If all the avenues of complaint with a tour operator or travel agent have been exhausted then the next level to consider is taking to problem to a higher authority.
Many people accept unfair practises and dodgy service as fact of everyday life and have to be pushed over the edge before taking appropriate action. However, the travel sector is an exception to this rule.
Holidays are the one time of the year when we can leave behind all the frustrations of everyday life, so if anything infringes on the good times then it is often a step too far for most people. This explains why the travel industry attracts a particularly high number of complaints.
Trade Associations
Most reputable tour operators and travel agents are members of a trade association, with Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) being the largest and most popular. The ABTA operates an arbitration scheme that attempts to resolve complaints between customers and tour operators.
The ABTA or ATOL symbols are a reassuring sign when considering a package holiday, because they mean a customer will be financially protected if the operator goes bust.
ABTA
Approximately 1,900 companies are members of the trade organisation ABTA. In order to qualify they must all be able to provide their customers with detailed advice concerning insurance, visas, health issues and travel plan changes.
When a customer books a holiday with a ABTA-approved travel agent they should be reassured that the company is financially sound, that the descriptions in the brochures are accurate, money can be refunded if the booking is unsatisfactory and that they will never be left stranded overseas for whatever reason.
AITO
The over 160 strong tour operator membership of AITO was expected to demonstrate a high degree of customer service and code of conduct before they were allowed to join the organisation.
This tight control ensures that when a customer purchases a holiday through one its operators they should expect quality, security and professionalism.
Tell us what went wrong and find out which ombudsman or regulator can help, whether it is worth escalating, and exactly how to take your complaint further.
Try our Which Ombudsman Do I Need? free, here on this site →Flight Regulation
Holidaymakers travelling to their destination by air are well supplied with flight regulatory bodies.
For instance the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) monitors the airline industry on behalf of consumers, offering advice and support with compensation claims. Whilst the British Airport Authority (BAA) is responsible for the management of seven large UK airports and the British Air Transport Association (BATA) is a non-profit trade association for airlines.
Resolving a Complaint on Holiday
If a complaint relates to botched booking then it should be directed towards the travel agent or whoever made the original booking. If misery is caused by the holiday itself then complaints should be made to the tour operator.
Most tour operator’s terms and conditions specify that a complaint should be registered to the appropriate holiday representative whilst actually on holiday. A large number of complaints are solved at this stage. Holidaymakers are usually aware that if a complaint is lodged upon return it is too late to save the holiday by that point. If a resolution is accepted whilst on the trip then it is usually impossible to reopen the case upon return home.
If a problem arises before the holiday then the travel agent, or booking office, should be informed immediately.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Upon Return
If a complaint has not been sorted out whilst on holiday then the tour operator should be contacted upon return. A claim should be submitted with all the appropriate evidence and travel booking details. The standard length of time allotted for registering a complaint following a holiday is usually around 9 months.
If these local resolution efforts prove futile then the complaint can then be taken up with the appropriate trade association.
Independent Holidays
If the holiday was booked independently, with the aid of a tour operator then any problems should be taken up directly with the company responsible. For example if a hotel room is unacceptable then the complaint should be lodged with the establishment, and as soon as possible.
Time Shares
Complaints about timeshares should firstly be taken up to the head office. If this proves unsatisfactory then the claim can be taken to the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE), if the company is a member.
Many timeshare resorts in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are represented by OTE. This organisation offers consumer advice and a free conciliation service for problems between their membership companies and disgruntled customers.
The non-profit organisation Association of Timeshare Owners Committees (TATOC) also represents Timeshare owner interests by promoting high-standards and good relations within the industry.
If the timeshare company is not a member of OTE then the case should be forwarded onto the local Trading Standards office or Citizens Advice Bureau.
My wife and I took a 5 day Europe tour by Bus leaving Wembley UK from July 6th to July 10th.
Many issues however main was when in Paris the Tour representative was told by his company to leave the tour bus alone. We were more than 20 passengers on board. We couldn't take correct ferry service. That made us entire night on road! Just because absence of the tour manager they couldn't book our bus on correct ferry.
I am a cardiac patient and faced issues related my health. When I complained the tour operator they didn't give satisfactory response nor they compensated any passenger.
Can we log a legal complaint? If yes, how?
Thanks
Manish
But they did not give ticket and refund money
How I can get back money ?
I booked ticket on 29 November 2023
Traveling date to s 24 July2024
We were supposed to fly to Turkey last October but the Foreign office advised against travel so we could not go against the rules plus my company told me they would not pay me so we could not risk going. I asked for a refund and was told no it was 100% charge to cancel, they would not refund so we have no alternative other than to book another holiday, which we did not want to do but could not afford to lose any money. When the paperwork arrived they had added the flights to Turkey on they never explained that we had to pay for the flights at any other point but the flights were going out to Turkey they said anyway we ended up been pressured into booking another holiday to Egypt for July 2021. In the meantime I contacted my bank and won my money back, that was in November, so Blue Sea Holidays has until January to claim this money back and if they did not the money was mine. They left it until April when i was emailed by the Managing Director asking me to pay the money back, I should have claimed it back from my bank. I also received a money claim online, of which I have defended ,and now I have to go to the small claims court with no lawyer as I cannot afford one. These companies really are terrible disgusting really not sure what else I can say just wonder where I stand on this. Thanks
If you phone to book a holiday they answer in under 4 minutes!!!
