Travel Agent’s Cancellation Charge

[holidaydebbie]

I have booked a cruise for this July but unfortunately it coincides with my daughter’s graduation week and I have no option but to cancel. I have booked on an early saver fare so no option to change the date or claim on travel insurance. At this stage I have only paid my deposit but it is quite a hefty one - £413 to be precise. I have reconciled myself to the fact that I will lose this but my problem is that the travel agent has told me that to cancel they require a written request together with an agreement to pay, not only the deposit (which as stated earlier, is already paid) but a £50 pp admin charge which they reckon is theirs, implying that the £413 has gone to P & O. I am curious to find out how they will collect this charge if I refuse. I must admit this is the first I’ve heard of another charge on top of a deposit but it is in their small print and I am not in the habit of cancelling my holidays so don’t have much experience of it. I was thinking of complaining to the regulatory body but has anyone else got any suggestions or experienced this? Indeed, am I being unreasonable to have a problem with this charge?

[amajaa]

Wow I think you need to book with a new travel agent another time. 

 

Unfortunately if you book a Saver Fare that is the risk you take. I very much doubt insurance will pay out because something else had come up but would be really interested to know the outcome of that one. 

[Cathygh]

You might be able to sell your cabin, there is a page on a another site that had P&O cabins for sale. I believe that P&O charge £20pp for a name change.

[holidaylover10]

The travel agent we use is a well known UK cruise agent, they make it clear there is a £50 non refundable admin fee if you cancel or make amendments. I use this agent most of the time so can't comment on other agents policies. It may seem harsh, but I understand they have spent time on booking and cancelling with cruise line and will want some recompense.

[amurray88]

4 minutes ago, holidaylover10 said:

The travel agent we use is a well known UK cruise agent, they make it clear there is a £50 non refundable admin fee if you cancel or make amendments. I use this agent most of the time so can't comment on other agents policies. It may seem harsh, but I understand they have spent time on booking and cancelling with cruise line and will want some recompense.

This should be charged at time of booking though... The OP has no responsibility to tell anyone they are cancelling - I wouldn't pay when final payment is due and that is that. If they wanted an admin fee then that should be charged at booking, not at time of cancellation?

[holidaylover10]

4 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

This should be charged at time of booking though... The OP has no responsibility to tell anyone they are cancelling - I wouldn't pay when final payment is due and that is that. If they wanted an admin fee then that should be charged at booking, not at time of cancellation?

As far as I am aware if you proceed with the booking through completion there is no fee, so maybe that's why its not taken on booking.

[david63]

I would make a guess that it is more of a "our commission replacement" fee than an "admin fee"

[amurray88]

8 minutes ago, david63 said:

I would make a guess that it is more of a "our commission replacement" fee than an "admin fee"

Exactly as it reads to me too but personally, I don't think there's any responsibility on OP to inform anyone they're cancelling 

[terrierjohn]

30 minutes ago, holidaylover10 said:

The travel agent we use is a well known UK cruise agent, they make it clear there is a £50 non refundable admin fee if you cancel or make amendments. I use this agent most of the time so can't comment on other agents policies. It may seem harsh, but I understand they have spent time on booking and cancelling with cruise line and will want some recompense.

I too would be very interested to know how they will collect this, especially if you let the balance payment lapse, as I don't think P&O would pursue you for further payment.

[Bin man]

Have moved 2 cruises and cancelled 1 completely due to ill health at the time .Lost the deposit on the cancelled one which at the time was £50 p/p dep booked onboard low dep so got off lightly so no extra charge incurred 

[Bin man]

Ps that was with a TA who deals with cruises of similar name 

[tring]

If it is stated in T&C's say a £50 payment is due in this case then it is perfectly legal.  If you do not pay, the agent could sue you, though whether they would bother is perhaps debatable.   However, you would be in default of that payment which may get you a bad reputation of non payment.  They may tell other travel agents or maybe some way this can be shared with other businesses, though I have no idea how this sort of thing works.  Hardly seems worth getting into that situation for the sake of £50 imo though.

 

If it is an agent we have used in the past, (when an amount was kept back from a payment due to us after a cruise line cancelled a cruise).  If so, that agent let us make another fresh cruise booking and that lost payment was considered as part of the new cruise cost.  What they wanted was a cruise booked with them, so they got a commission from the new cruise.  Would not get you the P&O deposit back, but you would not loose a further £50.  We did not use that agent again.

 

The alternative, as someone suggested, is to sell the cruise booking which may be viable if you booked at a good price.  P&O allow that to be done, but wondering if the agent would be prepared to go with that as well, if so they may lop on an admin charge. 

