21 April 2023 , 12:30
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A dad discovered he had cancer was furious when he delayed a TUI holiday, only to be told he would need to pay an extra £2,500.
Jamie Hastie is livid that the travel firm is bumping up the price of his family holiday to Turkey following his lymphoma cancer diagnosis.
The mortgage broker is currently undergoing 18 weeks of intense chemotherapy to fight the illness, meaning he's had to push back the trip to the Blue Sensatori resort by a year.
Because his daughter is turning 13 in that time, she's classified as an adult by TUI - meaning an extra £2,500 needs to be paid.
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Jamie is undergoing 18 weeks of treatment (Jamie Hastie)"It is not fair [TUI] is classing my daughter as an adult, she won't be using £2,500 more of anything while we are there next year," Jamie told The Mirror.
"I know if I stuck to my principles and didn't pay my wife and daughter will be really upset. My mum also died recently, so we've been through the mill. "We were just looking for something to look forward to. I just want to treat my daughter. It just really stinks."
Jamie fell ill at the start of this year with a serious case of pneumonia, chest sepsis and a collapsed lung.
He spent more than three weeks in hospital before he was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma.
He explained: |The result is an 18-week treatment plan where I get six rounds of chemotherapy. My concern was that our holiday to Turkey is booked for the end of July and my treatment will have only just finished.
"I may not have the all clear to go abroad, so I contacted TUI in February who said I could change the holiday to next year for free and had up until May to decide."
The family will pay close to £10,000 for the holiday (TUI)Two weeks ago he made the change, opting for exactly the same package as he'd chosen for this summer and the same hotel his family visited last year.
As much as they'd love their trip to the resort, they were less wild about the new price.
"They told me the cost has increased to nearly £10k, and when I queried this I was told it was because my daughter will be 13 next year and is then classed as an adult which increases the price," the Nottingham-based man continued.
"Despite numerous attempts to ask for fairness TUI have simply told me in no certain terms that I can like it or lump it."
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A spokesperson for TUI said: "We are sorry to hear about Mr Hastie’s situation. Unfortunately, many factors can influence holiday prices and we encourage all customers to take holiday insurance to cover these situations.
"We’re currently still reviewing Mr Hastie’s situation and will get back in touch with him directly."