Pursuing complaint with Thomson holidays?

brookhouse

Hi,

Went with family on a Thomson Holiday in May 09.

Raised the following with rep in resort:

• brochure description errors
• some key equipment (dishwasher, TV) not working and not repaired during holiday
• some safety concerns in villa
• some irritations with lack of servicing of villa as frequently as described in brochure

These were not addressed in resort so we wrote on return following usual guidelines.

Today we received a voucher for £150 off a future Thomson holiday to be used within 2 years. The letter has not adequately addressed the points we raised.

This seems to be an easy trick for them - they'd sell another holiday or we don't book and it's cost them nothing.

Frankly I don't think £150 cash is sufficient for the disappointment. The original holiday was > £2000.

My inclination is to send the voucher back, express disappointment and ask for more and in cash. (We asked for compensation in the original complaint letter.)

Is that the best approach?

Should we go to ABTA, Trading Standards or Small Claims?

Any advice on phrases to use in next letter?

Cheers.

pinkshoes

Could you be a little more specific with what was wrong with the holiday, as your current list is quite vague, and nothing that particularly strikes me as a show stopper.

What type of error in the brochure?

A tv not working isn't really that bad unless you speak the local language, and no dishwasher is annoying but not that bad...

What sort of safety concerns? Don't forget that other countries don't have the same OTT H&S as in the UK...

Which services did you not receive?

Brooker_Dave

brookhouse wrote: »

and ask for more and in cash. (We asked for compensation in the original complaint letter.)

Demand compensation in CASH!!

Ivory_Tinkler

I agree with Pinkshoes, you need to be much more specific. Those problems are quite vague and if you presented them to Thomsons in the same way then you have done quite well to get a £150 voucher.

brookhouse

Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »

I agree with Pinkshoes, you need to be much more specific. Those problems are quite vague and if you presented them to Thomsons in the same way then you have done quite well to get a £150 voucher.

Don't worry - we were very specific in the three page letter to Thomson - for brevity just didn't want to reproduce the whole letter here.

Travelling with children, Sat TV (so English channels would have been available) and dishwasher were reasons we booked that accommodation.

They were not working on arrival. They were not fixed when reported. And it appeared the owner knew about them not working but hadn't chased it.

They aren't show-stoppers in that we continued with the holiday but they diminished the value.

I don't like being fobbed off with a voucher and a patronising letter.

System

i hope theres more to your complaint than the kids not being able to watch tv and having to wash dishes the old fashioned way !

Ivory_Tinkler

Unfortunately holiday companies aren't that forthcoming with compensation. I'm assuming that your complaints were properly logged with the rep at the resort along with the health & safety and cleanliness issues?

Maybe give consumer direct a ring to see if they think you are entitled to a cash compensation award rather than a voucher. However, given that the dishwasher and TV faults were irritating rather than something more serious, £150 is quite a reasonable amount against a £2K holiday. If the safey issues were of a serious nature (did anyone get injured for instance) then you would be entitled to more in my opinion.

Did you ask for a specific amount (maybe a percentage of the holiday cost) in your letter?

brookhouse

CHRISSYG wrote: »

i hope theres more to your complaint than the kids not being able to watch tv and having to wash dishes the old fashioned way !

The complaint is that goods and services described were not provided, and despite raising as soon as possible, they were not resolved.

System

was the weather ok ? cos in the brochures it ALWAYS looks nice + sunny. personally i think £150 is fair compensation for the "trauma" you clearly suffered .

pinkshoes

My parents specifically took us on holiday to places where there was no tv, hence I (and perhaps many others) wouldn't see this as an issue.

I'm still thinking that unless you can say something more specific about what was actually wrong, then you were lucky to get a £150 money off voucher!

I had a 9 hour flight delay with Thomson, and all I got was 2 bits of manky pizza, and two bottles of water!

brookhouse

The purpose of my post was not really to discuss the merits of my concerns.

The advice I am looking for is: what do I do if my complaints are not dealt with to my satisfaction - not in resort, nor subsequently.

What are my options? TS, Small Claims, ABTA?