Cutting a Holiday Short Due to Bereavement
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My mam and stepfather have just had to cut short their two-week holiday after only one week, due to a sudden family bereavement.
My stepfather's mother had passed away.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, they had to pay £400 for a new flight home.
The travel company (Thomas Cook) did nothing to help or assist them with this unforeseen circumstance, never arranged a new flight, or even offered to cover the expense of said flight.
Is this normal behaviour?
Has anyone else had experience of this nature?
Is there any way they could be due a refund on that additional flight?
As they had already previously paid for a flight home, it was more a case of bringing it forward.
Thanks.
My stepfather's mother had passed away.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, they had to pay £400 for a new flight home.
The travel company (Thomas Cook) did nothing to help or assist them with this unforeseen circumstance, never arranged a new flight, or even offered to cover the expense of said flight.
Is this normal behaviour?
Has anyone else had experience of this nature?
Is there any way they could be due a refund on that additional flight?
As they had already previously paid for a flight home, it was more a case of bringing it forward.
Thanks.
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Comments
We flew home five days early last year due to a death in the family.
We just booked the flights home and that was that, we did not even think about the money it cost as we just needed to get home asap to be there for the family.
It is just the way it goes at times, stuff happens and we may lose out on holiday time and have to stump up extra money for flights home etc.
Sorry to hear about the death in your family.
All the best to you.
They're the same as you SB, they thought sod the cost, they just wanted to get home as quickly as poss.
It's me who thinks it's outrageous tbh, not them.
Thanks Wiz, I'll check the insurance policy with my mam and see where she stands.
Your parents need to look at their travel insurance cover - as the death was unexpected, they are likely to have their expenses reimbursed without a problem. Death of someone already ill is often excluded from policies.
If their original flights were booked as part of a package, it is unlikely that they will be reimbursed by the holiday company but any contract / terms & conditions they agreed to with whoever provided their holiday arrangements (travel agent, holiday company, airline) will provide information on refunds.
Definitely their first step is to contact their travel insurers.
Thanks very much Normandie, really appreciated.
But it's up to the insurance company and not the travel company to sort expenses. As long as it's an insurable reason and is covered in the policy then they should be able to make a claim. That's what insurance is there for & quite often tour operators get slated for "not helping out" when they're actually not expected to.
All the best
I'm going to go through the insurance they took out tomorrow morning with her and see if she's covered.
They live in Birmingham but were flown back to Manchester, and had to get a taxi home.
They're not too worried about that - they don't seem too bothered about the plane fares either in truth, they're just glad to be home.
I just thought it worth finding out where they stood, and all you guys have been very helpful.
Now I know it's not the travel company but the insurance I need to pursue, I feel a lot better prepared.
Thanks.
As long as the sudden bereavement wasn't down to a pre-existing medical condition that your step father's mother had, if it was and as long as the insurance company are aware then they will be covered.
If the insurance company does wiggle out of it (they may if the deceased was ill) then it's just one of those things you just have to pay for. Frankly, if I had to get home quickly in such an event then the cost would be the last thing on my mind.
Yes you are right, and it's the last thing they care about right now to be fair, I just thought I would try and help a bit on their behalf by seeing if they could make any claim, because they'd taken out a top of the range Platinum Insurance policy.
They're quite happy to have paid whatever it cost, but I think if you pay for quality insurance cover then you should claim if eligible.
Thanks again for all your comments and help though, you've all been a great help.
I'm going to get on the blower now and talk to an insurance advisor.
They don't wiggle out of it, if there is an exclusion with regards to a family member having pre-existing conditions, then it will be under the cancellation/curtailment sections of the policy. It is up to the insured to read the policy and know exactly what they are covered for, hence why you have a 14 day cooling off period. Unfortunately most people tend not to read the policies.
Paying for an expensive policy usually just means limits are increased, the overall policy usually covers the same as a basic policy just with lower limits, most people think paying more means better which isn't the case. A policy only needs to fit your needs. One classic example is medical, the most you really need is £1 million pounds cover, but people get drawn in with £5-£10 million pounds cover, which isn't needed.
Anyway OP sorry about yours & family loss, hope the don't end up losing any money, but I'm sure that is the last thing on their/yours mind at the moment.