Mis-Selling a holiday

flexip

My two sons and a friend recently booked a holiday through a well know online/telephone operator. The got the hotel they wanted in the middle of a resort and one that would be great for 19 yer olds. They travelled yesterday and 1 hour before the flight was due to leave whilst in the departure lounge they received a call from the operator saying they had overbooked that hotel and would be moving them to another - this new hotel was totally unsuitable and had received more complaints than any other and bad reviews. They had to spend the night at this different hotel and they have confirmed this morning it is worthy of the tag 'hotel from hell'. They even had to stand on the transfer coach as it was completely full. I am waiting for a call from the operator as I write this.

As I paid for the holiday for them what leverage do I have on the operator to move them to a different hotel and can compensation be sought and how do I go about obtaining it? Thanks.

jimd-f

1- just because you paid, you have no clout and under data protection the TO does not need to/should not talk to you at all
2-the lead passenger needs to fill out a complaint report in resort with the TO rep
3-if they have a digital camera then photos of all that is wrong with the hotel should be taken
4-if the transfer was arranged by the TO then this needs to be included in the report they complete
5- do not accept any payments/freebies in resort from the rep as this will be treated as a final settlement
6-keep receipts for any additional expenses, like travel into the resort from their new hotel
7 -if there is not a resort rep then they need to log a complaint asap with the TO. an e-mail will do to start but a written letter on return will be required
8- they should have been moved to a hotel of at least the same grade to that booked. if not then raise with the rep and get the response on the complaint form.
9-work out realistically how much they are out of pocket over this.is the new hotel cheaper,?is the accomodation like for like ie HB to HB?
10- the days of getting massive compensation amounts, if they ever existed, are gone and you need to be realistic in what you will get for their "ruined"holiday.a realistic amount would be the difference in price between the 2 hotels, plus something for travel into the resort centre, if that is where the main entertainment is, a sum for phone calls,(but they will want proof of costs)and a small sum for the hassle.bear in mind that to sort this on their return will take at least 3 months of letter writing and tearing your hair out to get a result.
11 -see 10 above and 5 above. if the local rep is going to offer them something like a couple of free trips and/or a cash sum it may be the best option if they are happy to stay in the new hotel or get moved to another hotel to take an offer in resort as a final settlement.

stephb34

If they have booked a holiday that doesn't involve a rep but a 24hr helpline number they must ring this to complain, because if they don't report it whilst in resort they will just say you had the helpline number you should have used it nothing we can do now. They probably won't deal with you as you're not the lead passenger, your son could give permission to them for you to deal with it, but it would probably be easier for your son to do it as he's there.
Can you tell us which the hotel is he should have had and which one he's in now.