The collapse of Lowcostholidays has affected 140,000 holidaymakers. If you're one of the unlucky ones, here's what you need to do now.
Travel firm Lowcostholidays has gone into administration due to ‘the recent and ongoing turbulent financial environment’.
It went bust on July 15 2016, following ‘exhaustive attempts’ by the group’s directors to save it. The group was reportedly taking bookings from holidaymakers up until the day before it went under.
A substantial 140,000 people have been affected, including 27,000 people who are already abroad. A further 110,000 have booked but not travelled yet, says administrator Smith and Williamson.
Many flight bookings will be fine but you should be more worried if you booked hotel and other extras like airport transfers. That said, anyone who has booked with the Lowcosttravelgroup Ltd, Lowcostholidays Spain, Hoteling.com and Lowcostbeds.com A.G brands should read on.
I’m already abroad on a trip I booked with Lowcostholidays. What can I do?
Your flights will have been reserved when you booked so these are still valid for your journey home.
However, if you booked hotels, transfer suppliers or car parking suppliers you’ll need to rebook or pay them locally.
[SPOTLIGHT] Administrator Smith and Williamson says that travellers who booked a combination of flights and hotels can also try to reclaim from Govern de les iles Balears, the regulator of the Spanish travel agency.
Register your complaint by emailing: lowcosttravelspain@smith.williamson.co.uk.
I’m due to travel on a trip booked with Lowcostholidays. Where do I go from here?
As before, your flights will have been confirmed when you made the booking so in most cases you’ll be good to go. If you haven’t received confirmation of your flight details yet, it’s best to check with the airline directly to make sure.
Unfortunately all of your hotels, transfers and parking will be cancelled without a refund. Smith and Williamson says that those who booked a combination of flights and hotels should also try and reclaim from Govern de les illes Balears.
The administrator said: "As regards customers who have not travelled as yet a small number will have problems as regards their flights not having been paid for and many will have problems as regards their hotel rooms not having been paid for."
You can register your complaint by emailing: lowcosttravelspain@smith.williamson.co.uk.
How can Lowcostholidays get away with this?
Lowcostholidays isn’t protected by the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol) because it moved the business to Spain back in 2013.
If you book a holiday with an Atol-protected firm, you can continue with a flight abroad or get a refund if you’re still in the UK, even if the company goes bust.
The tour operator isn't a member of Abta either, which represents British travel agents.
Can I get my money back?
This depends on what payment method you used and how much you paid.
You’re in better luck if you paid by credit card. For those who paid £100 or more (even if a penny of that was paid on the card), your credit card provider is jointly liable with the seller under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
If you paid by debit card you may be able to scrape back your lost cash through a chargeback scheme, where your provider can get cash back from the retailer’s bank should something go awry. It’s more of a customer service promise than a legal requirement so it might not work, but give it a go anyway.
However you try and get your money back, keep all records of receipts, emails, times and dates of telephone calls and any other relevant information.
Am I covered by my travel insurance?
Your travel insurer may be able to pay out if you have a suitable policy, but many won’t cover you unless you’ve bought specific travel firm failure cover.
Check your policy right away.