Beware of accepting Refund Credit Notes alongside any written promises of firm repayment dates as they may well be "extended" without any consultation.
and used to justify longer delays to repayment.
Very hard to pin anyone down and commitments/promises mean very little
I booked a flight to Vegas on 20th of January.I was due to fly on the 29th April. Due to the travel ban my flights were cancelled by the airline Virgin Atlantic at the beginning of April (again another terrible customer service). I contacted Travel Trolley 2 weeks before my flight as instructed by their automated message. Initially they would only offer me a credit note, which i refused as i wanted a full refund. After 2 weeks of me constantly calling and demanding refund( one operator hung up the phone on me because i was refusing to accept the credit note), I finally got them to request a full refund from the airline on the 25th April. At one point they told me that my ticket had been partially checked and my ticket was under airport control. Saying that i had to contact Virgin and get them to reverse the ticket status. When i tried contacting virgin I was told that they couldn't do anything and I had to go through my travel agent. I was eventually sent an email confirmation of the refund request and that it would take up to 8-10 weeks for the refund to come. A admin fee was mentioned but i quickly shot that down and said I am entitled to a full refund. I called 8 weeks later and still no refund received from Travel Trolley. Blaming the airline for not processing it yet. I was told to call back in another 2 weeks which I did and still no refund. (Virgin accepted the refund request on the 7th may.) I was told again to call back in 2 weeks to see if they had received payment back from Virgin, But again still no refund. And again they told me to call back in another 2 weeks.
So its now been 16 weeks since my flight was cancelled and i have still not received a single penny back.
Now the Travel Trolley customer service. So apart from all of the above, the staff are extremely rude. It is an all Asian call centre with a very bad line making it impossible to understand a word they are saying.(This is not a racist comment but a fact).
I was unable to speak to a supervisor or manage to log a complaint about their operator hanging up the phone on me. I have not received any updates on claim.
so again i repeat never ever use Travel Trolley.
Virgin Atlantic customer service. They refused to help me in anyway. that's all i can say about them.
Atrocious services received from all.
I tried for 17 weeks to contact Travelup. Mostly engaged phone lines or lines going dead. By email. Twitter and eventually Instagram. I joined the FB page regarding the illegal changes made by Travelup to their T&C’s and the grievance many 100’s if others have with Travelup.
I have also started a bank chargeback. My main complaint is lack of correspondence regarding my claim and after waiting 17 weeks had partial refund followed by another partial refund and now the have illegally kept £50 as an admin fee... it is ME that has done all the work to get this and they shouldn’t have changed their T&C’s as the one they have now is not what I agreed to in January on booking.
Please can someone help me or tell me what I can do ?
Thank you
Told they were cancelled a while ago and have been trying to get a refund ever since.
l have been trying to contact them but NONE of their telephone numbers are working....
maybe they have gone, l dont know.
Yesterday l got an email from a different airline saying my flight was booked and going ahead. l am confused now...l have messaged said airline, still waiting for reply.
Dont know what to do as we do not wish to travel at this moment in time, but if l do nothing l will not get money back....
This so called holiday company has robbed me of nearly £1500.
They took the money from my account,cancelled the holiday and now I have been waiting48 days for a full refund.
I have sent over 50 e mails to them via The Resolver complaint system on line,all I get back are automated e mails offering credit notes,I want a full refund.
I have no intention of travelling abroad with this covid 19 going on,I was under the impression the refund had to be paid within 14 days of cancellation granted there are a lot of things happening right now but I think 48 days is more than enough time to sort this mess our.
TELETEXT HOLIDAYS ARE ROBBERS,THEN TOOK THE MONEY FROM MY ACCOUNT AND THEN DONE NOTHING,NO HOLIDAY,NO REFUND.
I WOULD NOT RE CCOMEND THESE CLOWNS TO MY WORST ENEMY,STAY WELL CLEAR OF THEM, THEY ARE BANDITS
Appalling company and one we would never use again or recommend. Do not use this company to book a holiday.
2months before we were due to fly we found out that my wife was pregnant and immediately cancelled the flights. We were told by opodo that we would get a refund and they issued us with a confirmation email and told me we would receive payment back into our account within 10 days.
No payment received.
Phoned them again a month before we were due to fly and complained and they gave a bs excuse and resent me a cancellation confirmation email.
I've phoned them 12 days later and was told to wait another 10 days.
How to I go about complaining effectively to get my money back as I have complied with their refund criteria throughout.
how can i put a legal complaint againt this agent
We have been waiting since May to have our luggage money refunded that we had to pay for and our holiday from hell dispute to be resolved.
Avoid Glades Travel at all costs!
The opening date of this hotel was scheduled 12/13th May 2019 ( cant remember exact dates but early may) the opening dates of the hotel was continually postponed and those customers affected were given such short notice (24hrs before the flight and offered an alternative accommodation or cancel their holiday)
I WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS
however the holiday reps TUI and First Choice seemed to be giving completely different stories of when the hotel was going to eventually be opened if building work was continuing etc. It seemed as though travel companies did not know the truth either.
