Hoseasons £10 deposit beware

[AuntieandDerek]

Firstly, it’s my fault as I didn’t read/understand the full terms and conditions properly. But I’m sharing here in case it stops anyone else makes the same mistake.

The £10 deposit is good if you want to delay paying for the holiday but no good if you need to cancel. I found a lodge in a holiday park and booked for £10 to reserve it before checking I could get the week off work. Unfortunately someone else had the week off already but when I went to cancel the lodge they told me I need to pay the difference between the £10 deposit deal and the standard deposit (£193).

The T&Cs do explain this, though it could perhaps have been clearer. I made the wrong assumption that I would only lose the £10.

My fault but hoping I might save someone else from making the same mistake.

It doesn't show the bit I uploaded until just before you pay when you have to select which deposit you would like to pay. I just used to normal website on my phone so I'm not sure why yours is different.

Just to check, I’ve gone right through to payment. You can see that the next step is to enter the card details and there’s still no explanation on the deposit like the screenshot you shared, just a link to T&Cs. I should, of course, have thought twice why they offer a standard deposit instead of the £10 one. Looks like my booking journey has been different from yours.

So if anyone else sees a screen like this offering different deposit amounts you’ll know why ☺️

Looks like you also have to confirm that you understand that Govt requirements around Covid change frequently! I don't think I could honestly say I agree with that!

Ha, I did take a calculated risk that we’d be ok between now and the summer but who knows…!

OP, l have responded upthread. I still consider it is worth complaining to Hoseasons and ABTA on the basis that the T&Cs were buried.

There is a chance of some sort of goodwill payment being made, but there is no risk for you, other than you being told “no”.

Yes, we were nearly caught out with this in the ' £10 deposit January sale'. Dp can't get annual leave confirmed until April but we figured we could book and forgo the deposit if he couldn't get the dates. Reading the small print we quickly realised we'd still be liable for the cost of the holiday, or at least much, much more than £10.
We booked anyway as it was a really good deal but paid upfront and we'll try to sell the holiday if he doesn't get the annual leave.

Younger sister got caught out in the exact same way. Bet it happens loads.