 

Edited January 19 by tring

[tring]

40 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

Exactly as it reads to me too but personally, I don't think there's any responsibility on OP to inform anyone they're cancelling 

 

But if they do not pay the balance they have effectively cancelled, or to be precise, the cruise line will cancel it.

 

[tring]

34 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I too would be very interested to know how they will collect this, especially if you let the balance payment lapse, as I don't think P&O would pursue you for further payment.

 

The further payment is being charged by the agent, not P&O.

 

[terrierjohn]

15 minutes ago, tring said:

 

The further payment is being charged by the agent, not P&O.

 

Agreed, but I was stating that I did not think P&O would seek to  demand any percentage payment of the balance, so the only way the TA would receive his admin fee would be to sue the passenger, which would cost the TA more in legal fees than it's worth, especially as they would not have incurred any admin costs.

[amurray88]

2 hours ago, tring said:

 

But if they do not pay the balance they have effectively cancelled, or to be precise, the cruise line will cancel it.

 

Agreed - but then P&O would owe the TA the £50, not the booker...as P&O have cancelled, not the booker.

Either way - I think the way the TA has worded it isn't right. A well known TA used to give you £50 discount off the total cruise and charge £50 admin fee at time of booking.

 

If cruise cost £1,000 and P&O wanted £100 deposit -

At time of booking -

Deposit - £100

Admin fee - £50

Still to pay - £900 - £50 discount = £850

 

This meant if you cancelled P&O get their deposit, TA gets their admin fee.

If you didn't cancel then the TA would (I guess) pay the £50 admin fee towards your cruise to cover the £50 discount they gave you.

 

It might seem complex, but it's the right way that a TA could cover themselves without the cruise costing you more.

[roomba920]

7 hours ago, holidaydebbie said:

I have booked a cruise for this July but unfortunately it coincides with my daughter’s graduation week and I have no option but to cancel. I have booked on an early saver fare so no option to change the date or claim on travel insurance. At this stage I have only paid my deposit but it is quite a hefty one - £413 to be precise. I have reconciled myself to the fact that I will lose this but my problem is that the travel agent has told me that to cancel they require a written request together with an agreement to pay, not only the deposit (which as stated earlier, is already paid) but a £50 pp admin charge which they reckon is theirs, implying that the £413 has gone to P & O. I am curious to find out how they will collect this charge if I refuse. I must admit this is the first I’ve heard of another charge on top of a deposit but it is in their small print and I am not in the habit of cancelling my holidays so don’t have much experience of it. I was thinking of complaining to the regulatory body but has anyone else got any suggestions or experienced this? Indeed, am I being unreasonable to have a problem with this charge?

I thought they allow a one time date change request? I have an early saver reservation, and we were able to move it from June to May without losing our deposit, or paying any fee.

[Snow Hill]

Admin Fees known in some quarters as “extra profit fees”, 

[amajaa]

The Specialist Cruise Agent we use does not charge an admin fee for cancellation. I understand some do and I think these are also the same agents that ask for the balance over a month before P & O ask for it. 

[pete14]

Another good reason to book directly with P&O and cut out the middleman who needs to impose charges to increase turnover. It also means that if an issue like this arises, you can speak directly to P&O, rather than allowing somebody else to negotiate on your behalf.

[Fionboard]

5 minutes ago, pete14 said:

Another good reason to book directly with P&O and cut out the middleman who needs to impose charges to increase turnover. It also means that if an issue like this arises, you can speak directly to P&O, rather than allowing somebody else to negotiate on your behalf.

Agree. I always book direct now, or on board. May cost a few pounds more but P&O are actually easier to contact then the TAs I have used and only require full payment 90 days in advance. 

[david63]

16 minutes ago, pete14 said:

you can speak directly to P&O,

But only if you have plenty of time!

 

However I do agree with booking direct with P&O, or any other cruise line, is better than using a TA (I have had bad experiences with the TAs that I have used in the past)

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

Agree. I always book direct now, or on board. May cost a few pounds more but P&O are actually easier to contact then the TAs I have used and only require full payment 90 days in advance. 

You're not using one of the better TAs if P&O are easier to contact, my TA's phone is answered in seconds and if there is no agent available they offer a ring back which, on the one occasion an agent was not available, happened within an hour.

[Fionboard]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

You're not using one of the better TAs if P&O are easier to contact, my TA's phone is answered in seconds and if there is no agent available they offer a ring back which, on the one occasion an agent was not available, happened within an hour.

Does yours expect final payment 90 days in advance, or 4 months like some of them? 

[Harryjacobs]

Rang P&O this morning at 9am.  Phone answered immediatley and booking made quickly and effeciently.   I am not sold on using a TA, I looked on one and the saving was just £25 and others were the exact same price as direct.

Id rather cut out the middleman unless the saving is larger than what I have seen.