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Original poster

Fuck fuck fuck just lost £600 due to our own stupidity

182 replies

Changedname1468 · 10/09/2025 21:09

Help. DH just booked a ferry crossing. It came to £600. Which was already steep. As he booked it, I had a look on my phone and realised it was only £400 if booked through a benefit scheme I am member of. He had just verified payment but said no worries and cancelled it straight away within 5 min of booking and paying (not that it mattered) and I booked it at the cheaper price. I asked him to print the cancellation off and saw that the cancellation fee was £600. It doesn't look like the ticket was refundable. I feel absolutely sick that we have basically just lost £600 (and paid basically £1000 for the ferry crossing). I'm not sure what I'm expecting anyone to do. One of us will ring them tomorrow but I'm not having any hope. Any words of advice or stupid fuck ups you did and how long it took you to recover from it?

OP posts:
WhatAboutTheOtherOne · 10/09/2025 21:52

Ouch! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you

Bananaandmangosmoothie · 10/09/2025 21:56

Try asking the company for a refund on Twitter? Sometimes that works.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 10/09/2025 21:57

OrangeSmoke · 10/09/2025 21:17

I once booked non refundable Eurostar tickets for the wrong weekend (we were travelling for an event), £500 gone. It's a real sickener.

For the benefit of anyone else who does this, Eurostar tickets can now have the date and or/time of travel amended, right up to one hour before you're due to travel. My DP has a ticket to Paris what he's moved the date for about 3 times.

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PeachySmile2 · 10/09/2025 21:57

Oh how annoying, I do feel for you! Did you pay on a credit card, you could try claiming the money back that way? If it turns out you can’t get anything back, just draw a line and try to forget about it, there is nothing you can do. But good luck tomorrow, I hope it works out for you.

historyinthemaking · 10/09/2025 21:57

Do you have travel insurance?

Original poster
Changedname1468 · 10/09/2025 21:59

Thank you all. Your stories have already helped me to calm down. Both bookings are visible in my account with them, so maybe they will refund one of them. I take anything at this point. The money is still pending on my banking app. It's Schrödinger's ferry ticket now.

OP posts:
defrazzled · 10/09/2025 21:59

I booked a flight in the wrong name and the change fee was £250, I called up and was incredibly nice and helpful and sympathetic and they did it for free as a special circumstance. It is worth a go.

Clafoutie · 10/09/2025 22:01

AzureCats · 10/09/2025 21:17

I go for the polite, kind and dumb approach with this. "oops silly me, I booked the same crossing twice. Please could you refund the duplicate booking reference XYZ, thank you."

It pretty much always works. I would keep the fact that you booked a discounted ticket to yourself.

It doesn’t work at The Trainline. I ended up paying three times what I expected because I booked a ticket, immediately cancelled it, but they charge a cancellation fee. Then had to buy new ticket. I cancelled the first ticket within 1 minute of booking it, but they were not prepared to refund the cancellation fee 😞

BoudiccaRuled · 10/09/2025 22:02

BlueEyedBogWitch · 10/09/2025 21:12

I cancelled some flights this week thinking they were refundable.

They weren’t. That’s £1200 down the Swanee.

That’s my Idiot Tax paid for this year.

Idiot tax.
I like that, makes me feel better about £3000 of errors we've made this year. It's been a bad one!

SumUp · 10/09/2025 22:05

I once booked an expensive London hotel for one night earlier than I needed it. The room was non-refundable but the date could be changed. They didn’t have availability online for the day I wanted.

So I phoned, expecting to have to go on an extra London trip later in the year to avoid wasting my money entirely. But they refunded the money in full without quibbling.

PorridgeAndSyrup · 10/09/2025 22:05

If you ring them up first thing tomorrow they might yet refund you... I've done similar things in the past and even when they say no refunds, when it's something like that where you made the mistake and cancelled within a few minutes they will often be reasonable about it.

Tiffbiff · 10/09/2025 22:06

AzureCats · 10/09/2025 21:17

I go for the polite, kind and dumb approach with this. "oops silly me, I booked the same crossing twice. Please could you refund the duplicate booking reference XYZ, thank you."

It pretty much always works. I would keep the fact that you booked a discounted ticket to yourself.

This 🙌🙌🙌

Original poster
Changedname1468 · 10/09/2025 22:07

PeachySmile2 · 10/09/2025 21:57

Oh how annoying, I do feel for you! Did you pay on a credit card, you could try claiming the money back that way? If it turns out you can’t get anything back, just draw a line and try to forget about it, there is nothing you can do. But good luck tomorrow, I hope it works out for you.

In typical fashion, the £600 one didn't take the credit card, so DH had to change to a debit one. When I did the booking on my phone I used the credit card to pay (it's all set up on my phone already as I had used the credit card previously but he hadn't) 😭I could still try a charge back from the bank but don't know whether I would have a leg to stand on.

OP posts:
IHeartFridays · 10/09/2025 22:11

If it’s Stena line as the ferry company they have laughed at my stupidity before. I booked my ferry crossing the wrong way round and didn’t realise until they told me at check in. I’ve also turned up on the wrong day and they let me on. It’s really worth calling up, their customer service is excellent.