Finally the hotel is actually open, opened around last weekend with guests being told the water park would not be open as it is currently not finished but building work of that would not affect guests and were offered water park tickets for duration of their stay along with food vouchers for the water park. but the reviews and stories form customers currently staying at Suneo Club has shown otherwise. The complete first floor of the hotel is unfinished, pictures show botched job of walls and incomplete bedrooms that do not live up to what was advertised online. Videos of loud machinery noises form the work being done on the hotel.
i fly in 3 weeks time and those at the hotel are stating that they do not think it will be complete.
what do you recommended i do? i am flying with 2 children and 6 adults in total.
How would i go about complaining?
On May 30th, I`ve received a second confirmation e-mail from Alpharooms, regarding my booking a day before.
On June 1st, I`ve received another e-mail requesting “the flight details and Nationality of the lead guest travelling”.
On June 3rd, I have replied to it that I hold a Turkish Passport and will arrive in Istanbul a couple of days earlier so will drive, rather than taking a direct flight.
On June 4th, they`ve replied they will confirm back.
On June 6th, they`ve sent an e-mail stating the following “We are sorry for the inconvenience, unfortunately hotel not accepting the booking due to nationality is not UK. Kindly request you to please confirm if you wish to cancel the booking”. I wasn’t chasing their e-mails at this point and when I called them back on June 15th and learned about the issue, I called the hotel and they actually did confirm that if I hold a valid UK Residence Permit that wont be an issue. They have also stated, the reservation has never gone through to them and confirmed to me if it did, they will confirm it. I had confirmed this back to Alpharooms, however they kept on telling me the hotel is not accepting, their supplier is not accepting this due to hotel rejecting it. Same day, I had been on the phone with them for hours and even e-mailed them my residence permit.
Same day on June 15th, I have received another e-mail from Alpharooms confirming again my reservation!
On June 17th, I have received the following e-mail “We can confirm you that, above mentioned booking reference is cancelled, you will received refund in next 5 working days.”
Now this is a huge inconvenience as I have planned everything and can not find a similar cost for the dates I d like to be in that hotel.
Your statement package holidays you can trust is so far from the truth shame on you and also the statement that you will not have to hit your wallet - well how do you explain me paying £1300 plus adding another £300 real cost as you were taking off £100 per person do you not think that s holiday for £1600 for just one should be uk to some firm if good expectations - modernised clean hotel with SAFE balconies for ki
I would like to change the dates and I am aware the penalty. But they say it will cost 1.774 more to change Because it is the difference . I could
Not believe when she told me so I asked to send an email with the detail,
It is 1.774 more. But in their website they have the same flight for the same price on the dates I am need to change available They even did not replay my emails .
I do not want a refund I just need to change the dates and be happy to pay the fee that is around £185.
no it emery has been received, no flights booked as none have been released.
This is no was to run a business I would accept an admin charge there attitude and refusal to discuss the situation is astounding.
It is incredibly frustrating trying to get these booking agencies to take responsibility and it leaves you thousands of pounds out of pocket while they take months to return what they took seconds to take from you. The call center staff try to be pleasant but they can do nothing when the companies are not being forced to deliver good customer service because they already have your money and they simply don't care if you never book with them again. For reasons similar to those above I will never book with the following companies - Frontier Airlines, Last Minute dot com, Booking dot com, STA travel Manchester, AMOMA, Travel Republic and Secret Escapes. They simply don't care.
When booking our holiday at the Barcelo Caba de Gata. We spent weeks searching for the perfect holiday to suit us after a very bad run over the last few years and wanted everything to be just right bearing in mind that my partner has a back condition following a road traffic accident in his work vehicle. For this reason before booking our stay at the Barcelo hotel we looked into the hotel in plenty of detail checking reviews and location and so on.
When booking the trip as far as we were aware everything was correct and the booking had the correct name and the dates were correct so as far as we were concerned we were heading to our perfect holiday destination.
When arriving in Almeria however, this completely changed and very quickly became a nightmare in a country we could not speak the language to get any help. When we arrived at the airport there was an issue in finding our transfer. A Spanish gentlemen who spoke no English at all looked at our paperwork and then kept pointing to a seating area we assumed to wait for our driver. Around half an hour later another gentleman turned up who also spoke not a word of English and was pointing as we assumed to head for the mini bus to take us to our hotel.
Once aboard the mini bus the drive was quite pleasant and also quite quick and we soon saw the Barcelo in front of us to which we became very excited as it looked exactly as it did in the pictures and we were heading for our dream holiday. However as we approached the Barcelo the driver drove straight past. We assumed maybe the driver was dropping off others and dropping us at the Barcelo on the way back. This did not happen and the driver stopped outside the Cabo de gata shouting the hotel name. We did not move as this was not the hotel that we had booked. The driver then approached us pointing at us and pointing at the hotel saying Cabo de gata. We kept saying this is not our hotel however the driver proceeded to get out cases out of the hold and got back on his mini bus and drove off. We were not even taken into the hotel gates just left on an empty waste land with cars parked on it not having a clue where we were. We dragged our suitcases through the gates and up through the car park to the front of the hotel.
