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

jaa43

Slowhand wrote: »

Yes, and youneed to put spacesbetween some of thewords.

The original letter is not like that, I quickly copied and paste on to here to get some advice

elsien

jaa43 wrote: »

Not paranoid, how did someone so easily get in the room without us noticing anything was wrong.
You can say that about any holiday, no one discloses what they are carrying in their bags. I have been honest, they left the cases and took the items.
People have to complain to try and make things better for others.

I'm not saying you're dishonest, I'm suggesting you look at it from the point of view of the camp manager, who probably gets all sorts of chancers trying it on all the time. If you can understand why they responded as they did, it might help you to phrase your letter so they take it seriously.
Thieves can get in most places - it's what they do. You can't have it both ways by saying someone got in without any problem, it must be a worker, then say the door was clearly forced. It's either one or the other.
Suggesting their employees are to blame and threatening to go to the press will not achieve anything. Nor will complaining about security getting into the camp when I'm not aware of anywhere that books every single person in and out all day. Nor going on and on about how upset your daughter is. It may be true but it dilutes your argument.
What is your biggest concern (without all the biographical detail.)
And what result would you like. But unless you have a very good case for proving your door was not secure all along- did the police actually come out and what did they say- don't expect to get all your gadgets paid for.

jaa43

jaa43 wrote: »

We did and have a crime number

Thank you for your help

ILW

Why can you not claim on your insurance?

Slowhand

jaa43 wrote: »

The original letter is not like that, I quickly copied and paste on to here to get some advice

People can only comment on what they see in front of them. Elsien has given you good advice

jaa43

ILW wrote: »

Do Pontins cater for a certain type of clientelle?

Explain please

jaa43

elsien wrote: »

I'm not saying you're dishonest, I'm suggesting you look at it from the point of view of the camp manager, who probably gets all sorts of chancers trying it on all the time. If you can understand why they responded as they did, it might help you to phrase your letter so they take it seriously.
Thieves can get in most places - it's what they do. You can't have it both ways by saying someone got in without any problem, it must be a worker, then say the door was clearly forced. It's either one or the other.
Suggesting their employees are to blame and threatening to go to the press will not achieve anything. Nor will complaining about security getting into the camp when I'm not aware of anywhere that books every single person in and out all day. Nor going on and on about how upset your daughter is. It may be true but it dilutes your argument.
What is your biggest concern (without all the biographical detail.)
And what result would you like. But unless you have a very good case for proving your door was not secure all along- did the police actually come out and what did they say- don't expect to get all your gadgets paid for.

The main concern is that the door was not secure and I could have been hurt whilst in there with a 6 year old.I a
m emotional as I have 3 jobs and this break was all I could afford. But I do appreciate your constructive comments.

elsien

An idea of how to condense, just as an example. Not a very good one, but hopefully enough to give you an idea. Don't use it as it is, as I'm still not clear on the facts, it's just to show you how to take the emotion out of it all.
Plus you need to use your own words to make it sound more realistic.

" My complaint is regarding the lack of security and safety at the site, and with my room in particular, room x.

Having been out for the evening on Wed (date), we could not find our kindle, but as it was late and the room looked the same as when we went out we did not look further. However the following morning I found that y and z had also been taken from the room, although stored out of sight. I reported this to the duty manager (name) who advised contacting the police which I did. (Add in the crime ref number and what the police did/said. Briefly!)
Although the duty manager looked at the door and said it appeared ok to her, on further inspection I felt that it had been forced, possibly not for the first time - see attached photos. I requested a further inspection but this did not happen. As I have children of (ages) and they were distressed and no longer felt safe in the environment I did not feel able to continue with the holiday.
Although I understand that as per the terms and condition, valuables in my room are my responsibility (or whatever the terms and conditions say), I believe that the door/lock/whatever was already not secure prior to my taking up occupancy therefore the site must bear some responsibility for the loss of my possessions."


But if you felt your room was unsafe to stay in, did you request an alternative at the time, or have any further conversations with the duty manager, as if you accepted it as it was, then just upped and went you probably don't have much of a case.

jaa43

ILW wrote: »

Why can you not claim on your insurance?

My house insurance covers building and contents only.
I could not afford to include items out of the home.

ThumbRemote

I am writing with regards my stay at Camber Sands starting from 1st April 2013.

On returning to our room on Wednesday 3rd April at approx. 11.30 pm my friend Ms D H was unable to locate her Kindle. As it was late I suggested we look in the morning.

The following morning we were still unable to find the Kindle, and Ms D H suggested it may have been taken. Although it did not seem like someone had been in our room, and the door had been locked when we returned, I checked my bag - the camera case was inside but no camera. Subsequently I checked my daughter’s tablet case, but the tablet was also missing.

I reported this break-in to a passing member of staff (do you know their name?? If so add it), who contacted the office and the Duty Manager arrived. We explained the situation; we left the room locked, curtains pulled and bags out of sight. Amber (is this the duty manager??) checked all the windows and she herself said the door looked fine. She suggested we call by reception and report the matter to the police. We did and the crime number is listed above.

We asked that someone come look at the door as on further examination you could tell it had been opened with a tool of some sort. We waited in the room but no one came, hence I have attached copies of photographs we took ourselves. Reception said they were treating the matter urgently, but it does not seem this was the case. The locks and doors are very insecure, there were gaps in the side and bottom of the door with a whole line of mastic hanging out.

We left the site early (give date!) as my daughter was too scared to stay. I requested a refund straight away, but I was told to put the request in writing. Therefore I now formally request a refund of £xxxxxx

I am particularly disappointed in the lack of security on site. We were informed by Amber that there was no CCTV for privacy reasons, while my friend Ms H entered the camp and was not asked for any pass, name or identification. No security guards were present at any time, no patrols, no cameras, and a complete disregard for the security of your customers.

In failing to provide a secure environment for their customers Pontins have been negligent and failed in their duty of care to ourselves. I am therefore requesting you replace the stolen items, or compensate me to their value. A detailed list is given below (list items, model numbers and value).

I look forward to hearing from you shortly.