Q: My sister and I have purchased a package holiday from a local agent, which included two single rooms in a specific hotel in Sicily. The day after the booking, a representative of the agency contacted us to inform us that the booked hotel cannot allocate two single rooms and instead could offer one of us a double room at an extra charge. We do not want to pay the extra charge. What are our rights?
A: According to the Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tours Regulations, the price agreed in the contract of sale cannot be changed unless the sales contract expressly provides for the possibility of upward or downward revision and it should state precisely how the revised price is to be calculated.
If there is no such provision in the contract you signed and agreed to, then legally the price quoted to you when you purchased the package holiday is binding and cannot be changed.
The law only allows price variations when there are price revisions in transport costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, or the exchange rates that apply to the particular package.
Even in such circumstances, the price stated in the contract cannot be increased during the 20 days prior to the stipulated departure date.