When entering the hotel we were trying to explain what had happened but again the reception staff spoken very minimal English and did not understand what we were saying. The only part we did get is that they were trying to say we were booked at this hotel. As you can imagine by this point I was very very upset. This hotel was most definitely not what we had booked and most definitely not what we had hoped for. We made our way to the room we were designated very upset, very deflated and not knowing what to do with no one speaking enough English to help us. At this point I searched
We booked a villa only holiday with a well known villa company and had our holiday in June.
On arrival it was clear the accommodation was substandard with damp running down a bedroom wall, an exposed electrical feed , pool steps that were not secured and fell into the pool! These are few of the issues we faced. I complained in resort and was visited twice by three different reps who were visibly horrified and some of the issues, who organised some repairs whilst we were there.
I took photographs and sent a full complaint on our return home. They have since responded but without acknowledging any of the specific problems that we identified. They also offered us a voucher ( a very small percentage of the cost of the villa, in fact probably not enough for a small deposit on another holiday ) . I have just emailed my response to that explaining we are not accepting it. So what I'm wondering is how long do I have to wait for a response again ? Is it another 28 days? Also how can I take it further if we aren't satisfied with the awaited reponse?
Hello, my name is Sammie. I was scheduled to fly to South Africa this Thursday to attend a volunteer wildlife program for one month which I had laid in full last month. Unfortunately, I have been taken ill and I have been hospitalised, therefore I will not be able to go. I requested a refund as I am not fit to fly or work with wildlife and I am in hospital. They company informed me that unfortunately their cancellation policy is 30 days prior, and that I would not receive a refund.
I paid $2,299.00 for this program and I do not agree that they will not refund me my full amount as it is my money and I was not expecting to be hospitalised before the program. After the manager spoke with the owner, they were willing to give me 25% back. I refused as I do not agree with this given the circumstances. I expect a FULL refund as this is my money and it is not my fault that I was taken ill.
Is there anyone who can help me?
Thank you !
Sammie
I booked holiday with sunmaster, did not take out insurance as normally would take this out nearer to holiday. Im due to fly this sunday however unfortunately i broke my ankle, had surgery to pin the ankle. Doctor has said i am not able to fly. Sunmaster gave option of changin holiday but would need to go in next 3 month which we could not do due to work comitments. They would not allow us to change to a suitable date for us and would not allow a retund. Now lost 900 pounf is there anything i can do yo get some of this money back
As Diamond passengers, My wife and I cruised on Ovation of the Seas in February. As we have done for every cruise we paid for a soda package weeks before boarding.
Royal Caribbean advertises on several of their ships, including the Ovation of the Sea, that the ships have soda drink machines providing a wide variety of both standard and low calorie drinks. We have used these machines on other RC ships previously.
On the first day of our cruise we discovered the machines on board were totally empty of any low calorie drink except Diet Coke and that they would not be refilled.
We immediately sort a refund for our soda package and were promised on three different occasions that the soda package money would be repaid to our Mastercard.
After waiting over two months we have now been told there is no record that we sort a refund and that we will not be refunded because we did not take the drink cups back to the main desk........ something we were never told we had to do.
We are furious. Royal Caribbean should have provided the product they advertised. They assume that because they can’t find a record of events the events didn’t happen. It seems that they do not deliver on promises. They imply we are liars!!!!!!!!
I was telephoned on my mobile number at approximately 8.30 am EST on Thursday April 13 from someone claiming to represent Royal Caribbean. She said the call would be recorded. Without any prompting from me, the caller quoted the Mastercard number from which I had paid for the drink packages and promised RC was going to refund me the money including the AUS$11.17 that I had paid in international transaction fees back into that account.
We have still not received the refund.
We are Now on the 15th march 2017 I'm pulling my hair out with these companies they are bouncing me back and forth saying the other should pay the refund and they will phone me in 24 hours to discuss it doesn't happen! I have many emails to both companies which I have kept. I have asked to make formal complaints, managers to contact me absolutely nothing! I've complained on the Facebook websites, then another person from one of the companies asks for the exact same details we go through the whole process again and again and again different named person each time! I have also kept their names. I have phoned back asking fir the same person and never once been put through to them. I still haven't received any refund and I have no idea whether my wife and her friend have a seat on the plane to New York on the 8Th may 2017!!!! Can any one please help me. It's a disgrace what these companies get away with and its ruined the lovely surprise for my wife's big birthday
I'm looking for some advice please.
I've booked a 3 day holiday away with the girls to Benidorm. The intention was to stay all inclusive at a Hotel. The travel agent checked and advised the Hotel was full but we could still book all inclusive and stay in the Hotels sister apartments but still use the Hotels facilities and be all inclusive.
It's now come to light that by accepting this we will now have to pay a £300.00 (per apartment) refundable deposit on arrival for any breakages at the apartments.
Bearing in mind we are paying an all inclusive price for the holiday, are we obliged to pay the deposit on top? This was not pointed out to us at the time of sale and I feel we have been mislead. We are paying all inclusive prices but now being treated like we are on a self catering holiday.
Any advice appreciated
Then the customer service operators were so rude and unpleasant it was totally upsetting the way I was spoken too.
