 ‘voucher’ which almost a year later still hasn’t been issued. I’ll never use them again.

Lol, thought that would get you going 😂

My point is that no matter what I think, no matter what you think, no matter what Simon thinks - you need to deal in facts. That is the best way to get what you want, in this case, recompense. And it needs to be timely.

BA are offering vouchers for anyone not wanting to travel to Spain. The hotel have confirmed they are open. You've nothing to lose trying a chargeback on your card but also need to look at alternatives. It doesn't matter whether Last Minute "care", what matters is the small print.

If you have symptoms of the virus are you covered by the t&cs of your insurance? Will the companies involved cancel your holiday at their end and refuse you travel? Will you need a doctors note?

www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/spain-quarantine-uk-holiday-travel-ban-balearics-canaries-a9641266.html

section below:
I booked through an online travel agent, which says I can’t have a refund for flights if they go ahead. Is that correct?
Package holidays arranged by online travel agents such as Love Holidays, On The Beach and Travel Republic typically include flights on easyJet or Ryanair and separately sourced accommodation.

These trips are covered by the Package Travel Regulations 2018, which say you can get a full refund “in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect (a) the performance of the package, or (b) the carriage of passengers to the destination”.

The traveller in search of a refund will contend that the sudden imposition of Foreign Office advice against travel to Spain because of the “unacceptably high risk” for British travellers constitutes “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” – and that it will significantly affect the performance of the package,” because travel insurance will be invalidated and the traveller would need to quarantine on return.

Abta, the travel association, says: “The new regulations give customers the right to cancel where the incident significantly affects the performance of your holiday, so you can cancel your package holiday and receive a refund.

“Such situations will usually arise where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issues advice against travel to the destination.”

So even if your scheduled flight on Ryanair or easyJet is going ahead, if you are on a package – and have an Atol certificate to confirm it – then you should be entitled to a refund.

But you should make every effort to contact the travel company to confirm this. Some, including On the Beach, argue that they are able to carry passengers to the destination, and the accommodation (or a suitable alternative) can be provided, so the package can still be provided without its performance being significantly affected.

tank you appear to be implying that OP should fake symptoms.

Do I?

Loving the link wine , written by none other than - who he?- Simon Calder!!

This is a ridiculous defence from OTB and a deflection on to the airlines, given that Ryanair basically told the Welsh Government to fuck off and that they would have to shut a whole airport to stop them flying their planes! Ryanair would probably fly their planes throughout an apocalypse.

On the Beach says: “FCO advice against all but essential travel has previously meant that there is a clear and present threat to life resulting in a total shutdown of that destination and all flights to that destination.
“If this were the case currently with your destination, then flights from the UK would not remain operational in the volumes that they are.”

"written by none other than - who he?- Simon Calder!!"

Whoosh 😂 over your head faster than a Ryanair flight.

I'm easily amused, sorry

Yeah, I'm sure you are.

Me, meh, not so much.

Fingers crossed for you OP. We got lucky, Easyjet cancelled our return flight, was expecting a fight with On The Beach or being put on the other flight the same day, instead they emailed me saying the whole thing had been cancelled and refunds processed (will take a while for the flight portion but i knew that)
Can you look at buying a new insurance policy so you can go and be covered for accidents etc? I know that won't cover for cancelling but at least you'd have some peace of mind and won't lose your money.

@Piggywaspushed

This is a ridiculous defence from OTB and a deflection on to the airlines, given that Ryanair basically told the Welsh Government to fuck off and that they would have to shut a whole airport to stop them flying their planes! Ryanair would probably fly their planes throughout an apocalypse.

On the Beach says: “FCO advice against all but essential travel has previously meant that there is a clear and present threat to life resulting in a total shutdown of that destination and all flights to that destination.
“If this were the case currently with your destination, then flights from the UK would not remain operational in the volumes that they are.”

I was worried when i read that part but as i say they went ahead and cancelled, maybe there has been some backlash and they changed their tune....