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Ripped off by first choice in every way
Just_decking
Posts: 9 Forumite
Hi below is an email sent to first choice but it gives you the full story how we've been treated over the last week. I'm after a bit of advice on where I stand with being given one price then told I can't have it after paying for it please read on though thanks all
Where do I start we first booked our wedding holiday on the 19th July 2009. We where advised at the time of booking this was the best possible deal we would receive at this hotel because we where booking over a year in advance. This was the first lie in many we have been told.*
Let me start with the wedding package first we where told we would receive a date and wedding pack within approx 7 weeks. Well this time passed so we enquired again we where informed weddings was in the process of moving offices viable excuse we thought so we gave them the benefit of doubt. Again the time passed we enquired several times over the space of ten months to get a date as people where wanting to book for the wedding! *In the end we got our date and wedding pack 10 months after booking. Many people can now not afford to come being too short notice and the stress it has caused my partner is unacceptable especially as she is 18 weeks pregnant! Thankyou for making the planning of her big day a farce.
I mentioned we where told we had the best possible deal because we booked early 14 months to be precise. This is the biggest of all the lies. I have been informed of your travel agent that throughout the year the hotel we are staying in has offers of 1pence upgrade to all inclusive per person per night when booking half board which is what we are on and we where not once informed of this. Now this where the the all thing starts to get out of hand.*
After seeing said offer on the net despite already being booked I was angry but resided that it was just one of them things I could do nothing about. Instead I went down to first choice to pay full upgrade to all inclusive for my room just so my partner would have no more stress through her wedding. As I was sat with the booking agent I was told we should have been offered the 1 pence ppn offer to start with because it was on the original booking and she was going to get it for us (I thought was too good to be true) BUT if she couldn't get I would be able to upgrade the "whole" booking for £177 not just my room it worked out about £19 pp. This came as a big sigh of relief and where feeling good about the wedding once more as you would. The booking agent asked me to come back the next day to see which deal she could get and pay. Now I was resided to pay the £177 so I rung round the whole party which consists of parents and inlaws and told them the good news. The next day I went back into first choice sat down and was told that the best offer she could get was £177 for the party. But then came the next bit of weird news we knew nothing about. This £177 included £705 compensation from weddings for the farce of leaving us in limbo for so long. Now don't get me wrong I'm thankful for this but 2 things first why did we know nothing of this and two why did it only come to light when we where asking for these upgrade deals?
Anyway I was told if I wavered the £705 I could upgrade the whole party for £177. So I asked for a bit of time to again inform the rest of the party of the new prices telling them i had to forfeit £705 to get it. Everybody offered to pay towards the £705 we would lose so we accepted the offer. I went back to the booking sat down happy with the knowledge I was upgrading( remember this is all I came in to do the day before). I handed over £177 in cash the holiday was changed receipts and invoices handed to me. I had upgraded, but then I was stopped in my tracks by the agent. She had got everything WRONG the upgrade was for 1 room and to top things off it wasn't even my room. So the last 2 days have been spent ringing round the whole party giving them false hope and basically a load of bull. The agent refunded my money and apologised but what good is that. I have a party feeling let down and there was never no need for this. My partner is more stressed than ever she can't believe how much a big company like first choice can mess up on one holiday package. We both feel totally let down by 1 the agent AMY ROSE who promised us the best deal over 12 months ago and 2 by first choice and their wedding team. You have really made this a holiday to remember for all the wrong reasons and we do t even travel for another 5 weeks
Thanks for ruining my partners build up to her big day we are supposed to be excited not getting angry.*
Regards
Terry Doran
__________________
Where do I start we first booked our wedding holiday on the 19th July 2009. We where advised at the time of booking this was the best possible deal we would receive at this hotel because we where booking over a year in advance. This was the first lie in many we have been told.*
Let me start with the wedding package first we where told we would receive a date and wedding pack within approx 7 weeks. Well this time passed so we enquired again we where informed weddings was in the process of moving offices viable excuse we thought so we gave them the benefit of doubt. Again the time passed we enquired several times over the space of ten months to get a date as people where wanting to book for the wedding! *In the end we got our date and wedding pack 10 months after booking. Many people can now not afford to come being too short notice and the stress it has caused my partner is unacceptable especially as she is 18 weeks pregnant! Thankyou for making the planning of her big day a farce.