The third issue was the final paymnet was due on the 8th sept and I advised the company not to use my visa credit card as previously paid on as I wanted to pay an alternative method to avoid credit card charges , this got ignored and the £2000-00 plus got taken.
Then the worst scenario happened my mother in law died suddenly. We advised the company that we had paid in full and we wanted to change the flight to two other names, this cost £157 charges and £1128.00 which I asked them to offset against my £720 already paid for the two passengers swapping over.
They said we could not action this way and on production of the death certificate a refund could be applied and the waiver of cancellation fee could go ahead which was £500 per person. Extortion.
And after all the upset of that they put my 12yr old niece on a different flight coming home from her parents and didn't correct until the day before coming home the e-ticket was not issued and her mum was frantic all holiday, and could not relax.
To date I have complained and it's now been over 8 weeks and love holidays is final stating they have assisted myself in every way and no refund will now be given.
I have asked where is my money of £720 and do they really want to make money from a family death, I have spoken to Emirates as an impartial advisor and they quoted that a death certificate would be enough for them to issue a mandatory refund.
Love Holidays are stating it's their suppliers who are refusing, I jhave also requested that this isssue is escalated to the CEO of the company a man named Alex Francis for further investigation but they are refusing to persue this.
I have all copies of emails etc probably more than 25 in all. But I am now at a loss as to what and where I can go with , as I feel it's very unfair and unjust and does not seem ethical that a company can treat you this way. Any advice Please..?
My wife has just done a comparasion on there website and if we booked now it would cost over £500 less which on a £3000 holiday is a huge saving.
Do we have any way of any reimbursement or do we just have to live with it?
Thanks in advance of any help.
Early next morning returned to airport for 8.30 flight 2 days after bomb explosion in egypyt. Our plane had been left unsecured overnight. Waiting 4 hours for security check on plane,boarded plane, next delay aircraft unfit to fly, technical fault.
Finally took off 9 hours later. When we got home we contacted thompsons, they did not reply. Contacted airlines aviation control. As web site says they contact the airline involved. After6 months and several phone calls to them, they are aware that the aircraft had problems plus the issue regarding security with the luggage compartment. Still they were negative with my complaint , saying delay was due to weather conditions.
Anyone else travelled on this date ? November2 from hurghada ?
booked my holidays to Italy with three nights stay in Rome and three nights stay in Venice, flying on the 20June 2016.
I have to complain here, as my complaints havent been heard yet. May be Other readers can get help from this.
I complaint about the hotel which Is booked by mistake in Rome, as they rushed me down(my fault aswell as j should have researched it a bit more) Anyway, Later called them to change the hotel.
Again They rush you, no advises been given, the staff doesnt even know if the hotel is in town or outskirts. Looked at the facilities on the hotel website, which are almost wrong. Why teletext would advertise false information ? Just to sell the packages ?
first false info - They mention that the hotel has a free shuttle service - There is no shuttle service.
Some hotel reviewers have mentioned that they felt scared to walk back to the hotel at night. Obviously there is no connectivity for around 2 KMS from the town. Taxis are so costly in rome, 3 times than in Britain. You dont want to get robbed on a holiday walking back at night.
When you book with teletext they do not give you enough time to research the hotel as they rush you down by saying "If you comfirm the hotel right now than only we can change it and wont charge the admin fees, later we wont be able to change the hotel"
Now after speaking to the senior executive staff to change the hotel one last time they refused to make any further change in accommodation.
This is horrifying as your company have displayed the hotels which are of no use to the customers, where they will feel scared to walk back at night ?
This hotel will spoil my holiday experience and Especially when I have spent what £720 to book the holiday with you and further £15.00 to make the first change of the hotel.
please advise me what i can do in this case ? How can i change the hotel please
got e mail with details of my flight today and they had changed our prebooked seats which we paid for.
Great difficulty in getting in touch with them but eventually spoke to one of their employees. She resolved seat issue. However she asked if I had bought anything from Cooks today and I said NO.
thought it strange checked my Bank Account and £125 has been removed by Cooks at 11 am this morning,some 4 hours before I had opened their E mail .Now cannot get them to answer their phones.
