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P and O change/Cancellation policy


KatieMiddleton
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am writing to you regarding a recent problem I had with P and O cruises recently, which I feel may need to be highlighted to other cruisers.

 

My husband, myself and my daughter were booked to go to on a Caribbean cruise this December (2016) and had booked and paid a £900 deposit some months ago. Due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to afford this cruise anymore and wanted to change it to another cruise.

It seems that P and O have rather Draconian policies on changing cruises and insisted that we could only change the cruise to another of the same value (before our loyalty discount) which would have meant us spending over £7000 or losing the deposit. This was despite me letting them know nearly 12 months in advance.

 

There was also a £100 admin fee that would have incurred. My question to P and O is this.. how can we afford £7000 on another cruise when this was the reason for changing it initally. You are forcing our hand into cancelling and then you will make £900. And why can you not let us change it to another cruise or a lesser value? They will then still be ensuring our custom.

We have travelled with P and O on numerous occasions and expect some loyalty.I think this policy is a clause that most customers will not be aware of and should think of before patronising this company.

I understand the £100 admin fee but I think the changing policy is very harsh and should be investigated.

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I am very sorry for your change in circumstances, Katie, and this post is not meant to sound unsympathetic,

 

Maybe you could go back to P&O or your travel agent explaining your circumstances in full and asking them for a change of heart as a good will gesture to a returning customer? It's worth a try. I would suggest better that approach though rather than challenging their policy as this part of the cancellation policy is clearly outlined in the T&Cs which we are all supposed to read thoroughly before booking.

 

Any chance of your insurance covering your change in circumstances?

Edited by Scriv
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Hi Katie, sorry you have found yourself in this situation, none of us ever know what's around the corner and its a shame your change in circumstance could not have been accommodated more flexibly, to retain your custom. I do think that it is rather short-sighted as you probably have many years cruising ahead of you, but hopefully you will take great satisfaction spending your money with another cruise line. I had an incident with Currys when I was 18 and I have never to this day purchased any items from them or their associated companies since - they don't realise they lost thousands in lost revenue that day but it makes me feel good [emoji6]

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Hi, awful situation you're in, so sorry. Surprised they are not being more understanding, but suppose there's never a guarantee you'll get any form of deposit back when you effectively decide you are cancelling a holiday. Have you tried the usual routes of customer services, writing to them, trading standards, or some form of ombudsman?

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A number of retailers have this type of policy. You buy something want to return it and do so but there is nothing wrong with the item. The retailer offers you a credit note which you need to spend within twelve months or you have lost your money.

 

Some retailers offer a 30 or however many days period during which you can return an item for a no quibble full refund in cash or to the credit card you used to purchase the item.

 

It's unfortunate but cruise lines all tend to work in the way the OP described for the UK market.

 

Regards John

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As has been posted instead of challenging their T and C, which you signed to say you understood and accepted you can only try the carrot approach.

Maybe send an email to them (can take up to 21 days to reply) setting out your problems and see if there is any option they can give you. You will then have a paper trail.

It will do no good getting trading standards ,ombudmans etc involved as P and O have done nothing wrong.

We have had to cancel/move a couple of cruises in the past and have always known that what replaced it had to be the same cost or more expensive.

I think you may have to just bite the bullet and lose the £900. No one likes to do that and it will leave a nasty taste, but I would imagine most other cruise lines operate the policy in the uk.

As John Watson states this is more a UK thing, not a P and O thing.

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And it is also not just a cruising thing but applies to a lot of other holiday companies' terms and conditions too and some of those don't even give you the chance of transferring the deposit to another property or booking no matter how early on you have booked.

Edited by Scriv
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Is your insurance any use?

 

As for P&O, it does seem a bit miserable to me. If they give you a credit note for the value of the deposit, even if the credit note is only applicable to a simultaneous rebooking, then they've lost very little; certainly very little compared with what they might gain from possible repeat bookings and personal recommendations. It's not a matter of generosity or kindness, it would IMO be a hard headed commercial decision to let you transfer.

 

When my father died suddenly leaving an uninsured deposit on a Great Rail Journeys holiday, Great Rail let us transfer the deposit to cover the newly-required single supplement for my mother. They didn't have to do it, but it was appreciated, and still is.

