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We have hired a camper van for our visit next week we booked it from the 8th to the 30th of September. We then extended the hire period for a further 3 days after booking our flights back to the UK.
These bookings were made last year and deposits were paid.
The hire company have now cancelled the extra 3 days hire and refunded the deposit.
Can they do this as having paid a deposit did we not have a laegal contract with them.
We have now had to book a second van but had to pay for a minium of 5 days.

Firstly I am not a lawyer but similar stories have been made quite public recently concerning hotel accommodation especially in Auckland.

Unfortunately most of these problems revolve around the Rugby World Cup which I suspect is the reason for your cancellation.

If the camper van hire company accepted your bookings, including the 3-day extension, then they have a clear obligation to deliver on the promised service.

First step is to go back and remind them they should stand by their earlier booking. As a minimum gesture of good will, they should not see you financially disadvantaged by changing to a longer rental period in a different van.

If it is the same rental company then you should insist they sort it out and come up with a proposal or compromise that you are comfortable with.

Sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets oiled and making your annoyance felt at the highest possible level is sometimes very helpful.

Hopefully this hasn’t put a damper on your holiday in NZ.

Thank you for your prompt response.
You have confirmed my thoughts. As it was my friend who I am traveling with who made the booking I will need to talk to him.
The second van is booked with a different company.
I fell that the first company should cover any excess we have to pay over and above what their van would have cost for the 3 days.
Again thank you for your response I will endevor to keep you posted of future developments.
We are all looking forward to our visit.

Regards
John Elliott