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Original poster

My heart bleeds for them

103 replies

junipersjuice · 09/04/2020 10:24

The bbc are reporting that a family booked a Skiing chalet costing £17'000 and are now expecting the small family run firm to give them a refund. They don't have insurance for cancellation. The company are still open for business as far as the chalets are concerned because the area where the chalet is hasn't forced them to close which is needed for them to be able to cancel.

Surely you'd have the gumption to take out insurance if you are spending 17k on your holiday accommodation? We've had to cancel our holidays and one wouldn't give us a refund but we are insured so it's not an issue.

OP posts:
Wannabangbang · 09/04/2020 13:51

Doesn't matter how much or what the background. £17000 is a lot of money and quite rightly they should be reimbursed.

Teenangels · 09/04/2020 13:52

We booked centre parcs, for a weekend on the 13th March, with insurance for a booking on Early May bank holiday. I got an email 6 days later saying that the insurance would not cover any CV-19 cancellations.

whiteroseredrose · 09/04/2020 14:04

I had a non refundable accommodation booking for Iceland last week. The accommodation was open and available but my country won't let me travel. Not the hotel's fault so he's keeping the money and I'm claiming on insurance which is as it should be.

DoubleTweenQueen · 09/04/2020 14:05

Gathering 20 people together from different households is not a good idea at the moment. Losing £17k between 20 (or a few families) is not life-changing, whereas a dose of Covid19 could be. Also, when would they have had to pay the balance? Was the situation not looking a bit sticky then? Could they not have decided to think again about the wisdom of going ahead and just lost a deposit as a hit? I don’t see why people can’t take responsibility for themselves and their own decisions.

Pinksaffire · 09/04/2020 14:09

As others have said it’s a holiday for 20 people!!

We often go away with other families and our accommodation isn’t far off this, but per family it is a very affordable holiday.

I doubt they didn’t have insurance as almost nobody would go skiing without taking out adequate travel insurance as the risk of injuries is so high.
As others have said it’s most likely the insurance company aren’t paying out due to this being a pandemic and the fact hotels are still open in France.

Original poster
junipersjuice · 09/04/2020 14:09

We booked centre parcs, for a weekend on the 13th March, with insurance for a booking on Early May bank holiday. I got an email 6 days later saying that the insurance would not cover any CV-19 cancellations.

That's really bad, they should have pointed that out at the time of booking.

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 09/04/2020 14:16

Lots of insurance doesn't cover pandemic; lots of travel companies will not refund anything unless you used their own insurance, and , often, that doesn't cover a pandemic. Lots of people sort out travel insurance at a separate point form the point of booking as well.

Many people use specific insurers because of pre existing medical conditions : often the conditions which are now preventing them from leaving their home at all.

Nothing is ever black and white.

Piggywaspushed · 09/04/2020 14:17

And, also, there are many unscrupulous companies still taking out automatic balance payments.

PennyRoyal · 09/04/2020 14:29

Lots of grumpy righteous posts on here today.
Whoever is in the right/wrong, has insurance or not, someone will lose out. And that's not nice. Whether it's £17000 or £1.70, we are all losing out at the moment one way or another.
Let's not "should have, could have". Some people don't, haven't or can't.

Witchofzog · 09/04/2020 14:42

Nasty sneering thread op. Do you want praise because you were oh so clever and they were oh so stupid? Not cool

DoubleTweenQueen · 09/04/2020 14:44

It’s not sneering. OP has a point. Grow up.

TSSDNCOP · 09/04/2020 15:18

I think you'll find that was precisely the intent of the thread.

If the chalet is open it would be re-hireable to guests not effected by lock-in whatever region it's in or offer a change of dates. It would be nice if a compromise could be reached.

Our holiday was cancelled and whilst we can reclaim the flights we we cannot reclaim the hotel. So as soon as it's possible we will rebook for next Easter. The travel company has bent over backward to help.

Witchofzog · 09/04/2020 15:26

It's not only a nasty sneering thread but a bloody pointless one too because if you read the article the people in question do have insurance Biscuit. The point they are making is that the chalet owners have effectively pocketed 17k for sweet fa. Even if they can't rent it out again they will be saving on fuel costs for a start as well as other costs like food if catered etc. There should be a compromise and the people in the article are not being unreasonable. Also the company now have had publicity to contend with so may be regretting this

MintyMabel · 09/04/2020 15:45

It’s not sneering. OP has a point. Grow up.

The point she wants to make is that if you have money you are fair game for being ripped off. That is sneering.

More so because this is 20 people who have lost £850. Does spending that on a weeks accommodation also make you fair game for being ripped off.

The BBC posted a goady headline (as did the OP) but the actual substance highlight an issue with the confusion around the way various authorities are making this difficult for people. The owner is officially in business according to the French government, so can’t claim any loss of business insurance, he needs people to cancel for that. If travellers cancel, they can’t claim off their insurance either. It’s a stalemate that needs to be sorted out. There are thousands of people in this situation and the amount they individually stand to lose is irrelevant as it’s the same situation for all.

MintyMabel · 09/04/2020 15:47

The point they are making is that the chalet owners have effectively pocketed 17k for sweet fa

But on other threads we are supposed to support childminders by paying for no service. The chalet owner’s business is just as much at risk as the childminder, why the double standard?

Joliany · 09/04/2020 15:49

If they are charging 17k for a week then it doesn't sound like a small family business. And they should refund.

Xenia · 09/04/2020 16:17

This is why all these cases need solicitors to advise on the legal situation rather than just looking at what might or might not feel fair. Anyone running a business like this should also consider getting their terms and conditions updated for next year too to make sure all this kind of thing is covered.

We have a package holiday coming up (or not coming up I should say) which in a sense is much easier as one company organises everything.

MarieQueenofScots · 09/04/2020 16:25

It’s not sneering. OP has a point. Grow up

Of course it is, hence the disingenuous nature of her opening gambit!

luckylavender · 09/04/2020 16:31

What's the point of being so nasty about people you don't know? Remember #bekind

Original poster
junipersjuice · 09/04/2020 16:37

#bekind ...as if that happens much on MN!

OP posts:
NoSauce · 09/04/2020 16:44

#bekind ...as if that happens much on MN!

The irony.

TSSDNCOP · 09/04/2020 16:45

@junipersjuice DM always said people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Sage advice.

MintyMabel · 09/04/2020 16:53

If they are charging 17k for a week then it doesn't sound like a small family business. And they should refund.

The cost of the rental bears no relation to how big or small the business is. They are a small family owned business who this late in the season will have paid the vast bulk of their costs. If they have to refund every chalet for the final weeks of the season, they will likely end up bankrupt. They will still have to maintain the properties during the down season and their business model is based on making enough money during peak times to compensate for that. But regardless of that, we either expect people to pay for a service they aren’t getting or we don’t. The principle shouldn’t change simply because people pay more for a service.

Ignoremeiaminvisible · 09/04/2020 16:54

I do think people are looking at this from the wrong perspective. They have not LOST their money, what they have lost is the experience of the holiday itself. If they had been able to take the holiday they still wouldn't have the 17K but they would have had the experience.

Therefore it is the experience they have lost not the money.

MintyMabel · 09/04/2020 16:56

Anyone running a business like this should also consider getting their terms and conditions updated for next year too to make sure all this kind of thing is covered.

This is true of anyone running any type of business.

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