Cancelled Thailand trip issues

robjf · 17 May 2010 at 10:02

Having cancelled our trip to Thailand in light of the current problems there we are having issues with getting refunds. The flights were refunded no questions asked, which was great.

Now the tour company said they wont refund us anything as its only Bangkok and several other parts of Thailand, not the whole of Thailand which travel is advised against. They had said 2 weeks ago that they would refund it if it was all but essential travel, which it was at the time.

When you consider we are there for 3 weeks and its getting very unsettled now?! http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/may/17/thailand-protests

Do we have any other options here?

Cheers

Rob

a1ex2001 · 17 May 2010 at 10:14

Assuming you booked through a good tour operator who are ABTA members or similar tell them you will be writing to the appropriate association to complain and that you will also be raising it with trading standards the CAB and anyone else you can think of. You'd be amased how quickly some companies change there minds!

Greebo · 17 May 2010 at 10:19

You can only try but technically they are correct. The Foreign Office only advises against travel to Bangkok, not the rest of Thailand so therefore it was your personal choice to cancel your trip.

Burned_Alive · 17 May 2010 at 10:21

Presumeably you're flying into bangkok and then travelling on from there? So if they accept it's too dangerous to travel to bangkok, how do they suggest you get anywhere else? Might be worth running that by them.

Paul11 · 17 May 2010 at 10:21

Personally i wouldnt have cancelled my trip

trouble is concentrated to a small area of bangkok

if you are going to anywhere else there is no trouble at all especially if you were going down to the islands.

robjf · 17 May 2010 at 10:28

Thats fair but weve decided we do not want to go as we would not enjoy the trip as we otherwise might have without this trouble. The ABTA says that any major changes to a trip (they will be cutting out all of our Bangkok bits of the trip) should be communicated to us, and if we do not want it we should be offered a full refund. Is this enough to go on?

Thanks again.

Burned_Alive · 17 May 2010 at 10:31

robjf said:
Thats fair but weve decided we do not want to go as we would not enjoy the trip as we otherwise might have without this trouble. The ABTA says that any major changes to a trip (they will be cutting out all of our Bangkok bits of the trip) should be communicated to us, and if we do not want it we should be offered a full refund. Is this enough to go on?

Thanks again.

As it's the capital, it would definitely be a major change to miss it out.

stockhausen · 17 May 2010 at 10:31

Paul11 said:
... trouble is concentrated to a small area of bangkok ...

Protests have spread outside the capital with a military bus set afire in the northern city of Chiang Mai and demonstrations in two north-eastern towns in defiance of a government ban. (BBC online)

Travel companies always leave cancelling holidays until after everyone else acknowledges that a destination is unsafe :rolleyes:

What is happening in Thailand is very, very sad; it is such a beautiful country with people who are for the most art kind, friendly and helpful - even if their ruling class does seem to be thoroughly corrupt

Paul11 · 17 May 2010 at 10:33

that is very sad especially that Thailand depends so heavily on tourism

AtreuS · 17 May 2010 at 10:34

Its a tricky one... techinically they may be right, but personally id be cautious to goto a country that is possibly on the verge of a full blown revolution that could get ugly very quickly.

All you need is a few well timed events and things can quickly spiral.

robjf · 17 May 2010 at 10:35

stockhausen said:
Travel companies always leave cancelling holidays until after everyone else acknowledges that a destination is unsafe

What is happening in Thailand is very, very sad; it is such a beautiful country with people who are for the most art kind, friendly and helpful - even if their ruling class does seem to be thoroughly corrupt

Yup were supposed to be going to Chiang Mai aswell...

Bear · 17 May 2010 at 10:58

robjf said:
Thats fair but weve decided we do not want to go as we would not enjoy the trip as we otherwise might have without this trouble. The ABTA says that any major changes to a trip (they will be cutting out all of our Bangkok bits of the trip) should be communicated to us, and if we do not want it we should be offered a full refund. Is this enough to go on?

Thanks again.

If you decided not to go then I think it would be tricky to get any money back at such short notice.

I got back from Thailand last Monday, staying over there for a couple of weeks. The airport was fine and the tour operator asked us if we would move our stay at Bangkok and go straight on Koh Samui which we did. They put us into the hotel we were going to and into the same type room which wasnt cheap at no extra cost to us. In that respect Kuoni was completely first rate.

Kuoni stated they would give us a no quibble full refund if the volcanic ash meant we wouldnt go or if the trouble got so bad that all travel was warned against. In that respect the onus was on them not being able to fullfil their end and hence the refund. As it was you who decided not to go when it would appear fine in other parts of Thailand (dependant of where you are going of course) then it would be like you doing a late cacellation I would suspect.

taz488 · 17 May 2010 at 11:14

im going in July, lets hope things sort themselves out by then :S

Jimbeam3678 · 17 May 2010 at 11:26

I'm flying there in 2 weeks , i'm pretty confident the army will have sorted it out one way or another and even more so rightly or wrongly. Such a complex situation happening over there.......

JayToukon · 17 May 2010 at 12:21

I'd definitely recommend mentioning CAB - most companies **** themselves and swiftly change their minds.

Edit: ignore me - just read everyone elses post like i should've done in the first place!

Citizen420 · 17 May 2010 at 12:25

Why did you cancel the chance to witness a populist uprising against a corrupt and tyrannical government????

You should have just strapped on a pair and went bro, as long as you don't camp in the blockade with the redshirts there is no danger to you....

Seriously, I'm disappointed you cancelled for such a pointless reason.

Nexus · 17 May 2010 at 12:42

As the government has advised against travel to Bangkok, and your flight is to there, I'd imagine if you needed and had a half decent lawyer on your side, you would most likely get your refund.

Sure people who are there now or going have said it's safe and that may well be. But also don't forget that a few years ago the Red Shirts blockaded the airport, and in the current light of the army just shooting people, is it really worth it?

Van Hellseek · 17 May 2010 at 13:01

Burned_Alive said:
Presumeably you're flying into bangkok and then travelling on from there? So if they accept it's too dangerous to travel to bangkok, how do they suggest you get anywhere else?

Because the airport is outside of Bangkok?

Jimbeam3678 · 17 May 2010 at 14:57

Nexus said:
Sure people who are there now or going have said it's safe and that may well be. But also don't forget that a few years ago the YELLOW Shirts blockaded the airport, and in the current light of the army just shooting people, is it really worth it?

FIXED

Jimbeam3678 · 17 May 2010 at 14:59

Citizen420 said:
Why did you cancel the chance to witness a populist uprising against a corrupt and tyrannical government????

You should have just strapped on a pair and went bro, as long as you don't camp in the blockade with the redshirts there is no danger to you....

Seriously, I'm disappointed you cancelled for such a pointless reason.

Not the most intelligent post really ......... Disregarding what opinion you have on the current situation in Thailand :rolleyes:

Cancelled Thailand trip issues

Capodecina