This sounds like verbal contract to me but, as I am not qualified in law I would suggest you phone Ros Fernihough who is a Travel Law Lawyer.

Ros assists our members on this board and will offer you free advice regarding your legal rights.

Ros can be reached on 01922 621114

Let us know how you get on Sparkycat.

I suggest that you check the terms- and conditions in the brochure you booked the holiday from.

Usually the only time the price of the holiday can go up, if it is due to excessive fuel increases or a change of duty/VAT.

You'll also usually find that the price on the confirmation invoice is the price you pay.

I suggest you fight this one out.

Mark

Thank you for your quick replies, my main concern is that if I fight it then Thomsons will just cancel the booking, refund my money thus saving themselves £600 and I will be without a holiday. I am trying to ring Ros and will post what she has to say.

Thanks again
Alison

If they gave you the final holiday price in writing and you have paid in full, they are under contract to supply you with the holiday with no further payment. A standard legal contract is in place, they offer a product at a particular price, you accept the offer and then you pay for it.

If you have the final holiday price in wirting seek legal advice. In theory the same should hold true if the offer was verbal, but of course that is generally impossible to prove.

Did you not receive a print-out eg. receipt of your payment that you made. Usually you would receive this and that would then tell you what the remaining balance is?

Definately worth pursuing though it is their error not yours. Let us know how you get on.

This happened to me about 4 years ago with Going Places . We went and enquired about a holiday to Thailand for Christmas . This was in the January the girl quoted us £ 1800.00 for 2 people for 3 nights in Bangkok staying at 4star hotel and 10nights staying in Phuket at the 5 Star Sheraton Grand Laguna. The price was so cheap we booked it there and then on a low deposit. When I received the invoice from Kuoni it was for about £ 4300.00 for the two of us (which was a much realistic price) . I went back into Going Places and they told we the price they had quoted me was correct (£1800.00) and paid teh balane of low deposit . In the October i paid the final balance of £1600.00 but did worry up until the day we actually arrived in Thailand that the holiday would not exist. All in all we had a brilliant holiday for a fraction of the price it should of cost . Went back in the January to book again for following year and quoted £ 5000.00 for same holiday when i queried it and said we had just had the same holiday for £ 1800.00 they admitted that year they had had a blip on the computer system and the girl had actually given us 55% discount instead of 5%. Basically the travel agent honoured our booking through their own mistake . The blip had now been rectified.

Not sure if this is relevant, but:

perhaps 4 years back I went into my local petrol station shop to buy some car wash liquid. Picked one off the shelf that was a lower price than others, went to the till, it was scanned and priced at a higher rate than shelf-edge stated. I complained, they refused to sell at the lower price. I refused the higher. I left without the liquid. Phoned the trading standards guys and was told:

The shop "offers to treat" when they place products on the shelves. You, the customer, may take up that offer and the shop elects to sell you the goods - that completes the contract. If the shop "offers to treat", you elect to buy the shop may then refuse to sell. basically, the shop was within it's rights to not sell the goods to me at the lower price.

The trad. std. guy explained that the shop should then of course correct the mistake otherwise other issues are raised.

So, your agent offered the product (the holiday) at a price, you purchased and paid and this was accepted. I believe the contract has been made and the agent is no longer in a position to cancel the holiday. The only confusion I can see in this is the relationship between you, the agent and the Tour Op. Was the agent acting for you or for Thompson ? Is your contract with Thompson or Cooks ?

If you paid by credit card there might be some redress via your card issuer. Both card issuer and service supplier are equally liable in the event of a breach of contract. This aspect is complicated where the agent takes credit card payment but is not the supplier of the package.

More complications than answers, sorry. Bet Ros knows though.

Mike

Thanks for all your replies, we have got all computer print outs confirming that we have paid the balance in full. Under pressure from the travel agent I have paid the extra £600 in case they cancelled my holiday. Would have been gutted as my kids are so looking forward to it!. Feel very let down by Thomas Cook. I have since contacted Ros the holiday truths advice solicitor, and they have been extremely helpful, they are looking into it and will advise me once they receive my documents. Its only 8 wks till we go and it has totally spoilt it for me, particularly when I was so honest all the way along and raised questions about the cost of the holiday, all they kept saying was that they had checked it and it was correct! Thanks again Alison

Thanks for the update Alison.
Please post and let us know Ros's advice if that's possible.

Mike

The key to any purchase contract is payment. Once a seller accepts the payment for said goods regardless of what the price may actually be a legal contract is in place.

A retailer is under no obligation to sell to you if they notice a price discrepancy at the point of sale.

I wouldn't have paid, they don't have a leg to stand on if you have it in writing, and it's paid in full.

Have to say I wouldn't have paid either - if you have it in black and white that balance has been paid in full I fail to see how they can wriggle out of it.

I would also write to Thomas Cook and tell them you paid the £600 under duress .

Hope you get it sorted,

this same thing happened to me last year with lunn poly booking an airtours holiday, i too queried the price as it was so good about 3 times, i then told my friend and she also booked it and checked the price too, as i booked over the phone and paid deposits over the phone we received written confirmation from lunn poly, about 10 days later i got a phone call from lunn poly saying the price was wrong the price on the internet had come out wrong and it was £1000 more or they could give me a refund, i was fuming so went into lunn poly they refused to budge as airtours wouldnt move, i rang airtours they wouldnt help me, i rang lunn poly head office i got no where, they only thing they said to me was ,til i got the invoice from airtours there was no contract, which i never did receive only the lunn poly one, i said to them its 1 rule for you and 1 for me if after paying my deposit i had decided to cancel the holiday, i would have lost all my deposit, i ended up accepting refund and getting another holiday as i wasnt going to pay £1000 more, i think this is very wrong and if they make an error they should honour it once deposits have been paid

Ellie,
your post sparked a memory. I recall reading somewhere that when you book a package it's the principals final invoice that is the critical one. Often, the agent is acting as a retail agent for the Tour Op. Until you've received that critical invoice you might be on shaky ground.

Why is it though that the travel industry generates so much more hassle than the high street. We spend £1 on every £8 in this country with TESCO. They don't whinge when they make a mistake - just take it on the chin, keep the customer happy and fix the problem quickly.

Time after time we read of mistakes being made by Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Hotels, Car-hire companies.

When is the travel industry ever likely to become professional ?

i agree mike its a shambles, and abta are a waste of time, the few times ive contacted them they havent helped me 1 bit.

did you get your thomsons invoice ? if so with the incorrect price confirmed then they cant do anything, but if like me you only got it from the travel agents its not worth the paper its written on, even after deposits have been paid this is totally wrong in my eyes

I've contacted a few people about this situation as I find it so unfair. I won't hold my breath for a response but we can but try.