# booked budgettravel.ie: balance due in 1mo. email to say they want upfront payment!



## DublinCeltic (16 Mar 2011)

Hi, i wonder if anyone can give me some information on this matter.

I booked a holiday last night and paid a deposit on budgettravel.ie. The balance is due in one months time which was shown when i entered my card details.

Today i received an email from the travel company (it was acutally a club travel address) requesting the full amount today.

I rang them up and was told that as it was a certain type of flight it needed to be paid straight away otherwise my holiday price could go up if i opted to wait untill i paid the final payment.

Whats the point of asking for a deposit in the first place and advertising this and the total package price ?

The package is cheaper than booking independently so that coupled with a bit of time to pay it off made me go for this option.
Surely this is false advertising ?

There was nothing to notify me of this when i booked and i have saved all the confirmation numbers plus the date when the balance is due.

They offered me a refund of my deposit but i'm not sure how long it will take to get that back meaning i'll be down a few hundred quid which would result in me not being able to book anything else.

Have they right to take a deposit then demand the full amount less than 24 hours later despite giving a final balance due date ?

What annoyed me more was that they didn't phone, just what appeared as an automated email.

If i hadn't of checked my email account i would have not known about this situation.

Can anyone help me out ?

Thanks


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## horusd (16 Mar 2011)

That does seem very odd indeed. But I'd imagine there is something in the contract about increasing the price should fuel increase for example, and a surcharge apply. Sounds like they are giving you the option to book before a surcharge comes into effect. Check the online contract and ask specifically what terms they are invoking which are in it. If your still not happy check with consumer affairs.  There is some info available here:

[broken link removed]


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## Sue Ellen (17 Mar 2011)

You could ask www.consumerconnect.ie for advice.


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## oldnick (18 Mar 2011)

Well, they did offer a refund of deposit - did you not ask if this could immediately be credited to your card ? 
If it  can be immediately refunded then O.K. they made a mistake but immediately rectified it, in which case I'm unsure whether it's worth the hassle of complaining.

If they don't refund it quickly then you have a stronger case.


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## DublinCeltic (26 Mar 2011)

I cancelled with them and rebooked with another company having spoken to the NCA who basically said that i would need to seek legal advice. I couldn't be bothered with all the hassle so i asked for a refund which is supposed to be refunded back to my debit card, no sign of the money four days later


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## Sandals (26 Mar 2011)

If i may ask what company did u rebook with and how did they compare with price. Looking for a week away with three kids and budgettravel seem the cheapest always. Cheers,


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## ajapale (26 Mar 2011)

I imagine this time of year is bad for travel companies with respect to cash flow.


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## DublinCeltic (27 Mar 2011)

Sandals said:


> If i may ask what company did u rebook with and how did they compare with price. Looking for a week away with three kids and budgettravel seem the cheapest always. Cheers,



I used www.americanholidays.com, only €50 deposit but if you book make sure there is an asterix beside the flights as this means they are negotiated prices. They charge a fee (€30) but i have about 6 weeks to pay the balance off which suits me better. It was about €50 more expensive than budget travel but the hotel is better and more central. The prices seem to change everyday as the flights go up/down


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## DublinCeltic (31 Mar 2011)

Still no sign of  the money and their accounts person is apparently off , I'm tempted to go to their main shop/office and demand a cash refund as i don't think it should take this long for refund due to a mistake by themselves.


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## oldnick (1 Apr 2011)

I hope ,when you cancelled that you had some sort of written confirmation that you would get a refund.  If they played hardball then ,frankly, I'm unsure how you'd get your money back other than fighting legally for it - a long tiring process. 
Or maybe, if constantly phoning them doesn't work, going straight to their office  and sitting there till you get your money.

There is no such company as Budget Travel.  Budget Travel Ltd went bust two years ago and the name is now just used as a trading name by Club Travel, 30 lr Abbey St.


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## DublinCeltic (1 Apr 2011)

I have everything on record through email, they messed up by falsely advertising a package deal.
I am in contact with club travel and they said i should have the refund next week. 
It took 2-3 days for my money to be processed from my account so i shouldn't see why it should take any longer for it to be reversed. 
I said i would be calling  into their offices to take a cash refund but i was told that because i paid by debit card it had to be paid back through that.

One company i (and many friends/family) will never be using again. It appears like its run by a couple of people in a small office.


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## DublinCeltic (7 Apr 2011)

just a quick update, 

I have still not received the money yet. I was told last friday (via email) that the money would be in my account this week.
Whats the next step i should take if its not in tomorrow ? I really need this money and have told them that but i have not received a reply from the last mail i sent.
I was going to phone again but i prefer email as at least i have a record of the converstion


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## irishmoss (8 Apr 2011)

I would go down to their office and insist it is refunded to my card straight away. I wouldn't budge from the office until they do. Bring all supported documents with you.


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## DublinCeltic (17 Apr 2011)

Finally got my refund this week, a lesson learned booking with these.


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