Inghams refused to help

[Cayman76]

We booked a family skiing holiday but due to injury I am unable to go. We asked Inghams to change the name of one of the passengers to allow another family member to go in my place.
Inghams refused by saying that British Airways would not allow a passenger name change.
So we offered to book a separate flight to get the other family member out to Geneva in time to meet the holiday flight. Inghams even refused to honor the transfer to the resort or the hotel booking.
I have had to cancel my trip and Inghams get to keep all the money.
This seems so unreasonable as the whole Holiday is paid for so what does it matter that one of the names needs changing. Its just a bit of admin that you would think a reputable travel company could manage.
Am I being unreasonable in expecting better service from Inghams?

Would your cancellation be covered by travel insurance, so you can cancel then buy new?

Are you covered by your travel insurance for this? I know it's not a case of you being too ill to travel but obviously the purpose of a ski holiday is to ski so you have to be fit enough for that?

contact your travel insurance

Sorry for your injury. My travel insurance would have covered the whole lot for my family and tour ops/TAs are notoriously inflexible. It’s why I prefer to DIY these days as the cancellation options are generally much better (less bothered about ATOL etc tbh). At the least they’d have paid for your share if you could prove the injury with doctor report etc, surely?

I agree, contact your travel insurance, hopefully you took it out at the time of booking? If not maybe there is some protection if you booked by credit card

I would be contacting the newspaper money columns, they're being totally unreasonable.

I’ve just looked at the T&C on Inghams website which say:

Transfer of booking
^^
You may transfer your booking or place on the booking to someone else, subject to the following conditions:
^^
The person(s) to whom the transfer is to be made is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the arrangements which form part of our contract;
We are notified of the transfer request in writing not less than 7 days before departure;
The transfer request is accompanied by the name and other applicable details of the person(s) to whom the transfer is to be made;
You pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of £25 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer prior to the transfer being effected; and
The person(s) to whom the booking or place on the booking is being transferred agrees to these Booking Conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.
The persons originally booked to travel and those to whom any booking is transferred remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums due to us under the contract. If you are unable to find a replacement for any person(s) who cannot travel or who no longer wish to travel, cancellation charges as set out in clause 1.8 will apply. No refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.
^^
Important: As certain arrangements (such as flights) cannot be amended or transferred after a confirmed reservation has been made, name changes, other alterations and cancellation affecting these services are likely to incur a 100% cancellation charge and the applicable cost of rebooking the service. We will do our best to notify you of this at time of booking.

This suggests that you should be able to transfer the holiday (albeit perhaps not the flight) to the new person, provided it is 7 days or more to the holiday date.

Is the holiday more than 7 days away?

Hopefully your travel insurance will cover this, OP. Sorry you're missing out on your trip!

You are right I should be able to transfer the booking for an admin charge of £25.
The departure date is more than 7 days away.
Inghams, however have said they cannot transfer the flight which we accept and the person will make his own way to Geneva to meet the incoming Inghams flight. But.. Inghams are asking us to pay an extra £629.57 for the hotel and as yet undisclosed extra for the transfer.
We have replied to them pointing them in the direction of their own T&Cs and insisting they honor the contract.
I am waiting to see what their next move will be but I have lost confidence in their integrity and suspect they will continue to duck and dive. What a shower!
I think they expect us to claim on our travel insurance just so we can pass the money on to them but why should they get paid twice for one holiday?
I think that would be a kind of fraud against the insurance company.
Watch this space.😉

There shouldn’t be any additional costs for the transfer, Inghams run their own coach transfers so there’s no third party who’s going to ask for extra £.

I suppose maybe their terms with the hotel enable the hotel to charge for any name changes but I’d be surprised and very surprised if it’s that much!!

I’d be asking them where the £629.57 charge comes from and if the hotel is asking for it, can you see a copy of the terms which entitles the hotel to charge this amount for a name change.

I agree I think they are trying it on.

Thanks for your interest Minipie I'll keep you posted

We've just come back from an Inghams trip and although the hotel was fab the flights and transfers each way were a complete nightmare (broken down coach, no toilets, nearly missed our flights, reps crap communication) - we are yet to get an apology even after a complaint. There communication after we paid in full was poor.
Shame because the hotel and hotel staff were fab and it put me off booking with them again.

If it's the case that you're well within the terms and conditions then I'd be inclined to send an email, quoting that part and advising them of the details of the replacement passenger. Ask how they'd like the £25 admin fee paid and see what happens

FWIW, I'm travelling with crystal ski soon - I've been in touch directly with the hotel to ask about rooms and they were v helpful. Why not email the hotel yourself? The person for the transfer can just say they're you can't they? The reps don't check passports...just say Smith party? Or whatever!

A poster last week wasn't able to claim on her travel insurance when she was injured before a ski holiday - except for lift passes. They took the view she could still fly and still stay in the hotel.

just wondering whether Inghams ever reverted to OP? was considering booking with them next year but this looks like a red flag?

I found Inghams to be hard work when things went wrong. They were most unhelpful and had to be bullied into honouring their terms and conditions.
I won’t be using them ever again.
I keep hearing very good things about Crystal Ski.