One of my friends died before a group trip to Dubai – why is it so tricky to sort with the travel firm? SALLY SORTS IT

We had three bookings made with travel company Voyage Prive made last autumn totalling £24,260. 

These were made for my 60th birthday celebrations in Dubai but it became a nightmare to resolve the final bills following the tragic death of one of my friends who was due to come with us. J.H., Bolton.

Sally Hamilton replies: What you planned as a joyous occasion has been clouded in sadness.

Your dear friend died of suspected food poisoning while on holiday in the Indian Ocean at the end of last year.

You considered cancelling your five-day trip but decided as a group to go ahead and celebrate her memory at the same time. Her widower told you that’s what she would have wanted.

Tragedy: A Daily Mail reader’s birthday trip to Dubai was preceded by a tragedy

He had to make a claim on her travel insurance for her £1,200 deposit. But you were astounded that Voyage Prive would not confirm that the member of your party who was due to share a room with your late friend would have her booking altered to single occupancy – and it looked as if she would be charged the full rate for the double room – £6,798.

You had been corresponding at length with customer services but not getting any clarity, despite an initial sympathetic response. 

You had to send the death certificate twice and you chased for weeks.

Without a clear resolution you asked me to intervene.

When I got in touch, David, a member of the Voyage Prive team simply said ‘there’s no need to worry… everything is in order’ and wished me a lovely day.

That wasn’t the concrete answer I had hoped for but I felt reassured that at least your case was being looked at.

My contact seemed to do the trick, however, as a week or so later you got confirmation that your friend would not face the full double room charge. 

The holiday firm was probably having to negotiate hard with the hotel on the price.

In the end, she was billed just £3,456 – less than you had calculated, with no extra charges for sole occupancy.

You feared this meant there might be some nasty additional charges waiting at the destination, but thankfully these did not materialise. 

When I caught up with you recently, you said the trip had been ‘amazing’ – and you forwarded me a photo of the group toasting your friend’s memory.

Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.