OneMintWasp · 10/09/2025 22:12

Littletreefrog · 10/09/2025 21:25

Having worked in a contact centre environment for a long time I would always go for email over phone if you are asking for something that might not usually be possible.

Show quote history

Agree. I would email and say your husband booked one and you booked the other not realising the other had done it. Ask them to refund one (it'll probably be the cheapest but better than nothing)

Buildaaargh · 10/09/2025 22:17

I diligently noted when my car insurance was coming up for renewal, searched around, got a much cheaper deal for next year, bought it, happy days. Then got an email the day my next coverage started from my previous provider informing me they’d auto-renewed, at a cost of £850. I panicked as not only was this a painful amount of money to waste on a fuckup, but it guaranteed an admin nightmare if we had to make a claim.

I called the previous provider thinking they’d say I’d missed an email (probably true) and would refuse to help. They were incredibly helpful and straightforward and reversed it straight away. The operator even made a note in her diary to check for any charges if the payment had bounced so that she could reverse those too.

I’d say give them a call OP, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Coffeeisnecessary · 10/09/2025 22:20

I once booked a flight to the wrong city for a work event (2 cities with the same name!) was so cross with myself and sadly no refund as was just pure stupidity on my part. If you've booked twice though you might be OK, what ferry company is it? I've always had good communication with brittany ferries.

Lovelyladiesarenotinsecure · 10/09/2025 22:21

If you bought online and the trip hasn’t happened yet you have 14 days legally to cancel

Lovelyladiesarenotinsecure · 10/09/2025 22:22

Buildaaargh · 10/09/2025 22:17

I diligently noted when my car insurance was coming up for renewal, searched around, got a much cheaper deal for next year, bought it, happy days. Then got an email the day my next coverage started from my previous provider informing me they’d auto-renewed, at a cost of £850. I panicked as not only was this a painful amount of money to waste on a fuckup, but it guaranteed an admin nightmare if we had to make a claim.

I called the previous provider thinking they’d say I’d missed an email (probably true) and would refuse to help. They were incredibly helpful and straightforward and reversed it straight away. The operator even made a note in her diary to check for any charges if the payment had bounced so that she could reverse those too.

I’d say give them a call OP, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Legally they have to do that

Shewasafaireh · 10/09/2025 22:23

Changedname1468 · 10/09/2025 21:21

I was hoping you all regale me with stories where the lovely people at big corporation just took pity and refunded all your non refundable tickets. I think "idiot tax" is how I have to view it but it's a hard pill to swallow. I'll ring them up tomorrow but not sure call centre staff can overwrite company policy.

I don’t have a story like that but I do know someone who managed to get a mobile network provider to back off because they wanted the money from the full duration of the contract (a contract that was sold under false pretences, really).

It took a lot (a lot) of back and forth but miraculously that they did close the case. That was a first (that I’ve witnessed).

HellsBells67 · 10/09/2025 22:24

My friend booked flights for our trip despite me telling her (and emailing her copy) I'd done it. She rang and was very humble and polite and explained, within half an hour of making the booking. Woman told her she would try her best and to forward copies of both bookings in an email which she did. It was refunded!

Ihateslugs · 10/09/2025 22:26

My daughter managed to get Virgin Atlantic to rebook some flights for me even though they were not refundable and the travel agent I booked through had failed to sort it out. I’d booked to go to the US to stay with my son after the birth of his new baby - I was planning to help out by looking after my grandson aged 4 while me daughter in law rested and established feeding with the baby.

I booked my flight at the dates agreed with my DIL, only to find out that my idiot son had forgotten that his dad ( my ex) was going to be staying for part of those dates! After a very toxic divorce, there was no way I could stay in the same small house with him and his new wife ( my ex friend who he’d had an affair with) so I resigned myself to just paying again for the new dates. I was flying business class as I have medical issues which make economy seats very uncomfortable.

My daughter though took charge and went on Facebook to plead with Virgin to help an elderly distraught lady at risk of not seeing her new grand baby for no fault of her own. She works in advertising through social media so knew all the buzz words to use about how good it would be for them to make an exception in this case. To the amazement of the travel agent, they agreed to give me the same flights just two weeks later, at the same cost as well even though they were dearer. I also got given a lovely hamper type bouquet when I got on board with chocolates, nice biscuits and small gifts for my grandson and the baby!

So maybe there are some good kind people working for these large corporations.

Winter2020 · 10/09/2025 22:26

If you can't get a refund you could ask for an account credit or change of dates and book for another time. Better than throwing the money away.

Hankunamatata · 10/09/2025 22:28

Stenaline are very good

Iv booked tickets the wrong way round, wrong dates. Even arrived at port once to discovered id booked crossing wrong way. Luckily ferry wasnt full and they sorted out so quickly and didnt make me feel bad

GoldPoster · 10/09/2025 22:29

I’ve had non- refundable Train line tickets refunded because I booked the journey the wrong way round, however they were for me to go for brain radiation treatment and the call centre staff took pity.

I also had refunds for all parts of a trip when I broke my pelvis.

My things were real but basically if you have a legitimate story you may have a chance