Imagine a different world, one where there had been no Coronavirus pandemic and one where we were all still looking forward to and doing all those trips that we had previously booked. Crazy to think of it now isn’t it with the whole world turned upside down and our lives so completely different.
Just over six weeks ago we were looking forward to a well-deserved stay in Tenerife and our calendar was fully-booked right through until September with various trips, visits to friends and family, and several housesits. Now there is nothing booked, nothing planned, and no sign that the situation will change anytime soon. We have been unbelievably fortunate to have found somewhere to rent for a few months so have no complaints especially with the terrible loss of life and sickness all around.
Refunds and cancellations
As soon as we’d found our new ‘home’ we had another huge project to concentrate on. Attempting to cancel all of our bookings officially and get as many refunds as possible. We weren’t at all confident of success as the original official UK Gov warnings only covered up until mid April and the travel companies seemed to be avoiding making any refund/cancellation decisions. We had to start trying though as we’d booked a fair amount.
- Four sets of advance UK train tickets
- Two Premier Inn bookings
- Three Travelodge bookings
- Six Turkish Airlines flights
- Two Uzbekistan Airlines flights
- Two EasyJet flights
- Nine accommodation booking via Booking.com
- Two accommodation bookings via Expedia
- Two Airbnb bookings
- Four housesits
- Three overnight stays with friends
- Six get-togethers with family and friends
- A hospital appointment
- Two dental appointments
- Two doctors appointments
So just one or two to look into ……….. The perils of being over-organised I suppose but who could have foreseen something like the current crisis ever happening.
Cancelling Housesits
These almost cancelled themselves to be honest as the trips that the housesitting hosts were taking began to look as though they would be off so when we contacted them all it was a mass of joint decisions and reluctant acceptance that their trips and our sits would not happen. Very sad as a a couple were return sits with couples that we had become firm friends with. Let’s hope that sometime in the future we can get together again and get these housesits back on.
Appointments
We preempted the medical and dental situation by contacting and cancelling before they made the decision. It was obvious that routine appointments would be off so we just tried to free up their time well in advance.
Get-togethers and overnight stays
These were the saddest things to cancel and the ones we were most reluctant to do as keeping in touch with friends and family is so very important to both of us. Because of our lifestyle we always have to plan seeing those closest to us a long time in advance and it’s sometimes a real juggling act to agree on a mutually acceptable date. So cancelling those arrangements was absolutely gutting. I know we can, and definitely will, re-organise but it could be a while until we see Jackie and Trevor, Caroline and Tim, Keith and Nicola, Trevor and Sharon, Leigh and Mandy, Paul and Rosemary, and of course our family again.
Transport Cancellations
On to bookings that had cost money and suddenly not so easy. Every airline seemed to have different criteria and information on how to cancel and whether a refund was available. With worldwide travel news still unpredictable and changing by the hour it took an unbelievable amount of effort and time to cancel flights with differing results;
- EasyJet – No refunds but we were allowed to rebook the flights later in the year.
- Turkish Airlines – Refund eventually applied for and approved but with advice that it could take 60 days for us to receive the money back.
- Uzbekistan Airways – Really difficult to locate an online refund/cancellation form and then even harder to fill it in. Still waiting to hear anything back after 4 weeks.
Accommodation Cancellations
Slightly more to do here but a little more straightforward as Jo had booked a lot of places with free cancellation included. Some places proved to be easier and much more prepared to cancel bookings than others. Obviously our Travelodge debacle as featured in Social Distancing across England was a lowpoint but almost every other company has come through with flying colours.
- Premier Inn – Absolutely fabulous to deal with, cancelling our bookings and offering full refunds with the minimum of fuss.
- Airbnb – No fee cancellations as the hosts wanted to call off the booking as much as we did.
- Expedia – Easy to contact the individual locations who both cancelled with no issues. Full refunds immediately.
- Booking.com – More complicated as there were so many bookings and we had to contact each property in turn and ask to cancel. The majority cancelled straight away and refunded but a couple took a few weeks to reply but eventually released our money.
