Haven complaint - open letter

Unhappy_Camper_2

OFFICIAL COMPLAINT

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to you to make you aware of the extreme disappointment we experienced while staying with you from the 13/06/11 to the 16/06/11 at Hopton Holiday village. We booked a platinum grade caravan direct on your website because we have a three month old child, so we required all the extra features and comfort that came with a platinum caravan. Looking at the pictures on your website, the caravans looked fantastic and looked as if they had a home from home feel. They had also been recommended to me by a family member, who had previously stayed in a platinum caravan after being offered an upgrade.

On arriving at the park, we collected our keys and made our way to No* Woburn. When we entered this particular area, we thought all the caravans looked fantastic. They all looked large and most had bay windows and decking, so we were keen to find ours. That’s when we discovered the smallest standard looking caravan, the only one in that area was No *. When we opened the door to the caravan, everywhere was spotless, I had no complaints regarding the cleanliness. However, I was disappointed with the interior. It looked nothing like the pictures on the haven website.

The large flatscreen tv was infact a small flatscreen/dvd combo with no remote. I thought I would enquire about whether there was a remote missing from the caravan as changing that many channels by having to sit next to the tv and do it manually is not really ideal. When I finaly got through to reception after it had been ringing for 5 minutes, the attitude I got from the same person who checked me in was completly different from when she checked us in just under an hour ago. At check in, she was polite and helpful but when I phoned to politly ask if you provided remotes for the television she replied in a very sarcastic condesending manner as if I was supposed to know that remotes were not provided. She then slammed the phone down. Fantastic customer service.

Back to the caravan, the large new looking fire place on your website was infact an old style gas fire. The large comfy looking sofas that were on the website pictures were infact two very small wooden seats fixed to the wall. Followed by the usual long seating area round the side which is found in most standard caravans.

The Bedroom was extremely cramped and it was near impossible to walk round the bed without having to actually climb onto the bed. It was very lucky that we bought our sons moses basket as if we had of hired a travel cot from yourselves, there was no way that would have fitted into the bedroom. Where would he have stayed? Also no towles were provided, luckly we had our own.Now you may think that I am complaining for the sake of it but let me quote this straight from your website.

Platinum holiday home
Caravan Holiday Homes are a minimum of 12ft wide (many 16ft wide) offering reams of space.
With very limited availability they offer exceptional quality, space and privacy with an impressive interior feel, all in prime positions on the Parks. If you want the “wow” factor and the very best, then these models are for you.

Now I wasn’t expecting hotel standards but i was expecting what is written above. This is what we had paid for. However, what we recieved fell well short and I have underlined where it fell short above. Please could you also take a look at the mattress within No2 Woburn. It has most certainly seen better days and was like lying on a bed of springs. It caused us to end our stay a day early as it was impossible to get a good nights sleep.

On checking out on Thursday 16/06/11 at 10am, I wanted to speak to the manager and bring all this to their attention, but after waiting in an empty reception for 5 minutes with no one around i left the keys in the drop box and decided I would write this letter to you instead.

I notice on your website that you now offer a full money back guarentee if you are not entirly satisfied with the cleanliness of your caravan on arrival. Would this apply to not recieving what was expected? In my opinion, the caravan we stayed in looked like it was a standard caravan that had a few of the platinum features thrown in.

What disappointed us the most though is when we returned from our holiday, I looked up some of the private caravans on the park that were available for hire on another website. The photos of the interior of theses Platinum graded caravans were exactly like what was on your website. This in my eyes is a case of mis-selling on your part and leads me to respectfully ask for a full refund of the amount paid for the holiday.

fozmcfc

I bet they will reply, saying along the lines of, sorry you didn't enjoy your stay, but they will use lines such as pictures are from illistrational purposes only and that some features may not be available in all caravans and that their brochures and website does state this etc..etc...

They may offer some sort of money off your next visit, which of course is usless, unless you are going again, but that means they will still get more money from you, then if you were to never go again.

Let us know how you get on.

skiddlydiddly

We stayed in a "Prestige" recently at their Golden Sands park(on Lime Grove I think it was) and the caravan was very good, very clean(just minor things like not dusting in nooks and crannies.The double bed was very uncomfortable for me but fine for my other half.I didn't expect hotel standards thoughas afterall its a caravan not a hotel.We also weren't provided with towels but nither were we expecting to be and took our own as well as kitchen utensils and toilet roll.

