Messed up booking

[Tesco]

I already know the answer to this.
Booked a trip to Palermo yesterday via a well known pink logo travel website.
Sorted hotel, flights etc, picked dates, paid extra for checked baggage. Sorted.

Get confirmation. And then the crushing realisation that I selected the 10th month not the 9th.

Called website number immediately. No cancellation option available. All I could get back is the airport taxes.

It's there genuinely nothing that can be done?

I can move my leave from work dates. Partner can't. She works at a kids theme park and the dates I've accidentally booked, are right in the middle of one of the busiest events of the year for them.

So now I'm 12 hundred quid down and have a holiday we can't go on.

Pretty fed up to be honest.
One accidental click and no going back. Not even a 20 minutes grace period.

Not even sure why I'm posting. Guess I just need to take deep breaths and put it all behind us. I'll be fine. It's my good lady I'm hurting for. She so looks forward to her time away somewhere and now I've gone and cocked it all up.

[fat80b]

Have you priced up the difference to the new dates ?

I’d keep trying to resolve it and pay the difference. Get at them on twitter if you are not getting a response in other ways.

I did something similar many moons ago when I booked some Ryanair flights for a weekend in feb to go to Edinburgh for the rugby when the match was actually in March. I realised straight away and did manage to move them and pay the difference.

[Tesco]

Hotel I booked isn't available on the dates I need typically.
I did manage to speak to a human on their (unhelpful) help line.
Booking is final, no cancellation or changes allowed. All we can refund you is the airport taxes.

Just seems so ridiculous. It was a genuine mistake that I tried to rectify within 20 minutes of it happening. But why would they care, they have hundreds of thousands of customers and have my money regardless. It's my fault, not theirs so can happily wash their hands of it.

[Geffg]

Or you can still go and so halve the loss. Or a mate that wants a holiday. Might have turned out better than you originally thought. Bit of peace and a laugh with a mate for a week.

[Tesco]

I do t really have any friends like that. To be brutal, I don't really know may people I would call friends. and certainly not anyone I want to share a bed with. People I know would t be interested in this sort of trip anyway.

Also, I don't think galavanting off with a bezzie (if I even had one) is going to improve how I feel about what I've done to my partner.

[Tesco]

Geffg said:

Or a mate that wants a holiday.

Turns out can't do this even if I considered it an option.

Can't change the names on the bookings apparently.

[lost in espace]

Try twitter, facebook, insta, and email the CEO. Email Martin Lewis and the Guardian consumer helpdesk. Don't give up!

Talk to the card provider you paid with. I always get my wife to check any big booking, because I am a dufus.

[cliffords]

Who did you book with ?

[Tesco]

lost in espace said:

Try twitter, facebook, insta, and email the CEO. Email Martin Lewis and the Guardian consumer helpdesk. Don't give up!

Talk to the card provider you paid with. I always get my wife to check any big booking, because I am a dufus.

It's there in black and white in their terms and conditions. No changes, no cancellation refunds. They have no responsibility to do anything and can just ignore any requests and emails. I've investigated several avenues. Credit card company can't do anything, it's a legitimate purchase. I am solely responsible for the error. Just galling that there is literally no call off procedure, regardless of the timeframe. I could understand if the trip was in a few days, but its a couple of months away. It could easily be re-marketed. I'd even accept a suitable "admin fee" for this. But no, it's a done deal. No going back in any of it. I am surprised it's even allowed under UK distance selling / trading standards to have no method of recourse at all. But that's where we are.

[Motorman74]

That is horrendous...

I have screwed up a couple of bookings, but it had little impact fortunately - once booked the wrong flight home from Barbados - overnight flight and I booked the day I wanted to land, not the day we needed to leave - we stay with family, so not a big deal - we had a BBQ and invited all our friends over...

The other one was a hotel and parking package - got the wrong date - they couldn't have been more helpful and it was all sorted...

My wife checks absolutely everything before I book now.

I do wonder how these companies with such piss poor customer service (whether it's on the terms and conditions or not) get any repeat customers...

[Tesco]

cliffords said:

Who did you book with ?

All done through Lastminute and paid via PayPal.

Not something I think I'll even attempt again.

They, legally haven't done anything wrong. I'm just angry with myself for such a stupid mistake. I doubt I'm the first to fall foul of an error like this. Hence the watertight (helium tight even!) terms and conditions.

"You bought it bozo, your problem."

[Sheepshanks]

Tesco said:

I am surprised it's even allowed under UK distance selling / trading standards to have no method of recourse at all. But that's where we are.

I recall there being talk years ago about mandating a 24 hr amendment period but nothing seems to have come of it.

Some surveys say a significant proportion of online booking have errors. Must admit I find it stressful - if you flick back and forward some sites do change dates and often all the info isn’t there on the final page.

I wonder if there might be an Unfair Contract Terms angle - the supplier will cancel if it turns out they made an error, but the customer can’t?

[cliffords]

From their website. Wow.

Automatic right to cancel under Distance Selling Regulations
You do not have the automatic right to cancel your contract under the UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, or other equivalent or replacement consumer legislation that may apply from time to time. Parts of this legislation do not apply to contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or services related to leisure activities, if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance.

[Sheepshanks]

cliffords said:

From their website. Wow.

Automatic right to cancel under Distance Selling Regulations
You do not have the automatic right to cancel your contract under the UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, or other equivalent or replacement consumer legislation that may apply from time to time. Parts of this legislation do not apply to contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or services related to leisure activities, if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance.

DSR doesn’t apply to holidays.

[extraT]

Feel really bad for you, did something similar (got dates wrong) that thankfully meant I could sprang an extra three days in Vietnam. However, since then, I write all the dates down and literally tick it as I enter them into the site. Then read everything twice and one more to be sure. It sucks realise something in wrong so soon after.

Is it you + Mrs + kids? Could you go just with the kids? Mrs works at a theme park, does any other colleagues have the same week off they could swap with, or is it verboten?

[anonymous-user]

Sheepshanks said:

cliffords said:

From their website. Wow.

Automatic right to cancel under Distance Selling Regulations
You do not have the automatic right to cancel your contract under the UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, or other equivalent or replacement consumer legislation that may apply from time to time. Parts of this legislation do not apply to contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or services related to leisure activities, if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance.

DSR doesn’t apply to holidays.

Only package holidays.

[Tesco]

extraT said:

Is it you + Mrs + kids? Could you go just with the kids? Mrs works at a theme park, does any other colleagues have the same week off they could swap with, or is it verboten?

It's just the 2 of us. We don't have children.
No one is allowed that week off where she works. Pretty much the biggest event of the year for them.

[anonymous-user]

Tesco said:

It's just the 2 of us. We don't have children.
No one is allowed that week off where she works. Pretty much the biggest event of the year for them.

A week before the holiday, your other half will need some time off for stress. A holiday should help her recover....

[FrankAbagnale]

I wonder why they won't let you change the names on a booking for an admin fee. Feels very harsh.

A lot of companies have similar rules around changes.

Should be illegal to not allow transfer, in good time, for a small fee.

[UpTheIron]

Ignoring the harshness of the situation, what about buying tickets for a flight back a day early?