Still at home and already in trouble: when the booked trip becomes more expensive
Once the holiday trip has been booked, tour operators and airlines sometimes add on costs afterwards, much to the annoyance of consumers.
In addition to the actually agreed travel price, they charge security fees or a surcharge for kerosene that has become more expensive.
However, additional costs for package tours and flights only have to be paid under certain conditions after the contract has been concluded.
Subsequent surcharges are often not permitted
Tour operators and airlines may only increase the price of a package tour or a flight after booking if they have contractually reserved this right. Although such price change clauses can be found in the general terms and conditions of most providers, they are often ineffective. In the case of package travel contracts concluded, the tour operator must provide the traveler with a correctly completed form before the package travel contract is concluded. The main rights of the traveler must result from this form, including information on the conditions under which the travel price may be increased.
If the package tour operator has not handed over the correctly completed form, from which the rights of the traveler arise, before the conclusion of the contract, a price increase cannot be asserted.
The trip can only become more expensive afterwards if it is clear in advance how the new price will be calculated. If the price change clause only contains a distribution scale or even general phrases, it is ineffective. In some countries vague clauses, with which tour operators wanted to pass on surcharges to their customers, have already been overturned by some regional courts.
Surcharges are not permitted for all services. In addition to increased transport costs for kerosene and fuel, travel providers are only allowed to pass on higher charges such as port or airport fees and changed exchange rates to the customer. If the additional costs were foreseeable at the time of booking, payment can be refused.
Important:
A price increase is ineffective from the 20th day before the agreed departure date. The traveler has to accept an effective price increase of up to 8 percent.
If the price increase is more than 8 percent, the tour operator can offer the price increase and demand that the traveler either accept it within a certain period of time or withdraw from the contract. The tour operator can also offer the traveler a different trip with the offer of a price increase.
After the set period has expired, the offer is deemed to have been accepted. This means: you must cancel within the period if you do not want the price increase.
tips
If the tour operator charges a surcharge, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Check whether the exclusion periods have already expired. If this is the case, you can refuse the payment with reference to the legal situation.
If the organizer makes the handing over of the travel documents dependent on the payment of the surcharge and if you do not want to jeopardize your holiday, you should pay the surcharge with reservations.
If the travel price increases by more than 8 percent when booking, you don’t have to accept that. You may then cancel the travel contract free of charge – but this must be done immediately.
You can assert any claims with our sample letter “Objection due to travel price increases after conclusion of the contract with and without withdrawal”.
Apart from all these issues, it is better to keep in mind that if you get help from a business travel management company, all your expenses will be managed in advance.
