I have accepted £100 from the booking agents, I have been trying to get my money refunded for nearly 4 months now and I have to accept that I have reached stalemate.
ABTA have been no help at all.
I looked into the small claims court, but it is too much to pay out to start proceedings, I am already a couple of hundred pounds down and I can't afford to pay out anymore.
Somewhere2Stay are still refusing to comment on, or even acknowledge, the month it took them to tell me that the Maritim had refused the booking.
As well as the difference in price between the hotels and the cost of eating out even though I had paid for an evening meal, there was the cost of a taxi to the airport from Calella, this cost €120. I had booked a return transfer and I received confirmation of the time of the return trip and pick up location.
For whatever reason, the time of the pick up was changed, the transfer company contacted all the hotels where pick ups had been arranged so that they could put signs up in the reception area noticeboard to notify the traveller. Unfortunately, as I had been moved, I did not receive any notification.
After waiting at the pick up point for an hour, I tried ringing the contact number on the booking confirmation, but there was no answer. I walked down to the train station and took a taxi.
I have calculated what the holiday cost me.
I expected to pay £510
I could have paid £420 had I booked the Santa Monica myself, choosing B&B and eating meals out.
I ended up paying £685.
(I laid all of this out in an excel spreadsheet but I couldn't post it to my blog!)
So lesson learnt, make sure the company you are ultimately booking with is reputable.
As you will recall I have been trying to have the difference in cost between the hotel I booked and the hotel I was actually accommodated in refunded by the travel company, this is for a holiday booked back in April of this year.
The latest reply from Somewhere2Stay, via Alpharooms, advises that they are not going to increase their existing offer of £50 and if I want more compensation then I should continue with my claim via a third party.
Very professional.
And is a refund of an overpaid amount really compensation? I don't think it is. Yes, I would like compensation, more for the fact that this has dragged on for so long, but primarily I am just trying to collect money owed.
I discovered this week, that Somewhere2Stay is a sister company of Monarch Airlines, and this really surprised me as Monarch have always been completely professional in all the dealings I have had with them, I think that for my next flight I will be returning to EasyJet even though that means a 2 hour journey to the airport instead of 20 minutes up the Birmingham road.
ABTA have been as helpful as the travel company so now I have contacted Watchdog to see if I get any joy there.
The only step I have left is the Small Claims Court.
I had a reply from ABTA, eventually, advising me that they cannot intervene until I have reached stalemate with the holiday company, so that was a waste of a couple of weeks waiting. I will be going back to them shortly though as I do feel stalemate has now been reached.
I rejected the £50 goodwill offer made by the travel company as it goes nowhere near compensating me for the difference in price of the hotels, even ignoring all the additional issues.
I had asked the travel company to tell me when they actually sent my booking to the hotel. At the same time I contacted the hotel to ask the same question.
The travel company have refused to tell me, however the hotel have replied that they received the booking on the 13th May and refused it straight away as they were fully booked. I have now contacted the travel company to ask why it took a full month for them to notify me of the hotel move.
Given a month, I could have cancelled and made other arrangements. - including booking the Santa Monica myself for half the price that I had paid for the Maritim. I wouldn't be having this fight to get my money back then.
The tmeline currently stands as
- 20/04/14 - Accommodation at the Maritim booked and deposit paid.
- 05/05/14 - Outstanding balance of accommodation paid
- 13/05/14 - Booking sent to hotel and immediately rejected.
- 13/06/14 - Notified of hotel move
- 14/06/14 - Date of travel
- 21/06/14 - Date of return and complaint put into writing.
Once I get a response to this query I will be able to go back to ABTA.
Back in April I booked a holiday, travelling mid June. As you may recall less than 24 hours before I was due to travel I was moved to a cheaper hotel, still a 3* but much cheaper.
I complained at the time and certainly made my feelings felt, but as cancelling would have meant losing the flight, transfers, insurance and, more importantly, my week's annual leave I grudgingly accepted the move.
I was not happy with the quality of the hotel I was moved to. To put it bluntly, if it happens again, I will cancel and take the hit.
On my return, I put in a complaint to the agents, mostly because of the un-refunded difference in prices, but I included aspects of the hotel which I was not happy with.
Below are two screenshots of the relevant hotels, the departure date is the same for both, 3 weeks ahead, I do not have screen shots from the time of booking as I did not ever envisage needing them! But you can clearly see the difference.
I had booked the Maritim and was moved to the Santa Monica. I always select a double/twin for single use as single rooms everywhere abroad are notoriously tiny.
According to ABTA rules, travel agents have to respond to complaints within 28 days. Despite asking for more information to support my claim, (why, they moved me, they know the difference in price) the travel agents have failed to do this.
I have moved to the next level in my complaint, I have sent notice of my intention of going to ABTA, I just have to give more time for the agents to respond.
I will keep you informed.
Update
Today, 31st July, I had a reply from the travel agents, as it wasn't their fault I was moved, they were offering me £50 as a goodwill gesture.
As there is such a difference in price to the customer, I feel it is safe to assume that there is a corresponding difference in price to the travel agent, and therefore I should receive the full difference back, at least.
If there isn't a difference in price to the travel agent, then why is there such a disparity in price to the customer?
I have forwarded the offer on to ABTA for their consideration.
