HAVEN at Primrose Valley GRRRR

Lifeisbutadream

I stayed at Primrose Valley, Haven Holidays for 3 nights at the beginning of May - I was really unhappy with our holiday as I felt it was mis-sold to us (heating in caravan didnt work, were supposed to have parking right outside the caravan and didnt, no toaster, tiny TV after being described as 'flat screen TV and DVD player', caravan shabby, no outside seating area as advertised, no towels in caravn, not enough pillows)

I have written to them several times and asked for a partial refund, but they have written back today and said they are sorry but won't give me any money back.

I paid £330 for a top of the range, executive caravan, and got what I would consider to be a Silver/Gold. I am not happy at all and won't ever go back.

Rant over!

willo65

Last time I was at primrose valley all the caravans had space to put a vehicle in front of it. was the tv "Flat screen"? if it was then thats your fault for assuming it would be huge. As for everything else I always stayed in privately owned caravans so not sure what the towel/pillow situations are.

Lifeisbutadream

willo65 wrote: »

Last time I was at primrose valley all the caravans had space to put a vehicle in front of it. was the tv "Flat screen"? if it was then thats your fault for assuming it would be huge. As for everything else I always stayed in privately owned caravans so not sure what the towel/pillow situations are.

It was advertised as having the car parking space at the side of the van - it didnt it was in numbered spaces along the front.

Yes the TV was flat screen but it was a 14" one! I didnt expect it to be huge, but I did expect to be able to see it.

Everything was exactly the same as I have previously stayed in (i.e. a Silver or a Gold) - it was IMO false advertising as it was supposed to be preimium and was no more premium than a standard caravan - I just paid more for it!

McKneff

Have a look in the brochure again and check to see if you got what you paid for, the layout of the interior of the caravans are detailed in there. Check to see what caravan you were allocated. (try to remember the nmber of the one you stayed in.

Cant see why the parking was a problem really, you had a car park. Parking at the side of a caravan is lethal if its been raining.

14" TVs are normal in caravans - the tvs are not that far away from you in a caravan that you cant see it.

toaster, pillows etc - reception are only too willing to give you them if you ask - yes i know they should have been there but hey, thats life.

Lifeisbutadream

McKneff wrote: »

Have a look in the brochure again and check to see if you got what you paid for, the layout of the interior of the caravans are detailed in there. Check to see what caravan you were allocated. (try to remember the nmber of the one you stayed in.

Cant see why the parking was a problem really, you had a car park. Parking at the side of a caravan is lethal if its been raining.

14" TVs are normal in caravans - the tvs are not that far away from you in a caravan that you cant see it.

toaster, pillows etc - reception are only too willing to give you them if you ask

The parking wasnt a 'problem', it was the fact that it was falsely advertised that I was annoyed about and the fact that I was expecting it (for the money) to be better than a Silver or Gold and it wasnt.

Anyway, it won't happen again as I won't be going back through Haven.

Torby

might have missed something here...but did you actually complain at the time in person while you were there?

Lifeisbutadream

Torby wrote: »

might have missed something here...but did you actually complain at the time in person while you were there?

Yes, I complained whilst I was there as well as writing to them twice when I got home. They arent interested.

hippychic81

Myself and my parent stayed at littlesea, weymouth holiday park in April.
We were upgraded to the exective caravan and it was wounderfull, yes the telly was small only a 14in (but not a problem), there was a toaster, microwave and room to park outside.
If fact we extended our holiday for another week.
Did you take photo's of the caravan, so you can prove that there wasn't a toaster and no parking outside your caravan.
I will say the heating was tricky and took us about 24hours to get it working.
All i will say is maybe you would have had more luck if you had complained when you were there on the first day before unpacking (but i understand thats no help know).

Lifeisbutadream

hippychic81 wrote: »

Myself and my parent stayed at littlesea, weymouth holiday park in April.
We were upgraded to the exective caravan and it was wounderfull, yes the telly was small only a 14in (but not a problem), there was a toaster, microwave and room to park outside.
If fact we extended our holiday for another week.
Did you take photo's of the caravan, so you can prove that there wasn't a toaster and no parking outside your caravan.
I will say the heating was tricky and took us about 24hours to get it working.
All i will say is maybe you would have had more luck if you had complained when you were there on the first day before unpacking (but i understand thats no help know).

I was there on my own with the kids without OH and we got there quite late on the first night, so I didnt really get chance to do anything until the next day and they were not helpful at all.

If I had been upgraded I would have been quite happy, but paying top whack for something sub-standard was not a good feeling.

TBH an apology and a small refund would have been enough, but I just feel completely ripped off - I wont go back.

codger

£330 is a helluva lot of money for 3 days in. . . a caravan.

If you've exhausted the company's complaints process (as well as yourself) then by all means chalk it up to experience. But don't think, well, stuff Haven Holidays, I'll go somewhere else.

Because you might just be putting money into the pockets of the same people.

Haven is merely another brand name owned by the mysterious "Bourne Leisure", a private limited company. It's anything but forthcoming about its Chairman or Board of Directors, and the media is quite happy to play along with it (see this fairly nauseating piece from The Times:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article3478812.ece

Considering that it also owns Butlins, Bourne Leisure's sensitivity is markedly at odds with the showmanship of the late and much-missed King Billy, and you'd be hard pressed even now to find out very much about what are said to Bourne Leisure's three principals -- Peter Harris, David Allen, and John Cook.

As Bourne Leisure is also said to own Warners Holidays, as well as a string of country house hotels like Bodelwyddan Castle, Alveston Hall and Thoresby Hall, you'd need to be sure you weren't winding up in one of them if you're wanting to get far away from a Haven caravan and into a family resort-style hotel instead.

Or even if you were thinking, forget the caravan, forget the hotel, let's go hire a boat. . .

Though others seem to have had some success with this outfit:

http://www.clik2complaints.co.uk/DPs/bourne.html

that's awhile back and nowdays Bourne Leisure is big enough to shrug off any disgruntled customer if it so chooses.

So at the end of the day, it's probably best to keep your complaint registered in the court of public opinion, because that at least is transparent.

hippychic81

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

I was there on my own with the kids without OH and we got there quite late on the first night, so I didnt really get chance to do anything until the next day and they were not helpful at all.

If I had been upgraded I would have been quite happy, but paying top whack for something sub-standard was not a good feeling.

TBH an apology and a small refund would have been enough, but I just feel completely ripped off - I wont go back.

If you complained to them when you were there then they treated you terrible. You payed alot of money for three days and should have been help more. (i guess different parks, different staff make the difference)
But there head office should be able to help you in some way.
I hope you get some answers and some money back for the way you've been treated.:A