A mum from Edinburgh was refused a full refund less than 24 hours after booking a package family holiday when she found out the hotel is a nine-hour journey and ferry ride from the airport with no transport provided.
She had booked to go to Tenerife with her husband and two young children aged 10 and 11 later this year on their first family holiday in three years due to Covid. But she was left stressed and having to rebook the hotel after discovering they couldn't get a refund.
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The mum-of-two had sorted package holidays before and never had such a long transfer between the hotel and the airport especially, she said, without the travel broker arranging transport.
Expedia explained that this booking was non-refundable and non-transferable so any changes would have to be made through the individual airlines. She explained her frustration over the holiday nightmare and has now booked a new hotel much closer to the airport.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: "So we booked it on Sunday night around 10pm on Expedia. It was a package holiday so first, you choose the hotel and then the flights.
"The first flight options were Edinburgh to Tenerife south airport. We’d never been so we just assumed that was the closest airport to the hotel.
"I’ve never been on a package holiday where they give you the option of a nine-hour drive to the hotel from the airport. So we made the booking.
"The hotel had ‘fully refundable’ on it and we planned to get travel insurance to cover the flights. An hour or so after booking, I checked the distance from the airport to the hotel so I could arrange transport. I realised it was roughly a nine-hour drive with a ferry trip in between.
"I immediately messaged Expedia and, bearing in mind I’d only booked one hour before and the transaction hadn’t even reached my credit card, they said there was nothing they could do."
She explained: "They said I could cancel the hotel myself and get a full refund but that the cancellation of the flights was up to me. I tweeted about the situation and went to bed.
"I was so stressed that I woke at 4am and saw that ExpediaHelp which was a verified account, had replied to my tweet asking me to DM them my phone number.
"I sent it to them and a man immediately answered and asked for further details. When he asked me to download a money transfer app I realised he was a scammer, hung up and blocked him."
In the morning she managed to speak to Jet2 who unfortunately explained that if booked online no refund could be issued. She said: "At 8am I called Jet2 because their website says they’re open from then.
"A customer rep told me that all their flights are non-refundable. She refused to put me through to a manager or to help me escalate my complaint.
"When I insisted on escalating I was put on hold for 20 minutes and then she came back on, reiterated that there was nothing they could do and again refused to escalate it.
"So I hung up, and we decided that we’d just have to book a hotel near the random Spanish airport. We haven’t been away for three years and the kids are so excited."
A spokesperson for Expedia said: "Upon review, we’ve confirmed that according to the individual airline policies for this booking, this ticket was non-refundable and non-transferable, and any voluntary changes or cancellations must be handled directly with the airlines."
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They added: "However, as a part of Expedia’s commitment to advocate on behalf of travellers, our customer service agents have contacted the airlines on behalf of her to assess possible resolutions.
"Our team has also added 20000 reward points to her Expedia account to help cover a new hotel booking and should she wish to change the trip date, we are providing information on flight flexibility options."
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “Jet2.com flight-only bookings are non-refundable, and any amendment or cancellation to the booking is subject to our normal terms and conditions, and this is made very clear.
"As she booked her package holiday through another company, we have advised her that she would need to liaise with them about amending or cancelling the holiday.”
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