Nightmare holiday (Pontins), need help with complaint letter please?

lolly101

Our holiday was a complete disaster! So many things went wrong, although the main issue was with the accomodation - I booked a 2 bed apartment with lounge and kitchen... we were given a single room!!!

They are in breach of the terms and conditions of the booking (they should have given us at least 7 days written notice - they didn't mention it at all, and were really rude when we complained about it!).
I found a template for the letter online... http://www.holidaytravelwatch.net/2008/03/22/when-you-return/ it mentions ABTA and the Package Travel Regulations 1992, but I don't think these apply to Pontins??? Other than the contract, is there anything else that they are in breach of?

Also, any suggestions of what to put in the letter, links to more appropriate templates, etc would be very much appreciated as I am not very experienced in writing these kinds of letters.

lolly101

Thank you ThumbRemote, I will keep your advice in mind when writing the letter.

I should probably give you some more details...

I went with my two kids (6, and 10 months old) and a friend (we obviously needed 3 beds, and space for a cot). When we found out about the room (2 beds, no space for the cot) we went to reception to ask for what we paid for, the man (I noted his name) was very rude to me and demanded to know why we needed two bedrooms! I told him that there were two beds and that we needed three - he then wanted to know why we needed three beds! :mad:
I told him that I shouldn't have to explain myself and that it should be obvious that there is a problem if there are less beds than people. He then told me that there was nothing that he could do and that if I didn't like it I could have a full refund and leave the premises straight away. After a 5 hour journey with two fed up kids, that was not an option!

I gave up with him and spoke to a duty manager instead, she said that all she could do was offer me two single rooms, I explained how unhappy I was about it, but said that I would have to take it as going home wasn't an option.

As well as the hassle with the rooms, I booked an apartment with a kitchen, so we had the extra costs of having to eat out (I had already booked breakfast and dinner, but we had to pay for lunch, and an extra breakfast for my son as they didn't provide appropriate food). I also had to buy bottled water for my son's bottles as the taps in the rooms were filthy (covered in black and greeen gunge - I have photos). We asked them to clean them but they didn't bother... although that is another issue.

Based on what I have said so far, what do you think I should go for in terms of a refund?

DVardysShadow

lolly101 wrote: »

Thank you ThumbRemote, I will keep your advice in mind when writing the letter.

I should probably give you some more details...

I went with my two kids (6, and 10 months old) and a friend (we obviously needed 3 beds, and space for a cot). When we found out about the room (2 beds, no space for the cot) we went to reception to ask for what we paid for, the man (I noted his name) was very rude to me and demanded to know why we needed two bedrooms! I told him that there were two beds and that we needed three - he then wanted to know why we needed three beds! :mad:
I told him that I shouldn't have to explain myself and that it should be obvious that there is a problem if there are less beds than people. He then told me that there was nothing that he could do and that if I didn't like it I could have a full refund and leave the premises straight away. After a 5 hour journey with two fed up kids, that was not an option!

I gave up with him and spoke to a duty manager instead, she said that all she could do was offer me two single rooms, I explained how unhappy I was about it, but said that I would have to take it as going home wasn't an option.

As well as the hassle with the rooms, I booked an apartment with a kitchen, so we had the extra costs of having to eat out (I had already booked breakfast and dinner, but we had to pay for lunch, and an extra breakfast for my son as they didn't provide appropriate food). I also had to buy bottled water for my son's bottles as the taps in the rooms were filthy (covered in black and greeen gunge - I have photos). We asked them to clean them but they didn't bother... although that is another issue.

Based on what I have said so far, what do you think I should go for in terms of a refund?

I'll probably be accused of rubbing it in, but let's say it.

At the site you made a pig's ear of presenting your complaint. The basis of the complaint is not that you need so many rooms or so many beds - that is so much wasted breath. Your complaint is that you booked a certain standard of accommodation and they did not deliver it.

If you had booked a single room with 1 bed and you had 8 people, you could not sensibly argue that because of the number of people in your party you needed more rooms and beds. Nor would such a complaint be upheld.

So stick to the complaint which can be upheld.

lolly101

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I'll probably be accused of rubbing it in, but let's say it.

At the site you made a pig's ear of presenting your complaint. The basis of the complaint is not that you need so many rooms or so many beds - that is so much wasted breath. Your complaint is that you booked a certain standard of accommodation and they did not deliver it.

If you had booked a single room with 1 bed and you had 8 people, you could not sensibly argue that because of the number of people in your party you needed more rooms and beds. Nor would such a complaint be upheld.

