How your deposit could be lost at sea if you’re forced to cancel a cruise

JAMES and Kathleen O’Keefe were looking forward to three cruises over the next 18 months, including a round-the-world trip that would take them to Cape Town, Sydney and Jordan.

But last month they had to cancel them all when James, 93, had a fall — and he was given the devastating news he would never walk again.

Yet while their travel firm still has plenty of time to re-sell their tickets, worth £21,199, the couple have lost nearly £5,000 in deposit money.

James and Kathleen, of Upminster, in the London borough of Havering, are among scores of readers who complained to Money Mail that they were unfairly penalised after being forced to cancel holidays months in advance. Many believe travel companies could be profiting twice by retaining their money and also re-selling the trip.

Now the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulator has warned travel firms that any cancellation fees must be proportionate to their losses. It said last week that terms should be ‘clear and reasonable’ and that any term that allows a large deposit to be withheld could be unfair if it doesn’t reflect the amount the business is losing.

While James and Kathleen’s Bordeaux river trip was due to depart in September, the roundthe-world cruise would not begin until January next year, and their final cruise, along the Seine in Paris, not until September 2020 — more than 18 months after they cancelled. But retired industrial engineer James, and Kathleen, who used to work for an insurance company, had been told they will not get any of their £4,979 in deposits back from their agency ROL Cruise.

Kathleen, 84, says: ‘I am sure they will be able to re-sell the bookings, especially the ones next year. I don’t see why they couldn’t have given us a partial refund at the very least.’

Last year, complaints site Resolver received 470 grievances about travel firms and ‘ cancellation charges’, a sharp increase from 396 in 2017 and 91 in 2016. And a survey by Ipsos Mori found 89 pc of travellers feel they should get all, or most, of their money back if a firm re-sells.

Under consumer law, holiday companies are entitled to ask a cancelling customer to pay a fee to cover their losses. Cruise companies and tour operators typically have a sliding scale — the closer you are to the departure date, the more you lose. But there are concerns many of the terms and conditions are unfair.

Rory Boland, travel editor at consumer group Which?, says: ‘Having to call off a long-awaited trip away is bad enough, but it’s made even worse when the cancellation policy is unfair, unclear or buried deep within the terms and conditions.’

Martyn James of Resolver says: ‘Deposits should represent the actual cost to the firm for cancellation. They must not be another source of income.’

Joy Cobban, 76, and Lorraine Owen, 68, cancelled their £13,000 fly-cruise 15 months ahead of the departure date next January, but lost £1,000 in deposit money to agency Infinity Cruises.

The couple, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, are both unwell. Joy says: ‘It is a lot of money to lose. They had, and still have, so much time to re-sell the trip and I am sure they probably will.’

Geoffrey, 72, and Belinda Marston, 69, booked their £4,200 ten-day China and Hong Kong trip with Travelsphere in 2016.

But the couple, from Bury St Edmunds, lost their £899 deposit because Belinda had to have an operation on her spine and would not be mobile enough for the trip six months later.

Geoffrey was told by the travel firm that he could book another holiday and use the deposit as credit. But he says: ‘I was having to cancel due to Belinda’s operation. I wasn’t planning to book another holiday any time soon.’

Firms often tell customers they can claim on their travel insurance. But many insurers will not cover trips booked more than a year in advance and not all policies cover cruises. Package holidays must provide a justification for any cancellation fee on request.

Bruce Crawcour, 72, won a £2,200 refund from TUI at a small claims court after finding out his cancelled booking had been re- sold. Bruce, from Clive, Shrewsbury, had to cancel their 2013 Majorca holiday six days before they were due to leave after his wife Kay became ill.

He says: ‘It became a matter of principle rather than money and I would encourage others to challenge these firms.’

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA, the travel association, says: ‘ There are circumstances when a cancellation charge may apply, but it must genuinely reflect the costs of cancellations faced by the travel company.’

Yet an ABTA spokesman added: ‘Companies can charge fees that reflect their losses across their entire programme, rather than for each individual booking.’

A ROL Cruise spokesman says it has offered the O’Keefes £300 as a goodwill gesture, adding: ‘As retail agent, ROL Cruise manages the deposit on behalf of each cruise line, which is paid directly to them. As soon as the cancellations were made, the cabins were released back to the market for national resale.’

Spokesmen for Cunard and Saga, two cruise lines the couple booked with, say they do not profit from cancellations. Saga will offer £ 616 as a goodwill gesture. The third, Fred Olsen, said deposits represent pre-estimated losses due to cancellation.

In Joy’s case, tour operator Infinity Cruises says: ‘Deposits we take are in line with the terms of our suppliers and cover costs we incur.’ And Princess Cruises would not comment because it was not the tour operator.

Travelsphere went into administration in 2016 before it was bought by G Touring Limited. A spokesman says: ‘G Touring never benefited in any way from Mr and Mrs Marston’s booking.’