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Poster

One thing you could try doing is selling this cruise onto someone else.

Recently very close to sailing someone tried it on here. They did not manage to sell in the end , but it gave them some hope for a while.

Your cruise is far enough away that if you post details on here, you may strike lucky.

You may have to take a small hit, but not as much as you stand to lose.

Insurance probably would not help as the poster is not cancelling for any other reason than cost.

The thing is if P and O let one person cancel a booking and change it to one of lesser value, they would have to do it for all, as it would set a precedence.

What would be the point of having T and C if everytime something did not work out right people said well I will ignore what I signed for and just say I want money back.

I really feel for the poster ..it will leave a really really nasty taste in the mouth..as has been posted with a lot of companies if you cancel that's it, you lose the deposit full stop and cannot use it on anything else.

I hope this is resolved in some way to keep the customer happy.

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I once had an issue with a Carnival cruise to the Baltics. When looking at my contract i realised that i had been given the US contract. It was booked directly with Carnival UK. Now that was an eye opener, they had totally different set of T&Cs! Up to a certain date they could cancel and get their deposit back. If the cruise went down in value they could cancel and rebook, it was common place. They did stand by the contract in the end, but even that was a battle!

 

I think we are used to having strict T&Cs in this country. Sometimes thats good, but maybe a little flexibility would be nice.

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I once had an issue with a Carnival cruise to the Baltics. When looking at my contract i realised that i had been given the US contract. It was booked directly with Carnival UK. Now that was an eye opener, they had totally different set of T&Cs! Up to a certain date they could cancel and get their deposit back. If the cruise went down in value they could cancel and rebook, it was common place. They did stand by the contract in the end, but even that was a battle!

 

I think we are used to having strict T&Cs in this country. Sometimes thats good, but maybe a little flexibility would be nice.

 

Yes US cruise companies have much easier T and C than here in the UK, but we have to play by the rules here.

Before any of our bookings I have said to OH the deposit is XXXX if you cancel we lose it...in so many days we have to find yikes...are you happy with that.

I notice poster has not come back.

Maybe just wanted to vent her anger.

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I once had an issue with a Carnival cruise to the Baltics. When looking at my contract i realised that i had been given the US contract. It was booked directly with Carnival UK. Now that was an eye opener, they had totally different set of T&Cs! Up to a certain date they could cancel and get their deposit back. If the cruise went down in value they could cancel and rebook, it was common place. They did stand by the contract in the end, but even that was a battle!

 

I think we are used to having strict T&Cs in this country. Sometimes thats good, but maybe a little flexibility would be nice.

 

I know it is sickening. I have a Celebrity cruise booked and on the roll call thread for it half of the posts are US cruisers alerting others that the price has come down and they all just cancel and rebook or upgrade for the same price. Also our cruise is to Holy Land and when the final payment is due we have a decision to make regarding safety, if we cancel we lose our deposit but they can just cancel and get theirs back. I think they tend to have more than 1 cruise booked and decide nearer the time which one they want to go on (if all i read can be believed).

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Yes, good idea about maybe selling it on, the english lady.

 

I would have been able to do it recently had I been able to find someone. It may depend on where in the booking process you are or what the reasons and circumstances are, but I would say it is definitely worth a phone call.

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Why are the rules in the US different to the UK.This has been the same forever ,even with the same company. We had a similar problem with PO in the past and no matter what we did they would not bend there rules with regard to amending a booking.

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Why are the rules in the US different to the UK.This has been the same forever ,even with the same company. We had a similar problem with PO in the past and no matter what we did they would not bend there rules with regard to amending a booking.

 

I would imagine it would is because the consumer protection laws in the 2 countries are different, things which are allowable in one country are not in another.

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I once had an issue with a Carnival cruise to the Baltics. When looking at my contract i realised that i had been given the US contract. It was booked directly with Carnival UK. Now that was an eye opener, they had totally different set of T&Cs! Up to a certain date they could cancel and get their deposit back. If the cruise went down in value they could cancel and rebook, it was common place. They did stand by the contract in the end, but even that was a battle!

