Tour operators are reportedly using ‘BREXIT’ to obtain additional fees from unsuspected holiday makers. Not only has it affected the exchange rates, now tour operators are jumping on the Brexit wagon as well.
We are all aware of how expensive holidays can be, even more so for families. It would now appear that some Brits are claiming they are being “held to ransom” as travel agents apply a so-called Brexit surcharge.
A tour operator named Mark Warner who specialises in skiing holidays allegedly requested holidaymakers to pay an additional fee of up to £50 per person on top of their original booking.
Mr. Warner’s company claims this is due to the unpredictable exchange rate. However, customers are annoyed at the supplement, stating they should not be penalised simply because the pound has slumped since the Brexit vote.
Holiday maker Justin Barrington was asked to pay a further £200 on top of the £6,500 skiing holiday to Val-di’Isere.
‘It was a slap in the face. I told Mark Warner I did not think I should have to pay the charge, however he refused to release our travel documents until I agreed to pay’
Mr. Barrington, father of two from London claimed that Mark Warner declined to hand over his flight and hotel details until he paid the additional surcharge.
He said: “I was told I would have to pay an extra £200 for the holiday because of uncertainty following June’s EU referendum result.
“I felt we were being held to ransom two weeks before departure because of an error from their finance team”
Mr. Barrington is not the only one affected by the Brexit charge. Sarah Lawrence claimed her travel companion was also required to pay an additional surcharge of £234 on a fully paid holiday, which again was booked with Mark Warner.
These British holiday makers were left in a no win situation. If they didn’t pay the extra, they didn’t get their holiday. If they tried to cancel they were then informed they would be hit with cancelation fees. And for those wanting to cancel less than two weeks before departure would stand to lose the entire amount they had paid for their holiday.
Mark Warner confirmed that bookings made for Summer 2017, Winter Ski 2017 and 2018 will not be expected to pay a Brexit charge. However, in a letter to its customers, Mr. Warner from the travel giant commented: “As a result of economic uncertainty following June’s EU referendum result and the major impact on the euro exchange rate, it will be necessary and unavoidable for us, for the first time in many years, to invoke the surcharge clause contained within our contractual terms and conditions.”
Mark Warner is not the only British travel agent requesting customers pay an additional surcharge. Smaller tour operators including Travelink Group, Wasteland Ski, Team 4 Travel, Gower Tours and Hadler tours have also been charging customers extra.
“Unfortunately, due to the effects of Brexit and therefore fluctuation of currency rates, Wasteland Ski Large Groups department has had to add a charge to holiday bookings to match the inflation of the holiday components and ensure the holidays continue to take place,” said a spokesperson for Wasteland Ski. “Although this charge is something we have tried very hard to avoid, the consequences of Brexit are out of our control.”
Travelling Group acknowledged they charge due to “exceptional circumstances”. A spokesperson said: “Whilst we make every effort so as not to impose such charges upon our customers, there are some exceptional circumstances in which they have to be applied. “
Team for Travel said: “We provide a full guarantee against surcharges subject only to the party paying their invoice on time and, even then, we don’t surcharge so long as the delay in payment is not too serious. For next winter, we are giving all our parties a 100 per cent surcharge guarantee not subject to any conditions.”
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk