Curtailment of holiday / refund
My 94 year old mother is in failing health and in a care home. Both me and my brother are in the situation of taking holidays not really knowing what is going to happen with Mum. We have numerous breaks booked over the next few months and I was thinking what would happen if we had to come home early from a break and we’d paid for the whole break at the outset. Would we get a refund under the sad circumstances? Appreciate the cancellation / amendment policy is geared towards the start of the holiday but leaving early because of an emergency is a different scenario.
Im sure many caravanners with aging parents are in the same boat as us. I’m just thankful Mum is now in care so we can actually get away on holidays.
thanks in advance for any comments / recommendations
Comments
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Depends on your insurance but any good provider should make a refund. I had to return once in an emergency from a trip to Spain but I had no sites booked but I did have to pay rather a lot in excess to the ferry company for a ticket, which I sucessfully claimed off the insurance. Think it was RP at the time.
peedee
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I thought Alan was referring to CAMC terms for leaving club sites early🤷🏻♂️.
I can’t see anything in FAQ about leaving early.
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I suspect there is not a simple answer to that? Some have indicated that in similar situations the Club have been sympathetic and given refunds but all circumstances are personal and different.Perhaps best not to worry about it and deal with it if and when it happens? On the issue of leaving a site early having paid in full the information you need should be covered here https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/booking-terms-and-conditions/
David
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Thanks for clarifying, both scenarios have been covered then. If there was a lot of money involved, even with a UK holiday and the loss would hurt, I would be inclined to take out insurance rather than rely on the generousity of the provider.
peedee
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Alan, Been there, done it. You may lose money but the main thing is to look after your mother.
We were near the Med when we got word that mother (92) was in hospital so we abandoned car and caravan and flew back to UK. Our insurance paid for the emergency flight home but then we ourselves had to pay to go back and collect the outfit.
You might one day have to hot foot it home in the UK if your mother is ill. And if you lose money shrug it off.. But best wishes to her.2 -
I agree. In an emergency like this the last thing on my mind would be worrying about the cost of a lost holiday.
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I think you need to read the early departures section of the new booking terms and conditions carefully. Gone are the days when you just lost a nights fees, now the Club is looking to capture a portion of your deposit for any days you don’t stay, and maybe the whole outstanding fees if you have to leave at short notice. Obtaining a refund under even emergency circumstances isn’t guaranteed, that’s why the Club strongly advises taking out holiday insurance. Given the cost of a long stay on a Club Site, it still might be an idea to consider taking out insurance, or at least investigate the costs.
I am in the same situation, caring for my 94 year old Mum with my sister. We take each day as it comes. Any breaks we don’t book but go when things look stable. Club Sites aren’t a consideration, too restrictive.
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Pre new booking system I went to reception to inform them we would leaving a day early due the to wife felling ill the assistant warden suggested we may get a refund ?? but on checking with the head warden stated you only get a refund if you have say 4 nights left for which you get only one nights refund so you will always lose 3 nights site fees, not sure if that has now changed
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A lot of things have changed Amesford, that’s why reading and understanding the new terms and conditions are important. Not least the cancellation periods and deposit requirements for Club Sites, along with other circumstances.
We have had to come home for my Dad, we had three weeks on a CL, and then a week in a cottage all booked and paid for. The CL refunded us the nights they managed to re let, luckily, Dad was stabilised and we got to make it to the cottage. OH had to go home from Penzance one Summer to see his terminally ill brother. He hopped on a train, and zoomed straight home, leaving me to sort pets, caravan and all else out in Penzance. That was less stressful than a 12 hour drive home for him, and thankfully he got to see his brother in time. You just do what you need to as best as you can, and pay out what you need to, if there’s no alternative.
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If you're in a situation with a family member who might require your attention (we've had this in the past) it's always a possibility that a holiday could be curtailed. It might be nice to think the club would look compassionately at your plight but it's probably better to accept that this can happen to anyone and all you can do is ask the club yourself if this type of event happens. I suspect in reality it will be the last thing to worry about.
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If your mother is very elderly and in failing health (as in the case of the OP), would an insurance company actually insure you in respect of cancelling or ask you for a very high premium to do so, making hardly worthwhile to pay the insurance premium?
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When my mum was in a nursing home in failing health we booked a trip using Eurostar to Avignon. To get a sensible price we had to book when the tickets became available 6 months before. I also took out Red Pennant insurance at the same time. Sadly my mum died just over a week before our planned trip and we had to cancel. Red Pennant required a letter from my mums doctor stating that we wouldn’t have known she was going to die, which clearly if you’re 90 and in a nursing home is always possible. However, the doctor was OK to do this as 6 months before there hadn’t been any issues. There was a cost for this £25 I think and then two lots (one for each of us) of £40 excess.
One thing to note, not something I would have thought of unless it was pointed out. All of our tickets, train and accommodation were non refundable because of the tickets / prices we had selected. However, the insurance company wouldn’t pay out unless we could show we had cancelled them. Just sending the tickets / accommodation bookings showing they were non refundable wouldn’t have been enough.
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