- Travelodge – Very difficult to cancel or even get in touch with anyone. After multiple emails, being turned away at the door, online chats, escalating the complaint, and contacting managers we eventually got a refund plus our travel expenses (which was a nice surprise). Just left a bad taste as it was us chasing them constantly which obviously is not ‘customer focused’ at all and not the way things should be. Disappointing.
Current situation
Everything has been cancelled now and the majority of refunds received. We’re just waiting on Turkish Airlines, Uzbekistan Airlines, and Train Split but that amounts to a considerable amount of money so fingers crossed it all comes through okay. Could be some more stroppy emails and escalation otherwise. We will let you know ……
Now we’re just sitting tight along with the rest of the country waiting until the day that we can start to look ahead and begin travelling once again. We may be waiting a little while though.
JWalking 
Good luck with getting your money from the airlines!Still waiting for ours from our Australia trip and waiting to see if our Ryanair gets cancelled!Very frustrating.
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They’re very quick to take your money but unbelievably reticent to return it. Always a real battle.
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Refunds, credits, cancellations, are all words I am not enjoying now. For me, the worst part of not traveling is we had trips to go see our children planned. So, no trips, no kids. On a good note though, I have faith we will travel again and have that to look forward to!! Take care!!
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It’s so depressing having to cancel trips and know that you can’t reschedule for anytime soon isn’t it? I’m sure things will return to near-normal but it could be a seriously long time.
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I agree! Take care!!!
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Good luck with getting your money back. The big lesson for us is to never use Expedia again. We rarely use them but did book a flight to Spain with them. They have zero customer service. Fortunately, we purchased trip insurance with AIG, file a claim, and are waiting for a response as they are: swamped with claims”!
Ryan Air said they are processing our refund, that was a month ago. We had a tour booked and paid for Seville. Still getting the same story, swamped with requests for refunds.
You are right, they are sure quick to take our money! When it takes longer than it should to get your refunds, and you have to chase after them for answers, people will remember that for a long time! We know these are very unusual times but these companies should of had money in reserve for this. It all comes down to corporate greed.
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Hope you get all of your claims sorted out and your money back, may have to be very patient though. It really annoys me when these companies are so slow to offer refunds. They have our money in their accounts earning interest and it’s just their bad business procedures that cause a backlog. Almost theft. Nothing you can do though is there?
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Pleased that you are managing to unravel most of your arrangements. We had numerous long haul and European flights booked between late March and the end of May but have already got refunds from both the airlines and hotels so haven’t needed to call on our travel insurance. The only outstanding reservation is with a Travelodge at Heathrow but am happy to get a credit note from them as we use them frequently at airports. If you are unable to get a refund from the airlines you could perhaps put a charge back claim in if you paid by credit card. We’ve done that in the past and received a refund the same day. Hope it all gets sorted out and we are all able to resume our normal lives very soon.
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We’re doing okay so far with the refunds, it’s the big Turkish Airlines one that we are really after but they said 60 days so we are trying to be patient. It’s sad that all of our arrangements have been cancelled but the effort involved in cancelling anything shouldn’t be necessary. Lack of good customer service all round.
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Good luck with those. I does sound as though you’ve managed to untangle everything, at least.
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It took a while to sort out what needed doing and how to go about it but we’re pretty organised when we need to be and it wasn’t too onerous. Just waiting on a couple of the airlines to come back now. Confidence isn’t that high but hope is eternal.
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Grab that money while the airlines still exist!
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Yeah that’s one of the worries in the back of our minds. Hopefully they’ll sort it out before they go under!
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We’ve yet to cancel our booking for Skye in July, we’re waiting to see what happens and are forever hopeful, but had to cancel two Travelodge bookings for my daughters wedding in May. We got a credit ‘voucher’ which I’m happy about, but it took a few emails to chase it up. I guess there was a lot of bookings to cancel on their part!
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It’s completely understandable that they are inundated with customer wanting help but it’s not great when you have to chase, chase, chase them for it. Should be so much better. Hope your Skye trip in July goes ahead.
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Thank you, hopeful but not holding my breath!
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I’m not sure that ‘confidence is high’.
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Glad you were able to get a number of refunds!
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So far so good thanks Laci, just waiting on a couple of airlines to come through now. Confidence isn’t high unfortunately.
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From what I’ve seen the hotels have been pretty good with refunds, Jonno. Uzbekistan! That would have been an adventure 🙂 🙂
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All the hotels have been good it’s just the airlines we are waiting on now. Uzbekistan was part of our Silk Road backpacking tour that we’d arranged. Unfortunately all off now.
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Another time! It will still be there to adventure to. 🙂 🙂
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Hopefully although we are in two minds about booking the same trip again in the future. May go for something completely different.
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Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be? 🙄💕
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That’s exactly what we are thinking.
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What a lot of unraveling – it must have been quite dispiriting. Hope you get your big airline refund through soon.
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It was pretty stressful and a little worrying sorting everything out but we got there eventually. Just waiting and hoping that those airlines come through now. Fingers crossed.
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Hopefully you’ll be able to make new plans to catch up with all those friends eventually. It sounds like Travelodge will be off our list if and when we return to UK. We had a trip to Tasmania booked for two weeks over Easter. Luckily we got everything refunded, without having to ask. The companies were quick to send emails saying they would give full refunds.
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Good news that you got your Tasmania refund, that’s exactly how these companies should act isn’t it? Promptly and efficiently. Some have so much to learn and will lose customers over the way they treat people. We’re just treading water keeping our heads down hoping that life will start again at some stage in the future. Could be a long time over here though.
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Our government has used the term “goodwill” a lot and many businesses have taken that on board. We think travel within Australia will start again long before our international borders open up.
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I think the term ‘goodwill’ should be picked up by all companies, they might safeguard their future business a little more if they did. Hopefully internal travel will open up soon, that’s the first step isn’t it?
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Yes, people will remember the businesses who gave great service.
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It sounds like you’ve been very busy! Pleased to hear that you’ve mostly had successful outcomes so far. I’d have to think twice before booking at a Travel lodge in future, as I’m sure you will too. We’ve been so lucky so far in Western Australia with our successful flattening of the curve, and also nursing the ill back to health. We’ve had relatively few deaths, and the success has led to a lifting of some restriction. I hope we’re not being premature….. and I hope the UK starts to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. I was appalled to read that people from aged care homes aren’t being admitted to hospitals over there, and aren’t being counted in the UKs statistics. So sad to live to reach the end of ones life and then to be denied the right to a bed that provides the comfort that intensive care can provide. Breaks my heart.
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Things in Australia don’t sound anywhere near as bad as over here which is great. Hopefully you will be getting back to normal-ish very soon. The world is still completely closed here with no sign of any change in the next few weeks. Very tough times for so many people.
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It’s so sad having to cancel everything. As you say we just have to sit tight until the day comes we can start to plan for the future again. I was due to be moving to Spain to live with my girlfriend as soon as my house was sold. Strangely enough there hasn’t been a single viewing recently! I hope you get sorted out with everything!
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The whole world has come to a complete stop for a while, just hope it doesn’t take too long to get going again. Good luck with the house sale.
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What a pain in the arse Jon. It must have taken ages to research and book all of that but I bets it taken even longer to try and cancel and get all those funds back. Good luck!
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It’s been a mammoth process trying to get refunds and cancellations sorted but almost done now.
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Ugh, what a hassle! I guess at least you’ve got the time on your hands to do it now, but it still wouldn’t be high on my list of preferred activities, even with wanting to get the money back. I was in a bit of a fight with United over a flight last year that was cancelled in a very obnoxious way, since they were resolutely refusing to refund any money for the inconvenience, but I gave up after a lengthy email exchange where I got nowhere and just resolved not to fly with them again if at all avoidable, which is probably exactly what they were hoping for.