Also the invoice I got today shows the flight cost is £115 less than what I paid. HOW CAN THOMAS COOK TAKE MONEY FROM A CLIENTS BANK ACCOUNT SOME 5 MONTHS AFTER TH BILL WAS PAID IN FULL
wife hinted at seeing the cruise in an advert , it was booked on line on a Friday however to my shock my wife confirmed on the evening of the Sunday she had booked the same cruise that day through an agent . I immediately sent an email to the cruise line apologising and request they cancel the booking before any monies had been transferred I also checked with my bank on the Monday , they confirmed the deposit had not yet transferred and technically they would not stop the transfer . After various telephone calls and emails we were advised by telephone that if we supplied the individual reservation no from the agent which covered the booking for my wife and I only the cruise line would refund our deposit.and cancel the booking . This individual reservation no we eventually obtained after approx 3 months and we immediately passed this to the cruise line and they cancelled the booking however did not refund the deposit . We requested confirmation of the deposit being refunded and have also checked with the bank to no avail , now we are not obtaining any responses to emails sent to the cruise line . It is nearly 5 months since the bookings were made , we brought the error on our part to the cruise line prior to any deposit money being transferred , the cruse line later were in communication with the agent therefore were aware that we genuinely had made an error in double booking although understandably they required evidence of a booking reservation no with the agent which we eventually supplied and lastly we will be travelling on the cruise line vessel anyway allbeit it is through an agent. Why did we not cancel the booking with the agent instead well to be honest it was a no brainier their price which surprised me was much less than the cruise lines. If the cruise line continue to ignore me do I have any recourse other than sending the above facts to the cruise line reviews and to the Judge column in well known national newspaper with names of parties involved which I imagine would cost the cruise line a thousand times more in lost revenue than the refund of a deposit. I do not particularly wish to go down that avenue
Was shouted at in the middle of our carriage by the senior stewardess because I dared to try and take a newspaper and was told in no uncertain terms that their newspapers were only for FULL first class paying passengers and that's I was not entitled to it as I had not paid enough money, also after having paid this supplement we discovered we were not entitled to use the lounge and had to forage amongst the scrum to try and find a seat prior to boarding our train also on board we were told that only fULLfirst class paying passengers were entitled to a hot meal whereas we were only entitled to a cold meal. Wine was served in a dirty chipped glass I wrote to complain to them that's the birthday treat had been absolutely ruined by this disgraceful and obnoxious behaviour but it seems that Eurostar condone their staffs abhorrent behaviour and refused the refund that I had requested for our journey.
Hurtegruten have written to say that "as we were told at time of booking" Hurtegruten ships are working cargo ships, also picking up passengers and cargo along the way. We were not told this. Is there a company we can complain to further?
We changed our return to 29 th August and they wanted £175 ( according to them the published fare ), We had to make the booking but thought it strange and checked online a few minuits later to find that the fare was actually £131. I have a series of emails from them which suggest that they dream up fares in very similar fashion to the Futures Market. I am not getting anywhere with their Customer Service Department which I think is actually their booking office. Can you offer any advice as I find it impossible to get to the ' decision maker '. I can forward all the emails if it helps.
I would appreciate you advice.
We then discovered that it was an 18-30 hotel which was not advised during booking. There were adolescents being sick all over the stairwells, fighting and shouting all night EVERY night and taking legal highs around the pool.
It is (Supposed) to be an all inclusive holiday which we paid for......the choice was appalling same thing day in day out (if you like Moussaka and rice you was ok) the drinks were watered down and every thing else was charged for including children's ice cream.
The staff were vile towards customers. rude and ignorant and insulting in some cases and the Janitor kept throwing all rubbish and broken sun lounger etc over the neighbouring fence. It was the worst holiday we've EVER had and wanted to come home after about 4 days!
I sent a complaint via email during the holiday and also added to it after we got back and Sunmasters are not taking any accountability as they said on the description of the website it sometimes is a little lively BUT not once does it mention 18-30!
Advice please as I believe that I should at least be entitled to some sort of compensation??
She is now going to take a friend and change the booking without my permission. I rang the travel agent because she was the main person on the booking form Thomas cook says there is nothing I can do. So this other person is going to get a free holiday at my expense .Thomas cook refuse to tell me if she has actually even changed the booking. have I no rights and if so what are they
1- Noise from LIRR unbearable
2- Green fungus in the pool/sauna
3- No Security at the front desk
4- Upon information belief they Had a rash of robberies that were reported to the Local
Police Dept - luckily the Police from the local precienct respond immediately.
5- Located in a high crime area that is not well lit, next to garbage cans that overflow in the evenings and you have to jump of the rats
6- Seating area is open with no safety gates
Upon complaint they issued a thin apology but more or less told us 'tough'. I think that is a very bad attitude to a payong client who booked in full as far back as April. Just wondering is there anything else I can do about it?
I have an issue with services from Expedia Travel. Dispite emails and lengthy phone calls to this company, i am still no better off, and not happy at all about the way they have acted through this process and it has in part now ruined our honeymoon plans as we dont have enough money to afford accommodation for our honeymoon. Here is the initial email i sent to Expedia. I hope the issue becomes clear from this copied text of the email:
Hi,
My name is Dan Kennedy. Me and my wife recently looked to book flights with your company for our honeymoon, from New York to Las Vegas. Itinerary reference: 19011229051
When i submitted my payment yesterday evening, an error message appeard on your website that said your server was experiencing an error and to please try again. I tried to submit the payment again and the same message appeared. As we needed to book our flights last night, and your website was experiencing problems we decided to use a different company to book these flights with.
This morning i have recieved an email from your company to say that these flights had infact been booked (despite this error message). So we now have 2 flights booked for the same destination. I am requesting a cancellation and refund of our flight with you.
I understand you state a non refundable policy, but as this was an error on behalf of your company's website and not with us, i would be grateful if you could action this request.
We have used your company before, and we are likely to use your company again. And i hope this error can be rectified fully.
Regards.
Dan Kennedy.
Emails have been exchanged since, and all i keep getting told is the flights were "Non Refundable". But i dont believe this is an issue caused by myself, and infact purely a fault of Expedia's 'unfit for purpose' technology. A few quick brief internet searches reveal that this is a very common fault with this company, along with many other complaints and unhappy customers. I hope you can help.