If I was going to complain about anything it would be the site traffic.Other guests driving too quickly on the service roads and ignoring one way systems.The maintenance staff and bin men(came 3 times in 1 week) were also driving too quickly imo as the caravans are right up to the service road with no pavements at all.

I haven't stayed in one since I was a teenager and it was better than I expected, they've come a long way since then.

dreamypuma

You mention that you tried to complain to the manager "On checking out on Thursday 16/06/11 at 10am"

Did you at any point try to formally complain about the standard of accommodation, before checking out? (excluding the remote control incident)

Did you offer Haven the opportunity to remedy the situation in it's entirety during your stay?

Asking for a "Full Refund" is difficult if you haven't raised the issue during your stay, as you have benefited from their services.

Unhappy_Camper_2

dreamypuma wrote: »

You mention that you tried to complain to the manager "On checking out on Thursday 16/06/11 at 10am"

Did you at any point try to formally complain about the standard of accommodation, before checking out? (excluding the remote control incident)

Did you offer Haven the opportunity to remedy the situation in its entirety during your stay? its
Asking for a "Full Refund" is difficult if you haven't raised the issue during your stay, as you have benefited from their services.

You make a very good point and this maybe my undoing, but at the time of the stay I just had the attitude of putting it down to experience and to never go on a haven holiday again. I was unhappy but it wasn't till I got home and compared the pictures of private platinum caravans on the park and the platinum pictures on the haven website of the interior we should of had, that I realised how short changed we were. Ours looked very similar to the standard pictures on the haven site.

When I wanted to complain at the park I wouldn't of expected a full refund, maybe some form of compensation. However, after what I have seen now, I would like the full amount back.

As for using the terms caravans may differ etc, I totally understand what you are saying but a family member went on a £9.50 sun holiday and was offered an upgrade to a platinum caravan for £20. The photos of theirs looked excellent. Also, about the towels. I know it sounds petty, but they were supposed to included.

I just feel very annoyed that we paid £320 for a few days and didn't get what we should have got. Yet another can get an upgrade offer for just £20 and theres was spot on.

In hindsight, I should have demanded to be moved straight away but when you have a three month old you kind of let things slide just to make it easier.

nearlyrich

That small type is totally unsuitable for such a long post can you edit it to make it bigger please?

forgotmyname

Part of the learning process, I presume the accomodation was at the lower end for that standard.

At least 12ft wide etc. Reams of space? Probably is compared to an 8ft/10ft wide van.

Main point is why did you not complain when you saw the caravan and the keys fitted. You should have gone
back to reception and asked for an alternative. Sometimes they can sometimes they cannot.

Phoning them to complain was not your best option. I guess you have not used them before? You now know
what to ask next time. Im sure there will be something else next time.
Did you have a look around & think i wish we had a van in that part instead? Ask for that next time.

All part of the british holiday experience. I always ask for a caravan on the sunny part of the site.

Pinkypants

nearlyrich wrote: »

That small type is totally unsuitable for such a long post can you edit it to make it bigger please?

Press Ctrl and the + sign together and the text will increase in size.

meer53

Most photos in brochures or on websites are just for illustrative purposes only. I've stayed on the Haven Wild Duck site near Gt Yarmouth and we paid extra for a high end static home. It was fantastic. BUT, i didn't expect there to be towels and the bedrooms are always tiny, barely enough room to walk around. I can understand their reasons for not supplying remotes for their TV's, how often would they go missing ? Part of the fun of staying in a place like this is the novelty (for my kids anyway!) of staying in a caravan ! It could have rained all week and they would still have had the time of their lives ! You're always going to get huge differences in caravans due to their age, i don't think you should get a full refund as you did stay there but if you pursue it you may get some back or maybe a credit towards another stay.

ThumbRemote

meer53 wrote: »

BUT, i didn't expect there to be towels and the bedrooms are always tiny, barely enough room to walk around.

Their website claims towels are included in the Platinum models.

I've always found it suspicious at Haven that they don't have any markings on the caravans to say what grade each on is supposed to be. The ratings for the vans are often very subjective, what's to stop them putting you in a lower model and claiming it's a higher spec?

meer53

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Their website claims towels are included in the Platinum models.

I've always found it suspicious at Haven that they don't have any markings on the caravans to say what grade each on is supposed to be. The ratings for the vans are often very subjective, what's to stop them putting you in a lower model and claiming it's a higher spec?

I agree, the ratings are subjective, there's nothing to stop them putting you in a different rated caravan. Where the OP went wrong was by not making their concerns clear as soon as they got there and asking to be moved or refunded the difference if they were in a lower rated van.