Desperate for help after booking wrong dates for a trip away

A

Ashling80

Guest
Being my usual unlucky self, I have messed up my boyfriend's birthday present and booked a trip to Barcelona on the weekend of his best friends stag night so he is not in the country for it.
I made the booking through Lastminute.com and I called them two days later to see what I could do to alter the dates. They advised that the hotel reservations team was closed for the day but that they ususally will not alter the dates so i will probably loose the hotel.
They also advised that they add a £30 per person chage for their own administration to alter the flights etc - the airline may also charge on top of this but she was not specific about that.
She is going to call me back in a couple of days to see what she can do about the hotel but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for either cancelling for a small fee or changeing date without such a large fee.
As Lastminute are the agency, is it better that I could go to Aerlingus or the hotel myself to re-organise this and thereby avoid the extra admin from them?
I paid via Laser (over the internet which I now realise is very stupid) is there a way of stopping the payment completely within a few days etc?
I know it is my own fault for not checking this thoroughly enough but because I caught the mistake within 48 hours, surely there is something I can do to rectify this that will not cost the earth?

Desperately awaiting a miracle over here! :) Any suggestions are appreciated!
 
Ashling80 said:
I paid via Laser (over the internet which I now realise is very stupid) is there a way of stopping the payment completely within a few days etc?
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I certainly hope that there isn't. They provided you with the service you asked for. It would be completely wrong of you to try to evade paying for it.
 
Sorry, Brendan. I didn't think about it that way.
I'm simply in a bit of a panic because I have the terrible feeling that it may cost hundreds to correct such a silly mistake of booking the wrong weekend. It's only two days and it cost nearly five hundred as it is. I can't really afford much more than that so I am really very worried.
It seems a little unfair to me that no actual service has been provided yet (I haven't taken any flights or stayed in any hotel) but that that I could loose £500 for essentially clicking the wrong button.
If you have any suggestions about how to correct this without incurring huge fee's I would really appreciate it.
 
Ashling,

I'm very sorry that this has happened, but to be fair it's not the fault of the provider that you booked unsuitable dates. Had you phoned them immediately after you made the booking, they might have been able to accommodate you but a few days later, to them would smack of just wanting to change your mind. Also, your contract is with Lastminute and not with the airline and hotel, so you can't approach them directly appealing for mercy - they'll just refer you back to Lastminute. The reason I'm pointing this out is that I was a travel agent & I have a fair idea how these things work.

You do have a binding contract with them for this trip and any changes and associated charges are entirely at their discretion. All you can do is be polite, calm and ask for their help. Threatening them with cancelling payments, Joe Duffy or consumer affairs won't help your case (just in case you had that as a backup plan)
 
Babaduck has a point Ashling. A girl in Customer services that I know always tell me she is always willing to go that extra mile for those who are polite and pleasant to deal with - so dont go in all guns blazing at them. Ask them as nicely as possible to change the dates and see what they can do.
 
Oh dear, it really looks as if I will loose £500.
I know its my own fault but it seems so very harsh that you can't simply cancel or change dates with a small fee if you give over a moths notice within 48hours of the original booking.
It was such an extravagent present in the first place, I should have just got a playstation game, at least you can return those if you get the wrong one haha! Thanks for the advice anyway babaduck!
 
Thanks dmos87 -I actually am a customer service rep myself so I get your friends point entirely. You get more bees with hunny :) Maybe they will take pity on me but I will not be getting my hopes up. thanks for the help though.
 
If you phone them, try to be a bit more positive than that.
 
Hi Ashling80. Could you get another person to go with you. It may not incur a charge to change the name of the other person (or a minimal charge!).
 
peelabee said:
Hi Ashling80. Could you get another person to go with you. It may not incur a charge to change the name of the other person (or a minimal charge!).
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Good thinking!

I suspect that if it's an Aer Lingus flight, you have lost the bit for your boyfriend. But your own is valid and the hotel won't mind if you change the name.
 
Yes but that leaves OP short of a birthday present (and maybe a boyfriend depending on who she travels with :)) and short on cash.
 
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