Regards.
Dan Kennedy
The price was much cheaper on the AA paperwork,we have taken the matter up with AA who will only deal with our credit card company regarding the mispricing,meanwhile we have no paperwork whatsoever from FLIGHTBULZ,so we cannot claim the cost back from the insurance for our curtailed holiday,,managed to contact FLIGHTBULZyesterday and they told me they had sent the EMails,so all our three EMail addresses must be faulty,and they will not send anymore,I need to show proof of what I paid and who I paid it to,before I can claim my money back,my husbands mother died yesterday,so as you can imagine we are distraught at having all this to deal with.
The company totally misrepresented who they were,we would never have booked our tickets if we had been made aware of who they actually were,as we know Airlines are usually very sympathetic when it comes to emergency flights home if you book with them direct.
Considering the small claims court but who do you put on the form.
The flight was fine even though they did run out of drinks!
When we arrived at the terminal we had to que for 6 hrs to get through security, I ended up in a wheelchair a couple of people collapsed it was horendous.
When we finally got to our hotel the lobby was lovely, wish we could say the same about the room! a porter helped us to our room as I could hardley walk let alone trying to find our room.
When we got to our room there was a horrible smell of Damp told the porter we werent happy & were told no rooms available as hotel was fully booked. We would have to stay there for the holiday!!! And I am Asmatic! Really not happy, Thomson are so slow every time you email to them you have to wait up to 28 days & never get the same person even if you think your replying to them!
I went into one of there shops over the weekend & the lady I spoke to was amazed that I hadn't had a offer made to me of compensation.
So how can THOMSON JUSTIFY CHARGING 1523.00 FOR A UPGRADE IT'S TAKE CONSUMERS FOR GRANTED SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE AND DONE FAST
I gave her all the details of flights etc and the hotel and expressed
that I had chosen half board basis on the online details of which the
price was showing as £755 from memory.
After some discussion, she said that she could do a better deal for
£680.81 of which I was delighted.
I kept asking her to confirm this was definitely on a half board basis
and she assured me it was, yet when she sent me my invoice via email I
realised that it only stated buffet breakfast and whilst still on the
phone to her I said it not the board basis I booked with her.
She said she definitely did the booking and we were half board. I told
her I needed a new updated invoice to reflect this and she then said it
would have to be sorted with Customer Services to be changed as she was
adamant it changed after she made the booking?
So 10 days on now and phone call after phone call to different people and
emails sent constantly I'm still waiting for my new invoice.
I've also had the phone put down on me twice!
I've even filled in the online query forms on the website and still no
answer!
I've been promised it's going to be escalated to a senior supervisor and
that I'll get a call back but still no response.
I have phoned again today and been told by the manager that there is a procedure to follow and they have to listen to the phone call of the booking to establish if it was their error.
YES it was hence why I've been on to them almost every other day to sort it plus email after email. Im really at the end of my tether now and wish I'd never booked with them.
This was supposed to be a special trip for our wedding anniversary and we
only booked through Expedia as we thought it would be the best company
after seeing adverts on tv but the customer service has been non existent!!
I certainly won't be recommending the company to family and friends as I
wouldn't want them to have to have problems like we are.
All I want is what I asked for and booked for but no one is taking
responsibility and the lady who booked this should be reprimanded for her
incompetence!
I just don't know where to go from here even sent an email to the Director of Customer Experience based in London but not holding my breath that even this will get it sorted!
I'm now having to wait another day until he so says calls me back!!
What else can I possibly do???
I don't know if somebody could give me some advice please. I booked a holiday via first choice holidays to jamaica via first choice holidays in January. There was an offer on at the time saying that if I booked before the end of the month i would have a free upgrade from a junior suite to the golden club which gave you more privileges. I booked the holiday and during the process was offered a sea view junior suite for an extra £112 which I booked.
I was aware there was a better room again called the don Pablo which was approx £500 extra. After I paid the holiday off last month I thought I would check to see how much exactly the don Pablo rooms would be. When I went on line to check and it appeared the upgrade I was offered during the booking process was actually a downgrade from a premier club room which would normally cost £336 to a junior suite with seaview and I paid £112 to do this.
To cut a very long story short and after many phone calls first choice agreed to reinstate my room to the double club room offered free at the time of booking. However they refused to refund my £112.00. After contacting the CEO by email and recorded delivery letter a lady from the directors office became I volley and my £112 was refunded. However I was still waiting for the cost of the upgrade to the don Pablo rooms. I was expecting it to be in the region of £204 as the club room was an additional £336 And the don Pablo is £540. However they have said continually it will be £982. I have asked them for a breakdown of how they get this figure or why I am being penalised as anybody else in the UK would be charge £540 for the room upgrade. I can't get any further with them. I really want to go to the don Pablo rooms but am not prepared to pay double what anybody else would be charged. I would really appreciate some advice on where I go from here??
They have offered me a £200 voucher as compensation but that only covers my costs I invoiced them for last week and I don't particularly ever want another first choice holiday again. If I could have a refund I would and would rebook the holiday via another operator but I'm guessing as I travel i. 10 weeks this will not happen.
