13 October 2023 , 09:13
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Brits are being warned to check the fine print when booking low deposit holidays - or potentially risk a nasty surprise if they choose to cancel their breaks.
Low deposit deals can be tempting if you're looking to spread out the cost of your holiday, not to mention if you cancel you don't then lose out on the full cost of a trip. In fact, it's a perk that a lot of big firms including TUI, Jet2, Loveholidays and On The Beach offer. However, new research from Which? Travel has found that in some cases, people are booking low deposits without realising that it's just an instalment of a bigger deposit - and then facing a horrible shock if they go to cancel.
The Which? team say they are "concerned that some firms are not clearly signposting this at the point of sale", and are urging Brits to check the T&Cs. One example is Michelle Simons from Northampton who told the publication she would "never book with TUI again" after she booked a Turkey holiday with an initial 'low deposit' payment of £150.
She claims that she went to a TUI store to book the holiday, and while they handed her a 'laminated piece of card with T&Cs on', she was allegedly not verbally told that she’d be liable to pay a larger amount if she opted to cancel later on. Ms Simons later began to doubt her choice of holiday due to rising temperatures in the region, and thought she'd stand to lose £150 if she cancelled the trip to book a different holiday.
Brits are being warned to check the T&Cs if they find a 'low deposit' holiday (Getty Images)She claimed: "That’s when [TUI] told me I’d have to pay the full £800 deposit - so another £650 on top of the £150 I’d paid to cancel... I had no reason to think that the deposit I’d paid wasn’t the full deposit." When she tried to challenge the deposit, she alleges a store manager said she could risk being taken to court for not paying the remainder of the deposit. Ultimately she felt she was left with little choice but to go ahead with the trip.
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When she tried to challenge this, she said a store manager warned that she could be taken to court if she did not pay the remainder of the deposit. She was not prepared to lose the money, and felt she was left with little choice but to go ahead with the holiday.
A TUI spokesperson said: "We welcome this feedback from our customers and strive to make booking a TUI holiday as easy as possible. We will review how we communicate our low deposit offering during the online booking process as our customers tell us they value our low or no deposit offers and the option to spread the cost of their holiday via direct debit."
The Which? team also looked at low deposit offers from the likes of loveholidays and On The Beach, which it described as "confusing" and called for firms to make the rules clearer to customers.
A loveholidays spokesperson said: "Our low deposit scheme helps our customers pay for their holidays in instalments before departure, as opposed to all at once upon booking, which has become an increasingly popular choice amid the cost-of-living crisis. We provide customers with clear and accurate information about how all of our market-leading payment options work, with this information readily available on our website and throughout the booking process. We always have our customers best interests at heart, so we are committed to reviewing this feedback from Which? in the context of further improving the bookings journey."
One firm which did impress was Jet2, which is renowned for its £60pp low deposits. While this is higher than other companies, this is the original payment that a holidaymaker would stand to lose if they opt to cancel their trip. A Jet2.com spokesperson said: "People work hard and save hard for their well-deserved holidays, so in line with our industry-leading approach to looking after customers, we do everything we can to help them budget and make their money go further. Our low £60 per person deposit helps customers when it comes to budgeting, with the remaining balance due ten weeks before travel.
"Customers booking with Jet2holidays can be assured that they are paying the full deposit payable when they book with us. As a Which? Recommended Provider, Jet2holidays will never introduce top up deposit payments, and we are pleased that Which? have highlighted that our low deposit refers to the full deposit payable. We make the terms and conditions of our low deposit scheme very clear, which is why it is extremely popular with customers. This customer-first approach is one of the many reasons why holidaymakers choose us time and time again.