Travel agents cheaper than Virgins own website

Hey First Post!! (I hope its a good one)

Looking to book the family to Orlando next year and on one website http://www.lowcostholidays.com they are £23 cheaper than http://www.virgin-atlantic.com for the same flights from Gatwick. They also offer a deposit which Virgin don't appear to either.

Do you think this is legitimate?

The tests I use to see if a company are legitimate are

Does it have a physical UK Address
A UK phone number not just a freephone or premium rate
An IATA / ABTA licence
And what are the on-line reviews like

I also look to see if they offer cash back via e.g. Quidco.

Yes some online sites can be cheaper but check that the total price you pay is really cheaper than booking direct including any debit / cred card fees. Also see what the long standing ones (expedia, flight bookers etc) are offering in terms of price.

Virgin Atlantic don't offer a deposit scheme. But then again neither does BA and a multitude of other airlines airlines.

V Holidays (and BA Holidays) do offer a deposit scheme if you book a package but not just a flight.

Finally remember that if you plan on using any flying club miles to upgrade then these very cheap fares bought on-line don't allow than.

lowcosthlolidays are real, its a legitimate company

I would check against VH to see what they will offer... You can get a deposit payment with VH as well as many other perks such as lounge access and local offers at hotels that are 'exclusive'.

For £23 overall I would be very hesitant to book with someone who I could not easily call or visit if needed... If your flights are costing around £2,400 (at a guess) is a 1% saving worth any of the inherent risk on booking with a company that you don't trust 100%..?

Used this company to book a hotel in Barbados whilst we were over there (2nd week of holiday) - was a lot cheaper than other quotes, even phoning the hotel direct who could/would not beat or even match the price. This made me nervous but checked for their license and online reviews and paid for it with a Credit Card. All worked out and there were no hidden costs.

If you have an American Express card it is worth trying AmEx travel, I have saved a few £'s when buying UC tickets and there was there was no 1.5% charge for using a card.

Check if virgin will price match it, not sure I would go with low cost holidays for the sake of £23, I have used them for hotels before without any problems but brokers like OTB and LCH can sometimes have problems with flights. I have read a number of stories on moneysavingexpert where money has been paid and the broker have asked for more money as the price has changed after booking. This is down to the brokers manually booking the flights once the booking has been made. This may not be the case with LCH but as I say for £23 is it worth the risk of not going direct?

Hi Skydriver & welcome

ISTBC but didn't this company move their operations to Majorca or similar to avoid UK regulations?

IMO for £23 I wouldn't do it, but the reason there are numerous companies is so that the customer has a choice.

Do let us know what you decide.

TTFN

Roxy-Popsy

Sorry, Mallorca I believe not Majorca.

I defo wouldn't do it.

R-P

IMO not worth the risk, if it was £500 for example then yeah possibly but not £23.

[Darren Wheeler]

http://www.lowcostholidays.com/holiday-protection.htm

For the sake of just £23...

Thanks all. It's a just under £100 extra that we cant really afford but not going to risk it especially as they don't appear to be in the UK. Virgin Holidays are closer on the overall package so I'm booking with them for peace of mind if nothing else.

I'm surprised Virgin would allow themselves to be undercut like this but I guess that's the way of things these days