Where do I go on this please? I don't understand why for everybody else in the UK the cost of a don Pablo room will be £540 as per their website but for me it is £982. What can I do about it?
This is not the only problem I have had with them. Last year I had to cancel a holiday to ibiza as my daughter was ill and needed an operation on the day. We were due to travel. My travel insurance provided a refund less the cost of the tax which came to about £40. First choice made it very difficult to claim the money back. It was all dealt with via the call centre which is quite useless and costs 10p per minute to phone and usually a wait of up to an hour. They said they did not refund this payment automatically even though it was a government tax and not theirs to keep. It
We booked it by telephone as we had some queries regarding the flight and it was paid in full at time of booking.
When we received the confirmation email the call centre operative had mis spelled my surname ,despite spelling my husbands correctly.My husband contacted expedia to discuss this error and was told by their call centre staff in India that this should not stop us from travelling.
However we were not happy with this information and again contacted the call centre to be told by a different staff member that. I would not be allowed to travel as the name did not match my passport,they also denied that we had had called previously.He stated that he would contact the airline and would call me back the next day.
The following day we received no communication from Expedia and was therefore forced to contact them again ourselves,the third call centre staff member denied again that we had made any contact with them and was extremely un helpful .At the moment we feel that Expedia are completely unwilling to help and have also stated that the airline may not change the name ,they have also hinted that are not taking any responsibility for this,even though it is their error.
Can you advise us of our options as Expedia do not seem to have any offices in the Uk to discuss this and every telephone number is directed to India.
I also have had a terrible experience whilst aboard a cruise ship. My complaint is about the medical care my husband received on board. To get a long story short after experiencing a focal seizure on board he was seen by the ships doctor who said he could return to his cabin as he was getting better. I advise that when this hppens he is usually monitored and should he have another seizure is given intramusulaR valium.which usualy sorts him out and prevents further seizures. Despite checking with the ships doctor prior to the cruise that they keep this mediaction on board I was advised that they did not have it. On returning to our cabin he had a further seizure which necessitated 4 days in hospital in a foreign country. My husband has a rare condition that mimics a stroke. The doctor on board did not believe me and despite him having good signs proceeded to complete a number of unnecessary tests toltallly £1,600.
TO ADD TO OUR DISMAY THE CANULLA THAT THE NURSE PUT IN MY HUSBANDS FOREARM BECAME INFECTED AND BECAME SWOLLEN AND CAUSED FUTHER FOCAL SEIZURES. DOES ANY BODY KNOW OF AN OMBUDSMAN WE CAN COMPLAIN TO. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN COMPENSATION RATHER I DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE ON A CRUISE SHIP.
THANK YOU
I cannot understand why Barrhead Travel upset so many people through charging this especially when the holiday is thousands of pounds.
I for one will book through another travel agent who is not so greedy on profit. I have asked for a written explanation as to why they charge £1 when paying with a direct debit card but after several weeks still no reply.
Thanks steven Holmes
On the day we were due to return home 13 September 2013 we checked out at reception around 9.15. The receptionist asked us to leave our two suitcases to the left of reception, where other suitcases were being left, I questioned whether they would be ok there and was reassured that they were fine. The bell boy was sorting cases into rows ready to be put onto the various coach transfers to the airport. We went down to the pool as we were not due to leave until our taxi transfer was due at 2.15pm. We returned to collect our luggage at 12.15 to freshen up before our departure at 2.15pm. Our cases had gone and were nowhere to be found. Our thomsons representative Gemma asked Mehmet the reception manager to contact the coach drivers who had collected tourists earlier that day to transfer to the airport in case the luggage had been placed on their coach by mistake, but our cases were not found. We asked reception if we could view the CCTV cameras, they would not let us view the footage and advised us that they could not see anything relating to our suitcases. We were then told to check with the airport when we got there to see if the cases had turned up. Gemma was of no further help to us offering no further help and more interested in selling a trip to another tourist!! We took our taxi transfer still in our wet swimwear and me with a flimsy throw over my wet bikini. Very humiliating. We asked a thomsons rep called Jackie at the airport if she could help us, but she just did not seem to know what to do, other than suggest we contact Thomsons when we got back home.
So we returned to the UK in our wet swimwear to a very cold UK. We emailed thomsons immediately and tried ringing them and continued to do so for 4-5 weeks without response. We then contacted ABTA to ask for help and eventually received a reply from Thomsons to say they were sorry to hear what had happened but basically they would be unable to do anything further on this occasion. To date we do not believe they contacted the hotel or made any investigations of any sort.
Our travel insurance will not pay us for our loss as they stated we left our luggage unattended. We followed the instructions of the hotel, the hotel Thomsons recommended. They should be ensuring that their customers luggage and personal safety is assured. They just do not seem to care. We returned from a trip to Sharm el Sheikh booked through Thomsons, yesterday.
When we checked out we were told to leave our cases outside the front doors as cases were not aloud in reception. We insisted they were put in a lock up until our coach transfer arrived. There is a serious lack of security for customers belongings by Thomsons and this needs some serious investigation.
We really hope that you are able to help us.
Kind regards
Anne and Paul Arrowsmith
Is there anything I can do about this?
Patricia McKenna
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