Eurostar rip off

lorryw

My husband is a huge Jimmy Buffett fan and the only way to see him is normally in the USA. However this year he announced he would be appearing at a club in Paris.
We went online and booked one night in Paris and travel by Eurostar, total coat £164. We used the official Eurostar website. Now Jimmy has announced he will play a second night. I decided to surprise my husband and addan extra night so that he could see his idol twice.
I have just contacted Eurostar and it has cost an additional £240 to make the change. Extra night at hotel £80, surcharge of £25 for changes, and a I had to buy a new ticket for Eurostar at a cost of £129. His original ticket is non refundable and the I have had to pay for a complete new ticket. He is going out on the same day and time as originally agreed but returning on a Sunday.
I feel very angry but Eurostar were not at all helpful (I could hear the chap sighing on the telephone) and I feel really ripped off.

johnnytee

Who is Jimmy Buffet?

richardw

lorryw wrote: »

His original ticket is non refundable

How much would a flexible and refundable ticket have been.

ince_mon

I think your husband should just see him the 1 night luv.

debs66_2

johnnytee wrote: »

Who is Jimmy Buffet?

massively famous Country singer in the states. he has a bar and shop on the Las Vegas strip called Margaritaville.

vikingaero

OP, I imagine that for £129 you bought the lowest price fare that has conditions attached such as no refunds, no changes and no transfers. If you had paid more then you could have bought a flexible ticket.

Your only real recourse is to write a letter of complaint to Eurostar Customer Services and hope for a goodwill payment.

debs66_2

OP, the only way is to pay, and you had a choice of not bothering as he was getting one night to see his hero.

that said, i have travelled to the states just to see my fave band, so i understand paying the extra to get another concert in.

i think Eurostar are being a tad inflexible, although i presume tickets are cheaper if not a flexible one. how about you send a polite letter to customer services? Just say you were disappointed with the service your received, you were wanting to extend a stay and were happy to pay the difference in fares had they increased, plus an administration fee, but you felt the charges levied were excessive.

i don't know. i've always found a politely worded letter has got me further than anything. however, if you selected a non-flexible ticket for the price, then you may just have to grin and bear it.

hope he enjoys the gigs.

Sam_Bee

Can't you just use the outbound train ticket, throw away the return, and look at all alternatives for coming back

i.e. a one way train ticket, or a one way flight on someone like Easyjet?

Would that not work out cheaper? Why do you HAVE to change your original ticket when it could be cheaper to start from scratch.

There are one way train tickets returning on Sunday 21st September for £44.
One way flights on BA for £67.
One way flights on Easyjet for £32.

sarahnewcastle123

lorryw wrote: »

My husband is a huge Jimmy Buffett fan and the only way to see him is normally in the USA. However this year he announced he would be appearing at a club in Paris.
We went online and booked one night in Paris and travel by Eurostar, total coat £164. We used the official Eurostar website. Now Jimmy has announced he will play a second night. I decided to surprise my husband and addan extra night so that he could see his idol twice.
I have just contacted Eurostar and it has cost an additional £240 to make the change. Extra night at hotel £80, surcharge of £25 for changes, and a I had to buy a new ticket for Eurostar at a cost of £129. His original ticket is non refundable and the I have had to pay for a complete new ticket. He is going out on the same day and time as originally agreed but returning on a Sunday.
I feel very angry but Eurostar were not at all helpful (I could hear the chap sighing on the telephone) and I feel really ripped off.

It's like flight tickets I guess - changing any details costs a fortune. There are lots of people willing to sell and buy tickets in groups on facebook though for instance, so you might be able to trade/swap dates?

lorryw

Thanks for the replies.
I have since contacted Eurostar Holidays and they have offered a refund of £89.00. On searching the website I discovered that a return trip on the Sunday was only £29.50 so I was given duff information.
I could have booked the ticket and hotel individually but I booked it as a package because I thought we would have protection if we needed to make alterations.