So stick to the complaint which can be upheld.

I did say that - the conversation I had with that man lasted around 5 minutes, I didn't see the point in printing every single word that was said so summarised it, I also assumed that 'we went to reception to ask for what we paid for' would say it all!

I don't really see how you can compare my booking with booking a single bed for 8 people - I booked enough beds for my party... I just didn't receive them!

DVardysShadow

lolly101 wrote: »

I did say that - the conversation I had with that man lasted around 5 minutes, I didn't see the point in printing every single word that was said so summarised it, I also assumed that 'we went to reception to ask for what we paid for' would say it all!

I don't really see how you can compare my booking with booking a single bed for 8 people - I booked enough beds for my party... I just didn't receive them!

You seem to miss the point about my 8 people example, big time. And in summarising your discussion with the man-at-the-desk, the bit you have given us is the really irrelevant bit! Really, the relavant discussion is 'we booked <x> and you have given us <y>' and most interestingly, the response to that, which would be Pontin's official position for the time being.

lolly101

DVardysShadow wrote: »

You seem to miss the point about my 8 people example, big time. And in summarising your discussion with the man-at-the-desk, the bit you have given us is the really irrelevant bit! Really, the relavant discussion is 'we booked <x> and you have given us <y>' and most interestingly, the response to that, which would be Pontin's official position for the time being.

I fully understand your point - discussing the number of beds is irrelevant as the real issue is that I didn't get what I paid for. I just don't understand the point of your comments and examples, as I asked for help with a complaints letter but you seem to be more interested in picking faults with my posts.

My discussion with the man went around in circles - I asked for things, he said 'there's nothing I can do about it', after a while he demanded to know why I needed it in the first place, so I told him. He then told me once again that there was nothing he could do about it, and that if I didn't like it that I could leave.

The conversation with the duty manager followed the same lines (although she was much more polite about it). In the end I had to accept two single rooms as we were too far from home to just give up and walk away.


Are you now in a position to offer advice? I accept that I may not have explained things in the best way, although this is why I have asked for help in the first place!

hcb42

it sounds like it was handled dreadfully at their end.
Did they say why they could not fulfil their side of the contract? I.e. was it a problem on the first, night, or did it last all the period you were there.

I would certainly not expect to pay for this, and would expect a significant refund, granted you all consumed some meals etc, which you would have incurred anyway, but otherwise I would be looking for a significant refund, or equivalent holiday, booked correctly at another date.

ThumbRemote

Basically - how much are you out of pocket? Do you have receipts etc to prove it? Then thats your claim.

(They will almost certainly argue that you may have been planning to eat out anyway, but you can cross that bridge down the line)

OlliesDad

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Basically - how much are you out of pocket? Do you have receipts etc to prove it? Then thats your claim.

With a holiday it is possible to make a claim for loss of value and loss of enjoyment too. Although not sure if it would apply in this case.

lolly101

hcb42 wrote: »

it sounds like it was handled dreadfully at their end.
Did they say why they could not fulfil their side of the contract? I.e. was it a problem on the first, night, or did it last all the period you were there.

I would certainly not expect to pay for this, and would expect a significant refund, granted you all consumed some meals etc, which you would have incurred anyway, but otherwise I would be looking for a significant refund, or equivalent holiday, booked correctly at another date.

Thanks HCB42. The duty manager said that they were fully booked all week so there were no apartments left - however there seemed to be quite a few empty places throughout the resort. There were lots of people in the same position as us, and some of them took the refund and went home, so that may explain the empty rooms.

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Basically - how much are you out of pocket? Do you have receipts etc to prove it? Then thats your claim.

(They will almost certainly argue that you may have been planning to eat out anyway, but you can cross that bridge down the line)

I'm not sure how much I'm out of pocket. I have a few receipts, although a lot of places didn't automatically give them... and I didn't think to ask. The main thing I have is the booking confirmation that details the apartment that I booked, I think that that should be basis enough for the claim, and that anything extra should just give extra weight to my case. Another thing I have is the pictures of the room - absolutely disgusting (I used the towels as rugs as the floor was filthy, and had to buy cleaning products for the bathroom before we dare use it!!!). I'm hoping that they are so embarassed at the state of the room that they give in straight away, lol!

OlliesDad

Although ABTA wouldn't cover this holiday they do have good advice:

http://www.abta.com/consumer-services/travel_problems/key_facts_about_the_law