Couple miss £4,000 dream anniversary trip after passports allegedly stolen and offered just £7
Sarah and Bruce Johnson were left devastated after their passports allegedly vanished at London St Pancras, scuppering their long-awaited Dutch anniversary getaway.
A couple have told how their £4,000 dream anniversary holiday was wrecked after they claim their passports were stolen — leaving their travel insurer offering them just £7.
Sarah Johnson, 59, and Reverend Bruce Johnson, 58, had travelled from Preston, Lancashire, to London on August 3 ready to board the Eurostar to Amsterdam.
The couple were planning a 10-day trip to the Netherlands to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, with their daughter and grandson also due to join them.
But disaster struck as they walked towards London St Pancras Station. The couple claim their bag was targeted and their passports disappeared.
After contacting the Home Office and Dutch Embassy, the pair discovered they could not travel without the documents.
They headed home — but believed their decades-long travel insurance would soften the blow.
Instead, they say they were offered just £7 by White Horse Insurance Ireland, the underwriter of their Travel Insurance 4 Medical policy.
Sarah said: “I was devastated. We were feeling so buoyant about the holiday and then it was like the rug had been pulled from under our feet.
“We worked so hard to save up to get there and then there was absolutely nothing we could do.”
The couple say they were hoping to recover some of the cost of their accommodation, but were told the policy would not cover the unused holiday, travel costs or theme park tickets.
Sarah claims the £7 offer related only to Bruce’s passport, which was brand new, while her two-year-old passport was not covered.
She described the decision as an “injustice”, adding that the couple had used the insurer for decades.
Their anniversary was particularly poignant because Amersfoort was where Bruce proposed to Sarah.
Instead of celebrating in Holland, the couple spent the evening at a restaurant close to home.
They have since launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise enough money to rearrange the trip for October.
Bruce said they had spent three years saving for the holiday.
“We've got two-thirds of the fundraising total now and Sarah and I will then be able to go on a holiday,” he said.
Eurostar has since refunded the couple’s train tickets.
British Transport Police confirmed the missing passports were reported on August 3, with the matter passed to the Metropolitan Police.
White Horse Insurance Ireland said it could not comment on individual claims but confirmed that losing or not having the correct travel documents is excluded from its cancellation and curtailment cover.
The insurer said this exclusion applies to “losing or not having the correct documents” needed to travel, including passports.
The couple say they are determined to get their anniversary getaway back on track.