Ida-Viru resident fights Tez Tour over cancelled €50 Rhodes flight deal

An Ida-Viru resident purchased return flights to Rhodes for just €50 through tour operator Tez Tour, received a booking confirmation, but had the order cancelled minutes later due to a claimed system error. The consumer disputes commission sided with Tez Tour, ruling that no binding contract had been formed.

An Ida-Viru County resident named Oleg Sokolov thought he had secured a remarkable deal, return charter flights to the Greek island of Rhodes for just €50, only to find his booking cancelled by tour operator Tez Tour within three minutes of receiving a confirmation.

A Too-Good Deal Disappears

Sokolov had spotted the offer on the Tez Tour website in the morning and spent half a day deliberating, needing to coordinate the trip with his employer. When he finally purchased the tickets, he received what appeared to be a full booking confirmation, not a preliminary reservation. His money was charged, and he considered the deal done.

«I booked a charter flight organised by Tez Tour at an attractive price of €50 return to Rhodes for the end of April and beginning of May. Such a price is not surprising, because low-cost carriers often offer similar deals. But three minutes after confirmation, I received a notification that the booking had been cancelled and the money would be returned to my bank account shortly,» Sokolov recounted.

When he wrote to Tez Tour demanding an explanation, the company replied that the price had been incorrect and that the tickets did not actually exist, citing a system test. Sokolov found the explanation unconvincing. He noted that Tez Tour does genuinely offer deeply discounted fares, for example, winter return flights to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for €79, and that the disputed offer had remained visible on the website for the entire morning.

The Dispute Commission's Ruling

Sokolov refused to accept the refund, insisting that the confirmed booking constituted a legally binding contract. He took the matter to the consumer disputes commission of Estonia's Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.

The commission ultimately sided with Tez Tour. Veiko Kopamees, head of the secretariat of the consumer disputes commission, explained the reasoning in detail.

«In the practice of the consumer disputes commission there was a case where a company was merely testing pricing options for an upcoming period on its information system and web portal, and someone managed to book a trip due to such an error. Since the seller immediately provided an explanation that it was only a test and a human error had occurred, the commission could not consider the contract concluded,» Kopamees said.

He added that in similar disputes the commission weighs whether an error was obvious and recognisable to an average consumer, or whether it amounted to deliberate deception or a marketing tactic. «In those cases where the seller's error is unambiguous, obvious and explainable, the commission has concluded that the seller may withdraw from the transaction, or that the transaction was never actually concluded. However, there have also been cases where the commission concluded that the seller was nonetheless obliged to sell the goods at the price originally listed,» Kopamees noted.

What Comes Next

Tez Tour declined to comment beyond pointing to the official decision: «There is an official ruling from the Consumer Protection Department which answers all questions. We have no additional comments.»

Sokolov suffered no direct financial harm, his money was returned promptly. The case is ultimately one of principle. He retains the right to challenge the outcome in court, though given the legal costs involved relative to the value of a €50 ticket, the practicality of doing so remains questionable.