Travel agent sold me holiday that is £600 more than quoted online

delwynshd

Not being funny here and hate to go into debates but i dont think your statement is true!

I can price a holiday on a Sunday and within minutes the price can change, these systems are live and do change constantly

Thanks
Del

casevlloyds wrote: »

Unfortunately if you booked on a Saturday or Sunday this would not have been the case. Prices on holidays do not usually automatically increase or decrease dependant on availability. Certainly Thomas Cook I know have a Yield department and members of staff who manually update and ammend prices on late deals and I can guarantee you they do not work weekends. They are open and working Monday-Friday 9am-5pm so the holiday you booked could not have changed in price by the time you got home if it was at the weekend.
Looks like Barhead are telling porkies or clutching at straws to try and appease you.

Have you investigated the possibilty of cancelling your booking with them and re-booking on the internet?

endemoniada_2

casevlloyds wrote: »

Unfortunately if you booked on a Saturday or Sunday this would not have been the case. Prices on holidays do not usually automatically increase or decrease dependant on availability. Certainly Thomas Cook I know have a Yield department and members of staff who manually update and ammend prices on late deals and I can guarantee you they do not work weekends. They are open and working Monday-Friday 9am-5pm so the holiday you booked could not have changed in price by the time you got home if it was at the weekend.
Looks like Barhead are telling porkies or clutching at straws to try and appease you.

Have you investigated the possibilty of cancelling your booking with them and re-booking on the internet?

Can I cancel if it's so close ? We fly on the 11th october

delwynshd

No you cant cancel it im afraid as its within 12 weeks of departure

Thanks
Del

endemoniada wrote: »

Can I cancel if it's so close ? We fly on the 11th october

Doshwaster

pineapple123 wrote: »

Chalk it up as experience, dont let it cloud your hols, have a great time and think positive. Next time your be more savvy and probably grab the bargain of the year, you sure wont make the same mistake again.

It's one of Sod's Law of Travel - never ask the person next to you on the plane how much they paid as it will always be less than you.

Pollycat

Usually there's a sliding scale of what percentage you'll lose if you cancel depending on how close the holiday is.

As you'd be cancelling within 14 days of departure you'd probably lose 90% of the total holiday cost.
You'd lose everything if you cancelled within 7 days.
That's with Monarch Holidays but most major tour operators have very similar T&Cs.

Where the suggestion of cancelling and re-booking at the lower price is feasible is if you've just paid the deposit, your departure date is some way in the future (around 56 days) and of course the holiday you're going to re-book is less than the deposit you'd lose.

Put all of this out of your mind & go enjoy Tunisia! :beer:

Pollycat

delwynsholidaydeals wrote: »

No you cant cancel it im afraid as its within 12 weeks of departure

Thanks
Del

Del
I see you are in the Travel industry from your signature.

I wondered where the 12 weeks comes from - I've looked on Thomas Cook's website (I think this is who the OP booked with) and their terms are pretty much the same as Monarch with the deposit only lost if cancelled more than 56 days of departure.
That's 8 weeks rather than 12.

One thing also to remember if anyone has found a better deal after booking and is thinking of cancelling and re-booking - if you've paid a low deposit, you will be required to pay the balance of the deposit upon cancellation.

~daisy~_2

a few weeks ago i was ready to book next years holiday to cuba - after looking online i realised i couldnt specify interconnecting rooms for my family so went to my very small very local thomas cook shop
i was in there for about an hour whilst they priced the holiday for me - it came in at approx £500 under the thomas cook online price for some reason but still £600 more than the direct travel price

i waited and waited and nothing was mentioed regarding price matching so just as i was about to leave i asked if they did do price matching and she said within reason
i explained id seen it online with direct travel and she pulled it up on her computer and printed it off - the shops manageress offered £500 discount straight away but had to get higher authorisation for the full £600 - they offered to ring me as soon as they knew
i didnt hold out much hope for the full £600 and would have been very happy with the £500 but they got me the full amount of discount

the moral is i guess i wouldnt have got it if i hadnt asked as they never mentioned it - however i was thrilled with the service and price i got from my local travel agent esp when they can request specified rooms even

hope you enjoy your holiday though

endemoniada_2

~daisy~ wrote: »

a few weeks ago i was ready to book next years holiday to cuba - after looking online i realised i couldnt specify interconnecting rooms for my family so went to my very small very local thomas cook shop
i was in there for about an hour whilst they priced the holiday for me - it came in at approx £500 under the thomas cook online price for some reason but still £600 more than the direct travel price

i waited and waited and nothing was mentioed regarding price matching so just as i was about to leave i asked if they did do price matching and she said within reason
i explained id seen it online with direct travel and she pulled it up on her computer and printed it off - the shops manageress offered £500 discount straight away but had to get higher authorisation for the full £600 - they offered to ring me as soon as they knew
i didnt hold out much hope for the full £600 and would have been very happy with the £500 but they got me the full amount of discount

the moral is i guess i wouldnt have got it if i hadnt asked as they never mentioned it - however i was thrilled with the service and price i got from my local travel agent esp when they can request specified rooms even

hope you enjoy your holiday though

That's excellent well done.

It's unfortunate I didn't have the Tunisia prices researched before i went in.
Still a bit miffed that she sidetracked me on the low Gran Canaria prices I saw.

I actually don't think she was a bad 'un- we were also offered Minorca for £900 or so, but we opted for Tunisia for the heat. Just bad luck.

Still excited to be going away....... our daugher keeps on saying we're going to Chorizo, lol

casevlloyds

That may be the case with some operators but I can guarantee you, as I used to work there, that Thomas Cook lates are ammended manually by the yield department and only during office hours monday to friday.

Availability may well change over a weekend but generally prices will not unless it is a pre-loaded change at a certain number of seats remaining, although they very rarely do this.

Also your statement about cancelling within 12 weeks in incorrect. Thomas Cook allow cancellation up to 8 weeks before departure at loss of deposit (I didn't notice when the OP said she was travelling, tha's why I asked the question).

delwynsholidaydeals wrote: »

Not being funny here and hate to go into debates but i dont think your statement is true!

I can price a holiday on a Sunday and within minutes the price can change, these systems are live and do change constantly

Thanks
Del

FIASCO_2

I hope you enjoy your holiday. You certainly got a flea in your ear from some users just because you asked a question!! Your experience has encouraged me to avoid the high street. They'll end up without a job as they are being priced out of the market.