 

I think we are used to having strict T&Cs in this country. Sometimes thats good, but maybe a little flexibility would be nice.

 

 

Typical of

Rip off Britain :-(

Most US cruise lines adopt the same policy as Carnival

Edited by cruisebore
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My question to P and O is this.. how can we afford £7000 on another cruise when this was the reason for changing it initally. You are forcing our hand into cancelling and then you will make £900. And why can you not let us change it to another cruise or a lesser value? They will then still be ensuring our custom.

We have travelled with P and O on numerous occasions and expect some loyalty.I think this policy is a clause that most customers will not be aware of and should think of before patronising this company.

I understand the £100 admin fee but I think the changing policy is very harsh and should be investigated.

 

It's normal. It's why it's called a "deposit". It's not particularly harsh either, it's certainly not illegal, and most people are aware when they pay a deposit what the restrictions are. It's not uncommon for companies not to allow a switch to a similar cost either.

 

Your options, other than swallow it, are rather limited. You might be able to resell it. You say you cannot afford it any more, which means that insurance is unlikely to cover it. You could try going for the sympathy route with P&O, but they will be used to people coming up with reasons why they should be treated as a special case, I very much doubt they will take much notice.

 

I'm sorry your financial status has changed, but that's actually not down to P&O.

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I'm sorry your financial status has changed, but that's actually not down to P&O.

 

No but what it is down to is that P&O and many other British companies ( less than there used to be) have grossly one sided T&C's. I wonder what P&O would give in compensation if they had to 'pull' a cruise a year in advance?

Edited by cruisebore
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No but what it is down to is that P&O and many other British companies ( less than there used to be) have grossly one sided T&C's. I wonder what P&O would give in compensation if they had to 'pull' a cruise a year in advance?

 

The monies as paid to date. If it was something unavoidable there would be frustration argument but that probably wouldn't get them very far. But there's no claim for actual loss in 99% of cases beyond that.

 

(In fact, I am on B608 where they offered just that because there are significant changes (No Cannes, no Cartagena and the loss of some of the ship) to the cruise due to the deal with Ant & Dec's production company)

 

And, that's the non-imbalance.

 

The OP signed a contract with P&O. She wants to break the contract, so forfeits the deposit.

 

Likewise, if P&O broke the contract (by 'pulling' a cruise) they would have to repay the deposit back (plus any payments made on the balance), plus probably any incidental costs especially if it was late notice - suppose you had booked a 3rd party transfer, or a hotel in Southampton, or another car parking ; it would depend how late they did it.

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No but what it is down to is that P&O and many other British companies ( less than there used to be) have grossly one sided T&C's. I wonder what P&O would give in compensation if they had to 'pull' a cruise a year in advance?

 

How can you claim it is one sided.

You are making a contract with the company when you make the deposit to say yes I will purchase that item, and 90 days before I purchase it I will pay you the balance.

A year out you decide you wish to break that contract. The company could not sell that item to someone else ,at the same price possibly, as what you said you would pay.

I don't think very many people actually read the t and c when they say they have read them and understood them. They just tick yes and sign away.

If P and O had to pull a cruise totally a year out they would refund the monies paid, and possibly give a small amount of obs on another cruise.

If you want unfairness never ever book a European river cruise with Viking.

They are the first to pull their fleet when the river is too high or too low. You then go from a wonderful river cruise to a coach and hotel holiday, and they do not refund. how do I know this when we were looking to book one I read the forums, read about the companies and the complaints about Viking were all like the above. We went with Avalon in the end.

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I think our t&cs are far stricter than the U.S. But if I signed them the I would abide by them. They still have the power to help someone if they want too. When I book my Caribbean cruise for next year I will be booking direct with a U.S. site. Can't see any bennefit in booking in the UK. I think US citizens demand the flexibility. Maybe vote with your feet and book on Cruiselines with US sites.

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I think this illustrates the disadvantage of booking a cruise so far ahead of the sail date. A lot of things can change in our lives in 18 months as the OP has found. I would rather miss out on a cruise than shell out a non returnable deposit for P&O to "mind" for me. There are other ships and other cruise lines out there if I miss a particular one.

 

David.

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