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It’s a real hassle you’re right but we just had to do it as there were so many bookings and so much money at stake. Most companies have been great but just waiting on the airlines now. Not that confident but living in hope.
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What a list to work through! Fingers crossed you get your money back. My trip isn’t till August so I’m in limbo. Too early to cancel yet but having read the small print across my bookings I’m set to lose a lot of money.
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We’re just sitting and waiting to hear if those refunds turn up now. Trying not to think about it too much. Hope you get some clarity soon on your August trip.
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We are in a similar situation, having booked so many weekends away! Most bookings UK accommodation bookings have been rolled over to next year, but we are really hoping our big US trip can still go ahead in the summer.
How did you get on with your train refunds as we need to buy tickets to the airport soon to get them cheap but don’t want to lose all our money if the trip is cancelled?
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Applied for the train refunds weeks ago but still waiting to hear. Had to send off tickets and forms but not a dicky bird yet. Worrying times.
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I feel your pain! The trip we were supposed to leave on yesterday is completely cancelled – luckily all my Booking.com bookings were easily cancelled with no fuss, but our pre-paid Expedia accommodation was not refundable at all. We managed to get a refund the major long haul flight as we were routing through the USA and as such, it had to be refunded. But dealing with South and Central American airlines yielded nothing other than an offer of credit that we will never be able to use in the timeframes allowed. Still waiting on a coupe of train and entry fee refunds, but its so much backwards and forwards and Google Translate of emails and web pages!!!
Trusting you are safe and well and that one day soon you will get to see the important people in your lives again.
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Oh no, that’s terrible news. Sounds like you were off on a long trip. How many weeks were you planning on being away for and where were you visiting? Depressing when you feel that they won’t refund anything isn’t it? Credit notes are often worthless. We’re okay locked down in the south west but looking forward to seeing our sons as soon as possible. Tough times for so many all over the world. Hope you guys are keeping safe and well also?
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We were going to be away a month, Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Macchu Picchu, then to Mexico to see our daughter. 😢 Not sure when we can see her in the flesh again.
But we’ve got a new home and plenty of gardening/weeding to get into during our lockdown but looking forward to planting once we can shop again.
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That sounds like it would have been an epic trip. Such a shame that so many peoples plans have been cancelled. For the greater good I guess but still disappointing. Will you re-organise the same trip next year do you think?
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Not sure. Air NZ have cancelled that route (NZ to Buenos Aires direct) totally so getting there will be more involved and expensive. But never say never…
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Shame eh? We’re not sure if we’ll organise our Silk Road trip again as the cancellations have sort of made us feel as if it was fate to be called off. Haven’t decided yet.
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Oh gosh that sounds too much like tooth extraction. Caravan Parks down here are usually pretty flexible and allow the booking to be moved to a later date. We only tend to book our winter highlight stay. All though things look to be easing here in Oz we don’t know when they’ll open the state borders. Closing the state borders was a brilliant idea as the authorities can now assess how well different post covid strategies are working. I’m not game to even think about planning a trip for fear of putting a ‘moz’ on it. Stay safe and healthy and our hearts go out to those who’ve lost loved ones.
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It sounds like Australia is doing really well at the moment with things really coming under control. Not so far ahead in the UK yet but certainly going in the right direction. Cancelling everything was far more painful than the dentist but for a good reason and we’ve been lucky in getting most of it refunded. Hope you guys are keeping fit and healthy?
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Fit and well and meeting our caravan mates on zoom. Just need to let a kangaroo loose in the house for a bit of authenticity.😉
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So much to organise in the first place and then more effort to unbook it all! I feel for you and wish you well in trying to get refunds. Hope your plans come together for trips in the not too distant future.
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Thanks Deb. Very frustrating to have to cancel everything but we’re both keeping well so I guess there are more important things to worry about. Still waiting on a few but trying to be relaxed about it. Tough to think of the future whilst we’re in the middle of this so just taking each day as it comes until life starts to unlock again.
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