Monarch Scheduled boss Tim Jeans has criticised a Hertfordshire agency for charging £30 booking fees on top of the airline’s low-cost air fares.
But Holiday Mediterranean director Peter Gaskell defended his agency Sunsplash Holidays’ hidden charge, claiming most clients only wanted one all-inclusive price.
Jeans said a couple contacted him after booking a holiday, via the Ware agency, which included return Monarch Scheduled fares from Newquay to Malaga and hotel accommodation.
The clients were invoiced for air and land components separately, and asked to pay a total of £209 for the air fares.
When the couple contacted the airline direct to change travel dates they discovered the agency had charged £30 per person fee on top of Monarch’s £74.50 per person air fares.
Jeans branded the fee “excessive” and questioned why the agency hadn’t disclosed the fee at the time of purchase.
Gaskell claimed Sunsplash Holidays’ £30 per person charge for the split-contract holiday was typical.
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