My husband died before our dream holiday but Axa won’t refund my £3,800 deposit because he had a ‘tickling throat’ – SALLY ORDERS IT

My partner and I booked a special holiday to celebrate his planned retirement in August this year. The trip was to India and included a cruise. We booked it on 11 November last year to travel on 24 November 2024, paying a deposit of £3,800. At the same time, I upgraded our annual travel insurance from Europe to worldwide. Unfortunately, four months later my partner was diagnosed with throat problems. cancer and, after a grueling round of treatments, he died in June.

Axa Partners, the insurer behind our tesco The bank’s travel policy rejected my claim because they said we had failed to declare a GP visit in November last year where my partner complained of a tickle in his throat. I refuse to give up on recovering this money without trying all avenues. I would appreciate your help.

IC, Devon

Sally Hamilton responds: I was deeply moved by his letter, which described the chain of events that preceded the untimely death of his partner of 26 years. He went to his GP on November 9 last year with a strange sensation in his throat. His doctor suspected that it was nothing sinister and recommended gargling with aspirin. It wasn’t even on his mind when he booked his dream trip to India while sensibly upgrading his annual travel cover with Tesco Bank, which he had originally used to cover a summer trip to Greece, from Europe to the rest of the world.

The irritation in his partner’s throat did not disappear as they both expected. He was referred for further investigations. In February, more than three months after he first complained of a tickle in his throat, the terrible diagnosis of esophageal cancer was confirmed. They told him it was curable with surgery and chemotherapy. Sadly, scans soon afterwards revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones and sadly the chemotherapy that followed did not work. In late April he received the devastating news that he was estimated to have six months to live.

In May, as his partner struggled to cope with this trauma, his father suffered sepsis and died. Despite being in terrible physical condition, his other half helped organize and attend the funeral on May 29. Just five days later, he himself died.

You told me you had tears streaming down your face while you were writing to me. It wasn’t just the tragedy of losing their loved one on the verge of retirement when they were planning to embark on new adventures together.

But since then, dealing with an insurance company that didn’t seem to care that you couldn’t afford to lose the £3,800 deposit you had paid for your dream trip that would now not happen, only added to your pain.

Axa, the insurer of his Tesco Bank cover, had asked to see his partner’s medical records for two years, and this is where the doctor’s visit about the tickle in his throat came to light. Initially you, your partner and the GP may have thought it was nothing more than for Axa’s claims handlers, it seemed to raise a red flag about the horrendous diagnosis to come, and gave them reason to reject the claim.

You said you had no intention of misleading Axa when you changed your policy to cover worldwide travel, as the GP had initially dismissed the throat irritation as nothing sinister.

The policy states that buyers “must inform us of the pre-existing medical conditions of anyone insured on the policy.” As far as you are concerned, there was no pre-existing medical condition that had been left out.

I asked Axa to re-examine your claim. A few days later, Axa returned with the excellent news that he would be paid after all. This is because the terms and conditions of your policy indicate that notification of a change in health or new medical condition is not required until the purchase or renewal of a policy. Since he had only updated his existing policy, such notifications were not necessary. When I called you to talk about the outcome, you were understandably tearful and expressed your gratitude for my help.

An Axa Partners spokesperson says: “We regret the problems Ms C experienced with her claim and express our deepest condolences for the loss of her partner. When Ms C initially submitted the claim, we wrongly believed she had acquired a new policy that would have required disclosure of medical information. After further investigation, it became clear that she had updated her existing policy, rather than purchasing a new one, which meant she was not required to disclose any changes in her health or new conditions. doctors. He paid £3,800 for the claim plus £250 for the bad experience on the claim.

I urge all readers taking out, renewing or upgrading a travel policy to always exercise caution and report any visits to their GP.

The insurer may still cover it at no additional cost or perhaps at a slightly higher premium. But prevention is better than cure.

I bought a wooden Christmas scene worth £214 from a company called Holyart in October 2023. It arrived broken and without the power adapter it was supposed to include. I requested a refund. The retailer agreed and returned the money to Amazon Pay, which he had used to make the purchase. However, I never received the money and I have been chasing Amazon for a year. Please help.

KJ, Gloucestershire

sally replies: It is unacceptable that they have left him blank like this for a year. I contacted Amazon to find out why their refund was collecting dust. He investigated and not long after I’m pleased to say it was a clink for his £214, which is now back in his account, along with an extra £100 as an apology.

You sent the latter to Great Oaks Hospice in Coleford, which last year supported your 100-year-old father-in-law during his final days.

Straight to the point

In September I booked return flights for my wife and I from London to Hamburg through a travel agency website. We opted to receive an 80 per cent refund of the fare if we fell ill at a cost of £26 each. My wife was unwell so we should get £459 from our £574 rate. I haven’t seen the money yet; Additionally, my bank statement shows several other payments to the website; I don’t know why.

AR, Cornwall.

You signed up for a membership for £69.99 which gave you access to the 80-piece cashback. The website apologizes and has refunded you the full fee and any additional services you purchased.

Last week a mechanic from Halfords came to install a new battery in my car. I ordered the battery online and Halfords said it was suitable for my Ford Focus but the mechanic couldn’t install it. He accepted payment of £123 even though no accommodation was made and said I would have to contact Halfords, who I cannot contact. I had to pay £141 to install a battery somewhere else.

AC, Cheshire.

Halfords apologizes and has refunded the cost of the battery.

I booked a rental car for my trip to Portugal through a vacation package website and booked my car insurance through another linked website. At the airport I picked up the car at Klass Waggen and showed the worker my insurance form. He said it didn’t cover me so I felt I had no choice but to pay 280 euros for the insurance with Klass Wagen. I feel like they have sold me the car and the insurance wrong.

SM, Basingstoke.

Klass Wagen states that once the vehicle has been collected, the decision made by its customers cannot be reversed.

I fly regularly from Southampton to Dublin. In September I was told my carry-on bag was too big and I had to pay £35. I have never had a problem before and on the return leg the suitcase was allowed without problems.

AR, Hampshire.

The airline says it depends on the discretion of airport staff and that their decision is final.

• Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY or email sally@dailymail.co.uk; Include the phone number, address, and a note addressed to the offending organization giving you permission to speak with Sally. Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot be responsible for them. The Daily Mail cannot accept any legal responsibility for the responses given.