Mum claims Thomson refused to pay back deposit despite child cancer

Home Top

A busman's holiday! Couple spends £15,000 converting double-decker bus into private retreat complete with a kitchen, three bedrooms and HOT TUB
Terrifying drone footage shows hiker swept down Hawaiian waterfall by flash flood in near-death experience
Shocking moment 'drunk' holidaymaker was wheeled out of hotel on luggage trolley after 'trashing room' in front of stunned guests
Holidaymakers claim they were left terrified after Thomas Cook cabin crew 'discussed Shoreham Air Show disaster just before take-off'
Guinness Storehouse in Ireland beats off competition from Buckingham Palace and the Eiffel Tower to be crowned Europe's top tourist attraction
Is this the best way to pack a suitcase? Start-up firm designs interlocking plastic dividers that neatly sort and stack clothes
This year we're going for a fortnight on the M5: Service station has become a destination in itself with families spurning the seaside to enjoy its waterfall, rolling country and delicious organic treats
When sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll still ruled: Photographer unearths rare snapshots of the East Village in its infamous 1980s heyday
Lions who were brutally abused and forced to perform in South American circuses are rescued and will be airlifted back to their African homeland
What was he thinking? Airport evacuated after teenager tries to take alarm clock designed to look like a BOMB on a plane
School girl, 12, takes on TripAdvisor with a new travel review website aimed at children - claiming 'if the kids aren't having a good time, then our parents aren't either'
Fit for a king or queen! Inside the incredible £100-a-night sandcastle hotels with electricity, running water and toilets
Have scientists found a cure for seasickness? Gadget that applies mild electric current to the scalp 'could eradicate nausea'
Dramatic moment angry elephant rams its tusks into tourists who turned their backs to it while trying to eat dinner at national park
Furious Chinese passengers refused to board plane and sang national anthem at Bangkok Airport after 10-hour flight delay
Passenger ferry sends lifeboats to rescue 61 refugees whose packed dinghy was just seconds from sinking off Lesbos, as Greek immigration minister says island is 'on the verge of explosion'
Whatever it was, it was close: Ryanair passenger films moment mystery object almost crashed into aircraft
Summer's not over yet! Price war breaks out as tour operators slash costs by up to 50% in bid to lure holidaymakers into last-minute sunshine breaks
Jet2 bans 14 passengers FOR LIFE after their 'aggressive and verbally abusive' behaviour on flight from Glasgow to Tenerife forced plane to divert to Portugal
Not just for the outdoor adventurers! The hidden gems of Cumbria where cuisine fit for a king is served on silver platters... making the heart of the north the ideal foodie getaway
Italy's most alluring lake: Stunning Maggiore is brilliant for breathtaking scenery and culture (but don't mind the bells that sound as a daily wake-up)
Haunting beauty of the Indian underworld: Inside the mysterious and exotic ancient subterranean stepwells that even the locals don't know exist
Faecal matter on the TV remote, bodily fluids on bed linens and drinking glasses wiped with a filthy cloth: The dirtiest areas of a hotel room revealed
A ho-de-home from home: Chalet life at Butlin's with the wife, kids... and a dozen Shaolin fighting monks

Christine Frayn-Elliott booked family holiday to Sa Coma in Majorca
But two weeks later her one-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer
She alleges Thomson initially refused to pay full deposit back
Grandparents' money withheld as they are 'not immediate family'
Thomson has since apologised and 'resolved the matter with both parties'

Published: 02:01 EST, 5 September 2015 | Updated: 06:24 EST, 5 September 2015

361

View
comments

A young mother has claimed holiday company Thomson refused to pay back the full deposit on a family trip away after she was forced to cancel when her 16-month-old child was diagnosed with cancer.

Christine Frayn-Elliott, 26, had booked a week-long stay for June 2016 in the Sa Coma Playa in Majorca with husband James, 38, and their children Jaden, one, and Lacey, four.

Also staying with them were Christine's parents, who wish to remain anonymous. The trip was organised with two bookings between the six of them.

Christine Frayn-Elliott was forced to cancel a holiday booked for next year after her son Jaden was diagnosed with cancer - but Thomson allegedly refused, initially, to pay back the full deposit

A total of £600 was paid in June this year as an up-front deposit to guarantee the hotel stay for the family from Swanwick, in Derbyshire, £300 for each booking.

However, just two weeks after booking the holiday, Christine received the devastating news that her child, Jaden, had been diagnosed with cancer, with a tumor in his back.

After dealing with this bombshell, a further two weeks later she decided to ring Thomson to explain the situation and cancel the holiday.

Jaden needed to be booked in for at least a year of hospital treatment and chemotherapy.

Christine, with husband James, Jaden, and daughter Lacey, has been left shocked and upset by the incident

However, as Christine explained, getting the deposit back in such extenuating circumstances threw up a major challenge.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel from Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, where Jaden began intensive chemotherapy 10 days after being diagnosed, Christine said: 'I rang them up and explained what had happened, and was told to send an email and they would get back to me.

'But then I was told there was nothing they could do about it, and they wouldn't be able to pay back the deposit.

'After speaking with other people, including a friend who works in the travel industry, I thought, "this isn't good enough", so I got in touch again.

'For three weeks of going round in circles, eventually I got my deposit of £300 back, but unbelievably they said they wouldn't pay back the deposit for my parents' booking as they were "not immediate family".'

Christine's two children are pictured with her parents, who were also booked to go on holiday to Majorca

Despite the fact that the family, who made two separate bookings, were travelling together, Thomson initially only offered £300 of the £600 total deposit back.

This left a sour taste in the mouth for Christine, who says that her parents will not be able to go on the holiday as they are 'her help'.

'What's got me is the principle. How can they be so removed from such a terrible situation. We were all traveling as one family, and now have to cancel the holiday because my boy is seriously ill,' added Christine, who works as a receptionist in a leisure centre.

'Any human emotion has gone out the window. Thomson came across as just like a machine, and the whole thing has been very upsetting.'

Christine Frayne-Elliott booked the 2016 holiday to Sa Coma in Majorca in June this year

The mother described how she was told by the holiday company to produce a doctor's note to confirm that her son had cancer, but £300 of the deposit was still retained.

'It's gone beyond being about the money now,' she added.

'I can't believe how they have acted in the situation, and everyone I speak with feels the same. Things are already bad enough without the stress this has caused.'

Thomson have since fully resolved the matter with Ms Frayne-Elliott.

It said in a statement emailed to MailOnline Travel: 'We would like to apologise to Ms Frayn-Elliott for any inconvenience caused. Ms Frayn-Elliot’s party were spread across two separate bookings.

'The refund had been applied to one party after we were made aware of the exceptional circumstances by the lead passenger.

'We can confirm that the matter has now been successfully resolved for both parties.'