Holidays group in spat with consumer watchdog

Simon Cooper

Manchester-based holiday provider On The Beach has reacted to criticism by consumer watchdog Which? after it claimed punters should be wary of its services.

It published a “red list” of 20 package holiday providers that people are advised against booking a trip with, claiming they could leave holidaymakers out of pocket if they are unable to travel as planned, including On The Beach.

In response, Sky News reported On the Beach as saying: “If the FCDO advises against travel to a destination, our customers can change their holiday destination or dates free of charge, and we will waive any of our admin fees.

“If they wish to cancel their holiday, we will fully refund hotel and transfer costs, and our regulated, ring-fenced trust account means that we are able to do this quickly and always in cash rather than credit notes or vouchers.

“Our holidays include flights from multiple third-party airlines and the decision on whether to operate those flights lies with each airline.

It added: “If the airline cancels the flight, then we will, of course, pass the refund straight on to our customers in full.

“If a customer wishes to cancel their holiday due to FCDO advice, but the flight operates as planned, the airline retains the monies paid for the flight, and in those instances, this leaves us unable to pass a refund on to our customers.”

Last month On The Beach Group has raised £26m through a new share placing.

The company decided to suspend holiday package sales earlier this summer due to the disruption caused by the pandemic to international travel and its customers.

Speaking at the time of the share placing, chief executive Simon Cooper said: “As a result of this, the previously announced extension of our off-sale period from 30 June to 31 August 2021 was a decision taken to focus on supporting customers with bookings due to travel this summer and, given the continued uncertainty across the sector as evidenced in Portugal, it appears this was the right call.”

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