Low Cost Holidays in administration

[BellMcEnd]

Haven't seen a thread about this yet.

We have (had?) a week long, all inclusive holiday booked for the very end of the school holidays. We've just found out that Low Cost Holidays have now ceased trading and are in administration.

I'm so aware that this is, for us, is a first world problem and that there are people who have lost their jobs, are stranded abroad etc but this is the first family holiday we've had in years and we're pretty upset.

Not told our 3 DCs yet.

Anyone else in the same boat (ha ha

Thanks for that tip, Coconutty.

Off to find fb page now. See you all there!

Thanks for all the advice everyone - the FB page looks useful. Waiting for my bank to phone me back. Worried as my original deposit was paid in april 2015 (when Brexit just seemed like a bit of a joke....) so am worried that we might be over the dates for claiming back...

Nonno I've just read something that says if you paid on a credit card you have 520 days up claim. I'm absolutely NOT a financial expert though! I'll try and find the link. We also booked way before Brexit in February.

I'm currently on hold to Monarch to find out about our flights. 1 hour 2 minutes and counting..........

I have called my bank and we may be able to get a refund via the debit card, they will let us know in a few days. This may be easier than the travel insurance route but I have heard that Lloyds will cover on FB.
The hotel have said they have no such booking for us but are going to give us a quote and we will perhaps book directly with them on a credit card or look for a ATOL protected hotel booking site!
Coco- yes I booked and paid via the last minute website. The confirmation has their header on it and then at the bottom says LCH are the supplier and the contract with them. Which is a bit of a joke as surely lastminute took some commission and have some of the money?
We are fortunate that we are not traveling for a while- I really hope those of you heading soon get this sorted.

Well, this holiday is working out expensive for ten days!

We decided to rebook the room with the hotel. We could have looked for a cheaper holiday relating to our flights but tbh I am so stressed and working fulltime and just can't face looking again! So all now on credit.

Working late tonight so my husband is sorting out the transfers.we still don't know if TSB will refund.
Not only do they have no one dealing with disputes working at the weekend, but all they can say is send the claim off and expect an answer in 3-5 days.
People who have managed to get a refund over the weekend are lucky.

Has anyone got a link to the Facebook group because I just keep getting lots of different ones or Guardian link I've already been on?

Here you go, bring.

www.facebook.com/lowcostholidays.com/

Lots of very angry people on it.

We've gone down the route of paying (again) for our hotel. They had the reservation, just not the payment. Our flights had been paid for. The lovely man I spoke to at the hotel was super helpful, we actually ended up paying less than via LCH (although obvs we've paid twice iyswim). He said that the phone hadn't stopped ringing all day with panicky LCH casualties and that he'd not had a cup of coffee in over two hours . He told me some awful stories of people who'd been mid air when the company collapsed - they'd boarded all happy and looking forward to their holiday only to land in total chaos.

I'm absolutely bloody exhausted by it all. I'm even too tired for a glass of wine which is unheard of.

Update - my bank has opened a dispute but wanted to know what was flights and what was accommodation. So then I checked on an Easyjet number and apparently our flights are likely to have been paid for. So now we have the dilemma of whether to go if the hotel still has our reservation, and probably ending up paying through the nose...

Nonno we spoke to the hotel direct and they couldn't have been more helpful: remember they want your business and it's getting closer and closer to peak holiday time. We've had to pay for the hotel again but we've actually paid slightly less.

We've only been able to do this by using a credit card which we wouldn't normally do but we've been assured by Barclaycard that we'll get all our money back from the first transaction.

We've took a gamble. We might not get the cost of the room back.
I've been a bit like a zombie at work - so tired but posting on here at this time.

Really hope we all get refunded. I'm just so glad I wasn't on holiday - must be worse!!

Cheers for the link! Will read tomorrow

Easy Jet finally confirmed our flights and we declined paying almost double to Blue Bay hotel in Crete who have been absolute bastards and have rebooked somewhere else. Credit card have registered claim, had to rebook transfer as well. So we are still going next week but if we hadn't been able to borrow the money to pay again we would have lost the flights.

BBC breakfast will be covering this this morning.

This thread is really useful. Thanks everyone. Good advice rather than simply raging (which, in the right time and place, I love to do..!).
I have now found out form easy jet that are flights are definitely still valid, so am waiting to speak to the hotel.

Presumably the hotels are quoting prices based on the price in Euros, so more expensive now.

Blu no, mine quoted euros and sterling. We're paying £100 less in sterling.

BBC's Rip Off Britain are looking for people affected

Mine quoted euros and sterling too - we're paying £200 less mow.

Can I join?

I've been feeling so ill all day, as though I have been physically punched.

I booked our Xmas hotel with Low Cost holidays and our flights separately with EasyJet. The balance for the hotel wasn't required til Sept yet I paid it early 😔.

I paid the deposit on CC and the balance on my current account debit card, so I've had to register chargeback claims with two providers. S75 apparently won't apply to me as I booked hotel only.

Some people are beginning to report positive stories about reclaiming their money, but the media is still focused on how shit things will be for us. I wish they would start to report success stories, as each would possibly set a precedent for the next claim.

I can't sleep or eat. £2500 just went poof.

One lady I have spoken to has had her hotel refunded by Tesco CC. However, the accompanying email says that Low Cost Hols have 45 days to challenge this. What on earth is that all about? Chargeback is from the company's bank...

This i one of the downsides of being in the EU, where UK protection is better but we cannot prevent EU suppliers operating in the country.

S75 applies to any goods over £100 not received:

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act

There's a video on Martin Lewis' website explaining what to do if you're a victim of LCH. I've tried to copy the link but it won't let me for some reason. I'll have another go

www.facebook.com/mrmartinlewis/posts/10153587038436540

Ta-daaaaaaa! (am very rubbish with technology so this is quite impressive for me)