Claim form for LowCostHolidays customers made available

Customers hit by the collapse of LowCostHolidays can now fill out the claims forms for monies lost which has been made available on the Commission for Aviation Regulation's website.

The Spanish-based tour operator ceased trading last week, a situation which has caused uncertainty for up to 15,000 Irish holidaymakers who booked travel packages through LowCostHolidays.

Two separate claims forms have now been uploaded onto the Aviationreg.ie website. One is for refunds of travel tickets and accommodation booked through LowCostHolidays, and another is for expenses incurred for people already abroad when the company collapsed.

Those filling out the travel/accommodation refund form must provide personal details, information on their holiday itinerary, insurance and how they paid.

They must also submit relevant documentation for proof of loss such as receipts, invoices, bank and credit card statements showing the original purchase.

On the expenses form, customers must list any items they had to pay for out of pocket such as food, transport and accommodation which should have been covered as part of their original holiday package.

A spokesman for the commission could not provide an estimate for how long it would take to process claims, but said the quicker claims are submitted the quicker they can be processed and monies can be repaid.

The commission said individuals who purchased accommodation on its own without travel through LowCostHolidays are not eligible for a refund through the claims process, and must instead seek reimbursement from their bank or credit card company at a later date. Also, unused Low Cost Holidays travel vouchers are not eligible for reimbursement.

Earlier on Monday, commission spokesman David Hodnett advised anyone who has booked a Low Cost Holidays package, but has not yet travelled, to check with the hotel in question to ensure the booking is valid and has been paid for.

Anticipated claims will be dealt with "in a matter of weeks, but certainly not this week or next week," Mr Hodnett told RTE's Morning Ireland.

The commission contacted Lowcostholidays to ask for a customer list so they could provide assistance but said they have not received a response so far.

Representatives from the Irish Travel Agents Association have said that many people on holidays already and who have been affected by the company's collapse may be asked to pay for their hotel rooms a second time.

Irish holiday makers who booked accommodation through Lowcostholidays should contact their hotels directly to find out if their booking remains valid, according to Pat Dawson of the Irish Travel Agents Association. All confirmed flight tickets will remain valid.

He was speaking in the wake of the collapse of the online travel agent on Friday.

Mr Dawson said anyone who had made an accommodation booking should check directly with the hotel to make sure the booking was still valid.

People in the UK will have to make their claims through the Spanish authorities as the company was registered in Spain. "God help them, it will be very difficult," said Mr Dawson.

However, anyone who booked hotel accommodation only through the website will not be covered by the tour operator’s bond and will have to pick up the tab themselves and try and get money back via their bank or credit card company.

Mr Dawson advised customers who used their credit card to make any accommodation bookings to contact their credit card company immediately to stop the payment.

Travel agents who have used Lowcostholidays to secure rooms for their customers are also like to face large bills as a result of the closure.

Lowcostholidays has had a significant presence in the Republic since 2010 and more than 100,000 Irish people have signed up to its weekly email newsletter.

“Lowcostholidays actually has a capacity for 90,000 people travelling out of Ireland but I think when those already on the ground are added to those with future bookings there will be around 15,000 people hit,” he said.

“Another element is the travel agents,” he added. “A lot of our members would have had people coming in looking for destinations where tour operator capacity is low.”

The agents would have booked flights online with directly with airlines and booked accommodation with lowcostbeds. “People overseas are now being told their rooms have not been paid for so travel agents will have no choice but to absorb that cost which could run to hundreds of thousands of euro,” he said.

Mr Dawson said a lot of Leaving Cert students currently on holidays in locations such as Spain would have been particularly impacted.

Irish customers are “sickened” by the closure of the site which was heavily promoting a ticket sale just hours before it went out of business.

"I am getting married in two weeks and my honeymoon to Mexico has been booked with lowcostholidays," one reader told The Irish Times. "When I rang hotel they said they hadn't received any payment even though we have paid lowcostholidays in full. I am sickened."