I mentioned we where told we had the best possible deal because we booked early 14 months to be precise. This is the biggest of all the lies. I have been informed of your travel agent that throughout the year the hotel we are staying in has offers of 1pence upgrade to all inclusive per person per night when booking half board which is what we are on and we where not once informed of this. Now this where the the all thing starts to get out of hand.*
After seeing said offer on the net despite already being booked I was angry but resided that it was just one of them things I could do nothing about. Instead I went down to first choice to pay full upgrade to all inclusive for my room just so my partner would have no more stress through her wedding. As I was sat with the booking agent I was told we should have been offered the 1 pence ppn offer to start with because it was on the original booking and she was going to get it for us (I thought was too good to be true) BUT if she couldn't get I would be able to upgrade the "whole" booking for £177 not just my room it worked out about £19 pp. This came as a big sigh of relief and where feeling good about the wedding once more as you would. The booking agent asked me to come back the next day to see which deal she could get and pay. Now I was resided to pay the £177 so I rung round the whole party which consists of parents and inlaws and told them the good news. The next day I went back into first choice sat down and was told that the best offer she could get was £177 for the party. But then came the next bit of weird news we knew nothing about. This £177 included £705 compensation from weddings for the farce of leaving us in limbo for so long. Now don't get me wrong I'm thankful for this but 2 things first why did we know nothing of this and two why did it only come to light when we where asking for these upgrade deals?
Anyway I was told if I wavered the £705 I could upgrade the whole party for £177. So I asked for a bit of time to again inform the rest of the party of the new prices telling them i had to forfeit £705 to get it. Everybody offered to pay towards the £705 we would lose so we accepted the offer. I went back to the booking sat down happy with the knowledge I was upgrading( remember this is all I came in to do the day before). I handed over £177 in cash the holiday was changed receipts and invoices handed to me. I had upgraded, but then I was stopped in my tracks by the agent. She had got everything WRONG the upgrade was for 1 room and to top things off it wasn't even my room. So the last 2 days have been spent ringing round the whole party giving them false hope and basically a load of bull. The agent refunded my money and apologised but what good is that. I have a party feeling let down and there was never no need for this. My partner is more stressed than ever she can't believe how much a big company like first choice can mess up on one holiday package. We both feel totally let down by 1 the agent AMY ROSE who promised us the best deal over 12 months ago and 2 by first choice and their wedding team. You have really made this a holiday to remember for all the wrong reasons and we do t even travel for another 5 weeks
Thanks for ruining my partners build up to her big day we are supposed to be excited not getting angry.*
Regards
Terry Doran
__________________
0
Comments
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Any advice on where i stand would be greatly received thanks all0
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First impression - have you already sent this email?
If not, then don't - it needs proof reading. It's "were" not "where". It's very hard to read."One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
So are you getting the £705 refund as promised?"One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
Yes I've already sent it
it was wrote in a fit of rage basically. To be told one price and then paying it to then have them saying I can't have it was a bit irritating. I thought under the sales of goods act 1979 a verbal contract was as good as a written one I just need to know where I stand? And sorry about the grammer I'm a joiner 
0 -
First impressions - that is a terrible complaint letter.
It's poorly written, it's confrontational, it's sarcastic in tone, it's difficult to follow and it offers absolutely no possible suggestions for First Choice to attempt to resolve the issues. It's just a rant.
If you want your complaint to achieve anything, I would seriously consider redrafting this.Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
The £705 they wouldn't give it me yet. Some long winded excuse about it taking ten days. I'd rather them keep it if I can get my upgrade0
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Just_decking wrote: »Yes I've already sent it it was wrote in a fit of rage basically. To be told one price and then paying it to then have them saying I can't have it was a bit irritating. I thought under the sales of goods act 1979 a verbal contract was as good as a written one I just need to know where I stand? And sorry about the grammer I'm a joiner
They could argue that you misunderstood the details of the upgrade offer. Not that they've reneged on the deal.
What you have been offered by the sounds of it is the £705 compensation. Is this a concrete offer? Do you have this in writing?"One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
Ok I admit it's a bit of a rant but it does kind of explain the situation in detail. As of yet first choice are yet to reply anyway even though I got an automatic response saying is hear back in 48hrs0
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So the argument is that you want a 1p upgrade to all inclusive for your wedding party as it's what you should have been offered considering you were told you were getting the "best deal".
If that's what you're after, then I think you need to be a little clearer perhaps. How much would the all inclusive upgrade be at current prices for the wedding party? Are you half board at present?"One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
No I don't even have it in writing because the first I heard of it was when I was offered the upgrade of £177 including this so of course I wavered it at the time. It was then I got the spiel about the ten days.0
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