help with holiday hell

k0nstantine

I booked a hotel in Prague for may, only to find out a few days before i left, that the hotel i was staying in was supposed to be a complete dump and was nothing like advertised. So i contacted their customer service department to query this, and was told that everything was fine, and the hotel was as described on their website. As i was quite wary about this the adviser then gave me their suppliers website which i was told "described the hotel in more detail." I was told if any problems, to ring them on arrival and they'd sort it out.

On arrival to Prague, surprise surprise the hotel was actually as described in the reviews and not as on the websites i was given. I rang up hotels4u uk number which cost me a fortune as their emergency number didn't work, and was basically accused of this that and the other (ie, i'd phoned querying location n not the rooms, which was a lie), and pretty much told that it was tough and there was nothing they could do, and if i wanted to complain, to do so when i got home.

When i got home, i made a complaint. I sent copies of the website, the descriptions given to me, as well as photographs i'd taken of the accommodation which was nothing like the websites described,
only to get fobbed off once again, and to get accused of something else!! (this time they ignored everything about the rooms not matching and made out that i didn't know i booked a 2 star).

However, when i rechecked the website the customer adviser gave me, i noticed today that the description has totally changed, and everything i stated that it didn't have in my complaint has now been removed from the description.(ie, it previously said the rooms contained: a tv with satellite, a fridge, internet access, but now just says that the room only contains furniture and a toilet/bathroom).
Would this be good enough proof to take the case to trading standards or a small claims court? and does anyone have any advice on what to do next?

shaun_from_Africa

Do you have a copy of the webpage showing the original description? (the one with the TV, fridge etc).
If not, you may still be able to get a copy from google if it has been cached.

Could you give a link for the hotel website.

k0nstantine

Yeah, i made sure i made a copy when they sent me it.

the hotel website is: top-hotel-prague-garni.com/Top_Hotel_Prague_Garni_Accommodation.html
the original description can be found here: s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/dmd83/hellholiday/?action=view&current=Untitled-2.jpg

paddyrg

ABTA? Where was the travel agent you booked with based?

Sometimes it is not worth suing someone based overseas, but you have good evidence I would say.

k0nstantine

Thanks ,i didn't think of them. (abta)

I booked with hotels4u.com, who are part of the Thomas cook chain. They're based in surrey according to their website.

halibut2209

You might want to edit that first pic. It has your email on it

paddyrg

k0nstantine wrote: »

...part of the Thomas cook chain....

Fingers crossed it all works out :-)

k0nstantine

haha cheers halibut2209, didn't notice that

Thanks paddyrg. Should be getting a reply tomorrow, so I'll post the update.

needahol

Something similar happened to me a few years ago with Thomas Cook. I booked accommodation which was described as being 400m from the beach around 10 months in advance (from a 1st edition brochure). A few weeks before going I called into the travel agent to get another brochure as I'd mislaid the one I had and wanted to have another look at the hotel description. I was shocked to see the beach described (in the 3rd edition brouchure) as being 900m away!

I rang Thomas Cook but they didn't want to know. However, as soon as I got trading standards involved, Thomas Cook bent over backwards to help and upgraded me from the 2* I was due to stay in to a 4* on the beach.

Obviously, the difference is that I managed to get it sorted before I travelled but trading standards said they would definitely have fought my corner (from a 'not as described' angle) if it hadn't been resolved prior to travelling

k0nstantine

Had a reply from them today, well if you can really call it that.
Someone had basically copy and pasted an extract from their terms and conditions which really didn't make any sense, as all they wrote was "good morning"....then pasted the extract from the t&cs! So I'm pretty unclear why they did that, or what it was in relation to. I don't know if it was the complaint or to my question querying if they're a member of any trade or ombudsman schemes.:mad:

Time to get in touch with consumer rights/trading standards now i think.

paddyrg

Try giving ABTA a call then, see what they advise as the next step