To keep this money if I get it

[SwanLake66]

So I've got awful insomnia recently due to.worrying about money etc. Like many people things have been tough recently.
In lockdown I had a mini break booked that was an existing booking before covid. It was a non refundable hotel booking. Should have gone when it was illegal to travel and the hotel was obviously closed. Flights were cancelled and refunded no problem but the hotel wouldn't budge. They just said tough it's non refundable and you can amend it only and gave a timescale of 9 months to do so. Covid obviously went on for so long by the time it was legal to travel I already had other plans and couldn't get further time off work to reschedule this trip nor did I have the funds to do so.
As I paid by credit card I tried to get a refund through my bank. They refused saying I had cancelled the holiday first which was incorrect To cut a long story short they cocked up and I took it to the Financial Ombudsman. It's £700 we're talking about. This has been goimg on for nearly 2 yrs and I'd heard nothing from then apart from a brief update saying they will look at my case when they can.
So put of the blue the Travel Agent I booked with sent me an email saying my case was now closed and I would be refunded. They credited my card with nearly the full amount. It didn't make much sense as to how they cane to that amount but I wasn't complaining!
Fast forward to last week and the Ombudsman are finally looking at my case properly and hope to have an update soon..I haven't replied to them. I assumed they had contacted the travel agent and knew I had had a partial refund but I've since had another update and it suggests the refund was nothing to do with them.
What will happen if they force the bank to refund me? It's all the same account so the bank should also know from the credit transaction.
Seriously considering keeping quiet as I'm in debt on the card and it would really help..Also still angry at how both bank and travel agent treated me.
But then the sensible part of me knows it would be fraud to get refunded twice.
Wwyf?

You already know what the right thing to do is. But you are looking for people to approve of your dishonesty. You won’t get that from me but maybe someone else will indulge you.

It's a no brainer. Contact the Ombudsman asap and update them. Otherwise you are committing a crime ie fraud.

You used a credit card to pay yes? The hotel will be able to reject the Ombudsmans case on the basis you are already refunded, they can provide the proof that you have been refunded.

The hotel may have refunded you to pre-empt an Ombudsman investigation, and stop the risk of financial penalties being imposed on them.

You may have received less as they may have returned only your net payment to you. Depending which country the hotel is based in, you may very well have been deducted card processing fees. And lastly, if the hotels domestic currency is not sterling, you may have been affected by rate of exchange differences.

Why do your financial circumstances make a difference? If you're saying you wouldn't do it if you didn't need the money then you know what the answer is.

Sorry mixed up my mentions…

first and second mention of Hotel should read travel agent.

if Travel Agent is UK based they are not allowed to charge you fees.

if hotel was a road the refund the agent received could have been affected by currency charges.

if your travel agent was ABTA bonded, and they cancelled your booking you are entitled to a full refund.

lastly, I worked in finance for a travel agent up until January this year, from what I remember, ABTA were guaranteeing refunds and rebookings for COVID affected bookings up to September this year.

a road = abroad.
(time to sleep methinks)

You know what you should do, otherwise you wouldn’t have to ask.

Is it likely you'd get refunded twice?

The hotel will tell the ombudsman that you have had your refund so you should tell them too

What an unnecessarily nasty comment, I’m betting you wouldn’t have the guts to say that to the OP’s face if this was a real-life discussion.

Well it was nearly the full amount but not the full amount - so tell the ombudsman and maybe you will get the difference.

I understand you feel tempted but it will prey on your conscience. You should tell them. You're not worthless by the way. You're a human being who is under stress.

This is a terrible comment. It demeans you. Debt can lead to temptation. She hasn't done anything yet.

Contact FOS and let them know you’ve received the refund however ask them to still consider the trouble and upset caused to you by the bank not dealing with your claim in the first instance. In that way you are likely to get some extra payment (albeit unlikely to be £700).

Wow! Crikey what a horrible comment. Don't be like that! Have your day but there is no need at all for this.

@Zeus44

that is a nasty thing to say to someone. Save that sort of nastiness for people who hurt or kill others, not for things like this FGS.

I don't agree with not telling the ombudsman, but it certainly does NOT make the OP 'worthless'. Your behaviour is FAR worse!

I've just looked back at when the travel agent refunded and it was mid July. Didn't realise it was so long ago. I'm scared to email the Ombudsman because I should have done it earlier.
I thought it was because of their involvement I got the refund in the first place bur it can't be.

I don't know why you think you'll get refunded twice. If the ombudsman finds in your favour, they will contact the hotel and tell them to refund you. The hotel will say they already did. The ombudsman doesn't refund you themselves or remove money from the hotel's bank account.

As PP says, your best bet is to push for a full refund (if you've only had a partial one) and possibly an extra amount for apology.

You should tell the ombudsman. If the ombudsman finds in your favour the bank will likely point out you've had a refund and not give it again. Perhaps they'll give the difference. But the right thing to do is own up.

Just email Ombudsman and say, just received bank statement showing an amount of £……. has been paid by ……… I suspect they already know and doubt very much you would be paid twice.

@SwanLake66 mid July is not long. Just contact the ombudsman, say you’ve had a partial refund in the meantime but would appreciate it if there is a chance of them getting back at least the extra to take it to the full amount.

OP, don’t take reimbursement for this twice.
It’s theft by deception, and someone on here telling you it’s ok and to just do it, doesn’t make it so.

Regardless, the credit card company will. Price the doubles refund here so you won’t get away with it.

Having said that, the ombudsman may well add on some compensation and there’s a small matter of you not getting the full amount back, which you don’t seem to know much about, so let them do their thing and go from there.

But don’t attempt to keep the money.

What a nasty thing to say! You don’t know this person. Your comment is pointless.

OP the fact that you are asking is because you will be in that position if it happens not knowing what to do. Wait as it might not happen. If and when it does I think you will know what to do. You know what is right