Impulsively booked a holiday

[Whataday247]

had a bit to drink last night and impulsivity booked a holiday for In a couple of weeks time. I paid on credit card. Is there any way I can get a refund. I feel sick at what I’ve done

Have you checked the terms and conditions of your booking?

Me and my friend did this once when we were drunk, thankfully we were able to cancel for a full refund. Look at your booking details . . . or just go!

It says no refund as it’s so close to the departure date. I’ve been in tears all morning

Is it that you can't afford to pay off your card? Or just that you are having cold feet at the idea of a holiday at all? Or you can't get annual leave? There's nothing objectively wrong with being impulsive if you can afford it etc

No advice but please tell us more. Was this a totally rogue choice? Why can't you just go? Where is it to?

Is the destination somewhere lovely?

Why don’t you want to go? Have you tried phoning the company?

I can’t get the time off work and it was quite expensive and I don’t want to go alone. Im
not going to be able to get a refund am I. I just don’t know where to start

Are you sure you don’t have 24 hours to cancel with full refund? Phone the company and ask but do it quickly.

Well if it says no refunds then not much you can do. I’d phone the company anyway, plead as much as you can, there’s nothing to lose!
I assume there’s a back story about why you’re drinking and making these decisions whilst drunk?

Ouch, sounds like an expensive mistake OP. I don't think you'll be entitled to a refund to be honest. No more drinking for you!

Are you certain you can't get the time off? Have you asked or just assuming? Sounds like it's a package you booked so should be quite straightforward and easy to do alone. It could be fantastic.

So have you phoned the company?

Oh dear. That was an expensive glass of wine ☠️
Sounds like you’ll just have to miss it entirely if you definitely can’t get the leave from work and like you can’t get a refund if it says no refunds.
Only thing you could try is calling them directly but if it says no refunds I’d just have personally accepted that I was an idiot to have done such a silly thing.
although I’d love a solo holiday and would ask work for unpaid leave if I was in this situation.

Have you actually requested the time off? If not, would you get away with being off sick? How many days are you away for?

So you booked it just for yourself? I would call and ask if you can change the dates. See what they say then report back. 🤞

You could try and sell it online. There are Facebook groups that specialise in it.

You need to act fast, some companies do adopt a 24 hours grace period but not all. Phone and be polite and ask if a period exists or if not whether you can change dates. Don’t just sit there though as you do need to act quickly if you did it yesterday.

Worth calling them and appealing to their good nature. If not, I'd suggest pronto travel insurance. Maybe you'll be "lucky" and break your big toe and be forbidden from travelling, for a full refund 😆

Google copy/paste:
Travel bookings are exempt from the standard 14-day online cooling-off period under consumer protection laws (like the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations) to protect businesses from severe financial loss. 1, 2, 3, 4]
Because travel services—such as flights, hotels, and event tickets—are date-specific and have limited capacity, a last-minute cancellation makes it nearly impossible for the provider to resell the service. 1, 2]
Airlines and travel providers are exempt from the 14-day rule to manage this perishability. If a consumer could cancel a flight or hotel booking penalty-free at the last minute, the provider would lose that revenue entirely. 1, 2]

How this affects you:
Cancellation Rights: You are generally bound by the specific provider's terms and conditions, meaning you are likely subject to cancellation or amendment fees.
Exceptions: While the law does not provide a cooling-off period, many airlines and booking platforms offer their own goodwill grace periods. For example, US Department of Transportation rules require free cancellations within 24 hours of booking for qualifying flights, and many UK/EU airlines offer similar 24-hour flexibility

I’m going through a really bad time at the minute. Met friends and had a glass of wine. Carried
on drinking and thought this would cheer me up, it’s actually made me feel 10 x worse

just go!!

Well stop stressing and call them!

But would just going make you feel better? It could be just what you need

@Whataday247 please ignore PP suggesting sick leave or a travel insurance claim. You will only add gross misconduct and insurance fraud to your potential stresses.
Your best option is probably to sell it on. Find out how much it costs for a name change and reduce what you paid by that and a bit more. Then advertise on FB. You might get most of your money back that way.

Can't you talk to your boss?

I’d talk to your boss and try and go, it might do you good