THE latest travel advice from the government is to avoid all non-essential travel, leaving families with holidays abroad fearing for their future trips.
However, the non-essential travel also includes the UK, with many theme parks and attractions in the country being forced to close their doors.
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This could mean British holidays, be it a glamping weekend or a week at a hotel resort, could be affected as well.
However, if you no longer want to travel, you could be left out of pocket if you choose to cancel ahead of the government advice, with only holidays up until April 13 currently cancelled.
Experts at Which? Travel have explained everything what to do including cancelling your holiday, what to do if your trains are cancelled and whether you are protected by travel insurance.
Here is what you need to know if you have a holiday coming up in the UK.
What if my holiday has already been cancelled?
If you had booked a package holiday for the next few weeks – that’s where any two parts of the holiday were booked together, such as accommodation, car hire, transport and activities – then the law says you are due a refund within 14 days.
Some companies, such as Center Parcs and Haven have already committed to providing full refunds having closed their doors earlier this month.
However, some companies are only offering customers credit, or the chance to postpone their package. If this is not what you want, insist on your legal right to a refund.
If you had just booked accommodation, and the hotel or B&B has now cancelled, you should also receive a refund.
Hotel chains like Premier Inn and Hilton have said that they will offer full refunds, while Airbnb offering full refunds until 14 April.
What should I do if I have a holiday next month?
Lockdown measures are currently in place until April 13, and you are only entitled to refunds for cancelled holidays during that period.
If you’re due to travel between April 14 and April 30, contact your travel company and ask what their policy is.
Many are being flexible with bookings at the moment and some are allowing travellers to cancel or change existing bookings for free until April 30.
If you can’t change or cancel without penalty, be patient and keep an eye on the situation. If the social distancing period is extended, your plans could be then be cancelled and you could get your money back.
What should I do if I have a holiday later in the year?
Don’t cancel your booking just yet or you will have to pay cancellation fees and you won’t be able to claim this back on your travel insurance.
Instead, check the cancellation terms of your booking. Some companies are currently waiving cancellation and date change fees.
Failing that, wait it out for now to see if the situation improves. If your trip is cancelled at a later date, you should be entitled to a refund or at the very least, be able to postpone your holiday.
I have booked trains/domestic flights – what happens now?
If travel has been cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown, you should be able to get a refund – this includes trains, ferries and domestic flights.
If you have pre-booked train tickets, check the train operator’s policy on cancellations. Most operators now have a coronavirus cancellations policy on their websites.
If your service hasn’t been cancelled yet, it’s unlikely you’ll get a refund but you might be able to push forward the dates of your tickets.
Am I covered by travel insurance?
It depends – check the wording in your policy to see if both UK travel and ‘travel disruption cover’ is included, or give your insurer a call to see if you can claim.
Admiral, Saga, Direct Line and Churchill have said existing annual policy holders could be covered for UK travel affected by lockdown, but it will depend on the terms of your policy.
You would need to have bought your insurance at the time of the booking, or have an annual policy.
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Which? also explained what to know if you have a summer holiday booked abroad this year.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “The best advice we can give at this stage is not to cancel just yet, and wait until the FCO updates its advice against all foreign travel.
“Which? has heard from many passengers whose airlines or travel operators have not been fulfilling their legal obligations to issue refunds for cancelled holidays. If the FCO’s ban on travel is to be extended operators should not rely on passengers accepting credit notes.”
